4 SPEECH

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TARIFF

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 9 

SPEECH.

I y , IN SENATE, U. S., Saturday, July 25, I846.
The Senate liuving proceeded to the consideration of the special order, the “Bill to reduce the
-‘duties on imports and for other purposes”-— ‘

Mn. WEBSTER rose and said: It will be denied by none, Mr. President,
that this subject is important in various respects. The bill before the Senate is
one which seriously effects, for good or for evil, the revenue of the country, and this
in time of war. It also affects the interests, occupations, and pursuits of a vast
number of the people of the United ‘States. I may add, that the great principle
on which it is founded as o. revenue bill, tliet is to say, that herenliter all duties
of fmsitcitiis shnljl be levied by enztssessiiient ad ‘valorem, is an entirely new end

I 't;liiit1‘ied principle in this Government. I may say, too, that in respect to the yprin-

oipel pructicel measures of.’ this bill, that its rates of imposition, and its distribu-
tion of duties upon the several articles of import, are quite new. Andi suppose I
truly :,1Cl(;l, without offence to any gentlenmni or any party, wltiet I think most up»
peer evideiit to oil who will examine the bill, that it is not drawn with 1‘einu1'ku«-
ble 0:11‘-3, either for the purpose of securing a just collection of the revenue itself,
or for at proper distribution of tuners and assessments on importutions, uccord-
iiig to the principle of the bill itself. I

Mr. I"'residcnt, it appears strange, but after all we must admit the hint, tlmt the
uppc:tre1ioc~i of this billin the Sentftte. with a prospect of its piisszige, has struck.
the country suddenly, and with surprise. ~Ithss liroiiglit about no smztll dcagrec of
slnrm. 'I‘ho public expectation was not prepziretl for it.‘ I do not soy that
there hud not been oiioiigli of previous admonition or indication. I speak of the
foot, nnd I think it must be the conviction of every person who hours me,
“who line (1)li):éi(?3l‘Vt3(l the development of public sentiment since the uppezirnnce of
this n:1ei.is1:1ro,t.hut the country is surprised, rgrouttly surprised, nt any [)l'(')i)23li.’)liliJy'
thstitshould receive the {incl sanction of C(j)l.lll,g;l‘(3S$ rnzugl the l’rc-sident. N ow,
sir, it seems to me, that in this state of ll’llllgS, with such :1 rricusui'c before
us, ut this ntlvuncctl season oi’ the your, when there is no pressing necessity
for iznnieciiute uction, the true policy is to postpone its l"urtlier consideration.
If this were u rne.nsi.:ire to raise money to curry on :51 war, if it were u ineu»
sure of tt1X.2.1llOll, lior the contraction of" loans, of the issue of" '}l‘rc:1sury notes, or soy
other meusure, wliicl'1 IWIETKLI for its object the supply of income to meet necessities
of (ui(')V't*.’.I‘l1ITiflttE.tl”li, why then the eztigcticyit ofthepcuse !'l?‘ligl’li2l1_H3‘ :1 very;_ii.i,st_motivefor
prorteletrliiig to’ its iitnriiediiiate conslitlerutriioii. I liutthere is no man within the beer-

itig oi’ my voice, and I urn heppy that there are some within its lieuring who

sure not of this cltzunber, [1'(3‘il’)I'l‘.lllg‘ to Mr. Secretory Wri.r.ir.eu, who was present,

r)co.upyiiigip.ti‘1c sect of one of -the democratic C‘5ermtors,] who will say, that the
"I‘ree.sury vvill not be escompetent, the sbility of the G-overnment  greet, itsurin
us Well nervcd to prosecute the war inwhich we are engzigetl three months loné
get‘, if this hill should not: pass, as it" it should. Therefore, it seems to meto

be a case for furthcrconside 'stiou; end, at the close of the rem:-irks which 1 pro»,

pose to submit to the Senate, I shall move the postponement of the measure till
nezrt session of Cong-rcss., I I I

As  revenue measure, I have heretolbre stated shortly my opinion of it. I.

think it niust. deceive the hop‘es of those who expect to derive from it that men-

:sure of tilli)l111(.l:«';1nl; revenue, which has been stated. 'l‘here can be, in my judg--

ment, no such extraordinary incre-use of importetions as the Executive G~overn-
rtneut seems toisnticipete. It is not in the nature of ii'}i1]g‘S. The 'l‘reusury can-
not, in my opinion, be supplied at the ratio vvliiich has been stated, undis expect-
ed by any possible, I will say possible, augntentutioxi of importetions. I-int

I andlso that deficit will be enlarged by frauds. Now, in reply

that sanctions such presumption. such arrogance,

affair of the Administration? Sir, Congress it

, perly provided for ;

~»otiIn“presence,

 as eit1iérT0.fth-M sent

4

then, sir, when I say this, I am met by very eztttraordinary language. Those»
who are supposed to express the sentiments of the Executive say, that that is
a question with which Congress has nothing to do.---l—nothing at all 1 That it is-
a question which the Administration alone is to consider! WI: need give our-

selves no trouble!-——-the Administration will take care of itself! Hear the lan—~~

I guage of the oflicial organ of the Government:

cannot be fair-ly administered ;.
to this, We urge that there are
matters in which the opposition may, as we think, very properly leave the Administration to-
loolr. out forits own interestsand take care of itself. If the Government measure is about to
injure the country-—-~—to break up the business of men and throw their aiiairs into confusion f, or,
if, again, the measure proposed by the C+o'vernment is in itself oppressive, or unjust, or unequalgx
or if the country want a tariff for protection, instead of a tariff for revenue--—-then it is very
proper for an opposition, speaking in behalf of the country, to demonstrate such to be the case.
’ut our opposition seems to have a most parental and ,c_z;uard.ian anxiety lest the Administration.,,
if left to itself, should hereafter find itself embarrassed by the want of funds.”

“ The opponents of the Administration complain thatthe law

'Why, sir, why, sir, who is it that writes, who is it that dictates, who is it
such folly as this? The Con-

gress of the United States notliingi to do with the
the revenue, and all the interests connected with revenue? That altogether an
_ ' seems, has appropriated at this see»-

sion some fifty or sixty millions ofdollars for military and naval, and other, pur-
poses; but it is no affaipr of Congress whether the Treasury shall be coxnpe-v
tent to fulfil these appropriations! VVe have a public debt; we have issued.‘

Treasury notes; but it is no affair of C01'1g1’€3SSl'Wl18ll"l81‘ the public credit shall be

sustained, its obligations redeemed, or. these Treasury notes paid; that’s an af-
fair of [the Administration only! We may
care of all these things, while it takes care of itself!

, Sir,I have great respect, all degree of personal respect, and proper oiiicial re-»»
spect, for the persons composing the Administratioii;
tvliethyyeri the great interests connected with the 1‘3V»E.‘l.1t_1('3iO'f this country ; the se--~

but wlienl am, aslted,

curity of the public faith; the ‘means of ftllfillillg‘ the appropriations of Con-
,gress; the means of maintaining armies and navies in time of War, shall be pro»

tons interests to the responsibility of a respectable President and ya respecw

table Secretary of the Treasury,I pause; I forbear, from that clegree of conii-~

dence and homage. As a member of Congress, constituting‘ a very liumhle part
ofthe legislative power, but entrusted, constitutionally,

duty of levying taxes to pay the public debt, maintain the army and navy,and

to provide for the general defence, I l'11l,Jl,Si,Vl,)6 permitted not to defer my conscien-~
ttousgdiscliarge of that duty to the personal and political+«respons,ib‘ili.ty.‘ofthe

niernbers of the Administration, one or all, however respectable.

Sir. I have said that in my opinion there can be no such augmented in,c.orri"éri

I will not go into this subject  It

from importations as is relied upon.
I will say, admirably, bygentlernen on.-

has been discussed satisfactorily, ably,
this door who have preceded me.
of my friend, the memberof the Senate from the State of Maine, (Mr. Evans.)

Andnow Mr. President, since my attention has been thus called to that speech,
. andsilnice the hon. member has reminded us that the period of his service within

even inthe Senate, and in his

r11,eés;e.rw:,11s isiaboutlrto expire, Iitaltepthisp occasion,
Governnient

_ p p to say, that his retirement will be atse-rious loss to this s  
and tihiscountryrgl He has beensizslzteen or eighteen years in the public service;

if .“lL~ico1it1‘ect.e‘d iVilrth‘ltl1e,ll~C-ioirerlnnient, si'ne_ethe days of Cratvfordpi and lGrallati1i;.,‘iNay,.
I hope , Tllté; arnayf yet» he,...

lemen t3Vi(3,1’i,11l'idBrStOOd, it.

1'

assessment and collection of‘

trust to the Administration to taltev

and when I am asked to trust all these great and moineti-we

with a participation in the—

I refer particularly to the incomparable speech.

