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Mn. CHAIRMAN: I will avail myself of the present occasion to make
some remarks on certain principles and opinions which have been re-
cently advanced, and on those considerations which, in my judgment,
ought to govern us in deciding upon the several and respective parts
of this very important and complex measure. I can truly say that
this is a painful duty. I deeply regret the necessity, which is likely
to beimposed upon me, of giving a. general affirmative or negative vote
on the whole of the Bill. I cannot but think this mode of proceeding
liable to great objections. It exposes both those who support, and

I those who oppose, the measure, to very unjust and injurious misap-

prehensions. There may be good reasons for favoring some of the pro-
visions of the Bill, and equally strong reasons for opposing others;
and these provisions do not stand to each other in the relation of prin-
cipal and incident. If that were the case, these who are in favor of

r the principal might foregotheir opinions upon incidental and subordi:

nate provisions. But the Bill proposes enactments entirely distinct,
and different from one another, in character and tendency. Some of
its clauses are intended merely for revenue; and, of those which regard
the protection of home manufactures, one part stands upon very differ-

.ent grounds from those of other parts. 80 that probably every Gem

tleman who may ultimately support the bill will vote for much which
his judgment does not approve; and those who oppose it will oppose
something which they would very gladly support.

Being entrusted with the interests of a District highly commercial,
and deepl interested in manufactures also, I wish to state my opi~
nions on the present measure; not as on a whole, for it has no entire
and homogeneous character; but as on a collection of different enact-—
ments, some of which meet my approbation, and some of which do not.

And allow me, sir, in the first place, to state my regret, if indeed I
ought not to express a warmer sentiment, at the names, or designa-
tions, which Mr. Speaker has seen fit to adopt, for the purpose of de-
scribing the advocates and the opposers of the present Bill. It is a
question, he says, between the friends of an “ American policy,” and
those of a “ foreign policy.” This, sir, is an assumption which I take
the liberty most directly to deny. Mr. Speaker certainly intended‘
nothing invidious or derogatory to any part of the House by this mode
of denominating friends and enemies. , But there is ‘power in names,
and ,thism,anner of distinguishing those who favor and those who op»

ri-

pose particular measures, may lead to inferences to whicli no member
of the House can submit. it may imply that there is a more excl-u-«
sive and peculiar 1'egai'cl to American interests in one class of opinions
than in another. a Such an implication is to be resisted and repelled...
Every member has a right to the presumption, that he pursues what he
believes to be the interest of his country, with as sincere a zeal as any

other member. I claim this in my own case; and, while I sha‘-.1 not, V

for any purpose of description, or convenient arrangement, use terms
which may imply any disrespect to other rnen’s opinions, much less
any imputations of other men’s motives, it is my duty to take care
that the use of such terms by others he not, against the will of those
who adopt them, made to produce, a false impression. Indeed, sir, it
is a little astonishing, if it seemed convenient to Mr. Speaker, for the
purposes of distinction, to niake use of the terms “ American policy,”
and ‘‘ foreign policy,” that he should not liave applied them ina man-
ner precisely the reverse of that in which he has in fact used them.
If names are thought necessary, it would be well enough, one would
think, that the name should “he, in some measure, descriptive of the
tllllngg and since Mr. Speaker denominates the policy which he re-
commends “ a new policy in this country;” since he speaks ofthe pre-
sent measure as a new era in our legislation; sincehe prhfesses to in-
vite us‘ to depart from our accustomed course,to instruct ourselves by
the wisdom of others, and to adopt the policy of the most distinguish»
ed fore2'.gn states, one is a little curious to know with what propriety
of speech this imitation of other nations is denominated an “ Ameri-—
can policy,” while, on the contrary, a preference for our own esta-
blished system, as it now actually exists, and always has existed, is
called a “foreign policy.” This favorite American policy is what
America has never tried; and this odious foreign policy is what, as
we are told, foreign states have never pursued. Sir, that is the truest
American policy which shall most lusefully employ American. C.1:'t{‘,lli_,l,i.l5

and American labor, and best sustain the whole population. Witli i

use it is a fundamental axioro, itis interwoven with all my opinions,
that the great interests of the country are united and inseparable;
'i'.li1Etti1ft‘gi‘lCl.ll'lZlll‘B, commerce, and manufactures, will prosper togetlier,
or lax1guish'toget.l1ei*; and that all legislation is dangerous which pro-
poses to benefit one of these witliout looking toconsequences which
may fall on the others. 1

Passing from this, sir, I are bound to say that Mr. Speaker began
his able and impressive speech. at the proper point of inquiry; I mean
we present state and C0nCli[l’§0?'L qft/ic country; although I am so unfor-

tunate, or rather although I am so happy, as to dilfer from him very
widely in regard to that condition. I dissent entirely from the justice .

of that picture of distress which he has drawn. I have not seen the
reality, and know not where it exists. ‘Within my observation
therelis no cause for so gloomy and terrifying a representation. In
respect to the New rlngiand states, with the condition of which I am,
of course, most acquainted, the present’ appears to me a. period of

yer general prosperity. Not, indeed, a time for great profits anid.'Li-

15 ’-5

E .

Sudden acquisition; not a. day of extraordinary activity and success-

f“1l9P‘3°“l‘ll3l°n- There is. 110 doubt. a considerable depression of? 

prices, and, in some degree, a stagnation‘ of business. But the case
presented by Mr. Speaker was not one of (l€pt'es.s£o:n.A, but of a’isz‘i*ess;r
of universal, pervading, mtense (llSiIt‘€SS, limited to no class, and m.

noplace. ‘We are represented as on the very verge and brick of."

national ruin. So far from acquiescing in these opinions, I believe
there has been no ‘period in which the general prosperity was better-
seoured, or rested on a more solid foundation. As applicable to the
Eastem ij»li‘~f¢€S, I put this remark to their Representatives, and ask-
them if 1tp1s not true. When has there been a time in which the*
means of living have been more accessible and more abundant? when;
labor was rewarded, ldo not say with a largel‘, but with a more car-min“
success? Profits, Indeed, are low; in some pursuits of life, which it is»
not proposed to benefit, but to burden, by this Bill, very low. But still I
am unacquainted with any proofs of extraordinary distress. Vlihat

inrleetl, are the general indications of the state of the country? There is:
no famine nor pestilence in the land, nor war, nor desolatioh. There is
no writhing under the burthen of taxation. The means of subsistence

are ‘abundant; and at the very nioment when the miserable COi1{lltl()E).-
of the country is asserted, it is admitted that the wages of labor are“
high, in comparison with those of any other country. A country, then,
enjoying a profountl peace, a perfect civil liberty, with the means’

of subsistence cheap and abuntlant, with the reward of labor sure,
and its wages higher than any Where else, cannot be represented in
gloom, melancholy, and clistress, but by the effortiof e:s.trao1'dinar_y'
powers of tragedy., t ” ‘ t — e

Even if, in yudginlg ofthis question, we were to regaccl only those:
proofs to whnch we have been referred, we shall probably come to a."

conclusion soooewhat clifterent from that which has been drawn. Our
exports, for example, altliouglx certalnly less than in some years, were-

not, last year, so much below an average, forrnetl upon the exports of ai
series of years. and putting those exports at a fixed value, as might
be supposed. The exports of agrxcultuxnl products, of animals, ofthe‘=

products of the -forest, of the sea, together with gunpowder, spirits,
and sundry unenumeratetl articles, amounted, in the several years, to
the followmg sums, vlz.

In 1790 - - l —~ - $122.7,’/"16,15%
1804 - - - — 83,849,316
1807 r— - ~ »- 38,465,854

Coming; up, now, to our own times, and taking the exports of the

years 1821, 1892.2, and 189.3, of the same articles and products, at the?

same prices, they stand thus:

In 1ee1 — -» » - $45,643,175
. 18292 - - - - 4s,7ss,s95
oses it —   » l— - 55,363,491.

Mr. Speaker has taken the very extraordinary year of 1803, amll,, 3

adding to the exportatiopn of that year, what he thinks ought‘ to ha~s:e'

5

been a just augmentation, in proportion to the increase of our popula—-»
tion, he swells the result to a magnitude, which, when compared with
our actual exports, would exhibit a great deficiency. But is there
any justice in this mode of calculation? In the first place, as before
observed, the year 1803 was a year of extraordinary efszportation. By
reference to the accounts, that of the article of flour, for example,
there was an export that year of 1,300,000 barrels; but the very next
year it fell to 800,000, and the next year to 700,000. In the next
place, there never was any reason to expect‘ that the increase of our
exports of agricultural products, would keep pace with the increase
of our population. That would be against all experience. It is, in-
deed, most desirable, that there should be an augmented demand for
the products of agriculture; but, nevertheless, the official returns of

our exports donot ‘show that absolute want of all for-eign market,

rrhich has been so strongly stated.

But there are other means by which to judge of the general condi-.

tion of the people. The quantity of the means of subsistence corr-
sumed; or, to make use of a phraseology better suited to the condi-
tion of our own people, the uantity of the comforts of life enjoyed, is
one of those means. It so appens, indeed, that it is not so easy in
this country, as elsewhere, to ascertain facts, of this sort, with accu-»
racy. Where most of the articles of subsistence, and most of the
comforts of life are taxed, there is, of course, great facility in ascen-
taining, from official statements, the amount of consumption. But,
in this country, snost fortunately, the Government neither knows,
nor is concerned to know, the annual consumption; and estimates can
only be formed in another mode, and in reference only to a few arti-
clyesgy Of these articles,’tea is one. ‘Its use is not quite a luxury,
and yet is soxnetliitw above the absolute necessaries of life. Its con-
sumption, therefore, will be diminished in times of adversity, and
augmented in times of prosperity. By deducting tliellannuial “‘e‘:§port
from the annual import, and taking a number of years together, we

may arrive at a probable estimate of consuroption. The average of

eleven years, from 1790, to 1800, inclusive, will be found to be two
millions and a half of pounds. From. 1801 to 1819., inclusive, three
millions seven hundreclthousand; and the average of the last three
years, towit: 18201, 1822, and 1823, five millions and a half. Having
made a just allowance for the increase of our numbers, we shall still
find, I think, from these statements, that there is no distress which
has limited our means of subsistence and enjoyment.

In forming an opinion of the degree of general prosperity, we may

regard, likewise, the progress of internal improvements----theinvest-~.
ment of capital in roads, bridges, and canals. All these prove a-

balance of income over expenditure; theyareevidence that there is a
surplus of profits, which the present generation is usefully vesting for
the benefit of the next. It cannot be deniedthat, in this particular,
the progress of the country is steady and rapid. , i A  

‘We may look, too, to the expenses of education. Arecur Colleges .
deserted? Do fathers find themselves less able than -usual to educate 0

'7

their children? s It will be found, I imagine, thatithe amount'”paid_lfo'r
-the purpose of education, istconstantly increasing, and that the schools
and colleges were never more full than at the present moment. I,
may add that theendowment of public charities, the contributions to
objects of general benevolence,'whether foreign or domestic, the mu-

vnificence of individuals towards whatever promises to benefit the

community, are all so many proofs of national prosperity. And ,
finally, there is no defalcation of revenue, no pressure of taxation. 0
The general result, therefore, of a fair examination of the p1'esent;
condition ot things, seems tome to be, y that there is aconsiderable
depression of prices,-and curtailmentof profit; and, in some parts of
the country, it must be admitted, there is a great degree of pecuniary
embarrassment,‘ arising from the difficulty of paying debts which were
contracted when priceswere high. With these qualifications, the
general state of the country may be said to be prosperous; and these

are not sufficient to give to the whole face of affairsany appearance of

general distress.
Supposing the evil, then, to be a depression of prices, and a partial
pecuniary pressure, the next inquiry is into the causes of that evil;

‘ and it appears to me that there are several-wand, in this respect, I”

think, too much has been imputed, by Mr. Speaker, to the single
cause of the diminution of exports. a Connected, as we are, with all
the commercial nations of the world, and having observed great chan-
ges to take place elsewhere, we should consider whether the causes

pf those changes have not reached us, and jwhether we are not sufi'er-l
1ng_-by the operation of those causes, in connnoniwith others. Un-to
doubtedly, there has been a great fall in the price of all commodities

th'rou«ghout the conunercial world, in consequence of the restoration
of a state of peace. 3/Vlien the Allies entered France in 1814, prices
rose astonishingly fast and very high. Colonial produce, for instance,
in the ports oi this c0‘untry,ns well as elsewhere, sprung up suddenly
from the lowest to the highest extreme. A new and vast demand
was created for the commodities of trade. These were-the natural
consequence.-siof the great political changes which then took place in
Euro e. l 0 ' l l l t  
WV: are to consider, too, that our own. war created new demand,
and that a Government expendiiturel' of 25,000,000, or 30,000,000 a
year, had the usual effect of enhancing prices. We are obliged to
add, that the paper issues of our Banks carried the same effect still
further. A depreciated currency existed in a great part of the coun-
try; depreciated to such an extent as that, at-one time, exchangeybsw
tween the centre and the north, was as high as 20 per cent. w‘ The

Bank of the United States was instituted to correct this evil; but, for i

causes whichfit is not necessary nowto enumerate, it did not for
some years, bring back the currency of the country to a sound state.

This depreciation of the circulating currency, was so much, of course, i p

' added to the nominal prices of commodities, and these prices thus ’

unnatturallyihigh, seemed, to those, who looked only at the appearance,
toindicate great prosperity. But sucirh-prosperity is more specious

8

than real. It rrotiltl have heen better, ‘probably, as the shoclc woulil
have been less, if prices had fallen sooner. At length, however, they
fell; and, as there is little doubt that certain events in Europe had an
influence in determining the time at which this fall should take place,
I will advert shortlyrto some of the principal of those evems. 1

In sh/lay, 1819, the British House of Cornrnous decided,‘ hy an

unanimous vote, that the resumption of cash paynientsby the Bani;

of England, should not be deferred beyond the ensuing February,
The restriction had been continued from time to time, and from year
to year, Parliament always professing to look to the restoration of a
specie currency, wheneveriyit should be found practicable. Having
been, in July, 1818, continued to July, 1819, it was understood that,
in the interim, the important question of the time at which cash pay-
meats should be resumed, should be finally settled. In the latter
part of the year ’18, the circulation of the Bank had been greatly re~=
duced, and a severe scarcity of money was felt in the London market,
Such was the state of things in England. On the continent, other
importantevents took place. The French Indemnity Loan had been
negotiated in the summer of 1818, and the proportion of it belonging‘
to Austria, Russia, and Prussia, had been sold. This created an
unusual demand for gold and silver in these Eastern States of Europei
It has been stated, that the amount of the precious metals transmitted
to Austria and Russia in that year, was at least twenty millions
ster_li11g. Other large sums were sent to Prussia and to Denmark,

The etfectof this sudden drain of specie, felt first at Paris, was com~

municated to Amsterdam and Hamburg, and all other commercial

places in the north of Europe.

» The paper system of Ellgl and had certainly communicated an artifi~ ‘

icialrralue to property. It had encouraged speculation, and excited

«overtrading. ‘When the shoclc therefore came, and this violent pres-~ 1

sure for money acted at the same moment on the contiucntland in

England, inflated and unnatural prices could he kept up no longer.
A reduction took place, which has been estimated to have been at least

equal to a fall of 530, if not 40 per cent. The depression was univer-

sal; and the change was felt in the United States severely, thoughonot

-equally so in every part of them. There are those, I am aware, who

maintain that the events to which I have alluded did not cause the

great fall of prices; butthat that fall was natural and inevitable, from

the previously existing state of things, the abundauceof commodities,

and thewaut of demand. But that would only prove that the effect

was produced in another way, rather than byllanother cause. If these
great and sudden calls for money did not reduce prices, but prices
fell, as of themselves, to their natural state, still the result is the same;
for we perceive that after these new calls for money, prices could not
he kept longer at their unnatural height. 1 p y

,, Aboutthe time of these foreign events, our own bank systesmundera

‘ I

1 went a change; and all these causes, 111 my View of the subject, con»

curred to produce the great shock virhich took place in ourrcomtnercial

 v cities, and through many ’per'ts of the country. The year 1819 was

§

a year of nuinei'ous,faiipres, and very considerable distress,pand would
have furnished for better grountls than exist at present, for that gloomy
representation of our condition which has been presented. Mr. Spools-
er has alluded to the strong inclination which exists, or has existed, in
various parts of the country to issue paper money, as a proof of great
existing difiiculties. I regard it rather as a very }')1‘O(luC'i1lV€ cause of
those difiiculties; and the committee will not fail to observe, that there
is, at this moment, much the loudest complaint of. distress pre-
cisely Where there has been the greatest attempt to relieve it by sys

toms of paper credit. .And, on the other hand, content, prosperity,
and happiness, are most observable in those parts of the country, where
there has been the least endeavor to administer relief by law. In truth,
nothing is so baneful, so utterly ruinous to all true industry, as interfer-
ing with the legal value of money, or attempting to raise artificial
standards to supply its place. Such remedies suit well the spirit of
extravaganit speculation, but they sap the very foundation of all honest
acquisition. By wealtening the security of property, they take away
all motive for exertion. Their eftiact is to transfer property. .When«
overs. debt is allowed to be paid by any thing less valuable than the
legal currency in respect to which it was contracted, tl1e»difi'erence,
between the value of the paper given in payment and the legal cur-
rency, is precisely so much property talcen from one man and Given.
to another, by legislative enactment. When we talk, therefore, oiipro-
tectingintiustry, let us remember that the first measure for that end,
is to secure itin its earnincrs; to assure it that it shall receive its own.
Before we invent new modes of raising prices, let us take care that
existing prices are not rende.red wholly unavailable, bylinalting them
capable of being paid in depreciated paper. I regard, sir, this issue
ofirredeemable paper as the roost }‘}l‘('pi"tli.I.'.'f*;'I).‘i’. and deplorable cause of

