The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1890-02-18
GOOD GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL
PROSPERITY.

| the Otlef INSTITUTIONS OF country,
to its social conditions and to its
general prosperity is undoubtedly
the subject of popular fallacy. The
political institutions of country are
only one of large complex of causes
operating on its prosperity, all OF
which are cause and effect in turn.
The government being something
public, prominent and conspicuous,
something which catches the public
eve and concentrates the attention,
the importance of the role it actually
plays in the civilization and develop
ment of nations, is naturally greatly
exaggerated. If anything of pub
lie and general nature happens, peo-
pie generally, and particularly the
vulgar, are apt to suppose the gov
ernment is at the bottom of it, al
though it is ten to one that the event
is the result of general causes over
which the government has no more
control than it has over the move
ments of the planets. The govern
ment is popular scape-goat, and if
it is disliked it is sure to be respon-
sible for every misfortune which Wis
its community.
While this is true, it is still equal
ly possible to fall into an opposite
error, and underestimate the infu
ence which every government inevi-
tably exercises upon the prosperity
and civilization of country. There
are no laissey-faire governments
any more. The people wish to have
their finger in every pie and the re-
suit is that the action of the people
in their organic capacity expressing
itself legislatively and executively is
a factor of wide-reaching Importance
to the national prosperity and the
national life. There are of course
large variety of ways in which gov
ernmental activity affects and must
affect under all circumstances COM
mercial prosperity, but we will con-
tent ourselves with mentioning
three:
l. In furnishing stable or un-
stable medium for commerce to de-
velop in.
2. In its commercial policy.
3. In its relation to public i'm
provements.
In every one of these ways the
government affects the financial con-
dition of a country, and SO funda
mentally that without government
of certain kind no business, no ex
change, no commerce of any kind is
possible at all.
Governmental stability is an alb
solutely prerequisite to busine ess. 1t
is so because without stability there
can be no confidence, and where
there is no confidence, there will be
no capital. Security against revolu-
ton, against corrupt administration,
against demagogism, against fre-
quent and violent political change,
this security is the air in which bus
iness breathes, it is the oxygen which
vitalizes and quickens every motion.
The want of it smothers enterprise
So the commercial policy of gov
ernment has come to exercise vast
influence for good or evil upon its
general prosperity. No nation is
without such a policy. England
ascribes her supremacy to free trade.
The vast business of the United
States is so dependent upon the
minutial of the tariff that a change
in the classification of a single i'm
port, may deal a death blow to an
industry involving millions upon
millions. A reduction of few cents
on single article would change the
clothing of hundreds of thousands
from shoddy to woods, and a short
clause in a statute may drive the flag
of nation from the seas of two
hemispheres.
So, finally, the policy of a govern
ment with regard to internal i'm
provements is prolific of the most |
important consequences to the gen
eral prosperity State aid built the
Canadian Pacific Railway, an enter
prise which affects the cause of trade, |
opens up whole provinces to settle
ment and civilization, and directly |
influences the lives and fortunes of
hundreds of thousands of people.
Tho c,ororppooDf &c 0fto, 4l,o v1r,roa |