The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-02-05

1t protects the unwary, the ignorant, the
careless, even. 1t only authorizes rate higher
than the arbitrary one fixed by the bill before
this House, when both parties to the contract
desire it, and deliberately and understandingly
put the same into the form of written agree
ment.
What we now call sumptuary laws were
formerly not uncommon; and Legislatures re-
strained men from taking more than a certain
amount of profit compared with the value of
commodities bought and sold. The same argu-
ments were adduced in support of those regula-
tons as are now used in support of the usury
law-the protection of the poor, the weak and
the extravagant. Why should not those laws
be re-enacted as soon as this is restored? They
all rest upon the same theory-the need of pro-
lection, the inability of the buyer and borrower
to judge OF their own wants and necessities
Yet who would submit to have the Legislature
fix the price at which b1shel of grain should
be sold? This has been done in times past;
why not now? Simply that the world has
learned the folly of such regulations; that they
are wrong in themselves; and, right or wrong,
could not now he enforced. If the law prevents
me from selling my wheat or letting my money
at fair market price in this state, send it to
some market where no such restrictions exist
thereby decrease the supply at home and in
crease its market value. My neighbors follow
the same track until the poor protected
buyer or borrower finds no grain to buy, no
money to hire-except from those who, evad-
ing the law, taxing the risk of the penalty and
approaching the advantages of market where
the demand is great and the supply cut off,
monopolize the business, charge rates only
restricted by his own conscience, and even then
adding insurance to protect himself against one
of his customers who might invoke the aid of
the law to relieve himself of the obligation of
his own contract. So that the honorable man,
who is compelled to borrow money, must pay
the market value, increased as that has been
by the inducements caused by legislative enact
mont IL II MAJ nd o1co
contribute his proportion to make good the
deficiency caused by the action of thoSe debtors
who are mean enough to plead mental infancy
in avoidance of their solemn agreements.
Nor do consider the position taken by the
gentleman from Calais tenable-that the laws
regulating sales of lumber and fish and prohib-
ting brothels gambling and liquor selling are
analogous--and that in passing these latter
laws we are treating the people like children.
We require measurers of wood and inspectors
of fish to prevent fraud in quantity or quality
of the article sold, and any general law appli.
cable to all contracts, which should give to the
courts authority to redress wrongs where fraud
exists or undue advantage has been taken of
the weakness or perhaps the necessities of a
party, might not be Objectionable, and could
not be compared with a law which says, 1 NAV
pay Sc year for the use of 500; but that it is
impossible for me to be of sound mind and
capable of acting for myself or of judging of
my own interests, if under any circumstances
OF scarcity or need snould De willing to pay
So for the same service. While the prohibition
of things which are evil in tbemsel 7es-crmes
or leading directly to the commission of crimes
is necessary, as the first step in the organiza-
ton of society, without which it could not exist
as its purpose-the protection of life, liberty
and property-can be secured in that way only,
so, too, laws for the suppression of vice, al
though applicable directly to and restrictive of
the free action of the individual have their or
igin in the necessity for protection to the com.
munity from the results always attendant upon
the free indulgence in vice.