 "ihas die7vot'e‘dlhims,elf especiallyto sttitlyfingaiid icomprehending ihelrevenue asides
ljfitllancest offttheigjcoiititry ; and hetuid‘er,s.tands thatlsubjlect. as well aswanylfgentleytntan

,.,,.--'“‘W

5

7i am glatl to know that he will be, with us one session more; that we may have
the benefit of‘ his advice and assistance in that financialcrisis which, in my

Hjttdgnient, is sure to arise if this war continues, and this bill should pass. And I

lean only say, that retire when he will, he will carry with him the good Wishes of
-every member of this body, the general esteem and regard of the country, and
(placing his hand upon his heart and bowing to Mr. Evans) the cordial attach-
imeut of his friends, political and personal. l ‘ l .
Those who indulge the hope of an augrneiitation to the extent stated froni increase
of exportations, seem to forget, to forget altogether, what is as common atruth
as any other, that there can be such a thing as over-production. It has happened
many times within my exzperience in public life. There may be produced in Eng-
.land and in this country, more manufactured articles than both countries, togetltier,
with all that they can sell to the rest of the World, can consume, or dispose of‘, and
thatpcreates whatis connnonlyjcalled a “glut” in the market. Such instances hatre

‘been freqiteitit.‘ That there is an indefixiite power of consumption is necessarily as-‘

.:sumed, by all those who thinlt that an indefinite exteitt oi‘ iinportation may be ex-—
pected. The honorable xticmbcrfroxn Maine stated with great truth and propriety,
that the attgitietitzttioii of imports, drawing after it, orfisupposing to draw alter it, an
augtnentation of exports, went upon the ground of an attgtiientetl consumption on
both sides. Now, be it foreverremembered, that there is a limit to the power of
«eonsutfnption,l both on one side and the other. Over-production has happened
izliteqtuently. It may happen again, and therelbrte it is that I hold it to be exceed-
:i.t1gly uncertain and fallacious to rely for revenue, in time of war, upon a matter
so theoretical, as that We shall have a vast aL1g‘I'1l(E311tt1llOl1 of importations, witlt
capacity to pay for them, and a desire to consume them. I think that if such an
"importation should take place, which I do not expect and cannot anticipate, we
could notpay for it. Sir, what are our means ol*'payi1ig for the import-ations oi’
foreign tnanufacturcd articles in this country? They are two. 'l‘hey are our

»exports,“ir1 the first place, and they are the earnings or freight, or of i1ztvig:itioi1.i

in the second place. For cai'ryiiig out our exportations, we earn a frei,gli1t. For
i’bi'inp;i1ig f'o1*ei,gn comiuodities home, we earn  lhciglit. Our ability tl"lel‘(2’llt’)I‘(;3 to
a'llllS(3l."l£ll‘g'(3 Foreign clebtiiicurred by irnportations, consists in the extent of our yer»:-
;ports, and of our earnings of ii*ei~glit. If’ there he  demand for means ‘beyond these,

‘dill; must‘ be met by a drain of the common currency of the world, specie, to the

extent that we possess it, or so far as may be necessary. I take that to be the
undoubted truth. Well, nowl will say a word upon. this rnatter ot‘e.ttpectetl impor-p~

itatyions, a'lt.ltough. I dooynottyinotend to_ go at any lengtli . .it1to.~.tlre.stt bj clot,  ibeg, the ‘

Lvatteinltiontof the ‘honorable Ineutber at the head of’ theComtnit.tee on Finance, and i

all others, to a consideration, which I hope has been well Weiglted. Alias it

been (3OI1Sl(l61't3(l,l‘,OI',il'li»lSp it not--—-wltat will be the loss of revenue for the ensuing

~quarter, if this bill pass, by debenture and re4e;tt;°p,osrtation ? There is in the 001,111+,

ttrypa vast tiuantity of rnercl"tandise, irnported at ltigli dttties. ' After the iirstday- ‘
of December next, iftliis bill passes, all such commodities will come inpat a greaitly 3

=:i-educed duty. , It isnow all liableto re-exiportatiolri andpdebenture. t’I‘palte, the

case of brantlies, and there are many others ina meinporantluprn f‘t11‘t1it3l‘tc(l l to f"rlie7

from a very respectable sourceiin ,New"rYorl<;, quite friendly to the Glovernnne,nt,‘
sandlwisliiiitigitall success; and look to probabilites; branclics now paypotitedollar.
a gallloii; ‘ liavingibeen purchased at fifty cents per gallon; by the present bill, the

duty is reduced toilflt) per cent. ad valorem; that is tosay, to fifty Ct3tt1tSil Tliere .
risrthcn lilitycents. to be ruade on every gallon of brandy inthe United Sltatcs, if

it can be carried‘, out of the country now, Ett'1tl‘l)I'Ol1gl"1’t in on the first of‘ December
next. Is the‘ren,ot? Sir,it tvilllia.ll,gotto Cuba, or to Canada, or elsewhere, and
be returnetl when December comes. So of carpets, and many other articles. ,

 Sir, Iwill beg to ash, whethier the amount of losses on these articles to be in--

curred in this Way, has been considered? i know that there has been a general

I 6

estimate of the Treasury, as to what will be the amount of revenue under this:
bill, andlunder the proposed deductions from the rates of the bill of 1842; butI will‘
ask, whether it has been known, and is now known, that on brandies and on spices ,.
pimento and articles of that sort, a loss of two or three millions a year will occur"
under this tariff? Here in my hand is a calculation, from good authority,
showing the probability of such a loss. But I am not going far ‘ into that branch:
of the case, I say that we have no means of paying for this expected excess:
of importation, except by exports and freight. , Now, how are We to increase“
our exports C? Not in manufactured goods, which now constitute a considerable
part of our exportations, because this bill is an axe laid to the root of that pro»-
ductive tree. It seeks to strike down, at once, the main interest which:
sustains these exportations. It is not, therefore, from manufactured goods.
that we can expect this increase? Well, then, from what can we expect;
it? Why, we .have some national articles of export—-—-cotton, tobacco, and ‘some-s
others of the nature of raw materials, or raw products. Now does any body‘

I suppose that twenty, thirty, or fortymillions of augrnented exportatitonl of foot»-

ton and tobacco can possibly take place? Allow me to put the question to
those concerned, those practically concerned, in this great interest. As the

product of cotton increases, the tendency in the price is downwards; there-—

cotton, just inthat extent do our means of importation increase. The ques-
tion is, whether there is any reasonable expectation,tupon the face of the earth,)’_
that we shallso increase our exports of cotton, as that the value of the cotton ex-

fore, no-n sequiltrr, that if we produce so many more millions pounds of’

ported shall amount to twenty, thirty, or forty millions of dollars additional ’§’;‘J

Does anyrnan believe it? p A,
  .,We, are falling in, asis supposed, to a conformity, incur policy, with the prom

deposition ofi"e.red in the English Parliament for the repeal of the corn laws. We are

greatly to increase, it is said, our exportation of I wheat and Indian corn toEng-

,Iandv.%<f0n that point it will be more convenient for me to spealtin another part of I

my remarks. ‘But now, as to the freight, which, as I have said, constitutes one:
of ourrneans of paying for foreign commodities; what chance is there for the in»-

erease of freigliti? Why, the effect of this bill is to dinnuish freights, and to»

affect the navigating interests of the United States most seriously, most deeply ;T
and therefore it is, that all the ship owners of the United States, without“

an exception so far as we hear from them, oppose the bill. It is said to

be iI1fu<V01' of free tradeand against monopoly. But every man connected with.
trade is against it; and this leads me to ask, and I ask with earnestness, and hope
to receive an answer, at whose request, at wh ose recommendation, for the promo»
tioylxof wl13+t,li~¥11eres,t, is this measure initrodncfed,  ; ilsait for th e;pim,porti,ng‘1n are-hat1ts== 2’?

