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€'o n fires sio uafr
J ■ .* h S fSFEEI H
on the TARIFF.
We have heard much, in tiie course of this
<l. hale, of the violation of public faith, and
the pledge of protection which, it is alleged,
this Government has given to the manufactu
rers. If this matter had not {teen so gravely
insisted on, it would be enough, perhaps, fo
say, that there can he no vc-t'ed interest in a
public injury* Bat let us look iido it a little.
1 am not going hack, with tin gentleman from
Massachusetts (.Mr. Davis) to 1789,wh0 chose
( how happily it* becomes mo not to say) the
first Tariff to exemplify protection, by duties
often percent, as lie had chosen tiie previous
j er.ud of exhaustion, discord, and conflicting
> regulations, >i3 a fair example <jf the ef
fects of free trad :-.
The restrictive system is more plainly to
be trace i to the embargo, r.un-intorcouse,
non-importation, war anti double dirtier*.—
“ hen peace came, these duties were about
te expire. Anew system of revenue was to
ho devised, and the manufacturers,threatened,
as they believed, with ruin, earnestly and
humbly entreated that the amount required
ns revenue should be so imposed as to enable
them to stand the shock*
It was under such circumstances that the
fourteenth Congr ss assembled. At that time
I had the honor to be a member of tiiis House.
It was an honor then. What it is now, 1 shall
not sav. It is what the twenty-second Con
gress have been pleased to make, i have
neither time, nor strength, nor ability, to
speak of the legislators of that day, as they
deserve; nor fs this the tit occasion. Vet
theeoldest or most careless nature cannot re
cur to such associates, without some touch of
generous feeling, which in qnickei spirits,
would" kindle into high and almost holy en
thusiasm.
Pre-eminent—yqt not more proudly than
humbly pre-eminent—among them, was a
gentlemen from .South Carolina, now no mor- 1 ;
Ihe purest, the calmest, the most philosophi
cal of our country's mod' rn statesmen. One
no less remarkable for gentleness of manners
and kindness of heart, than for that passion
less, unclouded intellect, which rendered liim
deserving of the praise—if ever man deserv
ed it —of merely standing by a ltd letting rea
son argue for him. The true patriot, incap •-
b!e of ali selrish ambition, who shunned of
fice and distinction, yet served his country
faithfully, because beloved her. He, 1 mean,
who consecrated, by his example, the noble
precept, so entirely bis own, that the first
station in the republic was neither to be
sought aft' r nor and ‘dined—a sentiment -so
just and so liappuy expressed, that it contin
ues to be repeated, Ik cause it cannot be im
proved.
Tfifere was, also, a gentleman from Mary
land, whose ashes now slumber in your ceme
tery. It is not long since 1 stood by his tomb
And recalled him, as he was then, in all tiie
pride and pow. rof his. genius. Among the ■
first of hia countrymen and cotemporaries, as
a jurist and statesman, first as an orator, he
'vas, if no? truly eloquent, the prince of rhe
toricians. Nor did the soundness of his logic j
sillier any thing, by a comparison with the
richness and classical purity of the language I
in which ho copiously poured forth those fig-j
mative illustrations of his argument, which !
enforced while they adorned it. But let oth- j
cm pronounce his eulogy. 1 must not. I fee! i
Cs if Ins mighty spirit still haunted the scene
of his triumphs, and when I dared to wrong
them, indignantly rebuked me.
These names have become historical.—
There were others, of whom i is more dilli
cult to speak, because yet within the reach of
praise or envy. For one who was, or aspired >
to be, a politician, it would be prudent, per-1
haps wise, to avoid all mention of these men. <
"j neiracts, their words, their thoughts, their'
very looks, have become subjects of party
controversy. But ho whose ambition is of a
higher or a low order, has r.o nets] of such rc
eei ve. Talent is of no party exclusively; nor
i ■? justice.
Among them, but not of there, in tlic fear- j
fa! and solitary sublimity of genius-, stood a
gentleman from Virginia—whom it were su
perfluous to designate. Whose speeches were
universally read ? Whose satire was univer
sally feared ! Upon whose accents did this
habitually listless and unlistening House
hang, so frequently, with wyapt attention 7
YV hose fame was identified with that body for
so long a period ? Who was a more dexterous
debater? a riper scholar? better versed in
the politico of our own country 1 or deeper
read in rite history of others? Above all, who
' ho was more thoroughly imbued with the
idiom of the English language—more cflfti
plctoly master of its strength, and beauty,and
delicacy?' or more capable of breathing
thoughts of flame in words of magic, and tones
of silver?
