The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-01-24
LEO, THE IsAURBN


da2e our ahle,t statesmen. All agree tina
there is Great disturbing cause some
where within our business machinery
which AT stated periods deranges the iegi
innate workings Of trade-gluts the mar
kct,, shuts down our manufactures, bank
ruptS our merchants Cripplcs our farmers
land bring, ruin and starvation % the labor
ING classes but ss to what that cause Is o'
Iw,.ere located or how 60 remove it, scarcely
Two agree
Not claiming to be- adept in the myste
RE, Of political economy or In any Other
way qualified 10 solve this mighty problem
We may be allowed at least 10 initiate the
engineer who in his efforts 10 arrive at q
given point, and finding on running certain
course that he has missed his mark, turns
back on his line until he discovers where
the mistake was made and is thus enabled
to make the correction. 50 We propose e
90 back on the line OF history and see Whe
Their there ara no parallel cases to our own
through the teachings al which Il is posi-
bic ovr mistakes may be corrected.
| And in this inquiry LEI il not be objected
that We are going back Tor instruction to
! what many are pleased 10 call the "berbar
gu, ages" They forget that our code OF
morals, the fundamental principles of our
laws, the very form Of our government, are
borrowed from the ancients-Me Jews,
/ Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and that,
notwithstanding our boosted progress in the
arts of civilization and refinement, II is
fairly doubtful ii We have.anything to boas,
of over those ancen's. We may therefore
be excused II we 60 back TO the history of
the Roman, or rather Byzantine empire, for
parallel cases from which 10 draw lessons
applicable 10 our own.
When the great Justiuisn assembled the
throne in 521 the empire was II the height
OF its glory But though great and learn
niln as ruler was narrow minded and
weak, His ample revenues were wasted In
expensive foreign wars, la the qualification
of ruinous passion for vast and costly
buildings, and in levying ignominious tri-
butte on his barbarian mel shbors To keep
his treasury replenished every device of
eNtor,ion was resorted 70. The industries
ot the realm were loaded down with bur
densome taxation and Its commerce with
ruinous import and export duties until the
swarms Of menhan, ships which had car.
ried Roman commerce 20 every port In the
known world were driven from The seas.
The workshops Of the cities lsnguishea for
want of market for their fabrics, and the
Pleasantly OF the country ceased 10 produce
moro than 10 meet their own needs, while
vas, areas of fertile lands were abandoned
ar1i allowed 20 90 to waste.
such disagreement and oppression pro
oduCet its natural results, ~ that a, the
death of Justinisn, in So, after reign of
- years, he left the empire, which he had
inherited in the tullness Of power and pros
perity trembling on the verge of ruin, a
condition from which it did not entirely
recover for over fifty years
In II, Leo, the isaurian, assembled the
throne. The address and influence OF this
wise ruler once more laid the foundation of
prosperity and power Of The empire, which
continued more or less tor 800 years By
his management the country districts which
previous misrule had depopulated We're
again filled up with u thriving yeomanry
The towns and cities once more resOunded
with the noise of workshops and the hustle
OF trade. All kinds Of eNtortion in the form
of taxation all import and expor, duties
Mere AZ once abolished or reduced ~ a fair
revenue standard The Strictest economy
in the government was enforced and the
laws were uniformly and Justly administer
his predecessors whereas they had
discouraged trade, commerce must be the
corner stone OF The strength of his empire
aud seeing this his financial system was 40
framed aS 70 foster and promote the indus
tries OF his people and 10 facilitate the eN
change OF pr0ducts with other nations
Merchants and shippers were encouraged,
and he sent agents 10 distant lands 10 open
trade with them and create markets for the
surplus products Of his people Under this
wise policy the commerce OF the empire
ruled the marts OF the world and CONSTANT
nOple became the great commercial centre
Of the earth Fndlsy, in his history of the
Byzantine Empire, says: The islands and
cities OF the empire again grew
rich and prosperous; their vast mercantile
msrihe again covered the Black, the CaSpi-
an and Mediterranean seas; vast caravans
'kirted the Black and Caspian seas TO the
frontiers of China, while others penetrated
through Armenia To northern India. sara !
zen merchants brought in not only thr pro |
ducts of their own country, but the rich
traffic of the Islands of the Indian ocean"
Nn' only tr1i,. and commerce hut asricul |