merchant. In the midst of his harvest, in a time of universal prosperity, while no war was checking his imports or his exports, no earthquake destroying the field of his exertions, or the eternal activity of nature, and no sickness paralyzing the mind, the heart, or the head, of the merchant, there has come a mildew, silently, but with its blackest hue, destroying not only his old stock, his laid up winnowed grain, but prostrating and killing the corn which was to give him and his family present bread, as well as be the seed for future harvests.

When a minister of France was interfering in matters of merchandise, and as he thought, beneficially for the man of commerce, and his country generally, he applied to the merchants, asking them what he could do to advance their prospects and their interests. They had but three short words to answer they emphatically cried out, as with one voice-LET US ALONE! Would to heaven that these plain words, let us alone, could have been sounded like thunder in the ears of those who have, however laudable their motive, (for I stand not here as a politician,) however laudable their motive, bowed down our merchants to the dust, and placed them, like the Israelites, in a fiery furnace. But he who was able to help in times of old, will not forget his true princes of the earth; and they will be delivered from the fiery furnace while they walk with honor.

When Francis the First lost an important battle, he wrote word to his royal mother that all was lost but honor; and so may the merchant now write to his dearest friend. And yet, what is the loss? The philosophical mind will find it to be but the creature of the world; which the world gave, can take away, and may give again. When Job heard of the loss of his sheep and his oxen, he sustained the news with fortitude; and it was only when he heard of the fate of his children, that he rent his mantle and fell to the ground.

I say, nothing is lost, if honor be saved. With this star in his horoscope, he who falls, falleth as a blessed martyr; and, while the martyr, through his trials, rises to a brighter sphere, an honest merchant will rise higher than ever he did. He shall see the winter of his trials pass away, for his star of honor, like a planet in the sky, shines brightest in the coldest night; the spring shall bring new prospects; the summer must come again-for the sun continues to shine in America, as well as in Asia and Europe; and though the honey bee has made no improvement in her cell, nor built according to circumstances, yet man can house himself in the log hut, while fortune waits until his honor is tried; and being tried, they will shake hands once more while mildew, thank heaven, does not come every year. He, like his harvest, will revive; the good men of the earth again gather around him; for his character did not sink when his vessel went down his name," which never yet the breath of calumny hath tainted," shall once more pass in the market as freely as good tidings; and when the autumn, mellowing once more his golden sheaves, bids him lie down in peace, his character will remain to show what constitutes a merchant-in the proud language of Milton, "God and good men will not let it die;" for these good men will say of him, "in all times-under all circumstances-upon the crowded mart-in the silent place of calculation-o'er the sea, and on the land, he had the virtues and the talents that constitute a merchant. In the hour of his youth, he had decision of character and truth; in the mid-day of prosperity, he was honorable; in the night season of misfortune, he was a man of honor. When, in the new day, he walked once more amongst us, we saw that upon his breast outshining the badge of chivalry; we saw still there the jewel, honor. He

did not prefer the friend who risked his money with him, and sacrifice the widow and the orphan, although he did cause them to shed tears but it was only when he died, for then they dropped freely upon his grave, while grateful feelings followed him to heaven."

Gentlemen, young merchants-go forth with decision of character; truth; a fair ambition; mathematical calculation; philosophy and scholarship-but, above all, with honor, and my life upon it, you will succeed, be happy, and be beloved; and I may, perhaps, have the satisfaction of knowing that my weak words have found out for you some of those attributes which must help to constitute each one of you a true merchant.

ART. II. - THE MORAL LAW OF CONTRACTS.

Moral Views of Commerce, Society, and Politics; twelve Discourses, by ORVILLE DEWEY. New York: 1838. D. Felt & Co.

GREAT spirits are abroad in the world, who are silently but effectually working an important reformation in opinions of religious belief and religious duties. The spirit of intellectual liberty is triumphing over prejudice, old fastidious forms, and narrow sectarian views; men are taught to believe, that religion should not be confined to cloisters and temples, to be sought out at particular times and seasons, but that its gentle spirit should pervade the daily walks of life, and continually exercise, by its divine presence, a benign influence upon the actions and conduct of man with his fellow man. Pulpit discourses are no longer confined to doctrinal points and doctrinal discussions, but now embrace morals, traffic, and politics, and thereby the public mind is immediately addressed on its moral and religious duties and dangers. Old prepossessions based upon error are uprooted, and the goddess, of religion divested of her sable hood and stole, and austere countenance, is clothed in the attractive garb and winning features of innocence. "The gentle dove within her breast

Looks through her soft and serious eyes,

And on her forehead glimpses rest
Of glory from the skies!"