There was, a!<o, a son of South Carolina,
st'd-1 in the service of rite republic, then, un
doubtedly, the most influential member of
this House. *With a genius eminently met
aphysical, he applied to politics his habits of
analysis, abstraction, and condeftsalion, and
thus gave to the problems of Government
sc:neti.*.g of that grandeur which the higher
mathematics have borrowed from astronomy
'Eli? wings of his mind were rapid, but capri
cious, and there \vcre times when the light
which flashed from them as they passed, glan
ced like a mirror in the sun, only to dazzle
the beholder. Embossed with his subject—
earctajs ef hi? words—his loftiest flights of
e loquence w; re sometimes followed by collo
quial or provincial barbarisms. lint, though
often incorrect, he was always fascinating.—
Language, with him, was merely the scaffold- 1
If.? of thought—employed to raise a dome,
which, like Angelo's, iie suspended in the
L •.•livens.
It is equally imnossifde to forgot, or to
mmt, a gentleman from Kentucky, whom par
ice made'the fruitful tdjjic of un
measured panegyric and detraction. Of san
guine temp rauienf, and impetuous ehatac
t‘.r, iiis declamation was impassion* and, his re
mits acrimonious. Deficient in refinement
rather than in strength, his style was loss ele
gant and correct than animated and impress- j
ro. L-ut it swept away your feelings with it,
like a mountain torrent, and tnc tore oi m,
stream I it yo.i litti leisure to remark u, on
its clearness. ILs ostiiii.t,: ot human nalur
was, probably, not very high, li may be teat
bis past associations hau not tended to exalt
it. Unhappily, it is, perhaps, more likely to
have been lowered than raised by bis subse
quent experience, l'ct then,and even since,
except when that imprudence, so natu.ai to
genius, prevailed over his better judgement,
he had, generally, the goo 1 sense,-or good
taste, to adopt a iofty'tone of sentiment,'wheth
er he spoke ol measures, or of men, of friend
or adversary. On many occasions lie was no
ble and captivating. One, I can never forget.
It was the fine burst of indignant eloquence
with which he replied to the taunting ques
tion, “what have we gained by the war >”
Nor may I pass over in silence a" represen
tative from New Hampshire, who has almost
oiditcral and all memory of that distinction, by
the superior fame he ids attained as a .Sena
tor from Massachusetts. Though then but
in the bud of Ins political life, und hardly
conscious, perhaps, of his own extraordinary
powers, lie gave pionfise of the greatness he
lias Since achieved. The same vigor of
thought; the same force of expression; the
short sentences; the calm, cold, collected
manner ; the air of solemn dignity ; the deep
sepulchral unimpassioned voice; all have been
developed only not changed, even" to the in
tense bitterness of his fiigid irony. The
piercing coldness of his sarcasms was indeed
peculiar to him ; they seemed to ho emana
tions from of the icy ocean. No
thing could be at once so novel and so power*
erful—it wns frozen mercury becoming as
caustic as red hot iron.
1 might enumerate among the ornaments of
that body a venerable patriot from Massachu
setts, honored with the friendship of Wash
ington ; conspicuous gentlemen from Penn
sylvania, ( Messrs. Sergeant and Hopkmson ;)
two eminent \ lrgmians, (Messrs. Barbour and
Shcffey,) a highly gif: and sou of North Caro
lina (Mr. Gaston;) and a gently nun from Lou
isiana, strongly marked in his character ami
in his phraseology, as his speeches and his
litters from Paris will bear witness, (Mr.
Robertson.) 1 might, perhaps I ought to add
a distinguished fellow-citizen, townsman, and
personal friend of my own, to whom nature
1 has been prodigal ofi*!l her bounties, and who
for grace of manner, felicity ofstv.ie, sweet
ness and flexibility of voice, well chosen ar
guments, and courteous yet scornful re-fort,
has left behind him no s perior and few
equals. Tilts much of him must save been
said by any hut a false chronicler. More J
might have added with perfect trdili. But 1
will not be suspected of partiality; besides,
there would be arrogaqce in supposing there
is any one in this country to whom he is not
already advantageously known, save those
who have never heard, and will never hear
of me.
