The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-03-20
eyann;shness VS.. Liberality.

~ small issues by neighoorHoo" se''s"",e
and tho apprchcnsions of a'arice' oh.i
,nv reaches that point OF supremacy WINCH
.r,h,os the general interests to override these
.a,,rcos If obstruction IL is ever in struggle.
There is latent principle of barbarism IN
al, mems minds which may BIC called into &C
ton under certain conditions. Civi'izaaoh
.eers it under restraint; but it will break
M, sometimes and spread abroad in spite OF
civilization. Sc!fishncss is its most conscniai
shirt. A selfish motive will prompt men 10
resort TO unfair and oppressive means 10 re-
sard or defeat the success Of measure tha'
&c for the general good, or TO break down inc
enternrisc of worthy man. 1t VIII prompt
,,or 70 every conceivable artifcc to bring
min upon projects proper and Just III them
ro,ves and sustained by those who deserve
.,c,pss. under the apprehension that they
NAV prove injurious to some interest OF theirs.
The same feeling that induces men to array
themselves thus against the enterprises OF
Others would had they the power, induce
them to prohibit these enterprises altogether.
So, in little neighborhood whose people
thought their lands might be impaired in
value by the settlement of bit of country in
an opposite direction from that in which they
lived, would. if they had the power, prohibit
any man from settling or building house Oh
that bit Of land.
This is harbarism. IL has been illustrated
in thousands OF instances in civilized LANDS.
When it was found that Ireland was manu-
featuring woollen goods the British Parlia-
ment decreed that no such goods should be
exported from Ireland; and when the poor
Irish turned their attention to grazing and
begun exporting fine cattle, the British Par
lament prohibited the expectation of cattle
from Ireland. This was expressing the Irish
people that the English manufacturers and
grazicrs might not be injured by compe-
tition. This was harbari>m; as much so as
il was in the Algcrine pirates to levy taxes
on vessels sailing the high seas for the privi-
lege of going along without being molested
and robbed by the pirates themselves.
All such policies are opposed to the genius
of civilization. as they are opposed to practi-
cal wisdom and the prosperity of the very
men who sustain them. Had the British
Parliament rcfrained from tammclng the
industry and enterprise of Ireland the people
of that island would have proSpercd and be-
come contcntcd, and the resources Of the
kingdom would have been immensely ill.,
creased. While SO far from inurinS the
manufacturers and grazers Of England, they
would have been benefited; because the
means of Great Britain for the supply of the
foreign demand and controlling foreign mar
kcts would have been strengthened, to the
general advantage of the kingdom. If Eng
land had had no foreign trade it would have
been bad enough for her to adopt her cruel
policy; but as she had foreign trade, and
was one of the most cntcrpri>ing of nations
in maritime commerce, her conduct was not
only indcfcn>ible OH any ground, but abSo-
lutely unaccountabe upon amy hypothesis
save that it was suggested by baybarism,
stimulated by religious feeling.
Yet, we constantly sec this principle steal
ing through the history of nations. The in
stances we quote are very glnring ;.but there
have been an abundance of others since their
day. II has often turned out that the cruel
ties meant to danpen the ardor and Shacklc
the enterprises of Il people were the stimuli
lants that impclled them to great achieve
ments for their own advantage and the good
of society. And this is Il provision in the
beneficent laws Of Providence Ivy which the
cruel and selfish purposes Of men are often
defeated aud made 10 subServc the best in
terests of society.
This barbarous principle should be ligor-
ously opposed in all enterprising and rising
cities. 1t does great deal to rctaId their |
growth. The same apprehension which |
leads to the defeat of Il measure for the good |
Of the whole community will prompt those
who have power to put dead weight upon
the interest and the people whose prosperity
is looked upon as antaSonistic to those OBJ
posing the measure.
Now, the great error here is in subdividing
the corporate body and supposing that the
prosperity of one part Is at the expense of
another-that the blood of the body may be
withdrawn from one limb and centred in |
another while that from which it Is with |
drawn withers. This is absurd. Prosperity |
is vital fluid that is injected into the body |
of city, and as surely diiuses itself through |
it as does the blood find its way through the |
human system, even to the little surface
veins which give colorand beauty to the very
skin. TO tie up an artery in one part Of the
body would disturb the general distribution
and seriously impair its health. So, when a
community, from idle apprehensicns, put
barrier to the growth, power, and expansion
of their corporation in any direction, they
impair that general growth and prosperity
which inevitably reaches the whole and slim
ulates every part to increased enterprise, and
spreads out to every eye brighter prospects.
Richmond is at the critical period of
turning point in her history. She more than
ever before, and more than she ever can
again. stands in need Of the most liberal and
generous impulses of the public mind. She
can be injured now by timid policies, the
apprehensions of neighborhood interests, and
the clannishness of hill societies. After she
becomes strong and there is controlling
power devoted to the general welfare, she
will be secured against these obstructive III
fiucnces. But now she needs the support of
generous public spirit and enlarged views
of the general interest. 1t would indeed I've