The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-03-02
THE GOSPEL OF COMMERCE..
THE CIvILIzER OF THE WORLD

THE CIvILIzER OF THE WORLD.
SYNOPSIS OF LECTURE BY THE REV. C. n.
SIMS, d. D., AT MERIDIAN STREET CHURCH
LAST EVENING.
From Yesterdays Second Edition.
The lecture of the Rev. c. n. Sims, d. D.,
at the Meridian Street NJ. E. Church, last
evening, attracted large and select audi
ence- The occasion was the benefit of the
Adelphian Society, the speaker a
former pastor OF the church, now
of New Jersey. After music by the choir,
the orator of the occasion wss introduced.
The reverend gentleman appeared at home
in the elegant edifice, and familiar with his
auditors as well as with the theme of his
address. he said it afforded him great
pleasure to look into the faces of the
friends and acqusintaDces before him.
After announcing the subject upon which he
would speak, 1.-THE Gospel OF Commerce"
said he would treat the topic from the stand
point of disinterested party and endesvor
to show the good influence of commerce
proper and the evil results of the
MERGE il that each person shall
part with what he does not need
in exchange for what he does need. Money
is the basis of business, and so IL came to
pass that money measures the power and
direction of commerce. It's presence indi-
Gates that the world is in debt to you. Too
many OF us are willing that our work shall
be
PERFORMED BY PROXY.
We take peculiar enjoyment In becom-
ing enriched at the expense of some one
else. The spirit Of commerce enlists all
classes, and about ALL save honor, is for
sale--and even honor has been thrust upon
the market under false labels though il
were. Wives were sold even among the
FIRST families of Virginia-that is among
the aborigines, who were really the
srst families there. laughter In
Europe matches were made with a view
OF perpetuating crowns and sccumulating
estates. But, of course, in this country COM
merce is not carried into the family circle.
especially at the watering places, whore
mammas with manageable daughters court
the attention of manageable men ac-
count of their superior social status, to
the neglect of their financial positioni
But really, honor has been disgrscefully on
the market in this country from Arnold to
Moulton, the mutual friend. However, he
held that there is much of the heroic in
THE HISTORY OF COMMERCE..
1t has developed contemp! OF peril, have
ing inspired men to brave dangers on sea
and land. The bones of fortune
hunters are bleaching in all lands.
Commerce is the history of all progress and
is the precursor of intelligence. It makes OF
men laborers; and in short, wherever COM
merce is carried 10 creates civilization. Its
absence is marked by barbarsm. Surely
then it is a gospel In the world.
The speaker dwell in detail on the history
of Tyre and Venice and other ancient cities
that grew great through their commercial
relations with the world. Their merchant
men gathered in riches from all the world.
In Venice was published the flst newspaper
and there were issued the first bills OF ex-
oh A illustration ~ fha inf
of commerce, the speaker cited the exis-
tence and the benign influence of the
Hanseatic league (of an hundred cities) from
four hundred years of piracy and
ROYAL ROBBERY
and during the time that the waves OF the
North sea rolled over the Netherlands, now
densely populated through the power OF COM
merce. Those were the days when piracy
was regarded as respectable as indicated by
the word, itself which signifies knight of the
sea. Tracing the course of commerce down
through the dark ages to the present time
he showed that it had been the great civilizer
not only, but the protector OF property. To
commerce and not to legislature do we owe
gratitude for the safeguardsst thrown around
about ourselves and our property. 1t has
fostered our most vital interests at home
and abroad. 1t is through the influence OF
commerce that we enjoy
PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
1t compels the recognition of the rights of
men and secures the respect of nations more
than her armies. There is sublimity of
bravery in the man who goes out
to battle with the iceberg.
The influence of commerce upon
invention and discovery has been so
great that the latter may be said to be the
legitimate offspring of the former. The
wants of commerce always arouse the genius
lraf he inv r1t0 and iDOv fho
Invention usually proves double bless
ing. IL comes to the relief
of labor and remunerates the inventor.
Invention, inspired by commerce, has ac-
complished much. A lady could go up into
the dry goods palace of A. T. Stewart in an
elegant elevator and purchase goods 10 cor
respond, aud then her husband could
''come down" as handsomely as she went
up. [Laughter.l Commerce was a won
d dn thing Fpepch %ipes were manu- Anu
York dinner parties, and "three-year
old rye whisky" was made in
a month, etc. There are two kinds OF COM
merce, the good and the bad, the genuine
and the counterfeit. The fraudulent is not
necessary, for
HONESTY CAN THRIVE IN TRADE.
The lecture was lengthy, and a synopsis
could not do 1t justice, and to be fully
appreciated IL should have been heard, for
il was replete with whitening satire and
sparkling wit, in alternate doses. The exer-
cises of the evening were protracted in the
lecture room, where reunion and social
were held.
Blind Tom, the well-known negro pianist,
is in Columbus, Ga, on visit to his mother,
who is a pure-blooded negro, as was his
father. He is an idiot negro, who in sale
of slaves several years before the war, was
thro Wn in for good measure. Tom exhib--
tied astonishing aptitude for music. Since
he became a man, the great interest for
merly exhibited has been lost. He has
never exhibited any musical genius, as the
compositions attributed to him are very or
binary. He has brought. fortunes to his
former owners, who are now his agents. We
are informed his eyesight has greatly inn
raroved Atlanta Herald