Foremost among the enlightened clergy of the present day, who in effecting the changes to which we have alluded, are doing infinite service to the cause of christianity, are Channing, Emmerson, Beecher, and the author of the volume before us. Mr. Dewey has prefaced his discourses with some clear and very forcible remarks on the propriety of his subjects for the pulpit; he would not be supposed to forget that the pulpit has to deal with topics and questions of duty, that go down into the depths of the human heartwith faith, and repentance, and love, and self denial, and disinterestednessand that its principal business is thus to make the fountain pure. But religion has an outward form as well as an inward spirit. That form is the whole lawful action of life. And to cut off half of that action from all public and positive recognition-what is it but to consign it over to irreligion, to unprincipled license, and worldly vanity? There is time enough in the pulpit for all things. Nay, it wants variety. It is made dull by the restriction and reiteration of its topics. It would gain strength by a freer and fuller grasp of its proper objects. The evil is, that sermons, pulpits, priests all the active agents that are laboring in the service of religion

are by the public judgment, as well as their own choice, severed from the great mass of human actions and interests.

We shall at present confine our remarks and extracts to the first discourse, "On the moral law of contracts." After a few brief remarks on the nature of his discourses, Mr. Dewey proceeds:

"This country presents a spectacle of active, absorbing, and prosperous business, which strikes the eye of every stranger, as its leading characteristic. We are said to be, and we are, a people, beyond all others, devoted to business and accumulation. This, though it is often brought against us as a reproach, is really an inevitable result of our political condition. I trust that it is but the first development, and that many better ones are to follow. It does, however, spring from our institutions: and I hold, moreover, that it is honorable to them. If half of us were slaves, that half could have nothing to do with traffic. If half of us were in the condition of the peasantry of Europe, the business transactions of that half would be restricted within a narrow sphere, and would labor under a heavy pressure. But where liber

ty is given to each one to act freely for himself, and by all lawful means to better his condition, the consequence is inevitably what we see-an universal and unprecedented activity among all the classes of society, in all the departments of human industry. The moral principles then, applicable to the transaction of business, have strong claims upon our attention, and seem to me very proper subjects of discussion in our pulpits.

"There are moral questions too, as we very well know, which actually do interest all reflecting and conscientious men who are engaged in trade. They are very frequently discussed in conversation; and very different grounds are taken by the disputants Some say that one principle is altogether right; and others, that another and totally different one is the only right principle. In such circumstances, it seems to me not only proper but requisite, for those whose office it is to speak to men of their duties, that they should take up the discussion of these as they would any other moral questions. I am obliged to confess, that we are liable, scholastic and retired men as we are, to give some ground to men of business, for anticipating that our reasonings and conclusions will not be very practical or satisfactory. I can only say, for myself, that I have, for some time, given patient and careful attention to the moral principles of trade, and I have often conversed with men of business that I might understand the practical bearings and difficulties of the subject; that I have also read some of the books in which the morality of contracts is discussed; and although a clergyman, I shall venture, with some confidence as well as modesty, to offer you my thoughts on the points in question. I say the points in question; and I have intimated that there are points in debate, questions of conscience in business, which are brought into the most serious controversy. I have even known conscientious and sensible men, themselves engaged in trade, to go to the length of asserting, not only that the principles of trade are immoral and unchristian, but that no man can acquire a property in this commerce without sacrificing a good conscience; that no prosperous merchant can be a good Christian. I certainly think that such casuists are wrong; but whether or not they are so, the principles which bring them to a conclusion so extraordinary, evidently demand investigation.

"In preparing to examine this opinion, and indeed to discuss the whole subject, it will not be improper to observe in the outset, that trade, in some form, is the inevitable result of the human condition. Better, it has been

said on the supposition already stated-better that commerce should perish than Christianity; but let it be considered whether commerce can perish. Nothing can be more evident than that the earth was formed to be the theatre of trade. Not only does the ocean facilitate commerce, but the diversity of soils, climes, and products, requires it. So long as one district of country produces cotton, and another corn; so long as one man lives by an ore-bed which produces iron, and another, on pasture lands which grow wool, there must be commerce. In addition to this, let it be considered that all human industry inevitably tends to what is called 'the division of labor.' The savage who roams through the wilderness, may possibly, in the lowest state of barbarism, procure with his own hand all that suffices for his miserable accommodation-the coat of skins that clothes, the food that sustains, and the hut that shelters him. But the moment that society departs from that state, there necessarily arise the different occupations of shepherd, agriculturist, mechanic, and manufacturer, the products of whose industry are to be exchanged; and this exchange is trade. If a single individual were to perform all the operations necessary to produce a piece of cloth, and yet more, garment of that cloth, the process would be exceedingly slow and expensive. Human intelligence necessarily avails itself of the facility, the dexterity, and the advantage every way, which are to be obtained by a division of labor. The very progress of society is indicated by the gradual and growing development of this tendency."