Bucn were (lie men to whom this question
| ' vas submitted, and from whom the celebra
! ted pledge of protection is attempted tone
I derived, \ihat was that pledge? How far
i did it extent. ? This will be best seen by an
i examination of the public documents and
1 speeches of that day. The then Secretary of
(.Mr. Dallas) whose zeal tor the protection of
manufactures was as well known as Ins abil
ities and urbanity, presented a report, in
which he divided the American manufac
tures into three principal classes. First class
or almost woolly, supplied the demand for do
mestic use and consumption. Second cl Ass,
Manufactures which, having been recently
or partially established, did not, at that tjme,
supply’the demand for domestic use and con
sumption, -but which, with proper cultivation
wore capable of being matured to the whole
extent of the demand. Third class. Manu
factures which were so slightly-cultivated, as
to leave the demand o'* iecountry wholly,or
almost wholly, dependent upon foreign sour
ces for a supply.
In Ihofrst class the Secretary placed cabi
net wares, and all manufactures of wood ;
carriages, cables and cordage, hats of all
kinds,xind straw bonnets, iron castings, fire
and side arms, cannon, musk< ts, and pistols,
window glass, leather and manufactures of
leather, paper of every description, blank
books and printing types.
In the second class he included only cotton
goods of the coarser kinds, woollen goods of
the coarser kinds generally, and soma of the
finer kinds, metal buttons, plated ware, iron
manufactures of the larger kinds, shovels,
spades’axes, hoes, scvtlies, and nails, large
and small, pewter, Lin, copper and brass man
ufactures, alum, copperas, spirits, beer, ale,
and porter.
In the third class wire embraced cotton
manufactures ot the finer kin<i£, muslins,nan
keens, chintzes, stained and printed cottons
of all descriptions, linen cambrics, lawns;
hrinpencloths, sail cloth, Russian and Ger
man linens; silk goods of all sorts, woollen
goods of many descriptions worsted goods of
all kinds, stuffs, camlets, blankets, carpets
and carpeting, hosiery of all descriptions,
gloves, hardware, and iron mongery, except
ing the larger articles, cutlery, pins, readies,
china ware, earthen .ware, porcelain, glass of
all kinds, except w indow glass and vials.
With respect to the first class they u’ere
coiisiderco so firmly established that duties
might lie freely imposed upon the importation
ot similar articles, amounting, or nearly a
mounting to a prohibition, w ithout endange
ringa scarcity fn tiie supply ; w hile the com
petition among the domestic manufacturers
alone, would sufficiently protect the consu
mer from exorbitant prices; giaduating the
rates ofthc market generally, bv the standard
ol a fair profit upon the capital and labor em
ployed. The prohibitory duty recommended
on tiiis class was 31 per I'cnt.
'Flic second class was admitted by the Sec
retary to present some embarrassment in the
’formation of a taritl'; but he thought it to In
in Lie power of tiie Legislature, by a well
timed and w ell directed patronage, to place
them, within a very limited period, upon
the looting en which the manufactures in
cluded in the first class hud been so happily
placed, Iry tlio lapse of a few years, and the
perseverance of a comparatively few individ
uals. He expreised an opinion that en
couragement ty domestic maimivioturcs should
be afforded rather uy protecting duii s tiian
•y bounties : and maintained tiiat, aitnou n
some indulgence 51i0..!.. always be requited,
ior any attempt so to realize the national
independence, in tlu department 6f manu
factures, the sacrifice couid not I e eiiiier
great or lasting. Tae lueo iveniences of tiie
day would be amply compensated by future
advantages. The dutii s lie recommended
for protection were from 28 to 33-J p< r cent.
In regard to the third class in- admitted
that they did not require any further alien
fiori than to adjust the rate of dirty to the u
ino.unt of revenue required. They had not
yet been the objects of American capital, in
dustry and enterprise, to any important de
gree ; and the policy of Government was then
directed to the protection and not the creation
of inunufacturcs-
Now it will bercmaiked, in relation to the
principal items in controversy, t.mt protection
was claimed aiui pledged only lot cot on goods
of the courser kinds ; woollen gooa.s of the
coarser kinds generally, and some of the finer
kinds; iron manufactures of the larger kinds,
such as shovels, axes, spades, scythes, &c.—
That protection was proposed to be afforded
by duties ranging from twenly-i ight to thirty
three [ier cent., and by a minimum on cotton
goods ; the sole and avowed effect of which
was, to prohibit the introduction of East In
dia cottons. In the bill as ultimately pass
ed, a small reduction in the rates oi wooilens
and cottons was made. Iron was proposed to
he admitted at fifteen dollars a ton. .Sheet,
rod, hoop, and rolled iron, in bars or bolts and
anchors, at thirty dollars a ton. Cotton bag
ging at twenty percent, sail cloth at the same;
which in the act was reduced to fifteen per
emit. On brow n sugar two and a half cents
P' r pound, which, during tiie passage of tiie
bill, was increased to three.