They all reject it, to a man. I Is it for their owners of the navigation" of the country ‘.431 p ,

They remonstrate against it. The whole internal industry of the country opposeszr

(n. The shippinginterestopposesit.Theimportinginterestopposesit. Whoisit;
that calls forit, or proposes it? Whoasks forit? iWho’.?" Has there been one I

singl_e ptetitipon presented in its favor from any quarter of the country? Has a single»

findipvidual in the United States comeup here and told you that his interest would‘
i ‘be protected, promoted, and advanced, by the passage of a measure like this 2‘?

t_Sir, there is an im,pe,rativle,unity of-'tl1e,pnblic voice -theother way, altogether the:
it other way. And, when* we are told that the public requires’ this,V;and th_at'tl1e,;r

people require it, “we are toxunderstand, by the pub,lic,i certain apolitical men, whoa

* .fpphatreladiiptedi the shibboletltnfofjparty,for the pttblitirtlandl certain persons, when A
 have s~ylrnbl’olss,i ensigne, and party flags, for the people t;i and thatlsall. I I aver,1;sir,i 3
3 that is all; * Ircall nplonany man who? is within these walls to stand. up atndtepll‘.
imepuswliat public interest,*W,l1at ‘portion of men of buisiness,wl1o,arnongs;t.allytliose,

,*wh1o~,:ear1ttttheirlpllirington uthe» sealer on the land,_in thetield,of:lalgricultur,e torjtin; ‘

7

the workshop of the artisan; whoarnongst them all, comes up here and asks for
such a measureias this it Not a man. If there are any persons out-doorstin favor
of this bill, why, then, sir,I can only say, that silence is contagious, and its
friends out-doors are as mute as its friends in--doors. , t t  u 1
It does appear to me, then, that we are to make this alteration -in our whole
system of revenue, we are to bring this great change over all the departments of
private life, We are to produce unknown eiiects on all the industrial classes of

, tthecommunity, upon a mere theory----a theory, an assumption, which , suggests
that all the interests of the countryare severely taxed to maintain the manu-,

facturers. I must say, sir, that the notions which prevail in the Treasury
Department and in the Executive Government appear to me to be almost in-»
sane. We were told, at the early part of the session, that the taxed portion
of the community paid fifty millions to the manufacturers ; it has now got up to
ninety-«four millions ! Mr. President, if intelligent men, of patriotic purposes,

‘good’ intentions, and great respectability, in many walks, of life, private and

public, over were seized with a monomania, that disease has taken a strong
hold of those who come to us with such statements and sentiments as
these ! How else can we account for such a zeal for over-importation, a zeal which
looks for a paradise on earth, if we can only be surrounded with British manu-
factures, without stint and "without count! The love of importation has be-
come a sort of passion with those at the head of affairs; an unthinking, headlong
passion. I repeat, sir, there is no public demand or public desire manifested for
this bill. 'I‘hen, since it is not called for by any exigency in the Government
i--—--for nobody will deny that the Government will go on quite as well without it,
if not better----since it is not called for by any demand of‘ the people, can we
justify ourselves, by any one single fact or consideration, for making all the
change in the revenue of the country and the business of the country, which this
bill evidently must introduce ? »

Now, sir, I propose, to consider the bill, as a measure for making all duties on.
imported goods ad oalorem duties. t

Secondly, to consider its etl"ects on certain interests, supposed to be protected
by former and now existing laws. i _

Thirdly, I propose to considerits effects upon the navigation and commercial’
interests of the country ;----a topic of very deep interest, which has not as yet
been fully considered in this discussion. I

Fourtltly, I propose to consider its effect on the great industrial employments
and laborof the people. I I I t

 I   Ilperjmtitltcpdp  jsay,fwith~, great rcusptcct for getttlcvtmveni,  the, Otllyer 833%

that I enter upon this discussion under some disadvantagesi. 'W'e do not hear?
frorn them. We hear no defence of this bill. An honorable member from South
Carolina (Mr. McDu:sr'ra) said that F‘ the bill vindicates ’itself'.” That istso for
true as this, that, if it do not vindicate itself, it is not vindicated at all, Nobody,’
here stands sponsor tforiit. Nobody here answers the objections_w11ich are
urged against it. I see on the opposite side, sir, gentlemen of the highest char-
acterin this country,and of the longest experience in this Government--~gentle-
men who have debated questions, great and sma11,,for thirty years---gentlemerr
properly. considered as being amongst thosettifrom whom selection is to be made

for the highest honors in the gift of the people; and yet on this question-p-—--as im-=4

portant, I will undertalteto say, as any which has been discussed in Congress
froirn the f'ormation of the Constitution----we hear from those gentlemen not aword ‘I
not one single word 1 They hear us patiently. u 'I‘heyappear to be attentive and
thoughtful. lint they ltave “ charactercd” in ‘tllGll' memories at least one of the pre-«
eepts of POl0nl1.lS-----"‘ Give thy thoughts no tongue l” [Laughton] They "‘ give
their thoughts no tongue.” I trust they will remember the next, “nor any unpropor—-

I tinnedthoughthis act.” [Renewedlaughtera] 'I‘hey are obiedienigto theinstructive
. p .. ‘ _ 3' , M V . - "'_
adage, “ Be checked for siisnce, but never taaed i0I~Sj{3!BECl1s I‘heyd0 not

i U

8

ineau to be taxed for speech, whatever else they may be taxed forl [Laughton]

Now, it is not for me to "put it to those gentlemen---it is a consideration which,
if it arise at all, must arise in their own bosoms, Whether they can stake their
reputation on this measure, endorsed as it isby them, and yet make no defence
of it? Arethey Willing that their votes should go forth without their rea-
sons ? That, they must decide for themselves. But I may well ask this. We

a are, in the contemplation of the Constitution, all here holding common counsel.

 his can-;alp‘iter.~  ~

We come hither to confer, to exchange ideas, to be instructed and informed, if

we may, by an interchange" of sentiment. But we have no consultation, no con-- i

‘ference, no exchange of ideas. ‘ Our friends on the other sidewill neither adopt
ourreasons, nor offer their own. We speak, but they remain dumb. But if
they see grounds upon which they can vote for this bill with propriety and
safety, why-will theylnot state those grounds to us? If to all that is urged
against this measure, on our side, answers arise spontaneous in their breasts,
why not give them audible expression? VVe state our reasons; we ask, for
‘theirs; we get no reply. We say, liaving offered our ownlsentintentsi T T T it
i “ Si quid nlovisti rcctius istis, '
p p Candidus iinperti; si non, his more mecurn.” 

But they willnot impart their clear perceptions to us. The superior lightthat
illuminates their own breasts, and enables them to see that the bill is safe for the
country and proper for the occasion, sheds no rays upon us. They are as silent
as they will be fifty years hence. T t i

Mr. President, Inow proceed to that branch of the subject to whichl pro-
posed first to call the attention of the Senate. The proposition of this bill is to
collect all duties and customs by an universal ad oalorem assessment----not an
equal alssessment, it is true,but still a system of and mtlorem-duties, entirely. Now
that hasinotbeen. the practice of the Government, at any time since its organiza-

tion._ln. every administration, from that of Washington down,a contrary system_

hasttalrlvays prevailed. ‘And the desire of those wholhave successively formed and

administered the laws in this respect, has been, uniformly, to carry thelprinciples T

of specific duties as far and as fast as circumstances‘allowed. t , That Iftalte to have
been the policy of the Government from the first; and it has been the senti-
ment of all connected with the Government, so far as I know. I ought, perhaps,
to make an exception in the case of Mr. Clay. I said here, the other day, that
I had never heard a public man advocate a system of ad oalorem duties. The
newspapers say (perhaps correctly) that I was mistalten; that Mr. Clay had

made remarks favorable to that idea, in the year 1842- Iwas not in the Senate at ~A
that time, and I did not know that such sentiments had ever beeirppe;-rprelsseydp  _
him ; and a ,if,; they are _ caorrewctly , reported, I. am, very . sorry that   l

were expressed by him. a . p a
‘Mr. Crittenden here said, will the Senator pardon me while I interrupt him

for a moment, in order to other an explanation? Mr. Clay’s remarlts had refer-I

once solely to home valuation. . p A
 .Webste1' proceeded- Ah! that explains the vvholeinatter, and {pith is a.
great relief r to my mind. I am very much ohligedto the ihonorable Senator.‘
Mr. Clayis proposition, then, was, ‘i If you will bring, the article here, and value
it There,‘ indepeiidentof A. the foreign invoice,why then I will rtakef that system of
‘valuation?’ Well,thalt and this are Wide as tliepoleslpapart.‘ That lqulalifictationlolf

.tl1e;;pri_n;cilpllep n‘1alt.te’spl it sensible, at least, and far less obj ectionable, as at rev,enue:_rnea~ ‘ 

i sure‘. i l A. home. evaluation, by judges of our owniappointmen't here, iiislone thing; jj“

bitty, a valuation, foundedi on tforeign invoices andlthe st’aten1yents.lo_t', _foreignlcosts,,j_p
and_ton t'oreign“oaths, is another and quite a diiierenlt thing. i It arntglad to.-jfinrl,,:. 
therefore, that MIr.tClay"s authority stands exactly ‘wlierer it should stand on suclt}

.a.'qu*estion. as this?-.~l11 strict conformity witli.hi:s pl;npcwledgle,pthispen7perieinsce‘,fended he

. far a‘sIp‘ossible. Standing here in his place, Mr. Buchanan said,

. y p 9

Sir, in the same year (1842) the present Secretaryof State, in aispeech in
the Senate, reasoned in the strongest language, upon the entire necessity, the

absolute necessity, of carrying the principle of specification in laying duties as

“ I am (said Mr. B.) not only opposed to any uniform scale of ad vclorem, but to any and all
radvalorem duties whatever, except where, from the nature of the article imported, it is not pos-
sible to subject it to a specific duty. Our own severe experience has taught us a lesson on this
subject which we ought not soon to forget. I cannot refrain from adverting to some of my rea-
sons for this opinion. ' yd .