. whateverpressure still exists in the country; and, further, I would put

the question to the members of this committee, Whether it is not from
that part of the people who have tried this paper system, and tried it
to their cost, that this Bill receives the most earnest support? And I
cannot forbearto ask, further, whether this support does not proceed
rather from a general feeling of uneasiness under the present condition
of things, than from the clear perception of any benefit which the mea-
sure itself can conferi-" Is not all expectation of advantage centered in
asort of i'ague hope, that cliaiige may produce relief? Debt certainly
presses hardest, rrhere prices have been longest kept up by artificial
means. They find the shock lightest, who take it soonest; and I
fully believe that, if those parts of the country which now suffer most,
had not aiigii1ented_ the force of the blow by deferring it, they would
have now been in a much better condition than they are. ‘We may
assure ourselves, once tier all, sir, that there can be no such thing as
paymentof debts bylegislation.A We may abolish debts indeed; we may
transfer property, by visionary and violent laws. But we deceive both
ourselveys and our constituents, if we flatter, either ourselves or them,
with the hope that there‘ is any relief against whatever pressure exists,
but  economy and industry. The depression of prices and the stagnag
CW

lid‘

£0

_nm: of business, have been in truth the necessary_re'sult of ‘ClI’Cu1”£l.~‘
_s'tances. No government could"brevent them ,7'f;!,l1'i(li“Il0 government can
alltogetlier relieve the people from their elifeot. “We had enjoyeda

day of extraordinary prosperity; we had been neutral while the world
was .»at war,“ and had found a great demand for our products, our navi-i
gation, and our labor. VVe had no right to expect that that state of
timings would continue always. ‘With theireturn of peace, Foreign na-
tions would struggle for themselves, and enter into competition with

' ‘us in the great objects of pursuit.

l Now, sir, what is the remedy for existing evils? what is thecourse
of policy suited to our actual condition? Certainly it is not our Wis»
dom to adopt any system that may be offered to us without examina-
tion, and in the blind hope that whatever changes our condition may

improve it. It is better that we should

“ Bear those ills we have,

"‘ Than fly to others that we know not of.”
‘We are bound to see that there is a fitness and an aptitude in what-
ever measures may be recommended to relieve the evils that afilict us;

p and before we adopt a system that professes to make great alterations,

it is our duty to look carefully to each leading interest of the comma»-
lgrity, and see how it may probably be affected by our proposed legisla»
101'}. l‘
; Andgin the first place, what is the condition of our commerce? Here
we must clearly perceive, that it is not enjoying that rich harvest
which fell to its fortune during the continuance of the European wars.
it has been greatly depressed, and limited to small profits. ,Still,,it is

elastic and active, and seems capable of recovering itself in some

measure from its depression; The shipping interest, also, has suffered
severely, still more severely, probably, than commerce. It any thing

should strike us with astonishment, it is that the navigation of the

United Statesishould be able to sutaiu itself. ‘Without any govern»-—
ment protection whatever, it goes abroad to ~cliallenge competition.
vvith the whole world; and, in spite of all obstacles, it has yet been
able to maintain 800,000 tons in the employment of foreign trade.
"How, sir, do the ship owners and navigators accomplish this? How
is it that they are able to meet, and in some measure overcome, univer-~»
sal competition? Not, sir, by protection and bounties; but by un-«
vvearied exertion, by extreme economy, by unshaken perseverance,
by that manly and resolute spirit which relies on itself to protect it»-»
self. These causes alone enable American ships still to keep, their
element, and shew the flag of their country in distant seas. The
rates of insurance may teach us how thoroughly our ships are built,
and how skilfully and safely they are navigated. Risks are taken, as

. llearn, from the United States to Liverpool, at 1 percent.; and from

the United States “to ‘Canton and back, as low as 3 per cent. But
when we look to the low rate of freight, and when we consider, also,
that the articles entering into the composition of aship, with the ,excep-
tion of wood, are dearer here than in other countries, we cannot but

be utterlysurprised, that the shipping interest has been able to sustain

H.

itself that all. Iypyineeiik not say tl1ai%“tl'le navigation of the country is
essential to itsyrlionoigf and its defence. Yet, Instead of PFOPOSIBQ;

henefit for it in this hoiur of its depressiomwe P1‘0P*"Se by this tmifaiillre

to layupon it new and heavy burthens. In the discussion, “I3 Othfll‘
‘day, of that provision of the bill which proposes to tax fallow foritrley
‘benefit of the oil merchants and whalemen, We had fill? 131935111? Oi
hearing eloquent eulogiurns upon that portion of our shipping employed
in the whale fishery, and strong statements of its Importance to the

ublic interest. But the same Bill proposes a severe tax upon that

interest, for the benefit of the iron manufacturer and the hemp grower."

So that the tallovv chandlers and soap boilers are sacrificed to the oil.
merchants, iniorder that these agaiii may contribute to the nianufac—
turers of iron and the growers of hemp. _ _ ‘ ‘
If such be the state of our commerce and nay1gat1on,] lvlhftt is tile
condition of our home manufactures 9 How are trey omit st e one-
ral depression? Do they need further protection? and if any,ghow
much? On all these points, we have had much general statement, but
little precise information. In the very elaborate speech of Mr.
Speaker, we are not supplied with satisfactory grounds“ of judging in
these variousparticulars. Who can tell, from any thing yet before
the Committee, whether the proposed duty be too high or too low,
on any one article? Gentleman tell us, that they are in favor of do»
mestic industry; so am I. They would give it protection: so would
I. But then all domestic industry is not confined to manufactures.
The employments of agriculture, commerce, and navigation, are all
branches of the same domestic industry; they all furnish employment

l for Almerican»~clapital, and American labor. l And ‘when the question

is, whether new duties shall be laid, for the purpose of giving further
encouragement to particular manufactures, every reasonable man
must ask himself, both, whether the proposed new encouragement be
necessary, and, whether it can be given without injustice to other
branches of industry. l ‘

It is desirable to know, also, somewhat more distinctly, how the pro-.

posed means will produce the intended efl"ect. One great object pro»-
posed, for example, is, the increase of _ the home market for the con-
sumption of agricultural products. This certainly is much to be de-
sired; but what provisions of the Bill are expected wholly, or princim
pally to produce this, is not stated. I would not suggest that some
increase of the home market may not follow, from the adoption of
this Bill, but all its provisions have not an equal tendency to produce

a this effect. Those manufactures which employ most labor, create of
course, most demand for articles of consumption; and those create“

least, in the production of which capital and skill enter as the chief
ingredients of cost. I cannot, sir, take this Bill, merely because a
Committee has recommended it. I cannot espouse a side, and figlit
under‘a flag. ‘I Wholly repel the idea, that we must take this law, or
pass no law on the subject. ‘What should hinder us from exercising

‘ our own judgmentsvupon these provisions," singly and severally? Who

has the power to place us, or why should we place ourselves, in a

a§‘}*

- M57

condition where we cannot give to every measure, that is distinct and
separate in itself, :1 separate and distinct c’ol1sid:e:rstion? Sir, I pre-
surnc no member of the Committee will with.l1old““hisyassent from what
he thinks right, until others will yield their assent to what they think
wrong. There are many tl1ings in this Bill, acceptable probably to
the general sense of the House. ‘Why should not these provisionsbe
passed into :3. law, and others left to be decided upon their own me-
rits, as a majority of the House shall see fit? To some of these
provisions, I .‘;1.l'll myself decidedly favorable; to others, I have great

objections; and I should have been very glad of an opportunity of”

giving; my own vote distinctly on propositions, which are, in their
own nature, essr.-ntio.l.l y and substantially distinct from one soother.
But, sir, hethre &‘.‘.l§.[)l‘e$8ll'lg my own opinion upon the several pro-
visions of this Bill, I will advert for a moment to some other general
topics. "We have heard much of the policy of England, ‘and her ex:
ample has been repeotetlly urged upon us, as proving, not only the
ezrpediency t)f€:!1C0tl.l‘ttg'€:ll1£3l]l1 and protection, but of exclusioli and di»
rect prohihition also. I tool; occasion the other day to renisrh, that
more liberal notions were growling prevalent on this subject; tliot the
“policy of restraints and prohibitions was g;;etting out of repute, as the
true nature of cormnerce become better understood; and that, among
public men, those most tlistinguislietl, were most decided in their re-
probation of the hrostl principle of exclusion and prohibition. Upon
the truth of this representation, as matter of fact, I supposed there
could not be two opinions among those who had observed the pl'ogz'e'ss
of political sentiment in other countries, and were acquainted with
its present. state... in this respect, however, it would seem, that I was
greatly mist;s.l{ct1. "We htwe heard it o,,o;ei11 and a.gsi‘i1 r;lecloretl,,ythe.t
the Eng-lislia G~overn1nent still adheres, with irnrnovsble firxnness, to its
old tloctrioesrotprohibition; tliotaltl1.oug,gh journalists,tlieorists, and
scierxtihc writers, advance other doctrines, yet the practical men,
the lep;i,slz1tos's, the government of the country, are too wise to follow
them. i It has even been most. sagaciously hinted, that the promulgs.-.
tion of liberal opinions on these subjects, is intended only for s.
delusion upon other nations, to czriole them into the folly of liberal
ideas, while Engleiiid retains to herself all the benefits of the adinire-A
his old system of prohibition. ‘Vs have heaird from Mr. Speaker a,
‘worm ctnnlncndotion of the complex mechanism of this system.
it‘ he British Eelpire, it is said, is, in the first place, to heprotectetl
sgsinst the rest of the world; then the British isles against the colo-
nies; nest, thelisles respectively against each otl1er—--—Englalicl her»
self, as the heart of the empire, being protected most of all, and
against all. t i t ‘
Truly, sir, it appears to me, that Mr. Speel»:er’s i1n‘eg;i,i1atrion has
seen system, and order, and beauty, in that, which is ‘much more just-
ly considered as the resultof ignorance, partiolity, or violence._'l‘his
port of English legislation has resulted, partly from considering Ire»-
lsnd as aconquered country, partly from the want of or complete,
onion, even with Scotland, end partly from the narrow views ofcoloa

13

mini regulation, wliichiinyearly and uninforined periods, influenced the
European states. “ * 4 F l

And, sir, I imagine, .nothi—n,9; would stril~.:e the public men of ,Enig»« A,

land more singularly, than to fund gentlemen of real information, and
much weight, in the councils t of this country, expressing sentiments
like these, in regard to the existing state of these English laws. I
have never said, indeed, that prohibitory laws did not exist in Eng»
land; we all know they do; but the question is, does she owe lier
prospyerity and greatness to these laws? I venture to say, that such is
not the opinion of the public men new in England, and the continu-'
ance of the «laws, even without any alteration, would not be evidence
that their opinion is difierent from what I have represented‘ it; be-
cause the laws having existed long, and great interests liavingebeen
‘built up on the faith of. them, they cannot now be repealed, without

, great and overwhelming inconvenience. Because a timing has been

wronglydone, it does not ,-t,here,fore follow that it can now be un~—

done; and this is the reason, as I understand it, upon which exclu-

sion, prohibition, and monopoly, are suii'crecl to rernain in any degree
in the Englisli system; and for ithc,t,,san1e reason, it will be VVISE-3 in us
to take our measures, on all subjects“ of this kind, with great caution.
We may not be able‘, but at the hazard of much injury to individuals,
hereafter to retrace our steps. And yet, whatever is extravagant,
or unreasonable, is not likely to endure. There may come a moment
of strong re~action;.; and if no moderation be shown in laying on do...
ties, there may be little scrupletin taking them off‘. It may here be
observed, that there is a broad and marked distinctionbetween entire
proliibition, and reasonaible encourageme,nt., it Itis one thingi~bydu-
ties or taxes ‘olnifolreign articles, to awaken a home competition in

the production of the same articles; it is another thing to remove all

competition by a total eyrclusion of the foreign article; and it is quite
another thing still, by total prohibition, to raise at home, manufactures
not suited to the climate, the nature of the country, or the state of
the population. These are substantial distinctions, ancl.»a1tl1ou,g-hit
may not be easy in every case, to determine which of them applies to
a given” article, yet, the distinctions themselves exist, and in most
cases, will be sufiiciently clear to indicate the true course of policy;
and, unless I have greatly mistaken the prevailing sentiment in the
councils of England, it ggrotvs every day more and more favorable to the
diminution of restrictions, and to the wisdom of leaving nauch (I do
not say every thing, for that would not be true) to the enterprise and;
the discretion of individuals. I should certainly not have taken up

the time of the Committee to state at any lengtli the opinions of other , ‘

governments, or of the public men of other countries, upon a subject
like this; but an occasional remark made by me the other day, having
been so directlycontroverted, especially by Mr. Speaker, in his obser»»
vations yesterday, I must take occasion to refer to‘ some proofs of
whatl have stated. 1

‘What,then, isythe state of English opinion? Every bod yknows that,
tailor the termination of the late European war, there came a time of

let

great pressure in E21 gland . Since her example has been quoted , let it he

asked in what mode her government sought relief. Did it aim to

‘maintain artificial and unnatural prices? Did it maintain a swollen

and extravagant paper circulation? Did it carry further the laws of
prohibition and exclusion? Did it draw closer the cords of colonial
restraint? No, Sir, but precisely the reverse. Instead of relying on
legislative contrivances and artificial devices, it trusted to the enter-
prise and industry of the people; which it sedulously sought to ex-
cite, not by imposing restraint, but by removing it, wherever. its re»
moval was practicable. In May, 1820, the attention of the govern-»
meut liaving been much turned to the state of foreign trade, a distin»
guished member**‘‘ of the House of Peers brought forward a parlia-
rnentary motion upon that subject, followed by an ample discussion,
and a full statement of his own opinions. In the course of his re--
marks, he observed, “ That there ought to be no prohibitory duties,
’“ as such 5 for that it was evident, that wherein manufacture couldlnot
"‘ be carried on, or a production raised, but under the protection of a
“ prohibitory duty, that manufacture, or that produce, could not
~“ be brought to inarket but, at a toss. In his opinion, the name of
‘‘ strict proliihition inight, therefore, in commerce, be got rid of alto--
"‘M‘ gather; but he did not see the same objection to protecting duties,
“ which, while they admitted of the introduction of commodities from
“abroad siiuilar to those which we ourselves manufactured, placed
“ them so much on a level, as to allow alcoinpetition between tlieni.”
“ No axiom,” he added, “ was more true than this: that it was by
“ grottring what the territory of a country could grow most cheaply,
‘‘ and by i'ecciw*ing; from other countries whatit could not produce ex-
“ crept at too great anexpense, that the greatest degree of happiness
“was to he~cornaiunicated to the greatest extent of population.” In

t a,S3eI}tl3?.g to the motion, the first Ministert of the Crown ezrpressed
his own opinion ofvthe rent advantage resulting from ~unrestricted
‘ freedom: of ‘trade. “ Of t e soundness of that general principle,” he

ohserlverl, “I can entertain no doubt. I “can entertain no doubt of

l “ what would have been the great advantages to the civilized world,

“ if the systein of unrestricted trade had been acted upon. by every

it ‘‘ nation, from the eariiest period of its commercial intercourse with its
E” neighbors. ifto those atlvanltages there could have been any exceptions,

“ I‘ are persuaded that they would have been but few; and I am also
“persuaded that the cases, to which they would have referred,
“‘ would not have been, in themselves, connected with-the trade and
“ coimnerce of England. But we are now in a situation in which,

“ “ I will not say that a reference totheprinciple of unrestricted trade
1 “ can be of no use, because such a reference may correct erroneous

“ 1'Ci‘tSfll}ll‘.,g—-~lJ!,llZ\ in which it is impossible for us, or for any country
“in the world, but the United States of America, to act unreservedly

“on that principle» The coinmercial regulations of the European

 Lord Lansdosvne. ‘if’ Lord Liverpool.

15

“ world have been long established, and cannot suddenly he departed
“‘ from.” * Having'supposed~ a proposition to be made to England,, by
a foreign state, for free commerce and intercourse, and an unrestricted
exchange of agricultural products, and of manufactures, he proceeds
to observe: “ it would be impossible to accede to such a proposition,
“ ‘We have risen to our present greatness under a different system.
““ Some suppose that we have risen in consequence of that systein;
“‘ others, cy" whom I am. one, belieoe that we have risen in srrrn or
‘“ THAT srsrnm. “But, whichever of these hypotheses be true, certain
“ it is, that we have risen under a very dil‘l‘erent svstem than that of
“ free and unrestricted trade. It is utterly impossible,with our debt
“ and taxation, even if they were but half their existing; amount, that
“ we can suddenly adopt the system of free trade.” Lord Ellenbo-
rough, in the same debate, said, “ That be attributed the general dis-»
“tress then existing in Europe, to the regulations that had taken
“place since the destruction of the French power. Most of the
“' states on the continent had surrounded themselves as with walls of
“ brass, to inhibit intercourse with other states. Intercourse was
“ prohibited, even in districts of the same state, as was the case in
“Austria and Sardinia. Thus, thoue;l1,tl1e taxes on the people had
“ been lightened, the severity of their condition had been increased.
"”‘ He believed that the discontent which pervaded most parts of Eu-
“rope, and especially Germany, was more owing to commercial re-
“strictions, than to any theoretical doctrines on government; and
“‘ thata free communication among them would do more to restore
“‘ tranquillity, than any other step that could be adopted; He object-
f"'. ed to all attempts to frustrate the benevolent intentions of Provi-

rf‘ deuce, which had given tovarious countries various wants, in order

‘it’ to bi-irzg them‘ togetlwr. He objected to it as antisocialg, he object-
“ ed to it, as making commerce the means of barbar1s1ng;, instead ot

  "‘v‘,enlightenin,e; nations. The state of the trade with lilrance was the
it-’-‘ most disgraceful to both countries,-, the two greatest civilized na—-

“ tions of the world, placed at at distance of i scarcelyttwenty miles
“ from each other, had contrived, by their artificial l't3g‘lll{tlil0llS, to re-«
3“ dnce their connnerce with each other to a more nullity.” Every
member, speaking on this occasion, agreed in thegeneralsentinieiits
favorable to unrestricted intercourse, which had thus been advanced;
one of them remarking, at the conclusion of the debate, that “the
“principles of free trade, which he was happy tosee so fully recog-
“ nized, were of the utmost consequence; for, though, in the present
“‘ circumstances of the countr , a free trade was unattainable, yet
“ their task hereafter was to approximate to it. Consiclering the pre-
“judices and interests which were opposed to the recognition of that
“ principle, it was no small indication of the firmness and liberality
‘‘ of government, to have so fully conceded it.” p  ,

Sir, we have seen, in the course of this discussion, that severalgen-~
tlemen‘ have expressed their high admiration of the sill: mamfacturc
of England. Its commendation was begun, I think, by the honorable
inembe-r from "Vermont, who sits near me, who thinlrs that that alone

o

gives conclusive, evidence of the benefits produced by attention to
manufactures, inasmuch as it is a great source of Wealtlrto the na-
tion, and has amply repaid all the cost of its protection. Mr. Speak-
er’s approbation of this part of the Englisli example, was still warmer.