This, construe it as you w ill, is the full ex
tent of the celebrated pledge of protection
said to hate been given. This is the tariff,
for voting in favor of w hich, some of the’Sou
thern gentlemen, and, indeed, the whole Sou
thern States, have been praised for their mag
nanimity, or taunted for their inconsistency,
just as it suited the temper or the interests of
tiicir opponents. On this point, lam a dis
interested witness. I have no part eitlu rin
tin -blame or commendation. .My colleague
(Mr, Forsyth) ami mysojf vainly endeavored
to reduce the duty on cotton and uoojieti ma
nufactures to twenty per cent. Upon oer
motions for that purpose, Mr. Lowndes, who
is now claimed as a patron of protection, vo
ted withus; and when we failed, my col
league anti myself voted against the passage
of the bill.
Now, sir, I totally deny that any one can
acquire a permanent rightrto the continuance
ot taxes on his fellow-citizens unless he is a
public reditor. If the high duties are inju
rious,unjust,or unnecessary,no ou<s can claim
their continuance as a matter of right. But
waiving that point, I say if there was any
any pledge given by our legislation fi. 1816,
that pledge has been amply redeemed* if
faith lias been broken, it has been broken not,
by us, but by the manufacturers. It the com
promise of interests then made has been
violated, vve did not violate it, but they
themselves. Sir, I, for one Southern man,
am willing tp go back to the tariff of 1816,
Will the representatives of tiie manufacturing
States go with me ? You know they will not!
Sir, I repeat it, the compromise has been de
parted from by our adversaries. Now for the
proof. Under the influence of their repeated
claunors and solicitations, the duty on cot
tons has been increased, and the duty on
woollens and iron more (ban doubled. I
might say, indeed, the duties have been ad
vanced upon every thing winch any manufac
turer in this country made, or said ho could
make, if he had adequate protection ; that is
if you loaded the foreign article with a prohi
bitory t x. Now, sir, let me particularize.—
The pledge was in favor iff cours cottons. —
Have they not excluded tiie East India fab
rics ? Have they not entire possession of the
home market? Is it not ostentatiously repea
ted iisipte ad nauseam, that tncy need no pro
tect on, even by those who insist on its con
tinuance ? Very well, sir : Wnat is now ask
ed? May, we .must protect fine cottons,
chintzes, calico s, and punted goods. Sir, i
can find : o.pledge for tiiat. 1 turn to Mr. Dal
las’s report, and I find tuese enumerat and, a
moitg the third class ; cotton manufacture sof
the finer kinds ; muslins, nu keens, chintzes,
stained and printed cottons of all descriptions;
cud he tells us that these are subjects for rev
enuomerely ; that they are not tiie objects of
American capital, industry and enL rprise,
and that the pole y of the Government is to
protect and not to create manufactures. Now
sir, in 1524, at the instance of tae manufac
turers,-the duty on cottons was raised, so as
to enable them to make finer goods. In 1828
they wanted further protection on finer goous
and on calicoes, <kc. and the duty necessary
toafibid them protection upon printed fabrics
was stated, by on of their number, before
the Committee, on oath,.at seventy per cent!
In 1832, we are to give whatevi r is requisite
upon tiiis pledge of 1816 !! This one exam
ple may serve tor all. Sir, the obvious truth
is, that us soon as the profits of the manufac
turers were reduced in the class of articles
which were ftilU - protected, such as coarse
cottons, to a fair average with other profits,
they began'to devise the means of escaping,
from the effects of domestic competition, by
manufacturing a finer article, which Congress
in \\crc iU Ijur.d, almost required to pro
tect, in the sacred name of public faith, <kiip
o'i the stale pretence of the pledge of 1816. i
might enumerate several articles that,in 1816,
wire subjected to a revenue duty, because
they did not enter into competition with our
manufactures; which in 1824 and 1828 claim
ed and obtained protective or prohibitory du
ties, now proposed to be continued or increa
sed. Among them, besides cotton and wool
len goods, arc rnanufactur s of hemp, china
ware, and glass, hardware and ironmongery.
,1 will not .trouble the committee by naming
the articles. They embrace almost every
thing to which protection was not pledged in
1816, and include all that the citizens of the
.South feel particularly oppressive—the iron
and manufactures of iron, which they use on
their faints or plantations,, their cotton Lag-
ami the ciothilig tor tin ms ives an |
in. ir slaves. 1 may not, However, omit to i,o
tico another curious dt nurture from the com
promise ot 1816, on the part of the r.ianufac
iur>rs. Thu pledge of protection then,if any.