“ Our ad valorern system has produced great frauds upon the revenue, Whilst it has driven the
regular American merchant from the business of impo1*ting, and placed it almost exclusively in
the hands of the agents of British manufacturers. The American importer produces his invoice
-to the collector, containing the actual price at which the imports were collected abroad, and he
‘pays the fair and regular duty upon this invoice. N ot so the British cf-"Gilt. The foreign man-
zufacturer, in his invoice, reduces the price of the articles which he intends to import into our
«country to the lowest possible standard which hethinks will enable them to pass through the
~cu.ston1-house, Withoutbeing seized for fraud. And the business has been hitherto managed
with so much ingenuity as gcene1'z1lly to escape detection. ~ The consequence is, that the British
agent passes the anode of his employer through the custon1—house, on the payment of a much
lower duty than the fair American nierchant is compelled to pay. In this manner he is under-
-sold in the market by the foreigner, and thus is driven from the competition, whilst the public
revenue is fraudulently reduced. ‘

“ -Again ; ad valorem duties deprive the American manufacturer of nearly all the benefits of
‘incidental protection where it is most required: Wlicu the business of the country is depressed,
as it is at present, and when the price of foreign articles sinks totfar less than their cost, your
duty sinks in the same proportion, and youare also deprived of revenue at the time when it is
most needed. , .

‘ “Our own experience, therefore, ought to have convinced us that, whenever it is possible,
“froin the nature of the article, we otiglit to substitute specific for ad valorcrn duties. These con-
tinue to be the same upon the same articles, notwithstanding the constantifluctuations in prices.
‘They afford a steady revenue to the country, and an equally steady incidental protection.
VVl1e11'C011’1‘m0dllLlC1S are usually sold by weight or by measure, you may always subject thorn to
:a specific duty ; and this ought always to be done. i V _ .

“Let us, then, abandon the idea of a uniform horizontal scale of ad valorem duties; and whe-5
ther the duties be high or low, let us return to the ancient practice of the Government. Let us
adopt wise discrirninations; and, whenever this can be done, impose specific duties.”

. Now, let me say, sir, that it is proper for us, before we go on this new and untried
system, to consider the opinions of practised and experienced men who have gone
‘beforeus. On 28th of February, 1817, the House of Representatives, on motion
«of Mr. Ingham, ot‘r‘Pennsylvania, came to this resolution; .

i i t t t ,FEBRUARY 28,1817, t
On motion by Mr. Iiighamem '
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to report to Congress, at the next ses-

sion, such rfneasuresas, may be inyecessary or the more effectual execufiiOI1yffilheiplatvstp forthe

t«eellieetiernotltheidyixitiesoitiiimportedigoods‘, wares‘, and rnerclian-diesel.‘ I ~ M ‘ - t

1‘

In answer to this, Mr. Crawford, the then Secretary of the Treasury, after

having recommended various new provisions forthe prevention of fr‘aud,said : 

“ ‘Whatever may be the reliance which ought to be placed in the eflicacy of tlieiforegfoiing pro-~ B
visions, it is certainly.. prudent to diminish, as far as practicable, the list of articles paying ad a

valore1n,duties., lg n. y i y , ‘ = ._ i  _ ._
p “The best exarnination which circumstances have pern1itted,ihas resultedln the conviction
that the following list of articles, now paying ad valorem duties, may be subjectedto specific,
duties.” , r y _ it v i d.
‘Then i follows the list, amountingto sevefnty—one in all. tHer,e, then,_,,,iu and-it
war to the call of the House, as to Whatyinelasureysi ought to be adoptedby Con»,
pass for the greater security offthetpublicr revenue, Mr. Crawford, atthe end of
:.a series of suggestions, amounting I think to ttventy-‘two, adds: “ After all, tlie
truecourse iis»to"go,as t‘ar”asVpossible, onthe line of specific duties.” At _the_,
next session of Congress, having received the foregoing intimation ot Mr. Craw-
iford’s opinion, Mr. lnghain inioved another resolution, as follows:
On motion by lt~:[r.i‘llngiiiaii1,-  t B B t c I ’ , .A.PRIL 20th, 18.l_,8.t
Resolved, Tliiat the Secretary of the Treasurylbe directed toreporttto Congress, at their next

p scssioii, whattfurther tarp-roveruentitlrnay be practicable to make in the tariffof duties upon ill}.--i

10

ported goods,iwa_i-es, and merchandise, by charging specific duties upon articles which are now
chargedewith duties ad valorem. I i A
I I I Tnsnsnnr Dsranrmnnr, February 8th, 1819.

Sm: In ‘obedience to a resolution of the House of Re resentatives of the 20th of April, 1818,
directing the Secretary of the Treasury “ to report to ongress at its next session what further
improvement it may be practicable to make inthe tariff duties upon imported goods, wares, and
merchandise, by. charging specific duties upon articles which are now charged witli duties ad.
valorem,” I have the honor to submit the enclosed list of articles, exhibiting the original cost,
the freight, insurance, and commissions, where it has been practicable; the present ad _valorem.-
duty reduced to a specific form"-, and the specific duty whic it is conceived may be imposed.
upon them, respectively, consistent with the public interest. , _ _

Itis probable that this list may be considerably extended, should the subject receive no final.
disposition during the present session.

I I have the honor to be your most obedient servant, I

 l I I I ,WMI. H. CRAWFORD.

The Hon. the SPEAKER of the House of Representatives. I _,
These articles amount to 155 in number. [See State Papers, Finance vol. 3, pages 415—-"16, &c.],

Following the suggestion in Mr. CraWford’s letter, that there might be a pro-- o

priety in increasing the list of specific duties, this resolution of the House, as

I“ you see, sir, calls for further information, and expression of opinion, on that point.

And here is the circular which, in consequence of that, Mr. Crawford addressed

to the collectors : I “

[C‘.lI‘C.U.I€t1'.] I
'1"nii.Asuiiv DEPARTMENT, 25th May, 1818.

Sin: As the revenue of theUnited States is now exclusively derived from imports and ton-I»

nage, and from the sale of the ubliclands, it is extremely important to render both systems as
peijbct asthe nature of hurnaiiinstitutioiis willperinit. i I y

The certainty with which SPECIFIC duties are collected give them a decided advantage over du-A
ties laid upon the VALUE of the article. I It is‘ probable that the most important change which can.
be made in the SYSTEM will be the substitution of SPECIFIC for ad colorant duties upon all articles
susceptible of that cliange. I I e e I I l ,

Sensible of the importance of this change, the House of Re resentatives,at the close of the last:
session, adopted a resolution directing the Secretary of the I reasury .“ to report,” duo.

in coinplyin with tliisresolution, I must avail myself of the experience wh'ch you have ac»
quired in the discharge of your oflicial duties. I I I

I To place this Department, as well as the House of Representatives, in a situation to judge of‘

the propriety of niaking the change upon such articles as you may suppose to be susceptible of?
it, I will thank you to present them in the form of the statement annexed [not preserved] to this

i conimunication, sliowing the original cost of the article,1the expense of freight, cornmissions,‘

and insurance, the rate ofml valor-em duty now paid, and its amount in the form of a specific:

duty, and the specific duty proposed to be laid upon it. e I

I _ I am, &<:., &c., I e e e I .

. Signed, I “ WM. I-I. CRAWFORD.
P. S. Is it practicable to subject cloths of wool, cotton, or flair, &c., &c., to specific duties, by,‘

combining the number of threads, in a given extent, with the weicrht of the cloth? It isasscrtecl‘.‘,

by s1orne.:of the ,EnglIis,l_1imanufa.cturers.to_,be entirely;practica;ble.Ib§it 3

. . . i’i'g1333€e3‘
«constmcted for that object. I

 

[Circulan] ,
or _ o o Tnnasuuv DEPARTMENT, Noccinber 11th, 1817..
I Sm: The House of Representatives having, by resolution, required the Secretary of the Trea-~

sury to refer to.Congress, at the next session, such measures as may be necessaryfor the more
eftec_tual_ execution ofthe laws for the collection of the duties on goods, wares, and rnerchendise,

,I have to request that you will inform me whether, in the discliarge of your oflicial duties, any,-

.Ii1’l'1,pOI‘l;a1_’1t dei'ects_have been detected in the existing; provisions. , e ‘ .
.Iv.As.it isioiily by experience tliet any system -of revenue , can be brought to approximate‘ toe:

state-of ; perfection, itiisimportant to collect into algeneral mass the practical, experience ofgthe

, intelligent,o,fficersiemp1oyed,,insuperiii.tcnding'tlie (lmmed'ia,te..ea:ecution,‘oftlieesystent. , , _ .
.  You j_will.tlierefo_re have the goodness, tin. ,poIintiiig.out existingediefects, to , present 1 to the ‘ Dear
ypartmeiitthe. frovisioens best calculat.edI, in .1 your ;opinion,to eiiect the object contemplated 

the National‘ ,'iegislature;, i_i I  ‘ I . _ v o I
   early e‘.ttfentiono_ to this» subject is requested.