Now, Sir, it does so happen, that both these gentlemen differ very
widely on this unit, from the opinions entertained in England, by

persons of the 7rst rank, both of‘ knowledge and of power. In the
debate to which I have already referred, the proposer of the motion
urged the expediency of providing for the admission of the silks of

France into England. “ He was aware,” he said, “ that there was

“ a poor and industrious body of manufacturers, whose interests must

W” suffer by such an arrangement; and therefore he felt that it would
~‘“ be the duty of Parliament to provide for the present generation, by

“‘ a large parliamentary grant. It was conformable to every princi-
"“ ple of sound justice to do so, when the interests of a particular
“ class were sacrificedto the good of the whole.” In answer to these ob:
servations,Lord Liverpool said that, with reference to severalbranches
of manufactures, time, and the change of circumstances, had rendered
the system of protecting duties merely nominal; and that, in his opi-~
nion, if all the protecting laws which regarded both the woollen and
cotton manufactures, were to be repealed, no injurious effects would
thereby be occasioned. “ But,” he observes, “ with respect to silk,
“‘ that manufacture in this kitigtloin is so completely artificial, that.
“ any attempt to introduce theprinciples of free trade with refer-
‘ ence to it, might put. an end to it altogether. I allow that the silk
‘ manufacture is not natural to this country. I wish we had nelver
‘ land’ at sill: mamgfactorgr. I allow that it is natural to France; I all»-
‘ low, that it might have been better, lied each country adhered ex»
‘ clusivelyto that manufacture, in which each is superior; and had
‘ the silica of-lllirauce been excllianged for British cottons. Butl
‘ must look at things as they are; and when I ‘consider the extent
‘ of capital, and the immense population, consiosting, I. believe, of
‘ about 50,000 persons eiigagetl in our sill; manut'ac.ture, I can only
‘ say, that one of the few points in which I totally disagree with the
“‘ proposer of the motion, is the expediency,‘ under existing circum-
‘‘ stances, of holding out any idea, that it would be possible to relin-
“ quish the silk manufacture, and to provide for those who live by it,
“ by parliamentary enactment. Whatever objections there may be
“ to the continuance of the protecting system, I repeat, that it is im»
“‘ possible altogether to relinquish it. I may regret that the system
“ was ever commenced; but asl cannot recal that act, I must sub-
“ mit to the inconvenience by which it is attended, rather than est-
“ pose the country to evils of greater magiiitutle.” Let it be rc—~
rneruhered, sir, that these are not the sentizneuts of a theorist, nor

3»

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_, the fancies of speculation; but the operative .opinious of the fil‘Stll'il.-

nister of hhiglaiid, iacliiiotvletlgeti to; be one of the ablest and most.
practical statesmen of his country. Sir, gentlemen could have hardly
beenniore unfortunate than in the selection of the sill; manufacture
in England, as an example of the beneticial, effects of that ,system

i it 

‘WlllC_l1 they would recommend. It is, in the language which I have
quoted, completely artificial. It has been sustained by I know not
how many laws, breaking; in upon the plainest principles of general
expediency. At the lastsession of Parlianient, the manufacturers
petitioned (for the repeal of three or four of these statutes, complain-
,ing of the vexations restrictions whicli they impose on the wageslot‘
labor; setting forth, that a great variety of orders has from time to
time been issued by magistr'ates under the authority of these laws,

‘interfering, in an oppressive manner, with the niinutest details of the

rnannfacture: such as limiting the number of threads to an inch; re-
stricting the widths of many sorts of work; and determining the
quantity of labor not to be exceeded without extra wages: that by
the operation of these laws, the rate of wvagres, instead of being left
to the recognized principles of regulatioiifliasi been arbitrarily lined
by persons whose ignorance renders‘ them incompetent to a just tie»
cxsion; that masters are compelled by law to pay an equal price for
all work, whether well or ill performecl; and that they are totally
Jrevented the use of improved machinery, it being ordered, that work,
in the wearing of which machinery i.s employed, shall be ‘paid pro»-
tzisely at the same rate as if done by hand; that these acts have ire-
quently given rise to the most vcxatious regrilatitizils, the uninten-
tional breach of which has subjected manufacturers to ruinous penal»
ties; and that, the introduction of all machinery being; prevented, by
wliich labor llllglltt be cheapened, and the manufacturers being com-
pelled to pay at a fixed price, under all circumstances, they are pro»-
vented frainn z1fih‘rding; employment to their workmen, in times of stag-
nation of trade, but are compelled to stop their looms. And finally,
they complain, that, notwithstanding these ;;;rievarill‘ces under ’Wl1iCl1
they labor, while ca1'x‘_yi1'1g on their manufacture in London, the law
still prohibits them,’ while they continue to reside there, from employ-

ing any portion of their capital in the same business in any other part

of the kingsloxn, where it might be more beneticially conrlnctetl.--
Now, sir, absurd as these laws must appear to be to every man, the
attempt to repeal them did not, as far as I recollect, altogether sue-
need. The weavers were too numerous, their interests too great, or
their prejntlices too strorig;,and this notable instance of protection
and monopoly still exists, to be lamented iiiEnglzn1d, with as much
sincerity as it seems to be admired here. ,

In order further to shew the pi'etrailing sentiment of the English
government, I would refer to a report of a select corninittee of the
House of Commons, at the head of which was the vice president or
the board of trade, (Mr. ‘Wallace) in July, 1820. “ Tlie time,” say
that committee, “ when monopolies could be suc.cessfnlly supported,
*“ or would be patiently endured, either in respect to subjects against
“ subjects, or particular countries agairzst the rest of the world,
“ seems to have passed away. Wl30l}}ll'18FC€, to continue nntlistnrbetl
“ and secure, must be, as it was intended to be, a source of recipro-
“ cal amity between nations, and an interchange of productions, to
“ promote the industry, the wealth, and the happiness, of niankintir”
r l «s

18?

In moving for the re~-appointment of the committee, in February, 1893?,

the same ggentlenian said; “ We must also get. rid of that feeliogg 

“ approrwiatiozi, which exhibited itself in a disposition to produce
“W everything necessary for our own consumption, and to render our-
‘ selvesindepentlent of the world. i No notion could beinore ab~;-surd
‘ or miscliievouss; it led, even in peace, to an alllltitlslliy a1‘ul.rancouz"9
‘ greater than existed in time of war. Undoubtedly there would be
“... great prejudices to combat, both in this country and elsewliere, in
‘. the attempt to remove the dilliculties which are most obno"x.i.ous.
‘ It would be impos-ssible to forget the attention which was in some
‘ respects due to the p‘t‘eS£3l’lt systeiii of protections; although that
‘ attention ou;_g;l'it certainily not to be carried beyond the absolute ne-
“ cessity of the case ”’ And in a second report of the committee,
drawn by the some gg;ent.'leiii:in, in that partof it which proposes a di-
rninut.iou of duties on iZll'l.ll_)f.:'tl‘ from thenorth of Europe, and the policy
of §,ijiiririgg a leggielatire rireiierence to the iinportation of such timber in
the log, and a tliscoii1i'ageiiieiit of the importation of deals, it is stated
that the committee reject tliis uvrlicy, because, aniong other reasons,
5‘ it founded on a §)l‘l11Cl§}lt-3 of e:-tciusion, which they are most averse

“ to see brou,gl'it, into operation, in any rnrzv -instlcmce, without the war»
“ rant «fit some evident and great political CX‘{)::tillE’llC_'f,’.” Aiitl on many
subsequent occasimis, the eauie g2;ei1tle.liiian has taken ocasion to ob-
serve, that he (.ll'fll3l‘L¥t_l lroin thosle who tlioiiglit that xnanufactures
could not flourisli without restrictions on trade‘; that old prejudices
of that sort were t_lyin;g; away, and that more liberal and just senti-

W

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A El

6

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ments were l',Z‘l,l§.ll“1g their place. Tliese sentiments appear to have .

been l'ollowetl by i:'ni:iot*t;i1it legal provisions, calculated to remove re»-
etrictious andlprohibitions,~wliere they were most severely felt; that is
to say, in several branches of navigation and trade.
Tliey have relaxed their colonial syst,o1n, they have opened the
«arts of their islands, and liave done away the restriction which limited

the trade of the coltony to the. mother country. Colonial products can

now be carried directly from the islands to any part of Europe; and
it may not be improbable, considering our own liigli duties on spirits,
that that article may be eztchanged licreal’ter by the Englieh VV€Sl2AIl1-
dialcolonies, directly, for the timber and deals of the Baltic. i

It may be added that Mr. Lowe, whom the gentleman has cited ,“
says, that nobody supposes that the three great staples of English
manufactures, cotton, woollen,and hardware, are benefitted by any
existing protecting duties; and that one object of all these protect-
ing laws is usually overloolted, and that is, that they have been in-
tended to reconcile the various interests to taxation: the corn law,
for example. being designed as some equivalent to the agricultural
interest for the burden of tithes and of poor rates. '

In fine, Sir, I thinlt it is clear’, tliat, if we now e'ml)rac‘e the system
of prohibitions and restrictions, we shall shew an allhctiion for _‘Wl‘lZl.i;

others; have discarded, and be attempting to ornaruent ourselvesi with

east off 3.p§)€l1TEl..'3"'

 Vida NOZQE at eljlcli i

197

Sir, I should not have gone into this prolixdetail of opinions from
nny consideration of tlieir special irnportance on the present ocean-
sion; but, having happenerl to state, tliet such was the actual opinion
of the government of Engrland at the present time,‘ and the aecnmcy
of this representation having been so confidently denied, I have cho-
sen to put the nietter beyondtlouht or cavil, although at the expeiise
of these tedious cite.tions. lfshnll have occasion, hereafter, of refer-
rine more particularly to strmlry recent. Eritisli enactments, by way

ofs iewiing; the diligezxee and spirit; with which that government strives

to enstein its nziviggating; interest, by opening the widest possible range
to the €:l‘lt(~?1‘pI‘lS9. of inrlivirlunl etlventurers. I repent, tlint I ‘have
not ellntlecl to these examples of at foreign state as being fit to con-
trol our own policy. In the Kg-enernl principle, I acquiesce. Protec--
tion, when c.nrri,e«:l to the point which is now roeoimnendetl, that is,
to entire prohibitl(_m., seems to me, rlestrurtive of all commercial in-
twconr-se between nations. VVe ore urgetl to atlogzast the systerrx upon
general prinei;ilos,; and what would be the eonsequeiiee of the uni»
verenl 11}.')l.*ali(.‘.’1i.‘tl()t‘! of ."~3Ll(:.l] n wnernl ]T31‘ll}l:l!§iI.it3, hut that notions would
abstain entirely frorn all inter'r:ourse with one nnotheri’ I do not ed»-
mit the ,g4;«r1tlrl'el §:lrincigile_; on the contrary, I ‘think freedom of trncle
to he the ;:_e;enero.l gin-irieiple, non! rostrir;t'ion the exception. And it is
for everyslnte, t..;tl4ii1;,; into view its own romliti<_»n, to jotlge of the

_p1'op1‘iety', in may rzzise, of mnl~:in<__,,.g; no t:-,:x:cept.io:i, (.‘.6'.)l"l8l.'u'.tl'll.l_V~ [Jz'efe1't'irlg,

as I t;hinl»: ell wise gi.)VCl’il,ll'l‘10.i,liIS will, not to {w‘i£L.'§+)Zil‘t without urgent
reo.son froin the gxariertil rule.

'I‘hore is {mother point in the ¢e3:isl,iing policy offlnglztzitl, to which
I would rrnoslt eernos't.ly invite the attention ofvtlie cmnmittee; I menu
the warehouse systorni or wlmt we usually call the system of l tl ew-
baok. Very gig-rr:21.t ‘pI'i1‘jl1(.ll()t“5r3_§ :;tppii~nr to one to exist with us on that
subject. "We seem averse to tln: e:-Lteneion of the pr'il.soi;;le. Tlie lists;-~
lish government on the contrary, appear to l'l:;tV'£.’: enrr'=ietl it to the 
treme of lihernlity. Tlze3_yl‘1nVn, arrived, however at their ‘present
opinions, andslpresent prectiice, by slow rlegraiees. Tile transit sys-
tem was comrnenced about the year 1803, but the first law was pern-
tinl and limiter-‘L It admitted the i1nporta.tion of raw rn-nterio.l_e for
exportztticvri, but it excluded nlrnoet every sort of snonufeeturetl goods”
This was done for the some reason that we propose to prevent the
transit of Canadian wheat through the United tiitetes---the fear ol’eid-
ing the competition of the foreign article with our own, in for*ei;_2;z1
marltets. Better reflection, or rnore experience, has intlucetl them.
to abandon that mode of reosiznitig, and to consider all such means
of irxlluencing foreign ninrkets as Iiugetoryz since, in the present ac»-

r tive andAenligiitened state of the world, I1Z1iIi0ll.‘E:Wl.ll‘SLlfJf.)l_'}7 tliemselves

from the best sources, and the true poiioy of all pI‘0titlC.C1'S, whether
of rnwmnteriels, or of manufactured articles, is, not vainly to entlee-
vor_to keep other vendors out of the rnnrltet, but to conquer them In

it, by the qnnlityland the olxenpness of their e,rtieles. The present l

policy of England, therefore, is, to nllnre the importetionv of: comma»

Ztl

titties into England, there to be deposited in ‘English orarelionses‘,

~t-henceto be exported in assorted cargoes, and thus enabling her to
carry on a general export trade to all quarters of the globe. Articles ,

of all kinds, with the single exception of tea, may be brought

into England, from any part of the world, in foreign as well i

as British ships, there warehonsed,~and again exported, at the pleas
sure of the owner, without the payment oi any duty, or government

a charge whatever.

. Vliile I am upon this subject, I would take notice alsotof the re-s

cent proposition in the English Parliament to abolish the tax on inn-«v
l ported wool; and it is observable, that those who supportthis propo»

sition, give the samereasons as have been off'ered here,within the

last week, against-the duty which_,we propose on the same article,,
Tliey say, that their manufacturers require a cheap and coarse wool,
for the supply of t the Mediterranean and Levant trade, and that, with-—

out a more free admission of the wool of the continent, that ‘trade
will all fall into the hands of the Germans and Italians, who willcarry.
it on through Leghorn and Trieste. "While there is this duty on to-

reign wool to protect the wool growers of England, there is on the  

other hand a prohibition on the exportation of the native article, in
aid of the manufacturers.   The opinion seems to be gaining strength,
that the true policy is to abolish both.

Laws have long existed in England, preventing the emigration oi”
artisans, and the eztportationof machinery; bntthe policy of these, also,
has become doubted, and an inquiry has been instituted in Parlia»
ment into the expediency of repealing them. As to the emigration of

artisans, say those who disapprove the laws, if that were desirable,_
no law could effect it,-,, and as to the exportation oi niaclrinerjr,“ let us.

fabricate and eaportit, as we would any other cotnrnodity. ll’I*‘rance
is determined to spinoand weave her own cotton, let us, if we may,-
still have the benefit of furnishing the machinery. i it
, I have stated these things, Sir, to shew What seems to be the gene-
ral tone of thinking and reasoning onthese subjects in that cou.ntr_jr,
the example of which has been so much pressed upon us. ‘Whether
the present policy of England be right or Wrong, wise or unwise, it
cannot, as it seems clearly to me, be quoted as an authorityfor car-
rying further the restrictive and exclusive system, either in regard to
,xnanufact.ures or trade. To re-establish a sound currency, to meet

at once the shock, tremendous as it was,of the fall of prices, to en» ,,

large her capacity for foreign trade, to open wide the field of i11diri—
dual enterprize and cornpetition, and totsay, plainly and distinctly,
that the country must relieve itself from the embarrassmients which it

felt, by economy, frugality, and renewed efilorts of enterprise; these

appear to be the general outline of the policy which Englandhas poo-
saed. i H l t l ”   p

‘. Mr. Chairman: I willsay afew words upon a topic, ‘that, for the
introduction of which, into this debate,-~I should not have given the

i Eorornittee, on this occasion, the troahle of lrearing me. Some «laps

fit

ago, i believe» it was when we were settling the c(m‘i:2‘oversy between

the oil. merchants and the tallow chandlers, the Balance of Trade made
its appearance in debate, and I must confess, Sir, that I spoke of it,
or rather spoke to it, somewhat freely and m'evereiitly. I believe I
used the hard names which have been imputed to me; ,..ml 1' did it
simply‘ for the purpose of laying the spectre, and d1~i.ving it hack to its‘
tomb. Certainly, Sir, when I called the old notion on this subject

_ nonsense, I did not suppose that I should otlencl any one, unless the

dead should lianppeii to hear me. All the living gei‘ier‘i1tion, I took it
for grantecl, would think the term very properly applied. In this,
however, I was mistaken. The tleadand the lixringg rise up tog-etliet
to call me to account, and I must defend myself as well as I am able.

