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    divides the trade j but the most pressing is a auestion- concerning the retail price of books . Vor m reasons , a book , as an article oitrade , is published at a fixed price ; the profitof the retailer being- also a fixed quantity , ornearl y so , in the s hape , of an allowance made by the publisher , who ' is represented as being in the position of the manufacturer- Certain of tile retail dealers desire to infringe this rule , by selling the volumes at any price they please , seeking a large range of custom in lieu of a large profit . The upholders of the old plan say for it , that it works well ; in the tradethat

    that it secures steadiness ; it has lasted since the days when Dr . Johnson described it , substantially as it exists now ; and that , upon the whole , it encourages production . These are precisely the arguments in favour of Protection . The opposite party replies with the arguments of Free Trade—that monopoly limits use , restrains demand , and by restraining the offer of exchange , diminishes production . Some very pushing booksellers drive a large trade at a small profit , and succeed ; but the quieter kind prefer the certainty of the old system , and dread a state of things which may place them at the mercy of undersellers .

    It would be a great blessing for the future of Industry , if a class so intelligent and influential as the booksellers could for a moment pause in the heat of contest , and look at the political ceconomy of the question as it bears upon themselves . The Free-traders are right when they say that monopoly restricts production . But that mere free trade will not suffice for the regulation of industry is proved , not merely by the fact that all who are really subjected to it , cry out ; and still more by the fact , that no party really permits free trade to be thoroughly enforced : least of all , would the Manchester men

    permit it . The principle of Free-trade is , that trade be " left alone , " to work out itself . Now , let that principle be fully enforced , and there would be no law for the protection of capital against combinations of the working classes to keep up wages . Carry out the principle , fully , and there ought to be no laws for the protection of credit , which ought to rest solely upon its natural and sole substantial basis , the confidence

    between man and man , and not in the unsubstantial basis of factitious laws . But poll the Manchester school , and we suspect that you would liud scarcely a vote given for that complete execution of the Free-trade principle . In the meanwhile , the partial Free-trade , which the professed advocates of full free trade enforce , inflicts loss and injury on all classes veritably exposed to it , because no class is exposed to it with perfect impartiality and fairness . ' For instance , admit free trade into the book busineS 3 , and no rlrmht vnii will swpftn awav a ,

    number of dealers , perhaps some of the publishers . Is that no evilP We cannot but regard it as an evil of the first magnitude . Yet we cannot rest content with monopoly or Protection while it oppresses production , and deters immense numbers from benefits that they would otherwise enjoy . AVhatthen is the remedy ? The ono which wo never cease to suggest in such cases—the principle of Concert . That alone reconciles the interest of the existing producer , to which Proicctio n specially directs itself , with the interest , t ' consumer , both actual find nossiblo . In

    ' boolc irjlc l < N as in every other , there are three primary classes to bo satisfied—the producer , Hie oxch anger , and the consumer ; and that com-W ° i T 8 tand on a aolid and perdurable oasis wluch equall y concerns itself for all those v , Z , , book-trade , tho throe classes arc pi-oaenfco d by authors , booksellers , and roadora ; tim , !? ftrran go » nont to ondure , must consult uie vveUaro of all three elassos . Such arrango-H ! 1 ? bo difficult . The reader ' s in-1 , , , wou ! 1 > ° consulted in a variety of ways , o yT il ] 1 V the . multiplication of " books , aid is h , ? k r ° ^ 1 lt of P ricos - Tho bookseller class Hollo ,. , j lnt 0 two snb-olassos—tho retail Hour' ^ A tho wll ° loBalo publisher ; and when ch " , n A X ° . 0 <; ail ° rs violate tho rules to soil

    follol ™ 1 ckloflsiy infringe the domain of their upPHolf / *? mxtisfy their own personal and to ™ S P ' ^ th at which inevitably tends provMiJ ? ° Wn tho wllole ran « ° of P ricea ' without it Btnl- S proper arrangomenta for the interests e ommo ?™ ° rn ? tllc wido 8 l W ly of a £ commodit y . The authors are lit le consulted :

