acts. The custom is of English origin, where the judiciary depends entirely upon the king, and is considered with jealous eyes by the parliament and people. Our judiciary is a part of the people and deserves full credit. These exceptionary inquiries are apt to undermine the credit of the legislative body, if the accused party is considered not guilty, even when indeed it is innocent. Better the law should have with us its regular

course.

LETTER XL.

- Money. Cotton.-Business is King. - PolitiPoliticians.-Statesmen. - Genuine and Bogus Politics.

- Commerce.

Commander Maury's Letters. - Dead Sea. - Telescopes.

Whales. Patents. - Patriotism.

Scarcity of Talent.

Camels. Hard Times. - High Salaries. Consolidating Cities. - Political and Private, or Free Non-political Business. What it is. - French Emperor. - Pennsylvania selling State Works. - General Welfare. · Canals.- Competition.

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- Railroads. - Public Debts. National Political Business. - Congress. Representative System. - Municipal Political Business.

Towns. Representative. - Counties.

ness. Legislative. - Executive. -Judicial. Overseer.- Supervisor.County Court. - Representative. Townships. Political Town Busi

Democratic - Threefold. — Mayor.- Aldermen or Selectmen. Representative. - Working Districts. State Failure. Self taxation. Hamburg. Cities. - Villages. —Size of States, Counties, Towns. Philadelphia. -- New York. Centralization. - Mutual Control. - European Large Places. — Monarchy.—Its Philosophy and Substance. -Japanese Cities. Commodore Perry's Report. — Hakodadi. — Political ArithImetic and Geometry. - Measure for Private Affairs. -- Crisis. - Crash of the Largest Business Concerns. Size of State Confederations. Congress meddling with Non-political and Municipal Local Business. American Ladies. Character of Free Non-political Business. Science, Arts, Culture, Religion, Commerce. Society Progressive. States Protective. - Monroe Doctrine. — Licenses. - Liberty of Industry in China, Japan, European States. - Publius. - Cantons in Switzerland Republics, when consolidated Monarchy. - Great Britain consolidated England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales. - Mr. D'Israeli. Napoleon III.Missouri Compromise. - Division of States. -Stability of Government.

Ar certain periods something, call it an idea; genius, or as you please, rules the affairs of mankind. Some say that, at present,

knowledge rules the world, others attribute this honor to money, or cotton, or commerce. Is this true? In some respects, yes. But over knowledge, money, cotton, and commerce, there rules, no doubt, in our age supremely, a stern, logical, mathematical, exact, positive, and really tyrannical master, whose name is business. Its sway and rights begin now to be more universally felt, appreciated, and respected, and nowhere more than in the United States.

What are the thirty millions hoarded in the banks of New York without business? Mere dross. What are the ships in our harbors without business? Floating Spanish castles. What is all our knowledge, skill, enterprise, and industry, without business? A sickly thing in a crisis. Business is king. It is the godfather of practical knowledge. It is industry drilled and in march. Without hard thinking, exertion, perseverance, experimenting, diligence, and labor that sweats the brow-in one word, without methodical business, there is no true knowledge, no real wealth. Show me a single dollar, book, or other thing made by man, which is not the product of business. Mere knowledge is culture, too often unpractical, until business gives it tone, form, animation, and creative force. Mere gold is glitter. But let it be carried by business into the streets, streams, wheels, cars, carts, shops, factories, stores, offices, upon the highways and seas, and, magic-like, it will transform the most common, inert, hetereogenous, rare, and incongruous things and elements into a living, blissful, harmonious, mutuallybenefitting whole!

The middle ages were dark, because business was either unknown or despised and persecuted. The sword and mitre were then king of the land. But business prevailed upon the sea, and soon conquered the land. Since, it has been coveted, privileged, respected, taught, and skilfully systematized in the house, market, and on the field; it is now conducted with the precision of the solar system, operating with the velocity of electricity, and working with the combined forces of races and elements. See how it presses the "dolce far niente" gents and "poco curante" lazzaroni-loaferdrones in Italy (a railroad in Rome!) Spain, Mexico, and elsewhere into its service! how it taps, I will not say stupid, but dark Africa, opens quaint Japan, finds its way into Chinese Tartary deserts, and wherever idleness or false power hovers about or unappropriated nature sleeps! Its sway is universal. Proud em

perors and haughty queens, arrogant sabre knights and dull breviary monks bow before it, and become business men in their turn. Yes, business is king, and an honest, skilful business man the true nobleman of our age.

It is foreign to the scope of my letters to give you a full picture of the immense power and sway of this modern autocrat. All I can do is to say, that the earth, heavens, and sea are tributary to him; that all men are his subjects; and even the most abject loafer that is, a being who shuns business-can not drag on his miserable existence without being a cause of business to others, perhaps jailors or hangmen, as the case may be.