Let us inquire, then, Sir, what is meant by an unfavorable balance
of trade, and what the tll‘gL1lYlel”lf is, drawn from that source. By an
tmfavorahle balance of trade, I uoclerstand, is meant that state ot
things in which importation exiceetls exportation. To apply it to out
own case, if thevalue of goods imported, exceed the value of those
exported, then the balance _q/‘trade is said to be agzainst us, inasmuch
as we have run in debt to the amoimt of this tlilterence. l '.l‘l1erefo1'e,
it is said, that, if a nation continue long in a commerce like this, it
must be rendered absolutely ha'ukrupt. It is in the coiiclition of a
man that buys more than he sells; and how can such a trallicbe main»
tained without ruin? Now, ‘.~iir, the whole fallacy of this argument
consists in supposing that, whenever the value of imports exceeds
that, of exports, a debt is necessarily created to the er-ttehtof the dill

ference: whereas, ordinarily, the import is no more than the result of
the exmrt, aun-mooted in value b the labor of trans'1ottat‘ion. The
, an i

excess ofimports over exports, in truth, usually shows the gains, not
the losses of trade; or, in a country that not only have and sells goods,
but employs ships in C21l'K‘yll'lg g_g'()0tlS also, it shows the profits of come-
meroe, and the earoinggs of navigation. Notliing is more certain than
that in the usual course ol'tl1i1’igs, and taktixig a series of years together,
the value of our imports is the a,ggx‘eg:ite of our experts and our
fx'eights. If the value of commodities, im ported in it given case, did
not exceed the value ol’ the outward cargo, with which they were
purchased, them it would be clear tocvery mao’s common sense, that
the voyage had not been prolitable. If such commodities fell far short.
in value of the cost of the outward cargo, then the voyage would he a,
very losing one; and yet it would present exactly that state of
tliiogs, which, acct;i'tliog; to the notion of a balance oftratfe, can alone
indicate a pros_oerous commerce, On the other hand, if the retum
caago were found to be worth much more than the outward cargo,
while the mercliaxit, liaviu,<g; paid for the goods exported, and all the

_expenses of the 't’0yftg‘€3, finds a handsome sum yet in his liazids, which

he calls f}l‘l.}lll‘~', the bteltmee of zfmnle is still agziiost him, and ‘Wl1itl£€3V‘(‘.t"

lit’ they think: of it, he is in a very bad way. .z‘iltlioiig,_{;l‘l one individual, i

or all ‘iadivitluals gain, the nation “loses; vvlxilel all its c.iti:r.eos grow

.i°*ich, the coentzr grows poor. Tl'll.&3 is the doctrine of the éeiciizcc of

22

z.lm:rZ’e... Allow me, Elia”, to give an instance temling to shew l'l{)W
uneccountebly imliviiluols (leceive tlieinselves, and iiiiegixie tliemselvee
to be somewhat ropicllyineiiding their condition, wliile they ought, to
he pei~soe(letl tliet, hy that infallible stzmilord, the bczlcziace of t-ra:cie,,
they are on the higo road to ruin. Some yeoifs ago, in better times
than the present, a. ship left one of the towns of New Eoggglzintl with
270,000 epecie dollars. E-lhe gs,-roceetled to Mocha, on the Red Sea, owl
‘there ileial out these dollars in colthe, drugs, spices, &;c. V/iitl'1 this
new czir;_;-o she proceeded to Europe; two~«tli.irtls of it were sold io
Holland for $180,000, which the ship brouglit l)£l.C.l{, and placed in the
some Bank, frooietlie vaults of which she had tolteiil1ei'cirigii1ol.outfit.
The other third was sent to the ports of the Metliterraoeeh, and pro-
tlucecl a.’ return of 255,000 dollars in specie, and 15,000 dollars in
Italian merchcmclise. These some together ma.keo170,0O0dolla,1's im-
ported, which is 100,000 clollors more than was exported, and is
tl1.eref0i'e proof of an unfavorable liulanceqf trade, to that amounniln.
thie adventure. Vi-'e should find no great clilliculty, Sii*,_i11 piiying
ofihuebalances if this were the nature of them all. 0

The truth is, Mr. Chairman, that all thesse obsolete and exploded no»
tionslmd their origin in very oiistaken itleos of the true nature of
commerce. Commerce is note go.mhling_e1‘i1o1ig nations for e stelcc, to
be won by some and lost by other". It has not the temleocy neces-
sarily to impoverish one of the pa.rties to it, while it enriches the
other; all parties gale, all parties melee profits, all parties grew rich,
by the operootions ofjue-t and liberal commerce. if the world lietl but
one clinic, and but one soil; if all men had the some vents and the
some means, on the spot of their existence, to gratify those wants;
then, ihtlectl, wliet one ohtoinecl from the other by eXCl'lal1§,§C, ‘woultl
i tljtlffi one ‘gTBZil‘lZ_Y in the same degree that it henefitted tlieother; then,
iotleetl, there would be some foundation for the balance of trade. But
Providence. has clieposed our lot mucli more kinclly. "We inhabit 11
various earth. ‘We have reciprocal mints, and reciprocal means for
gretiifying one aootliefis Wants. This is the true origin of commie-rce,
which is iizitliiog; more than an eiltchange of e_qlllVal8IltS, alltl froni the
rmle barter‘ of its pl‘ll‘i”l"liCl‘J€ stote, to the retinetl ontl complex etote in
which we see it, ite principle is oiiitiwmly the come; its only object.
heixtig, in every? stage, to protluce that Glicllétllmi of comroodities be»
tween imlivitluels sod between iiotions, wliico slizill contluce to the
a.€lV11l1‘itl§’,’~(3l2Ll}{l-lI.0 the happiness of both. Coimoerce hetween notions

has the some eeeeotiol cliaracter, ee commerce between intliviclualss,

or between ports of the somenetion. C-zmoot two il1(ill'Vl(lt2£ilS mo.l~:.o
an iritercliimge of commotlli.tie-s whicli shall precise heoe‘liciel to hath,
or in which the balance of trestle sluill be in l'awoi' of hotlii? if not, the
toilet‘ mid the slioeomker, the farmer and the smith, lizwe liitl'iei°to.
very mocli misunderstood. their own interest. And with regoio to tlio
iI}l'.eK‘11til trade of 3. country", in which the some role would :ig3gil§,' zio

het.ween nations, do we ever speak of such on intei~coui~se heiog; pi-e-i

Qjodiciali to-one side l:>ec.e.ose it  iisetiil to the otlieril no  meta‘ liege:

23

that, because the intercourse between New York and Albany is ad» i

vantagcous to one of those places, it must therefore be ruinous to the
other’:‘* _  

May I be allowed, sir, to read a passage on this subject from the
cbsevations of a gentleinan, in my opinion one of the most clearand
sensible writers and spealters of the age upon subjects of this sortP*‘
“' There is no political question on which the prevalence of false princi-

“ples is so general, as in what relates to the nature of commerce and '

“ to the pretentlocl balance of trade; and there are few which have led
“to a greater number of “practical rziistaltes, attended with ‘conse-
“ qucnces extensively prejudicial to the happiness of Inanlqind. In
“this count1'y, oar pltI'l.ll‘tl11G.‘lllt1l‘_'_V',pl‘t)CB€(lll’lgS, our public (loc.ument.s,
“ and the works of several able and popular writers, have combined to
“ prcipagzitc the impression that we are inrlebtetl for much of our riches
“ to what is called the £2czlcm(:e of trade.” “Uur true policy would surely
"‘ be to profess, as the object and gixitle of our commercial system,
“ that which "every man who has stutlied the subject, must know to he
“the true principle of commerce, the ir’a,Zcv*c/zczzzge of 7'etr:7pr0cal cmol
“ e(_,wi‘z:n<le22t be.ru_.y"z‘.t. VVC‘. may rest assured that it is not in the nature
'5‘ of coimncrce to enrich one party at the expense of the other. 'l."l1is
“ is a purpose at ‘which, ifit were practicable, we ought not to aim;:
“and which, if we aimed at, we could notaccomplish.” These re»-
marlrs, I believe, sir, were written some ten or twelve yeare ago. 'I‘liey'
are in perfect accorclance with the opinions advanced in more elabo-
rate treatises, and now that the world has returned to a state of peace,
and commerce has resented its natural channels, aiidldiflerexit nations
are enjoying, orseeltirig to enjoy, their respective portions of it, all see
tliejastiiess of these ideas; all see, that, in this (lay cl‘ l{llI)\'Jlt3(l§_§t¥ amt
of peace, there can he no connnorce between nations but that wliioli
shall benefit all who are parties to it.

If it were necessary, Mr. Cliairman, I miglit asls: the attention of the
committee to recur to a document belbre us, on this subject, ofthe
Zrolrrnce of trade. It will be seen by reference to the accounts, that,‘ in
the course of the last year, our total export to Holland exceeded two
millions and a half; our total import from the f.~3£l.l‘i1@ country was but
'.”'O0,000 dollars. Now can any’ man be wilcl enough to malce any
inference from this of the ,gai11 or loss ofour tratle with l"Iollam‘l for
that year? Our trade with Russia for the same year, produced a baa
lance the other way; our import being two millions, and our export
but half a million. But thishas no more tenrlazncy to shew the Russian
trade a losing trade, than the other statement has to show that the
Dutch trade has been a gainful one. Neither of them, by itself, provce
any tliinfgf. V 4 i

S5l)FlI)gll7lg out of this notion of it Zmlrmce of zfmzrle, there has been
another idea, which hasbeen much tlwcltupon in the course of this cle-
bate, that is, that We ouglit not to buy of nations who do not lmy of tie;

 Mr. llnskiscon, PZ'€.?Sltlt'3Tll1 of the Englisli Tlftoarcl of Tracile.

3%

for example, that the Rusian trade is a trade disadvantageous to the
country,sa.ncl ought to be discouraged, because, in the ports of Russia,
we buy more than we sell. Now allow me to observe, in the first
place, sir, that we have no account showing how -much we do sell’ in
the ports offlnssia. Our oflicial returns shew us only what is the
amount of our direct exports to her ports. But then we all know‘
that the proceeds of otherof ourezxrports go to the same market, lZl1{)t.i;2_‘ll
indirectly; ‘We send our own products. for example, to Cuba, or to
Brazil; we there excliange them for the stigar and the codes of those
countries, and these articlesiwe carry to St. Petersburg, and there sell
them. Again; our exports to Holland and Hamburg are connected di—-
rectly or indirectly with our imports from Rossia.. Vilhat difiereiice
does it make, in sense or reason, whether a cargo of iron belhonglit at Sta
_l’etershnrg; by the excliange of a cargo of tobacco, or whether the toba-c—
co has been sold on the way, in a better 1narl«:et, in a port ca Holland,
the money remitted to. England, and the iron paid for by a bill on
London? There taught indeed, have heen an augmented freight, there
might have been some saving of commissions, if tobacco had been in
brisk dernandin the Russian Il12l.l‘l{t:i'. But still there is nothing to
shew that the whole voyage may not have been liiglily prolitahlei
Tliatidepemls upon the origginal cost of the article here, the amount
O'.l'ft‘&lgl1t and insurance to Holland, the price obtained there,the rate
of exchange between Holland and Englaml; the expense, then, ofpro-
1. . .‘ , . , 1 ‘vi . , .
l:::f:’l:l3gl:1t‘t{l1Elf.}‘]l)aePf§lltlir%l.1EEl:.l“llCl~iC'£El1§it1i!‘l‘1(l)[llIhji&(F? ’rl§§u—ill‘§i$‘Sféiiiliii
horse, and finally, the valuecof the iron, when l)l‘(-}l.l§?,j‘l]ll,t0 our own mar»

‘hot. i Tliesel are the calculations which deterrnine the fortune of the,
adventure; and notliizigscaiisbegutlged of it, one way or the other, lay the

relative state ofonr imports or exports with Holland , E113-lanti:l , or Ru ssiac.
I would not be understood to deny that it may often be our interest

to cultivate a trade with countries that most require such commoditi. 

-as we can furnish, and which are capable also of directly stipplyino;
our own wants. This is the simplest and most original form of all
commerce, and is, no doubt, liiglily beneficial. And some countries
are so situated, doubtless, that conirnerce; in this original form, or
something near it, may be all that they can, without considerable in-—
convenience, carry on. Our trade, for example, with Madeira. and
the "Western Islands, has been iisetul to tile country as furnlishiing a.
demand. for some portion of our ogi-icultiii‘al products, luwhich probably
conld not have been liiiuglit, had we not received their products in re~
turn. Countries situated still farther from the great marts and liigli—
ways of the coimnercial. world, may aflhrd still stronger instances of
the niacessity and utility of c..<ii1r;liicting; cloinmerce on the o1*iginal
principle of ‘oarter, without much assistance from the operations of
credit and exclliaitge. % All lwonld he understootl to say is-, that it by
noroeans follow. us that that n‘-inst, he a. losiiig trade with any coontry,;,

i from which We receive more of her products than she rei:.eives of ours. l

J‘-‘incl since lawns supposed the other day, in Sptfialililfg upon this stil3jec.t,
to liarecadvancerl opinions which not only this country €){1gl'il;f.0 reject,

1

but iivliielxeleio other eouhtries, andtholse the "mustdistinguishéd 

skill ~en.(il~]succe'ss in’. cbimtlerclialintercourse; (lo reject; Iwllil“i7aeltlieeiveii

to refer ‘again to the diecuseiong which Ifil‘Sl'.'1Ir€!ntl0l’1eClA ihjthe i“l)‘ng1lis1ii“
Pa.r%lihfmetlt,ilrelletive to the ft»:-eigzi t;~raide)ofthat country. h“_V_Vit.h i~e;‘;i_%
“ iga1~clV,'”‘ ~-says ‘the. lxnoverité of the ‘proposition, _‘.‘V to the argmrilenflgm; 
“ etnp'lrJy?ed agaiiistl renewingiourlihtercolu rse with the l101ftl’1'1)f Eumpeh;

i ‘* n~am‘7’e’ly, thatjthese. lwliogsupplied iusliiwiithitimberj frurn that quartet-A ”

“ wohlld not receive British manufactures In _rettu~n, it1appea.re(i‘_te %‘
“ lxim futilel and un;.~r0unld.ed.i If they did not eentl direct for‘  
‘F mauufactu:-as a_thome,Ithey would seml fort them to Leipsic endt other i
“fairs  Germany.) Were ‘not the Russian and Polish m,ercha.n‘te'

“ purcliasere there to agreat ammVmt?%But he would 11eve1fl‘a;d‘1i1it the] 
"principle, that a trade tvas net profitable, because we were lohleigede  
“ to carry it on with thep1'eciuus%n1etale',% or that we ought to remn.mee.

“ it, because our.manufactux'es were not recei've_dbj the et'<.)rei,gxi nzt~

“tlion,lii‘i1i‘1'etu"rrr for its. prorluce. ‘iwlmtever we re%ce‘ilve“d‘n_nus%t be 1
4‘ paid fur in the produce of our.lang1 and labor, directlyilor c:11fcuiit<)1,1%s§-A
“ ly,taml: he.Wfl$ étladi to have tllenoble Ezujl’et Il‘1El.tfl;Cj(~3(l ;e"0nc_hrrerice‘ A”

“ in thi-sipI'inciple.’? it i ;

Referflfing loureelves again, sir, to the analogies“ 0fllcommionl;l“ife,;,
one would say, tl1at’a farmer or a. meclmnic should buy only w1—lereih»e jf‘
ca~niflfo-eo by the excliange or his own produce, or of his 0w'n ‘niaih‘ufa’i§‘j5—iiii;
ture;i~Sucl1,e:§:cl1ange may be often cohvcifiieintyand, _ionthe» u_tlileli¥ll'i¥hIijcl", f
theoash purchase may he often h*_gox7e‘i“co]nveh"ilent.t fltfisl thellsameil in 

the intercourse of nations. Ae%ipl1a,g9
argum:e‘nt‘011 veryc1eiarg%riounhd§._, ,I1:<l;   la”    21"

i d,“  ll Ive; ‘t

 

     

_.of     V     AV   
land would ermlllunger cuntinueto ipurchesehur‘ chtt hi.‘  ”th1s,_ M L

d M 

    
   

Speaker has repliiedl, with greet fdrde jendiilljiustice; that, as Shh rxxusl: j
ha,ve’*,cehtto;1 in large quantities, lshefiwilllbuy the article'wl1ere~she c“jan~

find it-ghest3ani'(l chea.p_est; and thatitiwuuldh be-quite ridicufllousiin lien,

manufaclturing as she still woullidi be, for her‘ own; vast ?&cohsun1%ptiuTni, At
audit the ll‘l?co~neumptihn of inlilleiohs i in other coulntriiiesi,‘ V th reject inure   l
liarltdsl,’=‘be~ca;us:e we hadrlearned to ifmagufaicturee a lparit qf them‘fo;Hieiti'ifé..l  V
sel%ves."l;At1d e jweuld it not be   Viiiédihulouéil iri us; it“ 
ti~eslofifiuissiaiwiefeiboth ch:eaper;ll“aipidi iiibetthf suitedto ‘ihuri Wen‘ts, thlati 

could befoiund elsewl1e"r'e, to abistztihifgroih eommercel vvithlheri, bjeceu“s%‘e

she Will.‘nOt receive,lin; return, other ‘cdnmiodities which wellhave”to%l‘l

se11;fbu‘t which she has no ‘ occasion‘ to buy?‘ ‘  “

* iilntifmately connected, Sir,9Witl1tliiS~tbpicg isenothlelr, which lmsibeerri
broughitl‘%initoitlwdebategAAI me'an,: the eviljso*’much% cofmplain_ed %»of~+th;e* 
*eXptieIjtj;1Lti‘olr1t.*‘io'f h ‘specie.’ f % JWeAlllh%ezi1‘i igejntliemien l imputing the ‘ >1oSs1  