_  .,I,aiiiI,respectl7uIlly,I&c., A
     w I I

. 'OW,f_S1I‘,IWlTa‘l:g,1S their great=fact;: that makes sad caloremlidiities unsafejjas, a.

I tgenerallpriucipleoeffinance?  Igin'ustf_conf'essIvmyRutter consternation, tlie other f

   I WM. H- meat», we 

11

day, when I heard the honorable chairman of the Committee of Finance (Mic.
Lewis) say, that he did not believe that a case of fraudulent under-valuation had
ever been made out l Why it is the notoriety of a thousand such cases, occur.»
ring every year, in this Government, and in all Governments where the system
of ad’ valorem duties in any degree prevails, and the value is ascertained upon
the invoices or proof from abroadm-it is the notoriety of a thousand such cases of
fraud, that has led to the adoption of this general rule, and raised it, even, into at
principle, as I have mentioned. My honorable friend from Maine [Mr. Evans],
musthave satisfied the honorable chairman and the Senate, as well as every body
else, of the number and the notoriety of the cases of fraudulent uiicler-valuation,
because he enumerated instances, and hundreds of instances, in which goods
were seized and forfeited for under—valuation. I ltnow no limit to that list of
cases ; and, sir, since this subject has come up, and since persons out of doors
have heard the declaration of the honorable chairman, my desk has been laboring
under the weiglit of cases and facts, communicated tfrorn various portions of the
commercial community. I will state only a few, out ofliundrcds. Here is one,,.,
and here is the proof:

A merchant orders gocicls to ho sliipizicd froin Franco and entered at New Orleans, for the
western trade, vvitli the tiiide:i'st:ii'id:ii'i,g that he is to have them at the foreigii cost, with the duties»
and cl'i::irges added.

A shipment was made ~w;ith and forwarded to the pui'cliaser, amounting‘ to - fi,8§29.93 francs...
At the same time the invoice forwarded, with the goods to New Orleans was - .'i,i35t3.0(l francs.-i.

 

DitTei-crice - - - ,- —— - 1,fi7]..93 francs.
Or, $316 94 out of $il,30(l 94. .
The goods were valued theret'ore, in the entry, at 39.316 94 less than they were to the par»-
cliaser; and the purcliaser was actually t'.l1EtI’g','(3(l for the duty on this $531!; 94: as paid to the Ciro»
vernrnent, t1m0lJll‘ti;l.l’l§!,' to $95 10. I-iotli the Ciovei'nirici‘it and the purchaser were, tlicrcI"ore,,.
cheated out of that sum. " i
This transaction occurred in tho spi-iiigr of 1846, and I send you at copy of the (:(')1‘1‘t.-'.'.t“»'pO1ltl(‘;’.I‘1C‘.Cr.‘.’
in wliich these facts are stated, and not denied; but the Ili‘i-ench house attempts a 1'0l.ll'1(,l~{'l.-€|.i)OlJ1i£...

justification for putting the ftircigri cost to the 'pt11‘Ul'ttt$lt3rS at at greater amount than the entry in--it

voice. I J. 1).

This transaction occurred this very year. And here, sir,is another, conimu-»
nicated by a most highly respectable merchant of my acquaiiitance. lrlear tlici:
letter: I t I

Bosroir, July ].7tI'i., 1846.

Data Size: Iarn int‘orrned that a respectable house in this city received an invoice of Ei.11‘0-~
goean goods from a foreign house, the arnount of which was about $52,000, and that, alter t31"]i:(tt‘ll’lg_‘

I the woods at the. custorn house by the invoices, they received another invoice V£tlUt.l1’1,€~.,"»i;i.tt‘.‘:..$'tl.I‘t”lLt

 ,goo,_s.at.abouti_)§$8,00tl,,, with £t,lt31Li,e;t‘,t3i2ttl:llt],§,“ thatthe flJ.‘t1~!iLi.l.l”t;VtJt.lC(;3, vvasttto levy duties .by,.an_tl.itlie» '

second to sell ,

The (SOY]Sl,g'.l’l0(3 here, who is also an importer, not being willing; to be 0. party to the fraud, de--
posited both invoices at the custom house, where they were yesterday.  _ I

I have no doubt of the authority from which I received this int'oi'riiation, but I do not wish tot»
he uotedforit.l I I ., 

I I ave thought that you miglit be pleased to know this fact, as thefrand is so great, and the:
per-petrator beyond the reach of any penal statutes of this country. i i t

Your most obedient servant, . _

Hon. D. Wassrea, Wasliington. I

P. S. I hear that Mr. Lanison isthe coiisignee.

   

Sir, one case more. . A highly respectable firm in Boston (Messrs. George H...
Gray and Co.) have been dealers many years in iliardvvare, and in thehabit of
making importationsof certain articles from tlieg North. In th,ese@articles they
found‘ themselves constantly iundersolid by the dealers in New York. Tlie it
could not understand the reason of this for a long time; but lasttspring the secret
came tolight. They had ordered a small amount or l13I'L‘lWaI't3 to be sent to them,
and in due time, the goods came, and twoinvoices came with them. In‘ one in-
voice, the cost was stated .ati7958 tlialers; in il1(:"t,0l'll2(37', attoll,/1023. And the letter

laccompanyilng these invoices says‘: to‘ Your find herewith duplicate invoices oi"?

is

the greatest part of your order, die. The original I send by Havre packet. You
also find herewitfi an invoice made up in the manner like [thatwhich] the
most importers of your country require ; perhaps to some some cZuz‘y’.”

Now, sir, these original invoices, the false-yanrl the ‘true, and the original letter
which I have read, are now in my hand; and any gentleman, who may feel dis-e
posed,frnay look at them. y Of course, Messrs. Gray & Co. carried both invoices
to the custom-house, because they were honorable merchants; and the duties‘
were assessed on the higher invoice. And by this time these gentlemen were
Lino longer at a loss to account for the low price, at which this description of mer-»
schandise had been selling in the city of New York. I

But now, sir, take not a single case, but the results of long experience. I

I am about to read a letter, not addressed to me, hutplacecl in my hands, from a

gentleman well known, I presume, to both the Senators of New York, and to
other members. This letter, I think, will startle the honorable chairman. It
must open to his mind quite a new View of things. i . . . i t l I V
' ' I I A I ' Taov, Jtily 14, 1846.

LE,GrI~1AND CANNON’, ESQ.-----SIR: Agreeahly to your wish, I avail myself‘ of this oppoituiiity
to give you the beiiefit of my eXpei'iei'ice in merc_anti_le and rnaniit‘act.ui'iug’ business, hoping it
may tend to an 11Tlp1‘OVe1l'l€31’1l.0fl.l1t;3 bill, now peiidiiig in the Senate, for the collectuion of duties.
I hope members of Congi*ess Wlll have the same views_ot' the probable results which Ianticipate;
which are, that the system of ad valorein duties does give the foreigii importer and manufacturer
..a very undue advaiitage over the American importer. '1‘liis will. be apparent fi-oin_ my own expe—’
rience, which I give you annexed. My brother and myself were brouglit up in the town of
Maiicliester, and viral acquainted with the maiii'it"actui~ei‘s and iiiaiiiiifacturiiig. At the age of
rtwenty years it appeared very evident to me that we could. finish goods and inipoi-t goods into
New Yorlti about ten per cent. lower than the Ainericaii inercliant; and with this conviction I

agreed to come out to New York and dispose of the goods, and leave my brother to finish and

forward the goods. I , y
The result was equal to our expectations. y We imported our goods ten per cent. cheaper than
our competitors, and by the ad valorem duties we paidnearly fiveper cent. less duties; so that,

in tvv'cnty-two. years, vvemade nearly a million of dollars,_wl1ilst nearly all the Annericaii met»
~cliaiits failed. Now, 1 reason, what has been will be; and, shouldtlie present taritl‘ hill pass, it

‘will give tI1t3fO1‘elg11 maiiufacturer a decided advantiige, and tend to reduce the rate of duties
.,lower than is anticipated. And It cannot avoid expressing‘ my decided o iinioii iii_f'avor of specific
».tIl.ut1BS, as then the foi-eigii 1i1aI1L1faCtl11'e17 would pay the same, diities as t e Ainerican importer. , I
I I ’ Sigiied, - y t _ ' BENJ. MARSHALL.
‘Can any man gainsay the truth of all this? Is there a merchant, foreign or
Anieriicaii, ‘in the United States, who will express any contrariety of opinion?
Is there a man, high or low, who denies it? I know of none ;, I have heard
of none. Sir, it has been the experience of this Governinent, always, that

the ad valorem system is open to innumerable frauds. VVhat is the case with _

-‘England-Tl  ,;,In;her,. yynewsinotionys favorable ..to;..;fre,s. ttradiw, hits   lmad¥»’  I

ily, into a scheme of ad vialoremiidiities? Sir, a system of ad valor-em du-
rtiesis not: free trade, but fraudulent trade. Has England countenanced
this’! Not at all; not at all. Sir, on the contrary, on every occasion of a
revision of the tariff of England, a constant effort has been made, and pro-