I have, however, to confine myself to one business branch, viz., the political, which, to explain, requires quite a book. It would fill a library to tell you all about the diverse branches of business, from that of Rothschild down to the filitier, from the trunk railroad to the cartman, from the cotton-spinner to the needlewoman, from the miner to the pinmaker, from the planter to the fruitvender, from the Appletons to the rag-picker, from the whaler to the oysterman, from the ocean telegramist to the news pedlars, etc., for each has its own sphere, science, system, history, manipulations, chances, and rights. Now, to understand the working of republican constitutions and parties, one must well know what is political business and what not, and what difference there is between politicians and statesmen. I most certainly would not trouble you so much with those things, if the happiness of families or society were not so closely connected with it. Think of California, Kansas, Utah, to say nothing of Mexico, Nicaragua, South America, Spain, Italy, Hungary, etc.

If the best men in all ages devoted their wealth, comfort, energies, and even their lives to politics, it must be something better, and of more importance to the human family, than what passes under this name in the newspapers and general conversation. What would be our Union, if Washington and his noble compatriots had devoted their lives exclusively to agricultural, mercantile, or manufactural pursuits? And what is their merit? They understood the art of politics well. They were real statesmen, acting for the general welfare, differing entirely from those who are at present called politicians—that is, mere placemen, or traders with the public affairs for their personal advantage.

When Mr. Commander Maury, in his valuable Letters to his Sons, advised them not to meddle with politics, he took, of course, this word in its improper sense; but when I have told you, my sons: Study politics well, that you may become masters of this art, and thoroughly acquainted with its bearing upon society, I used the word in its proper sense.

What public or political officers, in their capacity at public expense, are doing is public or political business, right or wrong. The examination of the water of the Dead sea, the exploration of the whaling grounds, the explanation of the best sailing routes, the looking through government telescopes, the riding on government camels, at government expense, and the records, maps and books published thereupon by the government; hospitality and fireworks at public expense, all this is public or political business. It will be admitted, however, that these examples, and all that is done by political officers, besides the realization of justice, is spurious or improper political business, because it is originally private business. Any traveller may taste the water of the Dead sea, any whaling captain may tell the world all about the feeding grounds of the whales and the best methods of catching them, etc., etc., and at very trifling expense, too, while our Congress has spent for such spurious political business, in two years, six millions of dollars! Is not this practice utterly wrong?

Congress is bound to protect private rights and business, but not to embark in it, or divulge whaling, fishing, manufacturing, and scientific arcanas. I have heard bitter complaints of the congressional whaling revelations, because stirring up uncalled-for competition. This apropos.

Patriotic and well-informed statesmen established our Union, and organized the federal government on sound principles, leaving the organization of the municipal affairs to their posterity. But their place is now occupied by speculators in politics. Are only "hard times" raising patriotic men? Is the flower patriotism not perennial, but only centennial?

They well know that the genuine political business, especially that belonging to the states, is not very lucrative, except the salaries are high and afford a chance for accumulation. The pretext for them is that talent is scarce and very high in price; that new offices are required for certain business, as for compromising or

conciliation, insolvencies, banks, railroads, etc., which may be by the ordinary officials attended to as well. But their most successful operations consist in manufacturing bogus political business, which they do by drawing free social business into the sphere of states, for which purpose they even break down constitutional town, county, or city organizations, and consolidate them, as they call this operation, to get larger spheres for monopolizing gas and railroad companies, and all kinds of contracts and jobs beyond the possibility of a control by the people. These tactics are the cause of exorbitant taxes, debts, and inevitable.corruption. Badlygoverned New York city alone, consequently, pays as much in city taxes as a respectable well-managed kingdom in Europe in state taxes. To stem, now, this wrong current in public affairs so detrimental to society, I beseech you, and all men and women, to learn and understand well exactly what is political business and what is not.

In a society organized like ours, on the natural and rational principle of self-government, the following objects are private or free social and not political business, viz: industry, as commerce, manufactures, agriculture, speaking, lecturing, preaching, teaching, printing, painting, sculpturing, etc.: further, education in families not to be interfered with by church or state officials; instruction in schools, academies, colleges, universities, etc.; literature; religion; charity in regard to poor, infirm, sick, etc.; travelling; migration; communications by canals, railroads, etc. With these, and similar affairs, free governments have directly nothing to do, and should provide in regard to them only general laws, for the administration of justice when needed. A free state government indeed never should have the means for such business. In free society men are presumptively perfectly able to manage those objects alone; and this ability constitutes indeed the great difference between free and subject society. Subjects, as such, admit that they expect from their governments that they should do all for them. The French emperor said this, without reserve, of the Frenchmen, in his speech from the throne to the legislative body, in 1857, and therefore condescended to give advice about the fertilizing of the lands in Gascogne. How you would laugh if our president or one of our governors should indulge in such advice! Still, Congress meddles with similar things, as seed, books, etc. ;