 1‘ I ‘

n1a‘rkfett?i;7a‘t:l1(1meilt0 ia tmmt of and this wantiof .‘money to‘

  

eiXp0rtttt:1;e:h;;”’   t11é}‘:‘.p‘r‘el‘.cioitI“s‘y i m‘?etzllS;  e” heat‘ the In diia; haul! l
trade  35°] 3; ;cou;marcelmlductedA on iouir~i‘fsid‘e.“inil- A
1neiesu‘ré;liil;vifihtlij:";T  Silvef-gt  Tlheee“l1o”piiriions,l sir,j‘:ialfe  
     

      1  1

AW

26

are no shallower reasoners, than those political and commercial
writers, who would represent it to be the only true and g,2;ainful end of
commerce, to accumulate the precious 'rnetal.s. These are articles of
use, and articles of merchandise, with this additional ‘circumstance
belonging tothem, that they are made, by the gezieral consent of,na-
tions, the st;-mdai-d by which the value of all other merchandise is to
be estimated. In regard to xveights and measures, something drawn

, from external nature is made a common standard, -for the purposes of
iyygenseral convenience; and this IS precisely the in office. performed by

the precious rnetals,in addition tothose‘ uses to which, as metals, they
are capable of being applied. There maybe of these, too much or
toolittle, in a country, at alparticular time, as there. may be of any
other articles. ‘When the market is overstocked with them, as it
often is, their exportation becomes as proper and as useful as that of

syothercorouiodities, under similar circumstances. We need nojmore 

repine, when thefdollars, which have been brouglit here from South

America, are clesputchecl to other countries, than when coffee and sun
gar false the same direction. ‘We often deceive ourselves by attributing
to a scarcity of money, that which is the result of other causes. In the
course of this debate, the honorable. member from Pennsylvania has re-
presented the country as full of every thinghut money. But this, I take

* to be a mistake. The agricultural products, so abundant in Penusylu

‘V3.l'1l2!., will not, he says, sell for money; but they will sell for money as
quick as for any other article which happensto be in demand. They will
sell for money,for example, as easily as for coffee, or for tea, at the prices
rwhicli properly belong to those articles. The mistake lies in imputing
‘that to want of money, which arises from want of demand. Men do not
"buy wheat because they have money, but because they want wheat.
To i<,lecide whethermoncy be plenty or not, that is, whetherthero be
alarge portion of capital unemployed or not, when the currency of a
fcountry is noctallicyvve must look, not only to them-ices of commot1i-

‘ties, but alsoito the. rate of interest. A low rateof interest, a facility

of ohtainingmoney on loans, a disposition to invest in permanent
stocks, all of which are proofs that money is plenty, may nevertheo
iess often denote a state not of the liighest prosperity. i‘ hey may, and
often (lo, shew a want of employment for capital; and the accumula-
tion of specie shows the same thing. ‘We have no occasion for the
precious metals as money, except for the purposes of circulation, or
rather of sustaining a safe paper circulation. And whenever there
he a prospect of a profitable investment abroad, all the gold and silver,
except what these purposes require, will be exported. For the same
reason, if a, demand exist abroad for, sugar and coffee, whatever
amount of those articles 'nii;_;-lit exist in the country, beyond the Wants

a of its own consumption,“ wouldybe sent abroad to meet that demand.

Besides, sir, show should it ever occur to any body, that we should

. continue to export gold and silver, if we diclnot continucito import
y them also? If a vessel takeour own? products tothe Havana, oryelysee

where, "e_xchzu1gia “theni, f'or_,filolla,1's, proceed. to China. exchange

y them for silks and teas, bring these last to the ports of the Medi-

ll?

iiarranean, sell lhem them for dollars, and return to the Unitoil
‘States; this would he .1‘ voya;;;-6: K'EEéuliTll]§,1§ll'l tho ill'lpOK‘lfi.ll0l’1 oil’ the pre»
anions Inc-luls. But if she hurl retumml from Cuba, will the dollars oh-
‘lainecl tliere had been Sl”llpp‘(~!l.l ilir-act from who Uniteil States to
fihinzi, the China goo(l,s will in Holluml, mill the pmceeilo hrouglit
home. in the liieinp amd ii-‘oh of Russia, this; would; be :1 iroyuge in which
‘lhey were. eXpo1‘ted. "Yet ovary l)€DLly"S@€?S, lzlizit hotli miglit he equal-»
ly beneficial to the individuals oiicl, io llzlm l‘}lll;llllI. i believe, sir, tliot,
llll point of lhc-t, we have erijoyeil giealt heiiolit in our trade with loclizi
and Cliiiizi, lioih the lihcmy of going 'l’i'ol."ii pl?;l.C(*: to plaice sill ()‘Vl*3lL' the
world, willmut heing iililiigetl. in the mean 'tiiiie., to rotum home---ii liw
b€tl‘l'_‘Y not lieietollire. ehjoyocl by the privu,"te trmlcrsi oil’ Eiiglantl, in re,--
galcil to India; zmcl Chino. Supgiosse the Aiiioricaih ship to he at Bmzail,
for emiiiplo---slie couhl pl‘(lC(§l?(.l with her (ll)llfl.l'EE‘o (.lll‘l‘3<t2lI to lmlizi, and,
in l‘€*tul‘l‘l, couhgl i,lisl;.rihutu ilier <':::i1',go in all tlio v:-uiouo p(ll‘i.F5 of Europe,
or Anmwicu: while on lllliglioli sliip, ii" a, priv:z.l;o l1'iii.lm', being at
Bl‘£*lfé',ll, iiiussl ‘lirst iletum to l~3n;_);lu,i'u,l, mind then coulcl only pro<::e€:d in
him direct line ilirom hliiglziiill lo imlin. 'l‘his 1?l(lVlllll&g@, our country»-
ineu ‘liiive not l;Mil3lil b:icl«:.w2ii'(l to im pl'ovi1=;. ziml in the debate to which I
have :.’ill‘E.‘,&(ly 1-:~:o oftoli l‘l}l'lt‘!‘l‘9.(.“l, it was litiilell, not williout some com-~
plaliut of tlio ii'x~::iiiiveil1im1co of (:X(3lUF$l¢.)ll, unil lulu: iiatuml sling;-gislinoso
of monopoly, lliul. Amoiimn Sl1lp.‘5 VVl'§l'°C‘3' ail’. llzul iinomenlz fitting; out in
lilo ',l‘l1zmm':s, to supply l.¥‘i';iiico., lfiolluml, owl ol;l‘1er countriies on
the contioorit, with ‘ilfiill; while the E:1Sl‘. iillllillil. llioznpeiny would um; do
lhis of ti‘icn1sclw.>.s, nor allow ziiiy olitlieir “fczllow ciiuntxymen to do it
or them .

’jl‘liero is yet uriotlior subject, Mr. Clmi:-man, upon which I wouhl
wish to say saoi‘1'ietlii,ii;3,;, if I l"l1l,g'l‘ll3pFCSL1l1'le upon tlie: continued patience
of lclio C<unriiitte.e.i "We Mai‘, oxiiiietiiiiuss, in tho House, ziud coritinual-
ily out of ii, of l;lM.". rulzc of tixoliui'i,ge., as liiziilgg; om: proo'l'l.liul, we are:
on the i'l0wi=iw;.ii'll mall to ruin. Ml". l‘Sgie:ilcol' himself lius il(l‘V€l'lL@(l.
‘lo tlizit topic, and i limo a.li'u.i<.l limit his uultlwrily ma-iy give credit to
opinions clearly unfoumhml, l1Yl(l which l<—':zi.i.l lf.ovory liiliso aml erroneouh
lzcoiiclusions. Sir, lot us see wliut the l'21L"l;.‘5 i.‘.l'€. hlxcliiiiigo 011 Eng”
land him recently risen one or one mill :1 liu1l"poz‘ cent., partly oxving,
perhaps, 'l10ll]81llh“()[l|:lCtl0fl ol this bill into Longreso. Before this
recent rise, and for the last six montlio, l umhzrstaiid its average may
have been about soven and a hall‘ per cent. ailvimce. Now, oupposing
this to be the real, and not izicmly, .213 it is, the nominal par of ex~
clmnge, between us and miglziml, wliut would it prove? Nothing, ex»
cept that funds were wanted, in Eiiglaud, for o0imne:i'cial iipemtions,
to heicarriocl on either in England or elsewhere. It would not neces-
sarily sshew that we were indebted to England: for, if we had occasion,
to pay debts‘ in Rosalia or Hollzmd, funds in Englaml would naturally
enougli he required for sucli a purpose. And even if it did prove that
a balance was due Enggland, at'tl_1e moment, it would have no tenr;len-
cy to explain to us whether our commerce with lflrigluzlid had been pro»
fitahle or unprofitable. But it is not true, in point of fact, that the
real price of exchange is seven and a. hall‘ per cent. advuuce, uor,ii.m.--

es

deed, that there is, at the present moment, any advance at all. That
is to say, it IS not true, that merchants Wlll give such an advance, or
any advance, for money 111 Eiigland, more than they would give for

the same amount, in the same currency, here‘; It will stirilae every
one, who reflects uponit, that, If there were a real difference of seven
' and a half per cent. money would be immediately shipped to Eng-

land; because the expense of transportation would be far less than

i that di:lt"erence. Or, commodities of trade would be shipped to Europe,

' ‘ 'and_the proceeds remitted to England. If it could so happen, that
v American merchants should be willing to pay ten per cent. premium

for money in England, or in other words, that a real (liffcrence to that
amount, in the excliange, should. exist, its effects would he imme-
diately seen in new shipments of our own commodities to Europe,
because this state of tliiiigs would create new motives. A cargo of
tobacco, for example, might sell at Amsterdam for the same price as
before; but if its proceeds, when remitted to London, were advanced,
asthey ‘would be in such case, ten per cent. by the state of exchange,
thiswould he so muchadded to the price, and would operate, there-
fore, as a motive for the exportation; and in this way, national ha»-
lances are, and always will be, adjusted. i p

d To form any accurate idea of the true state of ezmliange, the-
tweentwo countries, we must look at their currencies, and c.orn-
pare the quantities of gold and silver which they may respecti've-
ly represent. This usually explains the state of the exchange-s;_

and this will satisfactorily account for the apparent advance, now

existing, on hills drawn on iEng;lazid. 'l“he Englisli -standard of
value is gol,d: with us, that oflice is performed by giilil, and by

silver also, at a fixed relation to each other. But over estimate

of silver is rather higher, in proportion to gold, than most natiogns

~ give it; it is higher, especially, than in England, at the present mo-

ment. The consequence is, that silver, which remains a legal corn-en»
cy witlius, stayshere, while the gold has gone abroad; "Vel'l‘i‘_}/filflg‘ the
universaltru th, that, if two currencies be allowed to exist, of different
‘values, that which is cheapest will fill up the whole circulation. For
as much gold as will suflice to pay here a debt of a given amount, we
can buy in England more silver than would be necessary to pay the
same debt here; and from this difference in the value of silver arises
wholly, or in ogre-at measure, the present apparent clifiierence in ex-

,cliarige. Spanish dollars sell now, in ‘England, for four; shillings; and

nine-pence sterling per ounce; equal to one dollar and six. cents.

By our standard, the same ounce is worth one dollar and sixteen
cents; beingpa difference of about nine per cent. The true par of,ea:-
cliange, therefore, 18 nine percent. If a merchant here pay one hun»

- dred Spanish dollars for a bill on England, at nominal par, in sterling‘

rnoneyl, that is, for a bill for£2S2'. 10, the proceeds of this bill, when

paid in England, in the legal currency, will there purchase, at the

present price of silve'r,.one hundred and nine Spanish, dollars. There-
fd1*e,iit the nominal advance on Eginglishbills do not exceed; nine per
cent.the real exchange is not againstptliis ..,con1itry; in other words, . it
does not shew that there is any pressing or particular occasion forth-e
remittance of funds to England. v

329.

As little can be inferred from the occasional treoefer of ‘United
States’ stock to England. C<:>rloidei'iug; the Interest paid on our ett>cke,

,the entire gstehility of our credit, -and the accumulation ol’ cupitel in
Englaiitl, it is not at all wonderful that investments should occasion»

ally be made in our funds. As a sort of counterruiliug_t'ect, it may
he stated tllet English stocks are riorv actually holden In this coon»

i try, though probebl y not to any c_onsideruble_ amount.

I will now proceed, sir, to state some olo_jectione which I feel, ofe.
more general nature, to the course of Mr. Sipeakerhs observetiorus.

He seems to me to argue the question as lftlll tlomeetic industry were
confiried to the pL‘0(.luC»‘tl011_t)l‘ manufactured articles; as If the employ»

‘m(’.I1t()f our own capital, dull our own labor, in the occupations of
commerce and navigation, were not as empliuticolly domestic iitu;los-~

try as any other occupation. Some other ,g;e1'1tlemeu, in the course of
the debalie, liave spoken of the price paid for every *f01'eig9« manul'ac-
tured :.v1rticle, as so much given for the encouragement of forei;z;r1 la-
hor, to the prejudice of our own. But is not every such article the
§)l'(lt.lUCt of our own labor as truly as if we lied ruauul'ecture<.l it our»
eellveo? Our lohor lies earned it, and paid the price for it. lt is so
much added to the stock of uuti,ono.l wealth. If the commodity were
ILil,0ll3.l"f5,l nobody would doubt the truth of this remark; and it is pro»
rlisel.y its correct in its applicati01‘1 to any other commodity us to oil»
‘rein. One man rrmkes a yard ofcloth at home; i1I10l‘.l1€l‘ raises a,e:1'ictil«~«
turel products, and buys it yard of imported cloth. Both these ore
eq mill y the ezrruixngs of domestic industry, and the only questions tliat
erloe in the case are two: the first is, which is the best mode, under all
the cit‘cuim3t:u,i1cee, of obteiriiiug the article; the second is, lzowfar l/245.3‘
jive-st (fi!.CSf’i07% is proper to be decirled by gooermytozvt, and how jar it is
y9r0pcr2.‘o be  to imflividuocl di.s'crction. There is no foundation for
the distinction which attributes to certain employmeuts the peculiar
uppelletion of American iru.luet:ry; -and it is, in i'iiyjL1clgiii.ent, extreme»
ly unwise, to uttempt such CllSCt‘lII1lll1ltl,l.0.I1S.. We are asked What 1132.“
tione have ever attained eminent prosperity without encouraging ma»-»
11 ul‘ectureeP I may ask, what notion ever reached the like prosperity
without pr'o1t1¢)ti11g; fo1t*eicgn ttmrlei I regard these interests as closely
connected, urid. om oil'o17iiuion that it should be our aim to cause them
to flourish ttiget:l1e1*. I know it wouldhe very easy to promote 1no.rlut'ac-
tures, at lieost for a time, but probably only for :1 short time, if we might
act in clisreg'ux'tl of other iuteressts. VVe could cause a. sudden trans»
for of capital, and a violent change in the pursuitsofmen. ‘We could
.exceetli1'rgly heuetit some cluseeu by these means. But what, then,
becomes of the interests. of others? The power of collecting revenue
by duties on imports, mod the habit of the government of collecting
ulmo:-st its, whole revenue in that mode, will enable us, without eso-
ceediug the bounds of modemtiiou, to give great advantages to those
chases of riiariufuctixres which we may think, most useful to promote

t'1ll}()l3‘le. ‘What I object to is the itmuoderuite use of the powerJ——--le:tcl'u«-l
  eioue end prohibitions; all of Wlliafll, as; I think, not only interrupt the

pur:3uite oftiodiritluale, with great injury to themselves, and little or

30

no benefit to the country, but also often divert our own labor, or, as it
may very properly be called, our own domestic industry, from those
occu ations in which it is well employed and well paid, to others,;in
whic i it will be worse employed, and worse paid. For my part, 1 sea
‘very little relief to those who are likely to be deprived of their emu-
ploymeuts, or who find the prices of the commodities which they need,
raised, in any of the alternatives which Mr. Speaker has presemedt
It is nothing to say that they may, if they choose, continue to buy the
foreign article; the answer is, the price is augmented: nor that they
may use the domestic article; the price of that also is increased.
Nor can they supply themselves by the substitution of their ownfabric.
How can thp agricullturist make his own iron? How can the ship
owner crow 1i8 own iem P . i

But fhave a yet sti't)npger objection to the course of Mr. Speak-»
er’s reasoning; which is, that he leaves out of the case all that
has been already done for the protection . of manufactures, and
argues the question as if those interests were now, for the first
time, to receive aid from duties on imports. I can hardly express
the surprise I feel that Mr. Speaker should fall into the conimon
modes of expression used elsewhere, and ask if we will give our ma»
nnfacturers no protection. Sir, look to the history of our laws; look
to the present stateof our laws. Consider that our whole i‘evenue,
with a trifling exception, is collected at the custom house, and always
has been; andythen say what propriety there is in calling on the go-»
vernment for protection; as if no protection had heretofore been af-
forded. The real question before us, in regard to all the important
clauses ofthe bill, is not whether we will lay duties, but whether we
will augment duties. The demand is for something more than exists,
and yet it is pressed as if nothing esistedi. It is wholly forgotten
that iron and hemp, for example, already pay a ‘very heavy and burn»

thensflm tlutyjrand, in short, from the general tenor of Mr. Spealezerhs ‘
observations, one would infer that, hitherto, we had rather taxed our

own manufactures than fostered them by taxes on those of other coun-4
tries. We hear of the fatal policy of the tarih" of 1816; and yet the
law of 1816 was passed avowedly for the benefit of manufacturers,
and, with very few exceptions, imposed on imported articles very
great additions of tax; in some important instances, indeed, amtiunt—
ing to a prohibition. i r

Sir,”on this subject it becomes us at least to understand the real pos- .

tureof il18.ql1B&5iil0D. ‘ Let us not suppose that we are beg't"nm'ng the
protection ofmanufactures, by duties on imports. What we are asle-
ed to do is,to render those duties much higher, and therefore, instead
of dealing in general commendations of the benefits of protection, the
friends of thefbill, I think, are bound to make out a. fair case for each
of the manufactures wliicli they propose to benefit, The government
has already done much for their protection, and it ought to bepresum-
ed to have done enough, unless it be shown, by the facts and conside-
rations applicable to each, that there is a necessity for doing; more.