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    but it is evident that a very general abatement of prices would injure them , without corresponding benefit to sound literature : it would make middling talents as valuable as any other marketable commodity , and would draw into the field an immense quantity of mediocre invention ; so that it would hardly -benefit literature , and yet might injure existing , authors . The fact is-j that literature in common with the highest kind of art , has but a very imperfect relation to trading laws . In the case of authors , the object should be to leave them as free from direct share in the commercial

    transaction as possible . Probably the French system , of paying so much a volume for every copy printed and sold , is one that best secures the interest of the general run of authors , proportions their gains to the trader ' s , and yet leaves them free . But however the special interests be arranged , it is evident that the best thing for all classes is , that all interests should be brought into one view , and act together , each for the interest of all , and all for the interest of each . It would follow , that in considering their own interests , authors and booksellers should consult that of the consumer or reader .

    We do not mean , of course , that it would in the present state of society be possible to bring all the classes that we have named together bodily ; stragglers there would always be ; but it is possible to apply the principle in guiding the conduct of the majority . The process would be much facilitated b y some centrical machinery —some society , in which the several classes might all meet on a common , field , open most chiefly to the interests of literature , and to the enduring and broad interests of the classes dependent thereon .

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    " POISON "—NOT TO BE TAKEN INTERNALLY . Another stirring controversy is going on in the public press , about the adulteration of beer . The Medical Gazette quoted the statement of a scientific lecturer in Paris , that large quantities of strychnine are manufactured in France , and imported into England , for use in the making of " bitter beer . " A contemporary ^ exploded that " Paris fable of Pale Ale , " admitting that there is adulteration in beer , but denying that good beer can be made by any process of drugging ; and Mr . Bass rushes into the field to confirm that averment . One " M . D . " insinuates that stomachic drugs are used ; on which Mr . Allsop has a tilt at the " fable , " and declares that good malt , hops , and water , with good implements , are the whole materia medica and apparatus of the

    brewer . And this is true , so far as bitter ale is ' con cerned . The palato is a sure test of the genuine article , when it is thoroughly genuine , without adulteration or flaw . It would take a Raphael to forge a Raphael , a Paganini to pass for a Paganmi , and nothing short of pure excellent malt and hops to pass for bitter ale . But what Becomes of the plebeian beer , —the cloying ale , that has a fume like a sugar-cask in a tropical sun , or the impervious porter , if not as

    harmless as liquorice , or as purifying as sarsaparilla , emulating " coldcoloquintidaand tetra mad"P The strychnine , we are told , by an Australian , who vouchsafes an explanation , ^ oes to his country , to destroy the native dog , which is troublesome to the flock master . The boast is difficult to kill : when attacked , ho lies like death , till his aggressor is gone , and then gets up , runs away , and is ready for another fling at tho mutton , —cut and come again . Strychnino secures him . Butif not strychnino , what is it that thoy put

    , into tho alo and porter for the million P Ho who can pay for Bass or Allsop , for Barclay and Perkins , is safe , because adulteration cannot equal excellence ; but how is tho cheap pot drinker to discriminate between flaw and adultoration , between mere inferiority , or want of absolute excollence , and the presenco of alien and noxious drugs P . There is but one way of testing boor : by tho taste , whoro it is really good : and by perfect

    openness in tho making . But perfect openness in the making is incompatible with tho exigencies of ordinary competitive trade . Adulteration is the perquisite of competition . It is only in concert between producer and consumer , as in tho People ' s Flour Mill at Loods , that you hayo absolute socurity against factitiously high price on tho ono hand , or adulteration on tho othor ; or security , again , for tho dealer , against bud debts arid fluctuations of trade .

