Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-07-17

strife. 1t seems 10 be s law Of hui
man nature, that old notions. how
ever injurious they may appear IN
their results, should be adhered to,
even efter their evil effects have been
clearly demonstrated. It IL an intstu-
alton springing from habit, and time j.
always necessary to cure this deiec-. NO
one feature in political economy has
been more the subject o. mistake than
that Of the natural law Of trade. Where
all should have been open and Free re-
strictions the most oppressive and per-
nicious have marked the course o. IegIs-
lation upon the subject. Instead Of that
humanizing and outstanding policy
which has its foundation IN the uniln-
tied intercourse between nL .Jns anu
communities, bsrbsrous system Of
vexstious imposts and taxation A2s been
adopted, having its rise in aboriginal
selfishness, but defeating its object by It's
very exclusiveness. Whatever OF hap
pinegs and prosperity nations now en-
Joy, is the immediate result OF trade,
and wherever this is least restricted,
there the people are most happy, be-
cause they are better fed and more
heaIthily appareled. In ancient days
when the world was sparsely peopled,
the traffic in the necessaTies OF life be-
tween distant communities was held o.
the utmost Importance; but when the
usual restrictions to trade were removed
a general jubilee was the nscguence'
1t was so in the days Of jacob and his
sons, and their journey to Egypt Tor
corn, was the herald Of brighter future.
The fable OF the Golden Fleece is COM
memoir live only Of new channel that
trade had discovered. Jason and his
Argo, are typical Of commerce and It's
advantages, and the nation or people
who refuse to expound the fable Alright,
can never be truly great, or escape nom
q semi-barbarous condition. Trade both
ciyiIizes and makes pOwerful-hence, 1t
should be as free fror restrictive bur
dens and control as the nature Of the
business will permit. Let US look st the
course trade has taken from az far back
as we have the record OF
history. The Jews, in the
DAYS Of David and Solomon, had it
both by sea and land, and OF necessi-
. ty soon became superior to all other peo-
pie, The Jews only declined IN power
when they became inattentiye to the
rules which govern prosperity. In the
pride Of their exsltati0n they hampered
industry with taxation, and commerce
with fittings, that their degenerate
rulers might strut in purple, and waste
the revenues Of the nation upon concu-
bines and in riotous living. Wars OF an
internecine character sprang up between
the several tribes, frequently on account
of some inteTuptiOn-On account OF tTat-
fic, until the strife between Judah and
Ephraim, and their respective allies, be-
came both deadly and irrecOncilable,
Such wars planted the seeds Of decay,
and the Jewish people soon became
prey to every nation that planned an
invasion. Commerce, however, could
not wholly expire. The Argonautic exc
petition had not only unveiled its beau
ties, but had also elucidated its vast bene-
fits to those who ventured upon its enjoy
ment. The Carthagenisus,f following the
nautical and commercial predictions
OF their Ph9nician ancestors, grasped,
with an energetic will, the traffic OF the
seas, and the wealth of foreign chimes
was made subservient to Carthage. In
this channel commerce continued, until
the half barbarous Romans, by repeated
destinations, destroyed both traffic and
marine. Alexandria had been long
struggling for the trade Of the world,
and with the decline o. Carthage, size
obtained her desires. Commerce Is Ike
a coy maiden, and will as surely retreat
when rudely approached. 1t can only
be made available by the most fostering
care. SO long as the Egyptian city .os-
tered trade, she possessed the monopoly;
but the moment she neglected its en-
couragement it fed to other localities.
Venice and Genoa subsequently divided
The worlds traffic between them, until
the same causes which had destroyed
other maritime cities, worked out their
destruction. Neither the fame Of q
Dandolo nor a Doris could save
those powerful cities from de-
cay, when traffic was Grip
Piled. Portugal, with heroic energy, and
an improved knowledge of political
economy, next grssped the prize, and
held it until more approved channels
and greater hberality luTed il else
where. The low countries, with their
free cities, fOurished only by commerce,
liberated from much Of its former thrall.
Spain, like the molten image set up il
the wilderness, had her WOTshipeTs for a
season; but as she gloried in her discov-
cries and cOnquests more than she did
in her commerce, her interdict to other
nations hurried her downfall. Grea'
Britain, cognizant Of the causes which /
ruined other empires, while cOyeting the
worlds traffic, Hberal.zeG her trade with |
foreign countries, and made it slI her
own. Still commerce, both external and
internal, was hampered with unWise
regulations until Ireland became re-
duced 10 starvation and her people f.
goa led to rebellion. England has had /
her day Of monopoly and destructive /
restrictions. The beams OF q wiser |
policy are shedding their light upon
the counsels OF that practical nation. ,
From the distant western horizon she I
beholds a star Of the first magnitude /.
cast from her own bright body, and be- I.
come lustrous by sttTition through space. I
Westward the star OF empire takes its I
way" That little speck upon the west /
ern horizon has become luminous with .
light. Its rays penetrate every nation,
and their retraction viii soon guide the
world to liberty. In these United States
must be generated all these liberaIizing
ideas which are to make men equal, and .
nations prosperous and happy. Restric-
tons, one by one, are fast giving away,