On tliegeneral question, sir, allow me to ask if the doctrine of pro-.

hibition, as ap;enera.1 doctrine,beinot preposterous? Suppose all na.-=

3t

tioos to act upon it; they would be prosperoous, their, 3.Ct‘:0lI"€lll’lg tothe
orguiiient, precisely in the p'roportior.r ‘m which they obolislietl inter_-
eohrse with one a.r1other.. "l‘he less ot nmto.e.l commerce the better,
upon this hypothesis. Protection amt‘ eocciuien-ei'oei1t may be. and area
doubtless, sometimes, wise end beoehcml, it ltept within proper limits;
but, wlieo carried to an €XlZl‘ill»’1iQ;‘&lillZ l‘iei,g~ht, or the point of prohibition,
the obsortl character of the system rnor.iii’ests itself. Mr. Speaker has
referred to the late 'Er'operor Neptileon,  lievirlg ettemptetl to matri-
rolize the maool"ec.tore of cotton in li'rrmce. lrle tlitl not cite o. more
extic*avegoi'it part of the projects oi" that ruler, that is, his attempt to
rioturelize the growth of thet plant itself in liraoce; Wherezis, we hove
mitlerstootil that C()l7lSltlt%)l‘2'1l.)lt3 districts in the south of l?ratnce, oml in
litojly, of rich oocl proaluctive hmtls, were at onetime witliclrziwo lirom
profitable uses, ttlltl tlevoteil to rziisirig, at g;x"v-at expense. 21 little bail
cotton. Nor have we been referrwl to the attempts, Lmtler the some
system, to make su;;'rri' isintl eoil"ee from coimoon culinary vegetables;
ottempts which served to lill the print sliops of ljlorope, .'m<.l to show

us how easy is the transition from wiser: some thihl; sublime, to t.l1::rl:

which all etlmilt to beriilir.t1lous. The folly of some of these projects
has not been surpesse.tl., nor lizmlly equ:il.letl, unless it be by the philo-~
sopher in one of the S:t!,lr(-:8 of bwifr, who so long labored to extract;
suobezmis from cocumbers..*' _

The povertir and uohoppine ss of Spain have been attributed to the
‘Want of protection to her own. industry. If by this it be meoot tliet
the poverty of Spain is owing; to boil govermnent rmtl lJtl.t.l lows, the re»
rnarlc is, in at great measure, just. But these very Laws are llllll be-
cause tliey are restrictive, partial, and prohibitory. if prohihit'im‘i
were protection, Spain would seem to have lmtl enough ofit... No~~
thing can exceecl the l)(3l,l‘l)3ll‘UtlS rigitlity oi’ her colonial system, or the
‘lolly other early commercial reg;ulz1tions. l,li‘1eli’ili,gj.fliteIietl owl higiitetl
legislation, the moltitotle of liolitleys, miserable mzrtls, rnonopolicgs on
the part of government, restrictive lows, tlmt ought long since to have
been ab1‘(>gel.ecl, are g;er1era,lly, aml i believe truly, reckom:-cl the prin»
eipul causes ofthe bad state of the prozluctive lI.’lt”ltl8‘il‘_‘jV of Spaiio.
Any partial improvement in her comlit.ion, or increase of her prospew
rity, has been,‘ in all cases, the result of relaxation, and the eboli—
tion of what was iotendetl for favor and protection.

In short, sir, the general sense of this age sets, with it S"il‘(>”llg curw
rent, in favor of freedom of commercial iritercoorse, and unrestroinerl
individual action. Men yield up their notions of monopoly and res--
triction, as they yield up other prejudices, slowly and reluctantly;
but thegy cannot withstand the geiierel tide of opinion.

* “ The first man I srmr was of’ :1 meagre aspect, with sooty bends and face.
His hair and heard long‘, 1'z1g~g~ed, and sin_t;'£3(l in several places. Elie elotlies, shirt,
onrl skin, were all of the some color. He had been eight years upon :2. project
for extracting‘ sun-beams out of" cucumbers, which were to be put into phials
hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air, in raw and inclement summers.
He told me, he did not doubt, in eight years more, he slmulcl be able to supply
the Governor’s gardens with sunshine, at a reasonable rate; but he complained
that his stock was low, zmcl iotreotecl me to give him sometl‘1ing~ as on eizc-ozz7~age»
 zfa i?lg"€7l'Z(?'t;I/, especially as this had been a. deer season t‘or ououml.)er.. ”



i Let me now ash, sir, wliat relief this bill proposes to some of those
greattiaiid essential iiitere~sts of the country, the condition of which
has been referred to as prool"‘ol'" national distress; and which condi-
tion, alt:.hougli i do not thi_nh: is rashes out a case of d<istress, yet does
indicate de.pression.

And first. sir, as to our Foreign Trade. Mr. Speaker has stated

i that there  been a considerable falling off in the toiiiiage employed
in that trade. 'l"hisis true, lanientably true. In my opinion, It is one

ofthose occurrences which ouaglit to arrest our immediate, ourdeep,
our most earnest attention. ‘What does this bill propose for its relief?
Sir, it proposes notliing_z; but new burdens. it proposes to diminish
its employment, and it proposes, at the same time, to augment its on»
pense, by subjecting it to heavier ta:-.ation. Sir, there is no interest,
in regard to which a stronger case for protection can be made out,
than the navigating interest. ‘Whether we look at its present condi-
tion, which is admitted to be depressed; the number of persons con»
nected with it, and dependent upon it for their daily bread; or its
importance to the country in a political point of view, it has claims
“open our attention which cannot be exceeded. But what do we pro»
pose to do for it? I repeat, sir, simply to burden and to tax it. By
a statement which I have already submitted to the Committee, it ap-
pears that the shipping interest pays, annually, more than half a million

of dollars in duties on articles used in the construction of ships. ‘We.

propose to add nearly,or quite,fifty per cent. to this amount, at the very
rnmnent that we bring forth the languishing state of this interest, as a,
proof of national distress. Let it be remembered that our Slllpplnig
employed in foreign commerce, has, at this moment, not the sliadow
of governnient protection. It goes abroad upon the wide sea to make
its own way, and earn its own bread, ina professed competition with
the whole world. Its resources are its own frugality, its own skill,
its own enterprize. It hopes to succeed, ifit shall succeed at all,not
by extraordinary aid of governnient, but by patience, vigilance, and
toil. This right arm oi the nation’s safety strengthens its own muscle
by its own efforts, and by unwearied exertion in its own defence bew-
comes strong for the defence of the country. i

No one acquainted with this interest, can deny that its situation, at
this moment, is extremely critical. ‘We have left ithitherto to main-
tain itself orperish; to swim if it can, and to sink rfit cannot. But at
this inoment of its apparent struggle, oanwe, as men, can we, as pat»
riots, add ‘another stone to the weight that threatens to carry it down?
Sir, thereis a limit to human power, and to human effort’. I know‘
the commercial marine of this country. can do almost every thing, and
hear almost every thingr. Yet some things are impossible to be done;
and some hurthens may be impossible to be borne; and as it was the last
ounce that broke the back of the camel, so the last tax, although it
were even a. small one, may be decisive as to the power of ourmarine,

to sustainthée conflict in which it is now engaged, with allthe com.-so

mercitd nations on the globe. « y o ,
Aggziiii, Mr. Chairman, the failures and the bankruptcies which have
talcen place in our large cities, have been mentioned as proving the

33

little success attending commerce, and its crencral decline. But this

7 bill has no balm for those wounds. It is very remarkable, that, when

losses and disasters of certain manufacturers, those of iron, for in-

stance, are mentioned, it is done for the purpose of irivokiugy aid for
the distressed. Not so with the losses and disasters of commerce;

these last are narrated, and not unfrequently much exaggerated, to
prove the ruinous nature of the employment, and to show thatrit
ought to be“ abandoned, and the capital engaged in it turned to other
objects. y t

lt lizisfbeen often said, sir, that our manufactures have to contend, not
onl y against the natural 3.tlV‘cll1tilg€'S of those who produce similar arti-
cles in ’foi'ei;gn countries, but also against the action of foreign govern»
moms, who have great political interest in aiding their own manufac-
tures tosuppress ours. But have not these governments as great an
interest to cripple our marine, by preventing the ggrowtli of our com-
nierce and navigation? What is it that makes us the object of the
higliest respect, or the most suspicious jealousy, to foreign states P

‘What is it that most enables us to take high relative rank among the"

nations? I need not so y that this results, more than from any thing else,
from that quantity of nmhtary power which we can cause to be water

borne, and of that extent of conunerce, which we are able to maintain 

tlirouglmut the world.

Mr. Cliairman, I am conscious of having detained the committee
much too long with these observations. My apology for now proceed-
ing to some 1'er}1ul{s upon the particular clauses of the Bill, is, that,_ re-
presenting a district, at once. connncrcxal and _l1iglily 1nanufactur1n,g,
and being‘ called upon to vote upon a Bill, containing provisions so nu~
inerous, and so Ivan-ipus, (purl naturally desirous to state as well what

at rove, as or rat  wou rc'cct. ' I

'iihe'lirst section propo.ses tin :.uig_-n‘1ente<l duty upon woollen manu-»
factor-es. This, if it were unqualiliecl, would no doubt be desirable
to those who are engaged in that business. I have myself presented
a petition from the woollen u1a1"zufactux'ers of lvlassachusetts, praying
an augmented ad oalorem duty upon uoported woollen cloths; and 1
3.ll1lpl‘t‘f)tll‘B£i to accodeto that proposition, to a reasonable extent. But
then this Bill proposes, also, a very high duty upon imported wool 5 and,
as far as [can learn, a majority of the manufacturers are at least
extrernel y doubtful o'lietltne1',yta‘king these two provisions together, the
state of the law is not better for them now, than it would be if this

Bill should pass. It is said, this tax, on raw wool will benefit the agri-

ctulturist; “but! know it to be the opinion of some ofthe best inf. rm-

l ed of that class, that it will do them more hurt than good. The

fear it will check thernanul'acturer, and consequently, check his
tlernaud for their article. ~The argument 18, that a certain quantiy.
ty of coarse wool, cheaper than we can possibly turmsh, IS necessa-

ry to entablettthe manufacturer to carry on the gene:-al business, and t
that If this cannot be had, the consequence will he, not a greater’, i

but ‘a less, manufacture of our own wool. I am aware that ver
mtelligeot persons ¢.lill'er upon this pmnt; but, if we may safely infer

from that aiasmnce of ‘opinion, that the proposed benefit is at i

all

345

A least doubtful, it would be prudent perhaps to abstain from the erperi»

rnent. Certain it is, that the same course of reasoning has occurred,
as l liaw before stated, on the same subject, when a renewed applica-
tion was made to the English Parliament to repeal the duty on imported
wool,'lZ believe scarcely two months ago; those who support the applicaé

i tiou. pressing rurg,ently the necessity of an unrestricted use of the cheap,

inipoi*tctl raw material, with a 'VlB‘W to supply, with coarse cloths, the

markets of warm climates, such as those of Egypt and Turkey‘, and

especially a vast new created demand in the South American states.
As to the manulactures of cotton, it is agreed, I believe, that they

. are generally successful. It is understood that the present existing;

duty operates pretty much as a prohibition over those descriptions of
fabrics to whic:.h it applies. The proposed alteration would probably
enable the Ahnerican niauufacturer to commence competition with
l1igl‘iei~ priced fabrics; and so would, perhaps, an augmentation less
than is here proposed. I consider the cotton manufactures not only to
have reached, but to have passed, the point of competition. I regard
their success as certain, and their growth as rapid as the most impa-
tient could well expect. If, however, a provision of the nature of
that recommended here, were i‘.l'l0Llglli; necessary to commence new
operations in the same line of manufacture, I should cheerfully agree
to it, if it were not at the cost of sacrificing other great interests of
the country. I need hardly say, that whatever promotes the cotton
and woollen manufactures, promotes most important interests of my
constituents. They have a great stake in the success of those esta-
blishments, and as far as those manufactures are concerned, would be
as much bent.-titted by the provisions of this bill, as any part of the
cmnrnuniiy. it is obvious too, I should think, that, for some consi-

derable time, manufactures of this sort, to whatever magnitude they

rnay rise, will be principally established in those parts of the country
where population is most dense, capital most abundant, and Where
the most successful beginnings have been already made.

But if these be thouglit to be advantages, they are greatl counter-
balanced by other advaiiitages enjoyed by other portions o the coun-

"try. I cannot but re,gartl the situation of the West, as liigl1lyfavor~

able to human happiness. It offers, in the abundance of its new and

a fertile lands, such assurances of permanent ‘property and respectabi—

lity to the industrious, it enables them to lay such sure foundations
for a competent provisison for their families, it makes such a nation
of freeholders, that itneed not envy the happiest and most prosperous
of the rnanulacturing communities. We may talk as we will of
well fed and well clothed , day laborers or journeyman; they‘ are not,

after all, to be compared, either for happiness, or respectability, with «
Q him who sleeps under his own roof, and cultivates his own fee simple

inheritance. . «

With. respect to the proposed duty on Glass, I would observe, that,
upon the best means of judging which I possess, I am of opinion, that
the Chairman of the Committee is riglit,...in stating, that there is, in cf-
feet, a bounty upon the exportation of the British article. lthink it
entirely proper, therefore, to raise our own duty by such an amount
as shall be equivalent to that bounty.

35

, And, here Mr. Chairman, before proceeding to those parts of the
Billto ‘Which I most strenuously object, lwill be so presumptuous, as
to take upa challenge which Mr. Speaker has thrown down, c He has
asked us, in a tone of interro,9;ato1*y indicative of the feeling of anti-
cipated triumph, to mention any country in which manufactures have
flourished, without the aid of prohibitory laws. He has demanded,
if it be not policy, protection, aye, and prohibition, thathave carried
other states to the height of their prosperity, and whetlier any one
has succeeded withsuch tame and inert legislation as ours. Sir, I am
ready to answer this inquiry.

There is a country, not undistinguished among the nations, in which
the progress of manufactures has been far more rapid than in any other,
and yet unaided by prohibitions or unnatural restrictions. That coun-
try, the happiest which the sun shines on, is our own. i

The woollen manufactures of England have existed from the early
ages of the monarchy. Provisions, designed to aid and foster them, are
in the blacklettered statutes of the Edwards and the Henrys. t'.lurs,on
the contrary, are but of yesterday; and yet, with no more than the pro-
tection of existing laws,they are already at the pointof close and promis-
ing competition. Sir, nothing is more unphilosophical than to refer us,
on these snbjects,to the policy adopted by other nations in a very rlil’l'er~
ent state of society, or to infer that what was juclged expedient , by
them, in their early history, must also be expedient for us, in this ear»
ly part of our own. This would be reclmning our age chronologically,
and estimating our advance by our number of years ; when, in truth,
we should regard only the state of society, the knowledge, the skill,
the capital, the enterprise, which belong to our times. We have been
transferred from the stock of Europe, in a comparatively enliglitenizd
age, and our civilization and improvement date back as early‘ as her
own. Her original historyis, also, our original history 3 and if, since
the moment of separation, she has gone ahead ofus, in some respects,
it may be said, without violating truth, that we have kept upin 0ljl1tZ'5I.'i:l,
and, in others again, are ahead ourselves. We are to legislate, then,

with regard to the present actual state of society; and our own ex»

, erience shows us that, cornmenciiig manufactures at the present
iiglily enlightened and emulous moment, we need not iirnitate the
clumsy helps, with which, in less auspicious times, governments have

sought to enable the ingenuity and industry of their people to hob»-

ble along. l V
The English cotton. manufactures began about the corninencement

7 of the last reign. Ours can hardly be said to have commenced, with

any earnestness, until the application of the power-loom, in 1816, not
more than eiglit years ago. Now, sir, I hardly need again speak of

its progress, its present extent, or its assurance of future e.nlz»ir;,:;e- i

rnent. In -some sorts of tabricks we are already e:t.porters, and the
products of our manufactories are,i‘at this moment, in the VS£..tt2'il’l Ame»
rican markets. ‘We see, then, what can be done without prohibition
orlesitraordinary protection, because we see what has been done; and

if venture to predict th at, in a few years, it wiil be iLl10ugl’lt wonderful

36

that these branches of manufactures, at least, should have been thought
to require additional aid from governnient. i
Mr. Chairman : The best apology for laws of prohibition and laws
of mone«poly,will be found in that state of society, not only unenlightn
cried, but sluggish, in which they are most generally established. Pris
‘sate industry, in those days, required strong provocatives, which go-
"vernments were seeking to administer by these means. Something
was wanted to actuate and stimulate men, and the prospects of such
Er-ofits as would, in our times, excite unbounded competition, would
ardly more the sloth of former ages. In some instances, no doubt,
these laws produced an effi,-ct, which, in that period, would not have
taken place without them. But our age is wholly of a different charac-
ter, and its legislation takes another turn. Society is full of excite-
ment; competition comes in place of monopoly; and intelligence and
inclustry ask only for fair play and an open field. Profits, indeed, in
such a state of things, will be small, but they will be extensively dif-
fused; prices will be low, and the great bodfy of the people prosperous
and happy. It is worthy of remark, that, mm the operation of these
causes, commercial wealth, while it‘ is increased beyond calculation
in its general aggregate, is, at the same time,broken and diminished in
its subdivisions. Commercial prosperity should be judged of therefore
aratherfrom the extent of trade, than from the magnitude of its apparent
profits. It has been remarked, that,Spain, certainly one of the poorest
‘nations, made very great profits on the amount of her trade; but with
little other benefit than the enriching of a few individuals and com-

  panics. Profits to the English merchants engaged in the Levant and
A Tnrlcey trade, were formerly very great, and there were richer mer-

vchants in England some centuries ago, considering the comparative
value of money, tlian atthe present liigghly commercial period. Wlien
the diminutionof profits arises from the extent of competition, itindi-
cates rather a salutary than an injurious cliangefi ‘ W p y
The true course then, Sir, for us to pursue, is, in my opinion, to
consider what our situation is; what our means are; and how they can

be best applied. l’Vliat amount of population have we, in comparison

with our extent of soil, what amount of capital, and labor at what,

price? As to shill, knowledge, and enterprise, we may safely take it
for granted, that, in these particulars, we are on an equality with
others. Keepinrr these considerations in view, allow me to examine
two or three of those provisions of the hill to which I feel the strange
est objections. ‘