.~;gress. attained in every case, to augment the number of. specific duties, and re-:
-duce the number of ad valorcm duties. A eiitlein-an in the other House Mr.
g

?SEAMAN:] . has taken pains-.-—-wliich I have taken also, though I, believe, not quite

so thoroughly as he .has——--I-to go through theitems of the British.tarifl,', and see i

*what1pro_po.rt,ion, of duties in ythatiytariff are ad vazlorem, and what are specific. Now, V
<.sii', ytheyresult of that exaininatiori shotv_s,ythat at thisfgday, in this B.ritish.tariil',..out ,

wolf ts‘ix.tili,undred,. articles, five huiidfretl] are subject to specific duties. iifliverythirig.

that fromiiitsyriatiirey could be made specific, is made specific :nothing is placed in T

‘the list of adgocilorem dfufitiels butisuch as secmjto he iiicapable of assessineiiit.ini A

zany, other forin. , ,Well,”sirt,.how do we stand, then 2’ .We have thej“~e,Xperi.einyce

«of ofuriowni yGover'niment y;l we liave. the tjudgmeiit liOf,j’tl”l0.SE§ most (lil,‘.3,ll1'lgl1lS.l’liEi3~(ltIlI'1
‘dllfi yjadytiiinistrationlof 011! affairs; are liars the production of Pr0O£3‘QI1‘th‘l:JS‘~mQi3.,

I3

important point, in hundreds and hundreds of instances, of the danger of the trait’
’tJCtl0t‘6m mode ofassessing duties. What is produced inits favor ? Everyimporter
of the United States, without exception, is against it. Sir, the Administration has
not a mercantile friend. from here to Penobscot, so far as appears, thattwill come‘
forward and give his opinion in favor of this system. I undertake to say there is
not one. There may be members of the “little Congress,” to which the honor--;
able member from Connecticut EIVIIHNILESJ referred some days ago---some sub—--
ordinate oliicers about the custom.-house, intluencedhy I know not what consid-=

erations-—-—~who may be found ready to sustain such a system. That I do not,

deny. But I say that no respectable importing merchant can he found between
Penobscot and Riclirnond, who will give his opinion in favor of it, if he is an
honest man, and one who gets his living: by importation himself. Well, then,
how are we to decide ? Agztitist the authority of our own experience? Against
the authority of these thousands of substantiated facts? Against these cases now
llll1Sl1lll,g‘ with rccen,t,fraud_’§ Agairist the ezrample, not only ofthe English Grovern-«
meat‘, but t‘tg‘c1l1“lt"St that of allthe continental G-tove1*rixnents——--t'or the Zoll Verein car-

ries its specilric duties mucltl7arthcreven than England? Against all this, what have '

"tV6?---Wl"1t1l2 have we? “Why, we have the recommendation ofthe President of the
United t‘>‘t;ates and the Secretary ol’ the ’l.‘reasury, ltiglily respectable persons, res-
pectable in private life, respectable, and I may say eminent, in some walks of pub»

lic life; but I ninist add, neither of them trained in the knowledge of commerce,.

neither of them lmving had habits of intercortrsc with practical men of the cities,
or men of mercantile business. And yet hcre,in the first year of their Admin-

I istration, f'resh to the duties thrown upon them, they come out with a reconn--t«

inendation of a vast cliange ; they propose a new system, adverse to all our own.
experience, hostile to everytltiinp; that we have ever learned, clifierent from the ex»
perience of every other country on the face of the earth, and which stands solely
on the responsibility of their own individual opinions! I do not think that this
is a fair balance of authority; and, since nobody here will uphold it, since no»
body here will defend it, it is fair er'iot1,{rli for me to say, with entire respect to

the head of the ilovernment and the I.)t~;t[):§tttmt31‘1t of tl1el'.[‘reasury, that the pro-—~

.P()I1(lt’:?¢I‘=.-IIICG of authority is qnite overtvliolming the other way. , _
I But now, Mr. Pi*cside11t., I ftotitie to a part of this act, to wliuch I would he

exceietlingly glztrl to call the attention, the serious attention, of gentlemen on
both sides of the Senate. 'I'll:ietleightlt and ninth sections of this bill ap-~

0

pear to me to be sop,erct1'aordinat'y and so toh}eetiolnal")le,lthatI cannot porspuade
myself that any gentleman, who will take the trouble" of readpi1igtai'1tl studying;

 ,1‘€«?Vt¢I'1t1@‘, of time ctturmr ‘.L1\PWn 811'-"ills.

fitttj , ‘ Hat

t?lidfGl,l ‘aliciwli  breeder the niutli . llsectionl"oi"t.l1e bill;  Let rne’ lprsnisre lorreiipeat,‘
that the danger in the practical operation of the ad octlorcm system arises from

the great probability’ of under-valuation, fraudulent or otherwise, in the foreign .
inarlret. Tl‘1c thing it to be ‘guarded against, therefore, wherever the ad oalorem; .
system of duty prevails, is fraudulent or accidental under-valuation; and there--~

fore the law now in operation provides specific and adequate. penalties in such

cases. If there be any fraudulenlt unclear-valuatioii now,i-and it be detected, there
is a penalty, there is redress. ,il3nt if I understand aright the legal efl"ectofstl1ese«u
provisions, that efi’ect will be, (and to that I wish to call theattlention of the litegal ,
minds of the Senlate,)fto rexnove allpenalties whatsoeverfrom?lfraudulepntwtnider-5-~
valuation; because, perhaps, of theopinion of the chairman, that no such case ,_
need beprovided for, as he tliinlts "none snyolt ever yet liappened I There will not be,  
 it seems tome, the smallest penalty on earth, or the least check. to any amount:

I

not the bill: ‘

of undrenvaluation thattanybody may 'ohoose.to make. Ilere is the 9th section A“

fSsc.t9. flittl tbhett fttrtItcr,e,1tacted, That if, upon the e:stamin,ation of any parcel, paclrage, or quart-v
tity of go ods, or which entry has been made, the appraisers of the United States shall‘ be of opin-«e

14

ion that the same was undervalued by the owner, importer, consignee, or agent, with the intention
of defrauding the revenue of the United States, it shall be lawful for the collector, within whose
“district the same may be entered, the sanction of the Secretary of the Treasury being first
obtained, if, in his opinion, the same shall be advisable, to take such goods for the use
of the United States. And such collector shall cause such goods to be sold at public
auction, within twenty days from the time of taking the same, in the manner prescribed
by law for the sale of unclaimed goods; and the proceeds of such sale shall be placed forthwith
in tlielTreasury of the United States; and such collector is hereby authorized to pay out of the
accruing revenue, to the owner, importer, consignee or agent of the goods so taken, the value
thereof as declared inthe entry, and five per centum upon such amount in addition thereto; and
the said collector shall render to the Secretary of the Treasury, with his accounts of the customs,
.a statement, showing the amount of nioneysso paid, the amount of duties chargeable on the goods
so taken, and the amount of proceeds paid into the Treasury; and this section shall be in force
‘until the first July, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, unless otherwise directed by Congress.

Sir, there never was such a provision as that on the face of the earth!
“I pray gentlemen to look to it. Here is a man who comes with a fraudulent
‘invoice ,7 it is proved to be fraudulent; the present law punishes him by forfeiting
the goods; but what does this law say? It says that the collector may take the

‘goods, sell them, put the proceeds into the Treasury, but shall pay him the cost,

and five per cent. over! So that the frocuclttlent importer, if found out, shall

yet be made safe against loss! He may yet sell his goods to the United,S.tates

for cost, and five per cent. profit. Now, I am guilty of no misrepresentation. Here
are the written words. It is exactly that. He comes with his goods, and the collec-‘
tor charges him with a fraudulent invoice. “ Very well,” he says, “vii” you say
so, take the goods and give me whatl allege they cost, with five per cent. profit.
Make the .lI'lOSl'.Ofll2 I” (Laughteiu) ‘Whether he made a good importation or a bad
one, the law very kindly provides him a good way to get rid ofhis goods. Tliere
is not a particle of penalty-—---not a particle of inconvenience to be sudered bylhim.
lltisall considerate kindness, for one proved guilty of a Fraud. On general principles
this section would seem to supersede and abrogate all previously existing provi-
sions; because the enactment is made in relation to the same subject matter, and

. covers the cases covered by existing laws; is no where said to be additional, or

«cumulative; but, on the contrary, the 12th section declares that all previous laws,
reptigiiant to the provisions of this act, shall be repealed. b _
But if this be regarded as a new provision, not intended tolrepealex.1st1ug
laws, but designed merely to give a new power to the collector or the Secretary,
then it is still more objectionable, because, if viewed in that light, it gives a dis-
pensing power, or an uncontested power of‘ favoritism- It enables the Secretary
to excuse, and even to reward, one fraudulent importer, while others, not more
fraudulent, forfeit their goods. It seems to be thought that the Secretary may
‘well show favor and kindness, in particular cases, though deliberate fraud has
been , actually ipierpetrated.-; Tl1is_,is exactlyr in tlie .sipvirit,cf, the1serv~ingw£1naII’tSjade

idressto Mr. Justice Shallow:

I grant your worship that he is a knave, sir; but yet, God forbid, sir, but a ltnave should have

«some countenance at his t'r_iend’s request. An honest man, sir, is able to spcak_for hiniself, when
:a knave is not. I have served your worship truly, sir, this eight years, and if  cannot once_or
twice in aquarter bear out a knavc against an honest man, I have but a very little credit with
jyourworship. The lmave is mine honest friend, sir; therefore, I beseech your worship, let him

be countenanced. « .
Mn. ‘CAMERON hererose, and was understood to say, that he really could

hardly suppose that such a blunder had been committed in passing the bill. He
X iwiitshed to hear the section again. i A l

 _:*l\/Ia. tW.'an,srr.n.‘.‘ Ivwill read it ‘ again “ with discretion and due empliasisf’

 . (Ailauvgh.) Well, now, (continued Mr. W., after reading the section,)the fraudulent
, ‘i»mpo.rter»may himself purchase the goodsat auctio_n. He may, perhaps. buy them
*_’.at fifty per 1cent., and make the Government pay the full amount! And besides,

T thus he evades . the duty. altogether. , He gets his goods in free, plandlhas a cer-
_ ltmintiyi off beingpaid all thatlie ratespthem at, and five percent. besides I r Now,

l5

sir, our predecessors did not leave the matter in that state. The proviso in their

Nth section of the act of ’42, and the 19th section of the same act, are the pro-
visions under existing laws for prevention of under-valuation, in addition to the
general penalty of forfeiture, when invoiced fraudulently. f

The eighth section of the bill is still more remarkable. I do not mean to say’,

that there is any purpose in the Treasury Department, or any oflicer of the
Government, to give facilities to fraudulent importations. They are not capable of
that, yet I say that thiseiglith section 18 open to much fraudulent abuse. See
What‘ it is :

_ Sec. 8. ./incl be itftirthcr enrictecl, That it shall be lawful for the owner, coiisigiiee, or agent of
imports which have been actually purchased, on entry of the same, to rnalte such addition in the
entry to the cost or value given in the invoice, as in his opinion may raise the same to the true
market value of such imports in the principal markets of the country vvhence the iniportation.
shall have been made, or in which. the goods iinported shall have been originally nianufactured
or produced, as the case may be; and to add thereto all costs and cliarges which, under existing

ilaws,«would~form iparttiof the true value at the port wl'ier_e the same may be entered, upon which

““Wlw""""”"°“’”""’i‘tiV"'Y"t'“"“!«'~i'J‘v:mmtw#mMflW i W” ‘ " ‘ ‘

the duties should be assosserl. Aiicl it shall be the duty of the collector vvithin wlxiose district the
same may be iinported or entered, to cause thedtitiable value of such _1nipoi-ts to be appraised,
esti_rna.tcd, and ascertained in accordance with the provisions of existiiig laws; and iftlie ap-
praised valu_e_tl:i.ereof shall exceed by ten per ceiituin or niore the value so declared on the entry,
then, in a.d.dition to the duties imposed by law on the same, there shall be levied, collected, and
paid, a duty of twenty per centuni ad Va orein on such appraised value: Provided, nevertheless,
‘That under no circumstances shall the duty be assessed upon an amount less than the invoice
value, any law of Coi'igi'eess to the contrary notwitlistandiiig. ,
Now, sir, asto the 19th section of the law of 1842. I pray you to bear in
mind that, by statutes of long standing, fraudulent invoices for fraudulent milder“
valuation, &c., are declared to be grounds of forfeiture of the goods. Now, the
19th section of the law of 1842 goes farther, and imposes‘ a personal penalty.
Its provision is this : 1
Provided, also, that in all cases when the actual value to be appraised, estimated, and asceii“
mined, as heireinbefore stated, of any goods, wares, and rnei'cliandize, imported iizito the United
States and siibject to any ad oriloi-cm duty, or whcreon the duty is regtilatecl_by, or directed to be
imposed or levied on, the value of the square yard, or other parcel. or qi.iai1t.ity_ thereof, shall elit-
ceed by ten per (.!(m;ll’ll/171,, or rnore, the invoice value, then, in addition to the duty imposed by law on
the saine, there shall be levied and collected on the sa.me_ goo‘cls, wares, and n'iercl'iandize, fifty
per ccittitni of the duty imposed on the same, when fairly invoiced. i
Now, the object, of the eighth section in this bill appears to be to shield the
honest importer from the penalties of undervaltiatioii where he has actually pun-
ohased the goods at a price below the market value, and permits him, in his
entry, to add so niuch to the value given in the invoice as, in his opinion, will
raise the, «woods to the piiiarlreot value piiithe,co,untry_fro;,ni pwliencpej,,t1'i,ey;vvere_im-

per e” r  it ielti‘i’;¢ile"et‘ii‘lliovv3if‘opento iabiise; , i p i i i ~

If the value put upon the goods by the appraisers shall exceed, by ten per
cent.,tl1e value so declared by the importer in the entry, then the goods shallbe
liable to an additional duty of twenty per cent. advalorem. i  » ‘V 1 i ‘

Now, this is a provision for an entry of goods at a valuation which differsjfroni
the invoice. , It prescribiesgno octtlz, for theimporter to take, in regardto the ad-
dition which he proposes to malte ; r and inall the revenue laws, I can fincl no
oath, which a collector, is ai1tl‘l01‘l22(‘.Cli,ltO administer, and which is applicable to
such a case, Now,l1ere is opened at door for fraud, if a piirpose to commit
fraud exists, An importermayf require his foreign correspoiideiits to send liiin‘
half aiido‘z"en,,~i11voices of the same goods, graduated all along down to severity-
five per cent. ,belovvtlieiVr value ; : and on arrival he will use that invoice wliicli
shall beten, tvventy, or thirty , per cent, or more, under the true value, according
to circumstances, If he find, the appraisers particularlyt sharp, as to such arti-
cles as his, he will add SOmetl1lI'ig, to lithe, invoice ; and, according to this sec-
tion, ifhe adtdeiiougli tolbring the goods up Within ten per cent. of thefvalue as
tixedpby the appi'ais,ers,he escapes all ‘punishment. Suppose the appraisers find

16

that the goods are undervalued only nine per cent, then they are to be entered at
their value, and he escapes all risk. At the same time, if the appraisers letit
pass, at his own valuation, he saves the duty, on nine per cent.of the cost ofthe
goods. ‘Within the limit, therefore, of ten per cent., he can play a fraudulent
part with impunity. , ‘ p . t ~ t t W
Under existing laws he must swearthat the invoice produced is that under
which the goodswere purchased, that it is the true invoice, and that he has.
no other. But even now’ a fraudulent importer has great facilities. He may dlf
rect This correspondent abroad, “Send out such an invoice of such goods at
such a price.” Well, with that he, goes to the custont-house ‘E Thereare
no-A sharper eyes in the world than those of the men who bring in goods with
fraudulent intent. A man, intending to defraud the custom-house, gets an in-»
voice of goods ; every body says, and the appraisers say, “ V‘Vell, this is error»
mous; these goods could not have cost so little as that!” And the Collector
meditates a seizure. Well, then, the moment that this is apprehended,the importer
comes again, and says, “Oh! I knew how it must have been!  Itis all.ainis.t.ak;es !.
Here is the true invoice.” My correspondent in Paris made a mistake, he corrected
it the very next week, and here is the true invoice.” Such cases have occurred ;.
and, need I say, that if the goods had not been arrested in their progress, this
second invoice never would have appeared. A man may send a false invoice to--;{
day to his consignee in New York, and the New_York merchant may go to,
the custom-house and swear that thatis a true invoice, and that he has received
no other; and he may enter his goods and get a permit; but, before the sale by
auction, another invoice arrives ; and so according to the case in Boston to which
I alluded, there isone invoice to enter by, and another to sell by. And the
importer has time to come in with his subsequent invoice, if threatened with
seizure,to relieve himself of all inconvenience from having made, and being‘
shown to have made, a fraudulent under-valuation. ‘ I t .