Was to the coarser woollen fabrics, and a few
of the tin-T kinds, li has since been found,
tuut, in the coarser fabrics,our manufacturers
cannot compete with the cheaper wool and
cheaper labor of foreign countries: and it is
proposed, as a great boon to the South, to
give up the duties on pi ibis, cost mg. not more
than thirty-five cents a square yard; and on
blankets costing not more than seventy-five
cents each; that is to sav, upon such clothing
as no Southern plant r would give hisflaves,
unless ue intended to be indicted for cruelty
to them ; and such blankets as are called sad
dle blankets, intended for horses, not men ;
provided we will Consent, in return, to in
crease the duty upon other woollens to eigh
ty jh r rent!
But what farther were we tol 1 in 1816 ?
Sir, we were told and ! refer to'the report ot
the gentleman from Virginia who sits near
me, ( :r. Newton,*) then Chairman o the
Committee of Commerce and Manufactures
—(these great interests itad not yet been di
vorcod) —to the-members of tiiis House vvi.o
Were in Congress then, and to the speeches
of the manufacturers’ friends at that time, to
prove it. \V were told that, in a few years,
rudiiwi icturcs would require no protection ;
they would supply the country.and even pay
internal taxes if necessary. Accordingly, the
duties of 181(t were upon a -rogressivcly di
minishing scale. Not one of them, how ever,
has been allowed to diminish, w hile those on
every important manufacture have been great
ly increased. Have l net a right then to say
it is not us, hut the manufactun rs, w ho have
violated the pledge and compromise oi 1816 ?
As to the taunts which are thrown out a
gainst Southern gentlemen who voted f r the
tariff of 1816,1 might disregard them, as per
sonally they concern me not; but so far as
they concern the’argum-nt, what are they ?
With what are tire Soulln rn men reproached?
They voted for a tariff, partly for revenue,
partly protective, intended to operate lor a
limited term,and progressively diminishing.
They have seen it increased, and declared
perpetual. They have borne the evil for six
ten years; and now, these who have reap. <i
tire benefit during the same period, upbraid
them with their gem.rosily !
As to the charge of inconsistency, they
might well retort it. flow many oi tiie must
eloquent and able friends of free trade troiu
the East and North, at that day, are now a
raor.g the advocates of restrictions and prohib
itions ? Sir, it were an unprofitable inquiry,
and l will not pursue it.
Sir, it has been said again & again,that tt is
1 impossible the inequality of taxation and ex
penditure should be so great and shock sas
it is represented, or its effects so desolating as
they have been described; and rt is urged,
that no population would have submitted tinrs
long to a system so pernicious. Bir, swell a
condition of tilings never would have been
endured, for any length of tune, by a peopb
among w! oin slavery did not exist. But
; where it does, the pressure ol excessive taxa
tion and unwise restrictions are first felt by
the imist r, not by tne slave. The latter
I must, r: cciye suirsistence in ret tun for his ia
! her, ami can seldom received more. In couii
■ triCs which employ free labor, distress fulls
j first and heaviest on wages. But the slave
j receives no wages. Where slavery exists,
therefore, the first shock is on capital. ' >p
; tiression, therefore, may be endured longer,
j because it bears upon a class w ho li ive furl her
to fall. But the moment it begins to affect
I the slave, the ruin is utter and irremediable.
But we are told, and we have heard it
more than once, tiiat the South have altogeth
er mistaken the cause of their distress ; it ali
arises from over -production. The doctors who
feel our pulse, shake their heads, and thus
| learnedly name our disease, remind one o!
; the political quacks so facetiously -described
! by the witty poet in his Odes on Cash, Corn,
and Cathojics.
But to be serious; the proposition involves
a curious paradox. We hear, arid there is
scarcely any one who doubts it, that the su(-
•ferings of the old world arise principally from
an over-crowded population. Philosophers
tell us that there is a tendency in population
to increase faster than food, and consequently,
in processes tune,it presses against the means
!of subsistence. This law, soclcarly and ela
borately developed by Mr. Malthus, is now
i generally received as a fundamental truth, if
| there be any such in political economy. If
| there be none, then our adversaries can never
jconvinci us that taxation isu blessing. Well,
[sir, there are too many people iit Europe.