* “ The present equable diffusion of moderate wealth cannot be better illus-
trated, than by remarking that in this age many palaces and superb mansions
have been pulled down, or converted to other purposes, while none have been
erected on a like scale. The numberless haronial castles and mansions, in all
parts of Eiiglaiid, now in ruins, may all be adduced as examples of the decrease

of inordinate wealth. On the other hand, the multiplication of commodious i

rlwellings, for the upper and middle classes of society, and the increased corn-y

forts ofall ranks, exhibit a picture of individual happiness, unltnown in any other ‘
a.ge.”--‘Sir G. .Blcznc’s Letter to Lord Spencer, in 1800.  , l V

37

To hegin with the article of iron. Our whole annuaiconsnmption
of this article is supposed by the Chairman of the Committee, to. be
48,000 or: 50,000 tons. Let us suppose the latter. The ainount of
our own manufacture he estimates, I think, at 17,000 tons. The pre-

sent duty on the imported article, is $15 per ton, and as this duty

causes of course an equivalent augmentation of the price of the home.
manufacture, the whole increase of price is equal to $760,000 annuw
ally. This soon we pay on a raw material, and on an absolute necesw
nary of life. The Bill proposes to raise the duty from $15 to $822 50
per too, which would be equal to $1,125,000 on the whole annual
consurnption. So that, suppose the point of prohibition which is
aimed at by some gcntlexnen to be attained, the consumers of the at-»
ticle would pay this last mentioned sum every year to the producers
of it, over and above the price at which they could supply themselves
with the same article from other sources. These would be no rnitiw
gation of this burthen, except from the prospect, whatever that miglit
he, that iron would fall in value, by (‘l()lm‘.-‘~’l‘l(3 competition, after the
importation should be prohibitetl. It will be easy, I think, to shew,
that it cannot fall; and so posing for the present that it shall not, the
result will be, that we shal)l pay annually a sum of $ 1,125,000, con»
stantlyaugtnentetl , too, by increased consumption of the article, to sup
ports b'usin.es.9 that cannot support itaey’. It is of no consequence to
the argument, that this sum is expended at home; so it would be, if
we taxed the people to support any other useless and expensive es»-
tablishment, to build another Capitol for erannple, or incur an un-=
necessary expense of any sort. The question still is, are the rnoney,
time, and labor, well laid out in these cases? The present price of
iron at Stocltholni, I am assured by importers, is % 53 per ton on
board, $ 48 in the yard before loatlinsg, and proloahly not for from $340
at the mines. Freight, insurance, éicc. may be fairly estimated at 815,
to which add our present duty of $15 more, and these two last sums,
together with the cost on board at Stockholm, give $ 83 as the cost of’
Swedes iron in our market. In fact it is said to have been sold last
year at $81 50 to $82 per too. -We perceive, by this statement,
that the cost of the iron is doubled in reaching; us from the mine in
which it is produced. In other words, our present duty with the ex-

" pense of transportation, gives an advantage to the Arnerican, over the

foreign manui'acturer, ofione hundred per cent. ‘Why then cannot the
iron be manufactured at home? Our ore is said to he as pgoini, and
some of it better. It is under our feet, and the chairman of the tlfliiil”
mittee tells us, that it inight be wrought by persons who oi:l"n’:1'wise
will not be employed. 1197;}; than is it not u~7'ou,g*l2,t? Notliing could
be more sure of constant sale. It is not an article of cha'ngea.hle
fashion, but of absolute, permanent necessity, and such, therefore, as
would always meet a stearlytdemand. Sir, I think it would be weii
for the chairman of the committee torrevise his premises, for I am
persuaded that therejsan ins,-:*eclient properly belonging: to thomlcnla»
tionwhi_c:h he has misstated or omitted. Swetles iron iniuhlriglsizid pa '5 a
: duty, I think, of about $ £7 per ton; yet it is imported in considerabie

38

quantities, notwithstanding the vast capital, the excellent coal, and,
more important than all perhaps, the highly improved state of inland
navigation in England; although I am aware that the English use of
Swedes iron may be thought to be owing in some degree to its su-
perior quality.

Sir, the true explanation of this, appears to me to lie in the different
prices oflabor; and here I apprehend is the grand mistake in the
argument of the chairman of the committee. He says it would cost
the nation,as a nation, notliing, to make our ore in to iron. Now, i
think it would cost us precisely that which we can worst afford; that
is, great labor. Although bar iron is very properly considered a raw

lrnaterial in respect to its various future uses; yet, as bar iron, the

principal ingredient in its cost is labor. Of manual labor, no nation
has more than a. certain quantity, nor can it be increased at will. As
to some operations, indeed, its place may be supplied by machinery;
but there are other services which rnachinery cannot perform for it,
and which it must perform for itself. A most important question for
every nation, as well as for every individual to propose to itself, is, how
it can best apply that quantity of labor which it is able to perform?
Labor is the great producer of wealth; it moves all other causes. If

it call machinery to its aid, it is still employed not only in using the
jrnachinery, but in making; it. Now, with respect to the quantity of

labor, as we all know, diiferelit nations are differently circumstances.
Some need, more than anything, work for hands, others require hands

for work; and if we ourselves are not absolutely in the latter class,

we are still, most fortunately, very near it. I cannot find that we
have those idle hands, of which the chairman of the conmnittee speaks.
The price of labor is a conclusive and unanswerable refutation ofthat
idea; “it is lmown to be higher with us than in any other civilized
state, and thisis the greatest of all proofs of general happiness. La-
bor in this country is independent and proud. ~ It has not to ask the
patronage of capital, but capital solicits the aid of labor. This is
the general truth, in regard to the condition of our whole population,
altliougli in the large cities there are, doubtless, many exceptions.
The mere capacity to labor in common agricultural employments,
gives to our young men the assurance of independence. We have
been asked, Sir, by the chairman of the committee, in a tone of some
pathos, whether we will allow. to the serfs of Russia and Sweden the

, henefit of making iron for us? Let me inform the gentleman, Sir, that

those same serfs do not earn more than ‘seven cents a day, and that
they workm these mines, for that compensation, because they are
serfs. And let me ask the gentleman further, w/n2t12.er we have

any labor in this cotmtry that carmot be better emyiloyetl zfhan in as ..

Zfmsiness wfzich does not 3/ielrl the laborer more than server; cents a day?
This, it appears to me, is the true question for our considera-
tion. There is no reason for saying; that we will work iron be»
because we have mountains that contain the ore. 7We miglit for the
same reason dig among our rocks for the scattered grains ofgold and
silver which niight be found there. The true i22gn:ir_z/ is, can we pro-

,ra

39

dare tire article in or useful state at the same cost, or rzearlyat the some
cost, or at our
mimic/i~ we ‘can import it.

Some general estimates of the price‘ and profits of labor, in those
countries from which we import our iron, might be formed by
comparing the reputed products of different mines, and theirprices,
with the number of hands employed. The mines of’ Danemora are
said to yield about 4000 tons, and to employ in the mines twelve‘
hundred workmen. Suppose this to be worth 50 dollars per ton; any
one willtfindby computation that the whole product would not pa in
this country, for one quarter part of the necessary labor. The w iole
e.a.port of Sweden was estimated, a few years ago, at 400,000 ship-
pounds, or about 54,000 tons. Comparing this product with the
number of workmen usually supposed to be employed in the mines
which produce iron for exportation, the result will not greatly differ
from the foregoing. These estimates are general, and might not con-
duct us to a precise result; but we know, from intelligent travellers,
and eyewitnesses, that the price of labor in the Swedish mines, does
not exceed seven cents a day."*"

The true reason, Sir, why it is not our policy to compel our citi-
nens to manufacture our own iron, is, that they are far better em-
ployed. it is an unproductive business, and they are not poor
eenougli to be obliged to follow it. If we had more of poverty, more
of misery, and something of servitude, if we had an ignorant, idle
starving population, we might set up for iron makers against the world.

The committee will take notice, Mr. Chairman, that, under our prem-
sent d-nutty, tog_e,ti1,e,1'_._,,witli the expense of transportation, our manufac-
turers are”iib‘le to supply their own immediate neigliborlioodg and this
proves the inagnitude of that substantial encouragement which these
two causes concur to give. There is little oi‘ no foreign iron,I pre-
sumo, used in the county of Lancaster. Tliis is owing to the heavy
expexisp of land carriage; and, as we recede farther from the coast, the
rnaz1ufdctux‘ers are still more completely secured, as to their own im-
mediate market, against the. competition of the imported article, But
what they ask is to be allowed to supply the seacoast, at sucha price as
shall be iforvned by addin to the cost at the mines the expense ofland
carriage to the sea; and his appears to me most unreasonable. The

*5 The price of labor in Russia may be pretty well collected from
Tool:e’s “ View of the Russian 1.1rnpire.” “ The workmen in the mines and the
“ finmderies are, indeed, all called master-people; but they distinguish thcmw
“ selves into masters, underxnasters, apprentices, delve:-s, servants, carriers,
“ washers, and separators. In proportion to their ability their wages are re-
 §?§$-§§{i’n‘;‘ iifiiiti’ iiZ‘~i?3£?;’?e‘i»§?.,“iilZ“}i,Z§~i,if? e’s°‘iiT.ief1e‘31?1‘c{‘éi{‘“riT',;;n iiiii
‘‘ pay.” The value of‘ the rouble at that time‘(1799) was about 24: pence ster-
ling, 0 1'45 cents of our money. V

V “ By the edict of 1799,” it is added, “a laborer with ahorse shall receive,
“ daily, in summer, 20, and in winter 12 copecks; a laborer, without a horse,
“ in summer, 10, in winter, 8, copecks.” , V

A copeclris the hundreth part ofa rouble, or about halfa cent of our money.
gfihe price oil‘ labour may have risen, in some degree, since that period, but proba-
y not mac 1.

2/ reasonoizle upproxiination towards the some cost, at

5&0

I

e%.ct of it would be to compel the consumer to pay the cost of two
land trnnspo‘rte.tio‘ns; for, in the first place, the price of iron, at the
inland furnaces, will always be found to be at, or not much below, the
price Ofillei impo"z'teel article in the seaport, and the cost of transporta-
tion to the neighborholtid of the furnace; and to enable the home pro-»
duct to hold a competition with the imported in the seaport, the cost
of another transportation downward, from the furnace to the coast,
must he added. Until our moons of inland commerce he ilnpi-ovcd,
and the charges of transportation by that means ilessened, it appears
to me wholly inipr-;lc.tic:il1le, with such duties as any one would think
of proposing;, to meet the wishes of the manufacturers of this article.
Suppose We were to add the duty proposed‘ by this bill, nlthouglrit
would benefit the capital invested in works near the sea, andthe navi-

i able rivers, ct the benefit would not extend for in the interior.
3 3’

Where, then, are we to stop, or what liniit isproposed to us?

* The freight of iron has been: afforded frotn Sweden to the United
_,Stetes as low as eight dollars per ton. This is not more than-the
‘price of filly miles lend carriage. Stockhol1n,%therefo1'e, for the'pur-
pose of this argument, may be considered as within fifty miles ol’Phi-
lcdelpliin. Now, it is at ‘once ojust and a strong view of this case, to
consider, that there are, within fifty miles of our market, vast multi-
tudes of persons who are willing to labor in the reduction of this or»
ticle for us, at the rate of seven cents per day, w iile we have no labor
which will not command, upon the average, at least five or six ‘times
thaternount. The question is, then, shall we buy this article of these

, manufacturers, and snfi"er our own labor to cam its greater reward, or

shall we einpluy our own labor in a. similar manufacture, and make up
to it,by a. ton on consumers, the loss which it must necessarilysug.
tom. 1 l ‘ i " ’

I—proceed, sir, to tlieinrticle of hemp.‘ Of this we imported last
year, in round numbers, 6,000~tons, paying a duty of $30 aptori, or
$180,000 on the whole amount; and this article, it is to be r7fe,mem~
bored, is consumed almost entirely‘ in the uses of nztvigation.” The
whole hurthen rosy be said to fall on one interest. It is said we can

l produce this article if we will raise. the duties. But why is it not pro»

duced now; or why, at least, have we not seen some specimens? for
the present is a. very high duty, when expenses of importation are
odded. Hem p was purchased at St. Petersburg, last year, at $1.01 67’
per thin. Clicrmgslettendiiig shipment, &c. 314 25. Freigln mjsv be
state‘ "at $30 er ton, and our existinv dot is $30 more. hese
three lest suoisiibeing the charges of trzibnsporjitation, amount to a. pro»
tection of near 7'5 per cent. in favor of the home manufacturer, if there

were any such. And we ought to consider,also, that the price of
hemp et St. Petersburg is increased by all the expense of transporta- ,,

tion froin the place of growth to that port; so that probably the whole
cost of transportation, from the place of growth to our ‘market, includ-
ing our duty, is equal to the lirst cost of the article; or, in other words,
is as protection in favor of our own productof 100 per cent. ,

std

thud since it is stated that we lizwe great quantities of line 
tier the production of hemp, of which l have no doubt, the question re-
curs, wiry is it not produced £9‘ l speak of the mrz2‘er rotted hemp, for it
is admitted that that which is dew rotted is not sudiciently good for
the requisite purposes. I cannot say ‘whether the cause he in climate,
in the process of rotting, or what else, hutthe fact is certain, that there
is no American water rotted hemp in the in-arhet. We are acting,
therefore, upon a hypothesis. is it not reasonable that those who ,say'
that they can produce the article, shall at least prove the truth of that
allegation hetore new taxes are laid on those who use the i'oi‘ei;;i'i C0m~
rnodity? Suppose this hill passes: the price of hemp is immediately:
raised $14 80 per ton, and this burden falls immediately on the ship
huilder; and no part ofit, for the present, will go for the henelitofthe
.d..merican grower, because he has none of the article that can be used,
their is it expected that much of it will be produced for a considerable
time, Still the tax takes edect upon the imported article; and the
ship owners, to enable the Kentucky farmer to receive an additional
$14 on his ton of hemp, wlzerzever he may be able to raise and mamg"ac-
lure it, pay, in the mean time, an equal sum per ton into the Treasu«~
ry on all the imported hemp which they are still obliged to use; and
this is called “ protection!” Is thisjust or ihiri’ A particular inter-
est is here burdened, not only for the benefit of another particular in-
terest, hut burdened also beyond that, for the henefit of" the Treasury,
it is said to be important for the country that this article should he
raised in it; then, let the country hear the expense, and pay the houu-~
ty. If it be for the good ofthe whole, let the sacrifice he made by the
‘whole, and not hy a part. If it be thought useful and necessary, from
political considerations, to encourage the p;rowtli and manufacture of
hemp, government has abundant rneans oi" doing it... It miglit give a
direct bounty, and such a measure woultl, at least, distribute the bur«
den equally; or, as government itself is a great consumer of this arti'~-
cle, it might stipuilatoe to confine its own purchases to the home pro-
duct, so soon as it should be shown to be of the proper quality. I see
no objection to this proceeding, if it he tl1ou,q;l'it to be an object to em
courage the production.. It might easily, and perliapsproperly, be
provided, by law, that the Navy should be supplied with American
hemp, the quality being good, at any price not exceeding, by more
than a given amount, the current price of foreign hemp is our market,
Every tiring conspires to render some such course preferable to the
one now proposed. The encouragement in that way would be ample,
and, if the experiment should succeed, the whole object would be
gained; and if it should fail, no considerable loss or evil would be felt
by any one. l\ p

I stated, some days ago, and I wish to renew the statement, what
was the amount of the proposed augnientatioii of the duties on iron
and hemp, in the cost ofa vessel, Take the case of a common ship,
of 300 tons, not coppered, nor copper fastened, it would stand
thus, by the present duties;

ti

42

i iii; "I‘ons of iron, for hull, rigging, and anchors, at $15'per

1.0:: .- A - %- , $21?’ 50
10 Tons of hemp, at $80 - - — ~ 300 O0
40 Baits Russia duck, at $2 — , V -— -o 80 O0
530 Belts Ravens duck, at $1 25 - — - 925 O0
tlmarticles of ship chandlery, cabin furniture, hardware, &e. 40 00
$ £362 50

The bill proposes to add: _ ‘ V
37‘ 40 per ton on iron, which Will be - » - 3107 30
$141 80 per ton on hemp, equal to - 3- - 148 00

And on duck, by the late amendment of the bill, say 25
' percent - -- - ‘ - - " E25 00
I s see so

 l

But, to the duties on iron and hemp, should be added those paid on
copper, whenever thetartzcle is used. By the statement which I fur-