It is a truth universally admitted, that there is a natural propensity in man to trade." It is common to all men," says Adam Smith," and to be found in no other race of animals. No body ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another, with another dog." Trade then being admitted an inevitable part of humanity, Mr. Dewey next proceeds to examine the principles that are to regulate it the moral law of contracts; and the question is, whether in making contracts, it is right for one party to take any advantage, or to make any use of his superior sagacity, information, or power of any kind? He first inquires, how are we to settle this question?

"Does the natural conscience declare them? Is there any instinctive prompting of conscience, that can properly decide each case as it arises in the course of business? Is there any voice within, that says clearly and with authority, "thou shalt do thus, and so?" I think not. The cases are not many, in any department of action, where conscience thus reveals itself. But in business they are peculiarly rare, because the questions there, are unusually complicated. You offer to sell to your neighbor an article of merchandise. You are entitled, of course—i. e. in ordinary circumstances. to some advance upon what it cost you. But what this is, depends upon many circumstances. Conscience will hardly mark down the just price in your account book. Conscience, indeed, commands us to do right, but the question is, what is right? This is to be decided by views far more various and comprehensive, than the simple sense of right and wrong.

"The scriptures, like conscience, are a general directory. They do not lay down any specific moral laws of trade. They command us to be upright and honest; but they leave us to consider what particular actions are required by those principles. They command us to do unto others as we would have them do to us; but still this is not specific. A man may unreasonably wish that another should sell him a piece of goods at half its value. Does it follow that he himself ought to sell on those terms? The truth is, that the golden rule, like every other in scripture, is a general maxim. It simply requires

VOL. I. NO. IV.

39

us to desire the welfare of others, as we would have them desire ours. But the specific actions answering to that rule, it leaves us to determine by a wise discretion. The dictates of that discretion, under the governance of the moral law, are the principles that we seek to discover.

"Neither, on this subject, can I accept, without question, the teachings of the common law; because, I find, that its ablest expounders acknowledge that its decisions are sometimes at variance with strict moral principle. I do not think it follows from this, that the general principles of the common law are wrong, or abet wrong. Nay, I conceive that they may approach as near to rectitude as is possible in the circumstances, and yet necessarily involve some practical injustice in their operation. This results, in fact, from their very utility, their very perfection, as a body of laws. For it is requisite to their utility, that they should be general, that they should be derived from precedents and formed into rules; else, men will not know what to depend upon, nor how to govern themselves; and there would neither be confidence, nor order, nor society. But general rules must sometimes bear hard upon individuals the very law which secures justice in a thousand cases, may, and perhaps must, from the very nature of human affairs and relationships, do injustice in one. Indeed, the law of chancery, or of equity, has been devised on purpose to give relief. But even chancery has its rules which sometimes press injuriously upon individual interests; and no human laws can attain to a perfect and unerring administration of justice. For this perfect justice, however, we seek. We are asking what it is to do no wrong to our fellow man, whether the law permits it or not. We are asking how we shall stand acquitted, not merely at the bar of our country, but at the bar of conscience and of God."

The language of legal writers upon this subject is next taken into consideration. It is common with those writers to make a distinction between moral and legal justice. Up to a certain extent the law protects a man in doing wrong; beyond a certain extent it will not protect him. This distinction is founded on the policy of law, and the policy of trade. "In law," says Pothier, "a party will not be permitted to complain of slight offences, which he, with whom a contract is made, has committed against good faith; otherwise there would be too many contracts to be rescinded, which would open the way to too much litigation, and would derange commerce." "The common law," says Chancellor Kent, "affords to every one reasonable protection against fraud in dealing; but it does not go the romantic length of giving ndemnity against the consequences of indolence and folly, or a careless indifference to the ordinary and accessible means of information."

Legal expediency, our author very justly observes, is not to be so construed as to warrant the supposition that it lends a sanction to what is wrong. It may, from necessity, permit or protect fraud, but does not abet it. A man is not to consider himself an honest man, simply because the law gives him deliverance. For the law cannot take cognizance of the secret intentions, nor of slight deviations from truth. If every man who says he has got a bad bargain, and who thinks he has been cheated, could be heard in court, our tribunals would be overwhelmed with business. No human tribunal can descend to the minutiae of injustice. But the law does not sanction what it does not undertake to prevent, any more than the infinite Providence sanctions those abuses which arise from its great law of freedom.

Passing by several interesting preliminary observations, we come to the most important topics of the discourse, embracing monopoly, usury, superior