sold as the productions of France, Portugal, or Madeira. It is said that more Champagne wine is drunk in Russia than is made in France. More cigars are consumed in this country, under the name of Havanas, than Cuba produces. A great part of the paper made in the United States bears the stamp of London or Bristol. This kind of fraud has scarcely any limit. It does not seem to disturb any man's conscience. Worse than this is the selling things as sound and genuine, which in fact are spurious and often worthless. So wide-spread is fraud in matters of trade that it has become a legal maxim, " Let the buyer take care of himself." He should expect to be cheated, and therefore is re- quired to be always on his guard. It is not uncommon to hear men say to a clergyman, " If I were dealing with a man of busi- ness, I would of course try to cheat him ; for I know he would try to cheat me. But as you are not a man of business, I make an exception in your case, and will deal honestly. "
Under this head of false pretences comes the adulteration of articles of food, of medicine, and of the materials for clothing. The extent to which this is carried is fearful. The English Parlia- ment not long since appointed a commission to examine into the adulterations of articles of food sold by the green grocers in London. The result of the examination was that only six out of every hundred of the specimens collected were pure, *. e., were what they were represented or declared to be. There is no reason to suppose that London is peculiar or preeminent in this kind of fraud. The same complaint is made of the adulteration of drugs. This evil was so great that some governments have taken the prep- aration of medicine for their navies and armies into their own tands. If we are to believe the public papers, the greater part )f the wines and other liquors, spirituous and malt, sold to the >ublic, are not only adulterated but mixed with poisonous drugs, le clothing furnished soldiers in active service, exposed to all Le severities, and changes of weather, was and often is, made of rorthless materials. There would be no end to the enumeration )f frauds of this kind. A prominent English journal recently id that the great part of the revenue of the British government taken up in endeavouring to prevent and detect frauds against le public.
2. Another large class of violations of the eighth command- Lent comprises attempts to take undue advantage of the ignor- mce or of the necessities of our fellow-men. It is of the nature theft if a man sells an article knowing it to be of less value
436 PART m. Ch. XIX. — THE LAW
than he to whom he offers it for sale takes it to be. If a man is aware that the credit of a bank is impaired, or that the affairs of a railroad, or of any other corporation, are embarrassed, and takes advantage of that knowledge, to dispose of the stock or notes of such corporations to those ignorant on the subject, demanding more for them than their actual worth, he is guilty of theft, if the command, " Thou shalt not steal," forbids all unfair acquisition of the property of our neighbour. In like manner all unfair at- tempts to enhance or depress the value of artioles of commerce, are violations of the law of God. Unfounded reports are often designedly circulated to have this enhancing or depressing effect on values, so that advantage may be taken of the unwary or un- informed. It is an offence of the same kind to engross commodi- ties to enhance their price. " He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him : but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." (Prov. xi. 26.) Again it is a violation of the law to take advantage of the necessities of our fellow-men and to demand an exorbitant price for what they may need. In the recent dreadful conflagration in Chicago a thousand dollars were demanded for the use of a horse and wagon for a single hour. It may be said that there is no fixed standard of value ; that a thing may be worth what it costs the man who owns it ; or what it is worth to the man who demands it ; or what it will bring in open market. If an hour's use of the horse and wagon was worth more to the man in Chicago than a thousand dollars, it may be said that it was not unfair to demand that sum. If this be so, then if a man perishing of thirst is willing to give his whole estate for a glass of water, it would be right tc exact that price ; or if a man in danger of drowning should offer a thousand dollars for a rope, we might refuse to throw it to him for a less reward. Such conduct every man feels would be worthy of execration. The fact is that things have an intrinsic value, however deter- mined, which cannot be enhanced because our suffering fellow-men may be in pressing need of them.
3. This commandment forbids also depriving men of property, on the ground of any mere technical flaw, or legal defect in their title. Such defect may be the effect of unavoidable ignorance ; or loss by shipwreck, fire, theft, or other so called accident, of the evidence of their right. The law may in such cases be inexora- ble : it may be on the whole right that it should be so, but never- theless the man who avails himself of such defect to get possession of his neighbour's property, breaks the command which says,