; Over population is their evil. Ho a is it in
America? H re we have too much cotton
rice, flour, tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa, fish,
beef, pt rk, and every tiling else. Ove r-pro
duction is our evil. That is to say, there is
in tiie aggregate of Europe and ‘America, too
many mouths, and too much to put in them;
too much to wear, & too many backs to put it
on. Do not gentlemen perceive that increased
production is tiie natural cause of increased
demand? TANARUS, at, though there may be too much
of one article, thete cannot be an over-produc
tion of every thing? Is there any doubt tiiat
evefy one would have:double as much of the
comforts and luxuries of life if he could? Is
there a laboring man in this country who
would not wear a broui cloth coal if lie could
get it? Is there an English loborer who
would not have lijrlf a dozen calico gowns lor
his wife,and a dozen cotton shirts for himself,
if he could aflbrd it ? Would iie not sinuki
tiis pipe, if tobacco was within Ins reach,every
night, and .cat a rice pduding, if it was in
his power, every Sunday ? Would he not, in
like manner, consume more coffee and sugar
if he could, just as we would consume mon
cotton and linen and woolen goods, and hard
ware, and cutlery, if we con and 1 How i/..
then, that, where there is abundance of all the
necessarii sof lile, a sup* or agticul
tinal produce in on part of the world, and an
excess of population and manufactures in an
other, the one should net he allowed to ex-
change the products ol his cheap labor tor
\ <be i>rudu<;ts of the other’s rich soil ? Sir, it
:o j.ol over-production that afflicts the i:tw ,
work!, oi <>,er-|>Oj>'jidtiOi! the old, so much us
t:ie lolly and wiono'duess oi i ulers ami-oUitt s
mci:—txcessit- taxation, ant! unwise restric
tions on imbi-ir.. Too much is taken troui
tile fruits o; labor, .md too little liberty left
to it. The reiut.ui* s arc tree trim. und encup
Governments. O-.c cannot help remarking
in this, as in many ollmr instances, bow much
the order of Providence, bencuccnt ana beau
tiful in itself, is thwarted by the- ignorance
and way war ness of man !
On fresh soils, one man can make foot!
for six—there will therefore be surplus food
for five. At ihe same time,from the imper
fect state of manufactures, it may take three
or fou rto make clothes for six. As the best
lands ere taken up, and the worst are brought
into use, it will take rive men to make lood
for the same number. But, owing to the in
creased po er ofmachin ry by this tune, one
man can make clothes lor six, ami in this vi ay,
tiie improvements m machinery tom; to sup
port population, by aiding it to overcome the
difficulty of extracting subsistence from poor
soils.
Mu, 1 regretted to hear thegi ntlcman fioui
Massachusetts (Mr. Davis) say that he never
read books of political economy. Even that
gentleman might be v ry much impioved dy
such studies. lie, it seems, however, prefers
tiuSting to common sense. Sir, common sense
is a guide which no man of common sense
follows, except in the absence of scientific
konwledge. Thus, to borrow the admirable
illustration of Dr. Whatley, a sailor will tail,
of curing a disease according to the treatment
prescribed by common sense ; but lie would
laugh at i.ir, one who imagmeu a s.np might
be navigated mme same manner. Mir, a law -
yer, if he pleases, may consult common sense
hi mutters o political economy ; but, n any
one advised with him who insisted ihui he
would mam go his law suit Ininseif, auu with
a total disregard oi technical science a net forms,
assuredly he could not avoid teliing him he
would-hare a fool ior nia client. Mir, itdim
g iitieman ever did, or could be persuaded to
read books of political economy,! would rec
ommend him to rend Torrens and Memor,
where tins matter is ably and clearly treated.
To return to it, sir, w hat arc ttie results of the
extravagance and unwise intermeddling ol
Governments ? In consequence of exorbitant
taxation and fsiolish restrictions, we have the
manufacturers of Europe, lamentng their ruin,
by the invention ot machines which increase
their productive power an hundred lohi, and
I the -agriculturist of America exclaiming
I against over-production,unrewarded ial or,ami
the glut ol markets, Botn parties would de
sire nothing b. tter'than to exchange their
'respective commodities; but the perverse le
gtsi '♦ oh of man interferes, and r* iuses them
permission.
: i beg leave, in this place, to say a word or
! two n. roLtio.. to tne bill reported by the
j Committee ol Ways and Means. Asa mem
iter ol the committee, mat bill received my
: assent. Ii proposed to raise the sum requin o j
1 for tbeexpi nditures ol Government, by an an
equal and general ad valorem duty. Ci. nue
m-pj will eear in muni, that it was reported
as a r venue measure. Nothing uut
l tiie question ot revenue was referred m that
i corntnitlec. All that regarded the protection
|op munojar.lores went to unoi! * Now, the
| committee may have erred in uieir estimate
ol revenue or oi expenditure. They may
iuve been too proluse, or too parst-mon
i tous, in thou allowance to some or ail the
objects oi ti.sbursiiiciits. 'inis is matter ol
opinion, and there is ample room for every
one to indulge his own. iiiu they have been
blamed for reporting an equal ac. valorem dug.
