135 Hints regarding the Cape of Good Hope. [April 



S{ bargain, are, for the instant, in a state of war. The very 

 ** opening of the business is a declaration of hostilities, and 

 " though habit itself has a conscience, and to go beyond 

 es certain bounds on either side, whether of selfishness or 

 s( liberality, is inconsistent with a trading reputation, yet 

 S( there is a wide scope for opinion respecting the highest 

 * and the lowest price of articles. If the price of any arti- 

 S€ cle rises, the shopkeeper is not bound to continue selling 

 i( at the old rate, because, should prices on the other hand 

 u fall, the purchaser is not bound to pay the same price as 

 u before, till the stock on hand is exhausted. The univer- 

 zs sal rule for the shop as well as for the counting house is 

 u s to buy as cheap and sell as dear as posible.' This all 

 u men can understand and all men can, or should be able 

 fe to, practise, for there is no other principle on which trade 

 <f can be carried on. 



" The opinion that Indians are cheated by a combinati- 

 €( on of natives against them, is we think untenable. There 

 (t is no corporation of trades or professions at the Cape. 

 s< But the same causes will produce the same effects in all 

 u the shops. If every Indian is green, every shopkeeper 

 " will find it easy and safe to squeeze him. Even nettles in 

 " that state may be handled with impunity. Even the 

 " scrupulous shopkeeper will take, not a cheating but, the 

 s( highest price from him. The native may honestly claim 

 " the article at the lowest price, because he has spent time, 

 te which is value, in acquiring that knowledge which the 

 " Indian wants. Is it desirable that ignorance should reap 

 " the fruit of knowledge ? ! ! 1" 



" Now, friend Mull, having perused this document, you know 

 how you stand : you are, for the time being, that is whenever 

 your hand is destined to visit your pocket for the purpose of 

 drawing therefrom coin, much or little, in " a state of war 

 with the natives." You are to avoid being considered 

 " green" and a legitimate subject for " squeezing." You 

 have no right to expect that any thing will be sold to you at 

 the lowest price, because you want " knowledge" of what 

 that price is 1 As the extract is taken from the Cape oracle 

 let me advise you to forget that, where you come from, the 