Iliiélletl the other day,‘ it appeared that the duties received by governw

meet, on articles used in the construction ofa vessel of 359 tons, with
copper fasteniizgs, amounted to $1056. W'ith the augmentationsof
tliis Bill, they would be equal to 81400. New, I cannotbut flatter
myself,Mr. Chairman, that, before the committee will consent to this
new hnrthen upon the shipping interest, it will very deliberately weigh

the probable consequences. I would again urg;e11tly solicit its attem-

‘i2i,()l1,i€J the condition of that interest. We are told that Government

has protected it, by cliscriinineting duties, and by an exclusive right

to the ceastiirng trade. ‘But it would retain the coasting. trade, by its
owii natural eiihrts, in like manner, and with more certainoty, than it
new retains any portion of f<)reig11%tratle. The (;iiSCt‘il1}il]fl.i'lUg duties
are new abolished, and while they existed, they were notliing more
than counter-vailirig measures; not se much designed to give our na.vi--

gzttion an a.dvzintzi;,;~e ever fillet of ether nations, as to put it upon an
tequzility; and we have, accortliiigly, abolished ours, when they have
‘ been willing to abolish theirs. tLOul{.~ to the rate of freights. ‘Were
'they ever lewer, or even so low? I ask gentlemen who know, Whe-
P ‘ ther the harbor ef Charleston, and the river of iéejvsnnali, he not crowd-~
‘ed with ships seekiiig emplnyment, and finding; none? I would ask

the geritlexiien frnm New Orieans, if their magiiificent Mississippi do
not £:‘){l1il)ll', for furlongs, aiforest of nia,s'tsP The condition, Sir, or

% the sliiipping: interest is not tha..t.of those who dare insisting on high

prefits, or stz'tig,g>;liri,_rr for i’fl()l1(1{)(f'}l yg-, but it is the condition of men con-
tent} with the smallest earnings, andraniiioius for their bread. The
freight of cotton has formerly been three pence sterling, from Charles»
ton to Liverpool,‘ in ‘sinus ef peace.   _It is new I knew not what, or
how ifnnny, fractions oi a. penny; I think, howevelyit is stated at five-*
eighths. The producers, then, of this great staple, are able, byimeans

43

at this navigation, to send it, for a. cent a pound, from their own -doors
to the best market in the World.

y , Mr..Chair1nan,Iwill now only remind the committee that, while we
are proposing to add new burthens to the shipping interest, a very dif-
ferent line of policy is followed by our great commercial and maritime
rival. It seems to be announced as the sentiment of the Government of
Eno'land,and undoubtedly it is its real sentiment, that the first of all ma»
nut? ctures is the manufacture of ships. A constant and wakeful atten-
tion is paid to this interest, and very important regulations, favorable
to it, have been adopted within the last year, some of which I will be
leave to refer to, with the hope of exciting the notice, not only of the
committee, but of all others who may feel, as I do, a deep interest in
this subject. In the first place, a general amendment has taken place
in the register acts, introducing many new provisions, and, among
others, the following: y

A direct mortgage of the interest of a shipis allowed, without sub»
jecting the mortgagee to the responsibility of an owner.

The proportion of interest held by each owner is exhibitedin the
register, thereby facilitating both sales and mortgages, and giving a
new value to shipping among the monied classes.

Shares, in the ships of copartnerships, may be registered as joint
property, and subject to the same rules as other partnership efliects.

"Ships may be registered in the name of trustees, for the benefit of
joint stock companies; and many other regulations are adopted with

r the same general view of rendering the mode of holding the property

as convenient and as favourable as possible. .
By another act, Britishregistered vossels,ot' every description, are

allowed to enter into the general andjthe coasting trade inthe India

seas, and may new trade to and from India, with any part of the
world, except China. a r
, By a third, all limitations and restrictions, as to latitudeland longiu

’ tude, are removed from ships engaged in the Southern whale fishery.

'l‘hese regulations, I presume, have not been made without that obtain-
ing the consent of the East India Company; so true is it found, that
real encouragement of enterprise oftener consists, in our days, in re»
straining or buying oft’ monopolies and prohibitions, than in imposing or
extending them. i r - r

The tradewith Ireland is turned into a free coasting trade; light-
tluties have been reduced, and various other beneficial arrangements
made, and still others proposed. I miglit add, that, in favor of gene-
ral commerce, and as she wing their confidencein the principles of libe-

I ral intercourse, the British government has perfected the warehouse;

system, and authorized a reciprocity of duties with foreign states, at

N

  the discretion of the Privy Council.

This, sir, is the attention which our great rival is paying to these
important subjects, and we may assureourselves that, if . we do not

keep alive a proper sense of our own interests, she will not only beat
‘ us, but will deserve to beat us. ‘

y Sir, I will detain you no longer. ‘There are some parts of this Bill
which I highly approve; there are others in which I should acquiesce;

474;

but those fie which I have new stated my objections appear fie me em
destitute of all justice, so burtheneome and so dangerous to that in-«
‘ferest which has steadily enriched, gallanfly defended, and‘ proudly
distinguished us, that nothing can prevail upon me to give it my sup~~
pert. V

45

NOTE,

Since the delivery of this Speech, an arrival has brought London,
‘papers containing the Speech of the English Chancellors the Exche»
quer, (Mr. Robinson,) on the 23d February last, in submitting to
Parliament the Annual Financial Statement. The author hopes he
may be pardoned for adding the following extract from that Speech,
as showing, pretty clearly, whether he was right, in his representation
of the prevailing sentiment, in the English Government, on the ge-
neral subject of prohibitory laws, and on the silk manufacture, and
the wool tax, particularly.

“In the earlier part of what I have taken the liberty of addressing to the
Committee, I alluded to that portion of this question which refers to amore free
and liberal system ofpolicy in matters oftrade To this division of the subject,
I will now particularly invite attention. There are, as of course Honorable-
Gentlemen are aware, various branches of our commerce, loaded on the one
hand with high duties upon the importation. and which, in an opposite direc-
tion, are encumbered with restrictions and prohibitions of difibrent kinds.
Amongst these is the article of wool (Hear-.) As the law now stands, (which,
by the way, as far as duty is concerned, is of very recent establishment,) the
duty is 6d per 1b.; it was originally one penny. This duty was imposed in the
year 1819, not at all, as has been often in my opinion, and indeed in the opinion
also of my noble friend at the head of the Treasur , very inaccurately stated, for
the purpose of protection, but merely with a View to the increase of the revenue.
Butithe parties interested, and who sought theabrogation of this law, were al-
ways told: “ You have noright to object to that duty, so long as you require
that the produce of the British wool-grower should be confined to the consump-
tion of this country,” (Hear.) It was never concealed, either in this House, or
from the persons engaged in the trade; we constantly said, “If you will consent
to the removal of that impolitic restriction, as we consider it, upon the export of
British wool, we will propose in Parliament the repeal of the duty.” The dis»-
cussion of‘ this subject led to a good deal of communication, in the last year,
with the manufacturing interests, in difl"erent parts of the country: they hold
meetings, at which various resolutions were adopted: as may be supposed, it was
found in the result, that there existed a discordance of opinion on the question
at issue-._ Some were disposed to think that the repeal of the duty would be
less of a benefit to them, than the removal of the restriction would be an evil;
they were therefore desirous that the matter should be left just as it stands, and
that no alteration should be made; they were anxious indeed to get rid of the
duty, but not at the expense of the loss of the protection they imagined the re-

, Striction ailbrded them. Undoubtedly, however, a majority, I may say a decide.-

ccl majority, of the interests concerned in the woollen trade, were of opinion,
that it would be beneficial to them to accede to that sort of compromise, that
the duty should be repealed, and a free export of the article permitted. I con-

’ fess, on the best and most deliberate View I have been able to take of the sub-
ll Ject, I cannot see what reasonable objection there can be to adopt such a plan.
(Hear, liear.) Certainly, a partof the plan I shall submit to Parliament, will

be, to reduce the duty on foreign wool, from 6d. per pound, which it is at pre-
sent, to 1d. per pound, as it was originally before the bill of 1819. I shall then
recommend that British wool be allowed to be exported, on the payment of a.
small duty of 1d. also, to put thern upon a level, and to keep the balance even

.between the two. Thus shall We sweep away needless, and, as 1 think, injuri-

45

nus statutes of restriction, and not merely those, but penalties, oaths, and Ileam
ven knows what besides. (Hear, hear.) All of these are exceedingly incon»
venient, and, what is more, they do no possible good. Thus, the whole trade
will be put upon a footing, which, I am quite confident, will turn out to be
most beneficial to both parties--«the grower of British wool and the manufac-
turer of the foreign article. On that matter I feel none of the apprehensions
which at times have been expressed by both parties. I am satisfied that the
consequence of the change will be a great extension of our woollen trade to
every quarter of the World; and it is beyond my comprehension to imagine how
such a state of things can be otherwise than advantageous to those who sell the
raw material-(Hear!)--therefore I see nothing but good to result from the res
peal of the duty, and the removal of the restriction; and I hope that, in endea-.
voring‘ to accomplish this object, I shall he supported by the House. (Much
cheering.) The loss I anticipate to the revenue from such a proceeding; is
3350,0001. per annum. The next item to which I shall call the attention of the
Committee, is one which, I own, appears to be of paramount importance in this
view of‘ the subject. I mean in that view of the subject which relates to the re-
moval of restrictions. I allude to the item of silk. (Hear.) This trade is thus
circumstanced: there is a very high duty on the raw material, and a positive pro»
hibition ofthe consumption of the foreign manufactured article.‘ I will, with
the leave of the Committee, take the latter first; and, in the outset, I should
wish to ask, where is the advantage of retaining the prohibitory system. (Hear,
hear.) ‘Where is the advantage of retaining‘ it, looking‘ at it either with refer-
ence to our intercourse with other nations, or with reference to our own do-
mestic interests? (Hean) For some years past there has certainly prevailed
in this country, among its ablest statesmen and our most eminent writers, I
should say, indeed, among all men of sense and reflection, a decided conviction
that the maintenance of this prohihitory system is exceedingly impolitic. We
have recently made a certain progress towards the removal of the evil. Are we
to stop short? If we do stop short, what will foreig'n nations say, and justly say,
of our conduct? ‘Will they not say, that, though we profess liberality, we hate
it in our hearts? that we have been endeavoring to cajole them to arlmit our
own manufactures into their territories, while we continue rigidly by every
means in our power, and by adhering closely to an antiquated system, to exclude
theirs? When our practice is so at variance with our professions, it is impossi-
ble thatthey should give any ‘credit to our assertions. . Whenever a foreign
state imposes :1 new duty on any ofour manufactures, my right honorable friend,
the President of the Boardof Trade, is assaulted by representations from all
quarters; instant measures are to be adopted to get the duty removed, and we
are to remonstrate with the foreign power.ag'ainst its continuance. What would
be the consequence? Our Arnhassador is instructed to state to the fhreign court
at which he resides, that the new duty imposed is very injurious to British in-

terests, and is viewed by this country in an unfriendly light. The answer of p ,

the forei,<:»;n minister of course must be—-—-“ It may be so; we cannot help it; For
how can we admit your goods, if you do not admit ours?” ‘With such a reply,‘
the British Ambassador must make his bow and retire, discornfited and ashamed-,=
and I defy the ingenuity of man to invent an argument to refute the powerful
argzmzentzwz ad lzaminem of the foreign minister. Other countries must con-

V clude that we are only attempting to clelude them; “that it is all pretence

and hypocrisy on our part; and that we do not really believe that there is
practical soundness in the principles we abstractedly recommend I, myself
am well satisfied of the practical soundness of those principles, and that
we ought to talteji the first opportunity. of adopting them. (Hear, hear.) There
never was so favorable an opportunity as the present for carrying‘ our prin-

ciples into eflect, and for inviting foreign powers to act in accordance with

them. Let usyinviteithem to join with us in cutting the cords that tie down
commerce to the earth, that it may soar aloft, unconfined and unreatrictetl.
(Hear, hear.) If ever an opportunity for accomplishing this great ‘good was
afiiorded, it is the moment when I am speaking-—--and for God’s sake let us em»
brace it. Are not our manufactuies now in a state of nnivtrsalactivityi‘ is not

th "lit

':‘.‘t?t2l‘_'§V thing in at condition of improveinentl Andi ie not capital in eeger Search
of the ineens by which it may he p1'oht:1b_ly eitpelnclen ? ‘(Heat-, l:ear.§ We have
thus the finest opportunity for Gmallclpflglillg‘ ou1*selveelt‘o!n ancient pl‘ejUCl.lCt’3S,,
nncl for niakirig a. new start in the mice oi wealth an&_ prosnerity.rtlleai-, hear.)
fin these grounds I am anxious to propose the adoption oi ‘tins liberal system.
But give me leave to ask, it" there are not msnny othei*_s xnoepenclent ot thoee
merely of a commercial nature, which strongly support i.t?_ in the fiK‘Sl‘pl3.Cc‘, Hit
it not perfectly well lcnown, that, altet‘ all, these E3l'0l1lb1t10l”lS, g‘n:t1'd them and
fence tlztem with laws as you will, are, in point of: tact evaded. (,l~leznf,_llaeenn) E
isememher, and il dare say many others l‘1tWt": not forgotten, when the Hon. Mem~
her for Aberdeen, last year, even in this place, proclucecl his B-.fm<:hnna h-an<lke1j~
=z:hiei': he ti-_inmphant.ly unfnrletl the .-n.:nicl2ti-cl of s;“i;ing'g'ling'; he hoisted, as it
were, the colors of opposition to the Governinent 8.n(;l its laws, nnd having com-
‘plmsently blown his nose upon them, he re':t.tn'netl them toylns pocltet. _(Cl‘2c-.et'1ng
end lnnghtet.) He might not know at the ll1l‘l‘XL‘., thon,;»;h l rennndeci lntn ofit at‘-
tez-wards, that there was not at gentleman near him at the time who halal not a
tight to take possession of that h:.tn<1l'l-:erchiell nncl export. it to :3. f'o1::eign C0tli‘1lJ':§f.
ll~lea.t'.) l mention this fzugzt only as fit stroiig; pmctzcnl illiistiyetioii at the \ll£iEi1'lm-
possibility of car1'_ving these pt'ohihitmns into cornplete elleot. Every hotly who
has been on some parts of the coast, line seen yio1'c~ig.§n vessels coming in from
the ilieigl1bot'i.i1g continent, ztntl. l11'lS, no doubt, often obse1*v_ecl terriales stepygout of
them, apparently oi“ the most unco1ni'o1't:1ble coi'pulei"iey_'. 111 due time, and ‘W'1'l1l1-
out any si.ir;,g*icnl old, they were so.l'h.ly tlelivererl of their burclens, and we1'e1'e-«
stored to the ll3.lLl11‘£1lSlll'lll1<E':SS of their ,rg;1-nceftil figures. (iL:tt1g.;‘]it‘.ei~.) Such l be~
lietre to be it Very common practice; and there is, in fitctt, no cruel to the ingenuity
of the devices to iiitrotlnce contraband etrticles. Not only tingrenuity is (ii.-spl:iy=ecl,.
but fraud and crime»---pe1;itn>y, nncl every possible evil nioral consequence. We
all know, that crime. begets crime; that, in W‘l"l'.tt€:‘VC'31‘ it may l)€:g'l11, a pr‘-o_.g»~enz‘ee
mftiosiar always spring.» up; ./Vezno i~epemfcfzz,z't tm‘pzT.9sivn1:..s',- and a. men who begins
as a Sl1’1tlg‘g‘ltE:1‘ will probably end as sometltiing; much worse. Pei-haps he ysnnigu
glee in the first: inetamoe only with the innocent purpose of‘ nialiirig a presenttoai
female frientl or relative; but when 2. man is ttccustornetl to the violation oi‘ the
law, he will not llntl it very clillicult, by tleg1'ees, to ;'.§;'oi"n1.-ther. He finds that he
cannot ellect his object without concealment-~-lie l:il~Z(:‘.‘5 zifzilse onth, cmcl becoinee
t"amiliet'ized to that species of peijni-y. He commences by presents; then thinlte
he may turn the practice to pecuniary n<lvai11.:ig;e; he sinu_2;gles upon at 'l:tz‘-gee
ecnle; he extends his ndventzutes, am! instead of gloves, shoes, or silks, he tries
the experiment of more vnlunible articles. He mnltes money, and in time is in-
(laced to embamlttiit more desperate and more criminal epecttlzttioiis. What is
the consequence? Your-;>.1'e obliged to keep up at navy to prevent cont:-nbancl tmde,
ti circumstance alluded to on a i'ot~mer night. Bottle and bloodshed ensue-wthe
loss of life, and perhaps delibe ‘ate murtlei-. All this is very rnelnncholy, and yet
for what is it incurretl ? Under the fhiicifiil notion that it is for the l1tl’teI‘£<St of
the sill: msmufacture of this cotmtry. Why, Lord bless me, Sir. we know very
well, efte1'all, that the British silk manufacture is so highly thong*l.it of eliroad
at this moment, that, I believe, if a market were open where the goods of this
kingdom should compete with those of any other, the British goods would drive
ell rivalsllip out of the field. (E-leer, l‘1t?:1I', llenr.) Ii’ this be so, l1ll€i‘€‘.  not the
slightest pretence for saying‘ that, to cliiange the system, woulti. he to injtire our
oil}: mantifaotui-es. Let us accompany it with 9. reduction of duty on the raw ar-=
ticle, and there is not ti fo1'eig~n country tlntt will not be gflacl to take our 1‘liL?'Ll1U.~
fectoretl silks. I, tl1ei'efoi'e, hope that the ilooqe will think it full time to throw
down this hollow, gildecl, and dietoxuzd idol of imztgi_i'ia1‘y protection; to hurl it
frorn its base, and to establish on the some i'onntlation the well-p1'opo1'ti.oned
etntne ofcomtnercinl liberty. (l~leet°,l1e;n-, l'ieet*.)”

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