On tms ground, lam ready to vindicate litem.
Considered merely as a revenue measure, 1 am
ready to maintain an uniform ad valorem duly
to be the fairest arid most equal method in
winch an impost on iinpo ts an be collected.
For example : it a heavy duly is imposed on
liianufacture-s ot leather, while raw bides are
emitted In e, the shoemakers and saddlers
have a monopoly of the home market. On
thui part of their manufacture winch they con
sum themselves, they pay no duty. Oniimt;
which limy sell, they may charge a pari, o.
the whole of the duties, which they pay o.
other consuinahl articles. The consumer
of snots or saddles can avoid paying this
enhanced price, because ne must pay more
for the .oreign article, loaned as it is with the
heavy duty. They are, indeed, enabled so
charge their own price, t xcept in so f r
as that price is kept down by doincstu
competiton. But, if leather and raw lin es
are admitted only at un equal ad valorem duty,
the shoemaker pays fax on what he con
sumes of his own commodity, and he can
not charge on wiiat he sells, in the shape
ol an increased price, tiie taxes he pays
on other dutiable articles which In con-'
sumes : lor, it tie /lid, his domt stic manufac
ture would be dearer than the foreign one, and
the consumer w ould of course prefer the chea
per tort igu urticfb. '1 lie consumer, therefore,
would be secured against all unjust and une
qual impositions, lie w ould pay only Ins own i
share oi the tax. There is another advantage
oi ad volorem dutes. They adapt themselves
<oJiie rise and fll of prices. VVlieu goods
did, the duty falls with the goods. When
they rise it uses. This is not the case with
spcciisc duties. Nor is the distinction unim
portant. So great and rapid are the changes
ol price, particularly"of manufactured coir.,
modules, that a specific duty, moderate when
imposed, in the course of a few years ma v
become ixcessivcor prohibitory.
This brings me to the j IC
/all of prices, to which I promise a „ a j n to
recur, flic manufaclur. rs r;, )ti t'heirlV,. nils
Have literally stunned us w j t |, repeated as
several ions of the wo' lfKr ful fall in the prices
sl,c -nu fact tires, since 1616.
1 "is lull ISe,,t. (J a .s conclusive evidence of
1 lur clion and utility. Now, it so tiap
pens, sir, tiTat there has been a much greater
tali o! pric* „in England. It may not lie gen
eraiiy known, because the goods, many of
tin in being subject to prohibitory duties, do
not come in;, but our merchants know' it.
file r asonsot this fall are, first arid slight
est, a small decrease in the quantity of the
metals. Next, and by far tiie most important,
the vastly increased quantity and power of
;; ac! inc-rv. Tin power ol the i.)\ c "... '
of working* adytis compuud to bq , 1
mi V, e maniitactun-s ol Great Britaq
bv their maciiiM ry, is xwtHtialcd j
chairman of tin Committee on Mat*utWt-3
(Mr. Adams) in his re port', to be u- u \
unassisted labor oi two hundred niillio’V j
by Mr.Owen to that of four hundred lu ;\j
of people. Be for* tiie introduction J
spinuing juiny, the consumption of Co ,J
wool in England bid not amount to etc H
ured thousand pounds, in 1829, p., j
ed to one hundred ami ninety mi!! 1
Mince the power loom can e into j
quut.-# of cloth inanufaetured there hr ; J
consumption increased from 5127,000 o!'|
yards, the average annual amount i r J
the years 1810 and 1820, to 400,00(1 j
the annual average from 182! to ls-u’i
Very satisfactory proof of the declinecf j
ufaeluring* prices in Great Britain i : .. l
found in the documents on that subject ‘J
to i.s from Em treasury. But, as tr 1
incuts ol merchants in suet* casts , j
routed as interested, and, therefore,
-titled to implicit faith, I have supply]
self with other evidence still more co; J
sivc. It is known that returns are n>add
the custom houses of Great Britain of all ]
exports of the kingdom. Their official]
and dared value are there stated. ’]'| )eo jy
value is that fixed by law, in 1695. [.]
longer answers, therefore, as a ftateniej
presen value, but it serves as a suffi cu J
correct measure ot quantity. The dec, 'j
value is the actual market-value at the
of entry. '1 hts the merchaut seldom or r,J
has any particular inducement to exag>3
o” diminish. On the'se data 1 have const J
ed the following table, showing the deprj
tmn sine, 1810. Tho statements are!
tracted from the returns to Parliament. I
cotton coons.
