The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1890-02-13
GOOD GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL
PROSPERITY.

FhUSPEhlIf,
The relation Of the Government to
the other institutions OF a 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 a 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
eye 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
eminent 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 a 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 a 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 a
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:
/. In furnishing a stable or I'M
stable medium for commerce to de-
velop in.
2. In its commercial policy.
3. In its relation to public inn
provements.
In every one of these Ways the
government affects the financial con
dition of country, and so funda
mentally that without government
of a certain kind no business, no ex
change, no commerce of any kind i.
possible at all.
Governmental stability is an alb
solutely prerequisite to business. L
is so because without stability Their,
can be no confidence, and. wher,
there is no confidence, there will b.
no capital Security against revolu
ton, against corrupt administration
against demagogism, against fire
quent and violent political change
this security is the..air in which bus
mess breathes, it's the oxygen which
vitalizes and quickens every motion
The want of it smothers enterprise
SO the commercial policy of a gov
eminent has come to exercise a vas
influence for good or evil upon it
general prosperity. No nation il
without such policy. England
ascribes her supremacy to free trade
The vast business of the Unite,
States is so dependent upon tn
minutial of the tariff that a chang
in the classification of a single i'm
port, may deal death blow to al
industry involving millions upol
millions. A reduction of a few cent
on a single article would change tn
clothing of hundreds of thousand
from shoddy to woods, and a shor
clause in statute may drive the fla.
of a nation from the seas of tw,
hemispheres.
SO, finally, the policy of a govern
ment with regard to internal i'm
provements is prolific of the mos
important consequences to the gen
eral prosperity. State aid built tn