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LEFT FBEE TRADE 212 FREIGHT FREE TRADE, the term applied to national commerce when relieved from such interference as is intended to im- prove or otherwise influence it; that is, unrestricted by laws or tariffs, and not unduly stimulated by bounties. In all countries it was long held to be of im- portance to encourage native production and manufactures by excluding from their ov^m markets, and from the colonial markets over which they had control, the competing produce and manufactures of other countries. On this theory the great body of British com- mercial legislation was founded till 1846, when the policy of free trade was intro- duced in grain, and afterward gradually extended by the repeal of the navigation laws in 1849 and other great measures, till nearly all British commercial legis- lation had been brought into conforming with it. Free trade can hardly yet_ be said to have been adopted as a principle of commercial policy by any nation ex- cept Great Britain. As an economic principle, free trade is the direct opposite to the principle or system of protection, which maintains that a State can reach a high degree of material prosperity only by protecting its domestic industries from the competition of all similar foreign industries. To effect this, coun- tries either prohibit the importation _ of foreign goods by direct legislation, or im- pose such duties as shall, by enhancing the price, check the introduction of foreign goods. The advocates of what is called fair trade in Great Britain profess a preference for universal or even com- mon free trade, but seeing that Great Britain is almost the sole free trade country in the world, they declare that a policy of reciprocity is required for the protection of British traders and manu- facturers. See Protection. FREIBERG- (fri'bairg), a mining town of Saxony, 19 miles from Dresden. It is the capital of the mining district of Saxony, and contains a mining acad- emy founded in 1765, with 13 professors, fine scientific collections, among which is the celebrated collection of precious stones amassed by Werner, and a large library. There is a fine relic called the Golden Portal belonging to the ancient Church, which stood on the site of the Gothic cathedral. The town owes its origin to the discovery of silver mines. It is said to have about 150 mines of silver, copper, lead, and cobalt in its vicinity; but their product has fallen off. The manufactures are chiefly metal ware, feather goods, pigments, etc. Here, on Oct. 29, 1762, Prince Henry of Prussia defeated the allied Austrian and Saxon army. Pop. about 36,000. FREIBURG, or FRIBOURG, a canton of Switzerland, between the canton of Berne and the Pays de Vaud; area, 564 square miles; rivers, the Broie and the Sarine. The principal lake is Morat. Freiburg is finely diversified with every kind of scenery, Alpine mountains, and verdant valleys. It lies principally in the basin of the Aar, and in the S. and E. is traversed by branches of the Bernese Alps, in which are Mt. Moleson, Dent de Folligrau, and Dent de Breulaire, re- spectively 6,580, 7,710 and 7,720 feet above the level of the sea. Cattle rearing and dairy husbandry are extensively followed. The annual product of cheese is about 40,000 hundredweight, princi- pally the famous Gruyere cheese. Peat and timber are important products. Of the population, seven-eighths are Roman Catholics. Its capital, of the same name, occupies a wild and romantic situation on the Sarine, 16 miles from Berne. The best buildings are the Jesuits' Church and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas; the latter has a spire of 376 feet in height, and an organ of 7,800 pipes. There are four bridges across the Sarine, one of which is a suspension bridge 905 feet in length. Manufactures straw hats, earthenware, tobacco, playing cards; also tanning and dyeing. Pop. about 14,000. FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, a towi of Gei-many, Republic of Baden; 32 miles N. N. E. of Basel. It is an open, well-built town ; the walls and ditches with which it was formerly surrounded have been converted into promenades and vineyards. The cathedral, one of the most beautiful and perfect specimens of Gothic architecture in Germany, cruci- form in shape, and built of red sand- stone, was begun in 1122, but not com- pleted till 1513. Its W. steeple, 381 feet high, is remarkable for its elegance and lightness. The university was founded in 1455. The chief manufactures are sewing silk, cotton and thread, buttons, artificial beads, chicory, paper, par- quetry, etc. Wine and timber are the chief articles of trade. Freiburg is the seat of a Catholic archbishop. Founded in 1091 by the Duke of Zahringen, and created a town in 1115, Freiburg has repeatedly changed masters ; twice it was given over to France (1679-1697 and 1744-1748). It also played an eventful part in the Thirty Years' War. In 1806 it fell to Baden; and in 1848 the Baden revolutionists were defeated here by the troops of the German confederation. Pop. about 83,000. FREIGHT, formerly a charge paid to the owner of a ship for the carriage of goods, but this term now extends to transportation by land, especially by I'ail-