Official \'alu u . ‘ Declared Y |
1810, £10,335,124, £13,072,1
31,810,474, 13,420,1
Tin quantity of £31,810,474 ought, ,-J
prices of 181(5, to have been worth, inli
£25,518,607 ; they were unit £13,1201
— depreciation lib per cent. YY.hat cost!
dollar in 1816, cost only ten cents in
WOOLLEN GOODS, I
Official Valce. Declared vj
1816, £5,586.564, £7,814.1
1829, _ 5,4,60,777, 4,6561
4 he £5,360,777 official, ought, in
to have been worth, at the prices ofjl
£7,500,87 8 actual value; instead ofß
tin v vv< re worth only £4,656,600—0'epi8
lion 37A per cent. I
HAKDWABE AND CUTLERY. I
Otiiejai Vaitie. Declared™
1616, £782,890, £1,987|
1820, 7 65,757, 1
i iie depreciation 28-£ per cent.
£765,757 should, at the prices ot i&l6.
h, in worth £1,943,851.
IRON AND STEEL.
Official Value. Declared V
1816, * £1,060,668, £1,095
1829, 1,081,281, 648
Toe £1,081,281, in 1829, should'
been worth £1,115,971, at tit prices of'
It was really worth only £648,033—1
ciation 4! | p< r cent.
'I . e gentleman from Massachusetts
Davis) declares, that a law to dinimsl
protecting duties is a law to reduce th t
of free labor, aim to produce porertj
rrifsf ry. 'l'llis proposition give s room tm
serious reflections* j
In the first place, then, 1 ask, vv!i-tl
it ever heard that a diminution of the j
paid by a peopl , reduced tin ir wnp j
brought them to poverty and mis cry!
said tin- free laborers pay an *-qual |ortl
th* se taxes. It tuey do, how are thy
injured by their r< peai ? If they disirl
continuance of these taxes, therefore,l
( Icarly b cause they are receivers, ar.j
payers ; it is 1m cause they operate <o!.J
their wages, at the expense of others I
Again : if a law to I* ssen taxation il
to reduce lh< wages of free labor, th*
existing 1 iws are laws to raise ths
free iaiorers. |
I might ask, where did Congress i
tiie power to regulate the wages-of m
hi* ir legisiaticn ! to raise those wageil
quarter of the country, and tn depresl
in another ! But 1 will not enter
constitutional discussion ; 1 have not®
strength. Bui this I will ask: Il'thtl
of free labor are raised by existing ■
tion, at wliost expense are they raa
Certainly not at the expense of then®
tunng capitalists. I
Will any one contend for a projio.-iB
absurd upon its face, as that the ivngcsß
labor art raisi and through the instninij
of the tariff at the expense of the/rf®
its ? If not, w hat follows ? Jhiher tH
wages of free labor are raised, and ■
pays the increase, or, those enhanced*
are paid by the citizens of the 4
States. I
1 will not insult your uneb rstantlml
question, Is this just? 1 will not
long can it he endured? I?*jt I I
docs not ftY’ce upon v.s tins ’ J( ost gl
flection : If the. g cnt lcc,ian frotaWi
st tts :sco7 cc t m his argutiierit, hch*
1 ishetl aa irncoiici!*a>b!c tlifferenee <fl
vst between the inanulacturifiganti I
• tates; instead of vainly' end®
to conciliate what can never be ricß
v 'e should lit better employed in w : ‘B
rangeinetits fur a peaceable sopawß
saving to each other, like the Patriat®
arc* brethren, let there be no,strife B
■
Thert is another consideration ivtß
of some thought by tin inanufactartn®
If, indeed, the wages of fine !aba r ß
lat 11! by tile tariff, tl). n the effect otH
is to rentier the free laborers of tE B
t'ntir* ly dependent upon Govern®
t mployriu nt anil subsistence. ''‘®
creases the affluence of the wealthy®
and b sst-ns the comforts of tbc" l'°J
mrr, it l.oltis fret; labor (what a
ea'l it free !) in the chains of i's'*™
p< ntlenee. .1
So,long as flu; operatives can D‘B
expense, it is all well; but what ii ■
tlnfui j>asturc ? YVhat if They • B