Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-27
Price Four Cents
The White Elephant and the Blue
 Monkey.
A Free Trade Argument From Cochin
 ChiuH-The Difficulties ofa DisEenter.

A Free Trade Argument From Cochin chin"-The Difficulties ofa Dfssenter. GFrom the London News.I
 l The Golden Club in a little volume which 1 it published five years ago under the title of the History of Free Trade in Tuscany" 1 made the readers of it's treatises acquainted l with the curious fact that more than cen l tury ago Tuscany could boast of precursor l of Harriet Martineau, in the person of Sar- l chinani, the author of ''Chinchi Tale of Cochin China, applicable to other countries" l It Is now generally believed that the then l ruler of Tuscany, the Grand Duke Peter Leo pold, had quite as large share in the com 1 position of the work as the reputed author, l Sarchiachi, and it is, at any rate, quite cer- | tain that he both revised the manuscript and l commanded the publication. The story is l the adventures of an honest Cochin China peasant, who has only one wish in the world | Ito earn bread honestly for himself and his numerous family, but who finds himself ! thwarted nn his attempt at every step by com- 1 mercial restrictions, fictitious prohibition, and Iaonopolies without end. He cannot find a bit of land to till, because the CochineC China conditions of land tenure have placed the en- tire soil in the hands of a few hereditary magnates. He cannot aim an arrow at the bird flying over his head, because the Cochin China Game laws have made the act penal one. He cannot take bucket of water out of the sea- because the Cochin China Gov ernment salt monopoly has made sea water the exclusive property of the Government Salt Office. When he endeavores to bring up his sons to any trade in town the deficul- ties from the privileges of the different guilds and companies become quite insurmountable. Before whip can be made, sepafate licenses must be obtained from tho companies of
 turner's, leather merchants, painters, var nishers and brass or ivory merchants, because each operation is the sole privilege of sepa-
 rate company. But the restrictions thrown
 in the way of female work are far worse, and
 poor Chinchi g daughters become unfortunate
 simply from the utter impossibility of earn
 ing their bread by any decent trade. Some
 times, indeed the routine is broken through
 in obedience to an imperial command or to
 gratify an imperial wish. It appears for ex-
 ample, that the Empress has heard that a
 workman who does not belong to the regular
 guild of cabinet and casket makers makes better baskets than any of the corporation.
 But, as her Majesty can only have casket
 made by one of the body, the ingenious
 workman is instructed to present himself for
 examination, that if duly qualified he may
 be admitted. He does so. The examination on all points referring to caskets is found
 most satisfactory. At it's conclusion the aspi-
 rant to admission within the body says: ''I presume now am found quite qualified to make casket 2" Not yet replies the head
 master of the guild of casket makers, ''the
 court and corporation have, yet to be satisfied
 on one all-important point. What is the
 nature of your religious opinions ?'' What, ,"
 cried the surprised aspirant. 'Twhat, may
 venture to ask, are the religious opinions in
 dispensable to the making of a wel1-fnished
 casket ?'' ''The wisdom of our ancestors"
 replied the head of the court, ''that
 can be good casket-Inaker who is not good
 citizen; and to be good citizen you must
 be moral man that no man IS a religious
 man who does not believe in the one true re-
 ligiol: and that the one true religion Is that
 " a dI- vine white elephant Well" answered the espirant to regular casket making, 'tI subscribe to all these propositions excepting
 the last, but positively reject the white ele-
 phant." thrill of horror ran through the
 court Unhappy man. said the Dean of Guild, you do not believe in the divine white elephant. What, then, do you believe in?"
 q believe" was the reply, given in the firm calm voice of a confessor who is willing to become martyr, 'I believe in the divine blue monkey, in that divine creature the prints of whose paws may still be witnessed at the three holy shrines whither the devout repair and reverentially kiss the sacred soil.'' The previous tlrill of horror was now oeeded by tempest of popular fury. Cries rose on all sides, 'In6del," ''Heretic,"
 ''Blasphemer ' Tear his eyes out, ""Cut his nose off, ''Drown him, ''Flay him.,
 Roast him he does not believe in our di- vine white elephant. He believes in the fil- thy trash which he dares to call the divine blue monkey" The poor casket maker would have fared badly had not friend privately reminded the court that his Imperial Majesty had quite made up his mind on having casket made by this workman and by him alone. The whole affair was, therefore, ad- journed, but compromise between the wis dom of ''our ancestors and the imperial wishes in the matter of casket-making was at length effected, the caskets being made clan destinely by the clever workman, and pre- sented regularly and formally to his Majesty
 o1, 1f {I1aa ration. Before the tale is brought to a close we are informed that, through the bold legis- lation of an enlightened Prince, the difficult ties that met poor Chinchi were made to dis appear, and that in Cochin China not only were all restrictions on commercial liberty removed, but the holders of the most differ ent religious opinions were placed on 8 per feet footing of civil and religious equality.