Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-01-28

Tho Cure for the Disease.
The admirable speech delivered by
Hon. Thomas F. Bayard before the
Boston Chamber Of Commerce, the full
text of which We print to-day, will be
found by The GAzETTE's readers to
be full of deep thought while permeated
by lucidity Of argument which carries
with it the fullest force of strong CON
viction. We may analyze 1t briefly as
a demonstration that the agricultural,
commercial and, in correlated degree,
the manufacturing interests of the ma
ton are suffering through diseased
condition of the body polite; that the
administration of free silver as panacea
would be the introduction of remedy
as bad as the disease; that the true
course is TO eradicate the disease and
returning health will soon rid our politi-
cal system of all the facilitating and un-
toward symptoms appertaining thereto.
The disease which has given rise to
all these distressing symptoms is
grounded on that perversion of our tax
ing system which, by rendering the
masses tributary to the few, has i'm
paired the exchangeability of products
and, in very great measure, strangled
individual opportunity. OF course Mr..
Bayard puts forward no pretension to
the discovery of this truth; truth
which has been obvious to all candid
reasoners from cause to effect, notwith-
standing the tendency of a selfishly in
terested few and more or less un-
selfshly deluded many to bury it out of
sight by heaping up platitudes, theories
and schemes about the volume of the
currency, the interchangeability of the
precious metals and, particularly ard
most persistently delusive of all, the
assumed power of legislative fiat to
create values which intrinsically do not
exist.
But there are two or three points in
this admirable speech that, if not wholly
new, are put forward with force and
directness that will command more than
passing attention. We refer especially
to the implied constitutional guarantees
against the impairment of the exchange
ability of products, to be found en-
bodied in the prohibition of export
duties and the declaration of the indies
tructible validity of contracts-"the
freedom" as Mr.. Bayard expresses it,
assured by the common law of Eng
land, the best inheritance our forefathers
brought here across the Atlantic, the right
to contract as he chose and to employ
individual faculties or powers or posses
sions of every nature in such way as
should be most useful and beneficial to
the owner, with the sole restriction con.
tanned in the maxim, sic utere tue vi
alienum non laedas.'"
The denial of the right to tax exports
Mr.. Bayard shows, is as explicit as the
grant of power to tax imports, and nc
construction of either provision of the
constitution that would be destructive Of
the other can be admissible; these two
| provisions are OF equal force, are no
contradictory, and both must be con
strued in harmony, "nor can any exer.
else of the power to lay duties upon i'm
ports be held to warrant the impairmen
or destruction of the right to expor
without tax or duty"
This is sound, logical and conclu
sively stated. 1t re-enforces the declar
alton of the supreme Court of tn,
United States that taxation purely ii
aid of personal or private objects is be
yond the legislative power and is an un
authorized invasion Of private rights
We commend the speech to the mos
thoughtful attention of all our readers
The death Of Cardinal Mannin0 Ia