    THE SHADOW OF THE EAGLE . Fkance , or the residue thereof , is restored once more to a normal condition , after four months experience of a beneficent dictatorship , which few have been preserved alive , or at liberty * -to enjOY with peaceful thanksgiving . The act of the 2 nd of December js now Jiistory : let history , then , be the witness , " time the Nemesis , and posterity

    the judge . What is the normal condition of France ? many will ask . Is it revolution or reaction P anarchy or despotism P popular insurrection or national degradation ? Who shall say—his hand upon the open page of the last troubled years . In the costly and dazzling ceremonial of Monday last , at the Palace of the Tuileries , nothing was omitted that could lend a factitious solemnity to the occasion . The traditions were faithfully copied . The booming of cannon , the clang of cuirassiers , the bursts of martial music , the paraphernalia of gold and velvet , and embroidery , were there to celebrate the nuptials of Fraud and Force , the Salvation of Society , and the rescue

    of Civilization . To exercise mercy , if not to do justice , is , it seems , the privilege of the man who waded in blood to Power through depopulated streets . ^ On the 29 th of March , France , denuded , despoiled , orphaned , is relieved from the intolerable pressure of martial law , and the herds of innocents who swarm in prisons , uncondemned , unconvicted , untried , are handed over "tothe ordinary tribunals , " only too fortunate to have escaped Lambessa or Cayenne . The Constitutional President who mutilated

    the universal suffrage he had sworn to maintain , rose to be a forsworn Dictator by its restoration , duping the People by the lawless repeal of his own false act . The Dictator pauses in the search for victims to be hailed the Emperor of an amnesty ! This is to be cruel ofcly to be kind : but the cruelty and the kindness alike minister to the same falsehood—to the same oppression . Nothing was omitted—did we sayP Yes , the true glory of France , the virtue , the honour , the genius , the eloquence , the fearless independence ,

    the strength of brain , and the courage of heart were conspicuous at that solemnity—by their absence ! Mercenary mutes , hireling scribes , and ignoble dependents!—such are the Senators and Deputies of France , to inaugurate a new era of prosperity . The heroes of a hundred hells , and the bullies of a hundred bagnios , garnished by a few " respectable" subserviencies from the Stock Exchange . These are the elements of your new Imperial Chivalry . Every new document of the Napoleonic rfyime exceeds its predecessor in comprehensive

    mendacity . It cannot be denied that the opening speech of the President is ably and skilfully composed . It has an air of self-possession , of forgiveness , of regret , of forbearance , tranquil , dignified , and generous . It would be difficult to imagine any form of words more reassuring to hearers ignorant of the antecedents , and reckless of the consequences , than many passages of this speech . From the highest point of view this beneficent

    ruler surveys the causes of success and decadence in men and governments . Even The Emfebor is not spared a passing criticism from the man who understands his age . If in 1814 parliamentary institutions wcro doomed tolerable , it was from tho too absolute exercise of power by tho Emperor . If in December , 1851 , the same parliamentary institutions wore found intolerable , it was from their abuse .

    Why does Franco " remain unmoved' at the suppression of all her liberties P Because she has tho right of choosing her own government Can there possibly bo a more satisfactory reply to those who fancied that JFrance remained unmoved because she was deprived of all her powers of llfo P Then follows a perfect ganglion ot amazing voracities .

    " Now tho French itation 1 ms given ( perhaps for tho first time ) to tho world tho imposing Hpectaclo of » great people voting in till liberty tho form of its Government . Thup , tho Chief of tho State , whom you have hoforo you , is truly tho expression of the populcf will . And boforo mo what do I see ? Two Chambers —tlio ono elected in virtue of tho most liberal law « xiufcing in the world ; tho other named by me , it istne , but alto independent , inasmuch as it in irromovaWe . Around mo you observe men of known patriotism rtwl merit , always ready to support mo with their coundla

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    '¦ ¦ - ¦ f ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . Apkii , 3 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . 32 S

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 3, 1852, page 323, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1929/page/15/