Arizona citizen., 1874-01-03

and fro of the money itself from point to point, is @ device which originated from the necessities of commerce, and had it's incipency with the LOmbardS, in their time the great traders of the world. The first bill of exchange was drawn in 1925. By means thereof, payment can be made without subjecting people to the trouble of conveying the precious metals, and is | accomplished with safety and celerity. Commerce has given rise to the vast | financial enterprises which have been of such great and lasting benefit to mankind. | The necessity of speedy communication | from the Atlantic seabOard to the Pacific, | induced by the requirements of the thou | sands who were attracted by the treasures | of California in '49, caused the building of the Panama railroad, which was done | only by the ceaSeleSS energy of it's pro- | jectOrS, who were commercial men and did not consider themselves ObStructed in | their course, although the road may be | | said to have been built upon hecatOmb | | of human bodies. i The Suez canal, the grandest triumph of engineering talent, requiring the highest | order of scientific skill, the utmost perSe Verance and the most indOmitable energy, was an accom- plishment effected in the in terests of commerce, and had for it's object ! the shortening of the route to the East h. dies. Other enterprises of perhaps as vast labor and requiring like skill, may hereaf- ter be required by commercial necessities,
 and the world owes these monuments of labor and science to the requirements of ! the men of business.
 Commerce may be said to be a great
 moral agent in effecting the civilization of
 countries which, remaining isolated, have | adhered to barbariSm and ignorance. The opening of the ports of Japan to the com
 merce of the world, was the initiatOry step of that country in taking upon itself the re- forms which ages of intelligence and en- | Ilightenment have shown to be best calcu- lated for the good of mankind. It may be
 urged that the interests of the Chinese have hardly been conserved by forcing
 upon them the opium trade, which has fastened upon it's inhabitants habit af-
 fecting their moral tone and physical we'll
 being. Probably this is the only instance 2 where the benefits to few have been en-
 forced so as to inure to the detriment of
 the many.
 The relation of commerce to political economy is closely connected. It forms the basis for great writers on finance to enunciate their principles, and to enter in-
 to disquisitionS on theIr theories and sys- tems. The greatest writers dwell lengthily
 on principles by which trade should be
 conducted, and the duty of the individual
 engaged therein to the government which
 protects him in the exercise of his avoca-
 tiOn and the obligation which the state
 owes to the subject. It is hardly within range of this essay to enter into an exam f inatiOn of any of these principles Wheth- CT trade should be open and free to com , petition, or confined by discriminating . impOStS so as to favor the individuals of each nation. Examples of the benefits of r each system are no doubt abundant to
 demonstrate which is the more beneficial. England presents the greatest example of , free trade, though even her revenue is aug , mented by duties levied on some few ar . ticleS, which, viewed as luXuries, are deem- ed capable of bearing imposts, which if more generally distributed might make , the cost of staple commodities burden . some to the consumer.
 , Commerce is important as affording to
 
 for the support of their governments, and instances might be adduced of countries I where the tariff imposed, whether it be as
 in England on some few articles, or in our , own land on a large list contributes to . the chief support of the government. In
 our neighbOTing States of the Mexican re- , public, the chief reliance of the govern
 ment to carry on its functions is upon funds derived from their customs dues, , and thereon they rely for assistance which
 has served in many instances to release l, them from severe financial straits.
 The facilities afforded by commerce have
 often resul' ed in benefits to the material
 interests of nations. It has been demon- strated that in England where the con
 sumption Of spirits among the lower class
 es had assumed frightful proportions, the introduction of the lighter French wines had the tendency to decrease their use, to
 diminish intOXicatiOn, and to cultivate taste for the beverages which in their use
 lacked the deleterious effects of fiery stim-
 ulantS.
 The extent of commerce has grown with
 the progress and enlightenment of the f world. What formerly was transacted by
 a few insignificant vessels, has sWelIed f into fleets of merchantmen whose sails whiten every sea. In the heat of the trOp-
 ics to the frigid airs of the arctic are found
 navgatOrs whose skill guides their vessels
 bearing treasures of the land and the deep Everything is made tributary to com
 merce, and to everything commerce affix-
 es and gives a value, whether it be to the
 hlubber and bone of the whale the depos-
 its of the coral, the OutpOuringS of the oil wells, or the produce of the husbandman
 and the artisan. There are many "sneer- ing sOuls," as the critic has it, who deny the possibility of uniting trade and art. , They forget that FlOrentine and Venetian . art were founded upon commerce, that 1t : gave to the great cities of Europe in form
 CT times, as it does to them at this day,
 and as it will to the great cities of this con tinent in the future, the means of cultiva> , ! ting the taste for the beautiful These , , same hypercritical persons foget thar , Shakespeare meant business when he wrote l; poetry, and that in our later day, no poet , sings sweeter lays than the author of the Pleasures of Memory, and that no histo. rian combines force of expression with , amplitude of details and research, than = Grote, who did not consider his business . of banking incompatible with labors in : the sphere of literature.
 In the ruder stages of interchange of
 commodities. when values were not posi-
 tive, the relative worth of articles was diff :, ficult to fix, and the necessity of some O lett 01 q 6lr1I1 TNyl1i iDhx