, Now, let me recapitulate, shortly“, hovvithis matter stands under the eighth;
section, admitting, its purposedto be honest.  W. here recapitulated his re-A
marks onthis head, and added, one thing is certain, under this section a fraudu-V
lent importer has a chance, without running any risk, of getting in his goods at
as great an under-valuation, or nearly so, as that which enabled the Messrs.»
Marshall to make their million of dollars] I am hi able now, he continued, to_
turn to the speech of the honorable member of the other House, in which he
enumerates the specific and ad oalorem duties in the tariff’ of Sir Robert Peel.
Hesays: , S % it ~ e t

“ In ‘the tat-ill‘ of‘ Sir Robert Peel, of‘ seven hundred and fourteen enumerated articles, sis: hun-»

. ‘A, “,,',:*.{.‘.,.~it~tvtlJtt,« ,,t_,.. V was r-'

tired and eight are specific, and only one hundred and six ad valorcm_.”--7- ‘tpyceclt cj'tIte I-Iyovn. H. J,,_ _

fierttmwt, -i  _  ,          t ,- t
j I have many other cases of fraudulent under-valuation, but I will not trouble
the Senate with them. But no fact is better established,.thanthe entire want of-
safety against losses in those parts of our revenue system which rely on ad oadorem .g
duties. We have been obliged to adopt the ad valorem principle to a certain ex»

ten.t,.fro1n necessity. i,We suffer by it daily. The numberof cases tried in the S

courts show.s this. And the difhcultytof conviction is great. You carnnoteasily
($Q11Vl11C6 a jury of under-valuation in the case, for instance, of broadc1oths,b.e-

. cause’.tl1e-subject matter of the duty,“though similar,“,is not equal in value., «It is T

t :not7 easy to shovvpthatpttliere may not be as rnuchs as ten per cent. tdifference in

paipenalty, a convictio.n is not easily obtained.

, p  I leavefllis part of the case, by*preseiiting,.'n behvalfland in the name, of thewhole
* American impoprting community, foreign a11(l(l0IIleS_l.lC,, ofany reputation at all,;.1.n t ‘ t

"behalf ofevelrfyAmerioan importing merchant,» inb'ehalf,.of that twholeflf
tftireign respectable merchants, French, Gerrnan, andlE,nglish,;who‘icom,e‘reside‘  

‘valtte;.i:in, twoarticles ,vhicl1' appear tojbe alike ;jand‘i wliere. Govermnent suefi  S

""51
"Pt,

it"

here, and import goods from their respective countries and elsewhere, nnderit*lie'

protection of onrlaws; in their behalf, and in behalf ofevery man of them, soffari

as I have heard, I present their opinion against the extensionof the ad vclorem
sys;tem.. And I would admonish gentlemen, most seriously admonish them, to con»
sider whether the objections which I have now urged are not respectable; whether
the opinions I have quoted are not respectable; and whether, after all, they are
willing unnecessarily, suddenly, with no other recorntnendation than that which
 have alluded to, to take a step in the dark, and to place the sole income and
means of supplying thgjllreatsiury upon the untried system of ad valorem duties.
, And now, sir,Ww,.i’~<t>tit’t""'the leave of the Senate, I shall proceed to consider the ef-
 i£1£fi 'i‘l“l’"upo11 some of those interests which have been regarded as pro-
tec nterests. I I
I shall not argue at length the question whether the Government has commit-
ted itselfto maintain interests that have grown up under laws, such as have been

WP.»-

passed for thirty years back. I will not argue the question, whether, looking to

the policy indicated by the laws of N89, l8l7, i "254, 18:28, 183%}, and 1842,
there has been ground for the industrious and enterprising people of the United
States, engaged in home pursuits, to exptect protection fron’1 the Government for

internal industry. The question is, do these laws or do they not, from 1789 till.

the present time, constantly show and preserve a purpose, a policy, which might
tnaturally and really induce men to invest property in tnanufa<:tt1t'it1g undertakings
and commit themselves to these pursuits in life ‘i Without lengthened argument
 shall take this for granted. . i
But, sir, before I proceed farther with this part ofthe case, I will take notice of
what appears to be some attempt, latterly, by the republication of opinions and
expressions, arguments and speeches of mine, at an earlier and later period of
life, to place me in a condition ofinconsistency. on this subject of the protective
policy of the country. Mr. President, if it be an inconsistency to hold an opin-I
ion upon a subject of public policy to-wday, in one state of circumstances, and
to hold a differient opinion upon the same subject of public policy to-marrow,
in adifferent state of circumstances, if that be an inconsistency, I admit its
applicability to myself. Nay, sir, I will go further; and in regard to ques-
tions which, from their nature, do not depend upon‘ circurnstances for their
in-use “and just solution, I mean constitutional questions, if itlbe an incon-,
csistency to hold an opinion today, even upon such a question, and on that
same question to hold-a diii'crent opinion a quarter of a centuryafterwards,
upon a more comprehensive view of the whole subject, with a more thorough
;i%ny,esti,g,atit,on, into the: originpal purposes‘ «and, ‘0bJ‘ect“S““-‘,‘0‘f that .,constti,tmi,oVnp,= anjdgesn
I pccially witharntorelthorough exposition of “those objects and purposes‘ bytthosei
who framedpit, and have been trusted to administer it, I should not shrink even

;frofirn" that imputation. I hope I kvnotv more of the Constitution of tniyfcounitry I

 objects more broadly. Ihope Ihave read, withdeeper interest, the sentirnents of
”“**~««.,w-they great men who frarned p it. I hope I’ have studied with morecare the coudi-e
Winn of the country" when the Convention assembled to form it. ‘And yet. I do

no “now that I have much, sir,“to retract or to change on these points. I I I

than I did when I was twenty years I old. I hope Ihave contemplated its greatzf

131113: ‘r, I am of the opinion of avery, eminent person who hadoccas~ion;.notlongi

 

-psi-ncc, to s I alt of this topic in another place. Ittconsisttencies of opinions, arising
from ciliaxigesttiin: circuinstnnces, are often jnstifiable. But there is one sort of tincon-t
sistencytpwhich isgcttlpalile. ‘ It”is*the inconsistteincyibetween ta rnan’s‘conviction;
and 1133 Vote 3% betttiicen his conscience and his conduct; , No man shall ever charge’
me with an iiiconisisthnrjiy like that. j And now, sirgallowii tneitito say, thatil am.
-quite itidifiieprent, or ratl1e"rthai1k'fLtl, to those conductors of y the public press what

2,

18]

think they cannot do better than now and then to spread my poor opinions before»

the public. (A laugh.)

I have said many times, and it is true, that up to the year 1824, the people ofthat:
part of the country to which I belong, being addicted to commerce, having been
successfulin commerce, their capital being very much engaged in commerce,
were adverse to entering upon a system of manufacturing operations. Every”
member in Congress from the State of Massachusetts, with the exception of one,.

I think, voted against the act of 1824. But what were we to do? Were we not

bound, after ‘£7 and ’24, to consider that the policy of the country was settled,

had become settled, as a policy, to protect the domestic industry of the country“

by solemn laws? The leading speech which ushered in the actof ’24 was called a.

speech for an -“American System.” The bill was carried principally by the
Middle States. Pennsylvania and New Yorltwould have it so; and what were we
to do ? 'Were we to stand aloof from the occupations which others were pursu-
ing around us? VVere we to pick clean teeth on a constitutional doubt, which at

majority in the councils of the nation had overruled? t No, sir. We had no op-»

tion. All that was left us was to fall in with the settled policy of the country;

because if any tliing‘ can ever settle the policyof the country, or if anything can,

ever settle the practical construction of the Constitution of the country, it must
be these repeated decisions of Congress, and enactments of successive laws
conformable to these decisions. New England, then, did fall in. She Went into

the manufacturing operations, not from original choice, but from the necessity of
the circumstances in which the public councils had placed her. And for one, 11.
resolved, then, and have maintained that resolution ever since, that having com--

peiled the Eastern States to go into these operations for a livelihood, the country‘
was bound to fulfil the just expectations which it had inspired. t

Now,‘before, I gointo a consideration of the various articles intended to be;
protected, and the-effect of the law upon theiinterests connected with these-
mlanufactures, I wish to rnaltea remark, which is little more than a repetition, in.
general terms, of what was said by the -honorable member from Connecticut the ~-
other day. It is the strangest anomaly that ever was seen in any act of legis-«
latton, that there is a uniform tendency, I assure you it is so, in this measure, to
ten: the raw material higher than the manufactured article. It allows bringing in;
cordage, for instance, for the use of the shipping interest of the United States,

at a less rate of duty than you can bring in the raw material. Of course, it is-

prohibitory of internal labor. It is prohibitory of the internal manufacture ,3;

and not in that case only, but in a great many others, as I shall show you.

There seems to be a sednlous purpose of preventing the rnanufacturinginterest.
fromtltaving any means of getting along- , I speak of the tenorfand tendency, 
the generlal‘ spirit of thwis“ bill. t t ‘It does.) prerfetyvby its~“ite‘n~actmihi‘ts, uand‘ in bits c.onsle¥~~
quences, foreign labor to domestic labor. It does encourage the labor offer»-
eign artisans over and above, and in preference to, the laborof our own artisans,
here in the United States. I ever it, and I am going to prove it. , Now, if that is
made out, is there a man in this chamber who will vote for this bill? And yet.

  we are told from other quarters, that this is a bill of peace----that it will sletltlea,

vexed question. Depend upon it, it will settle nothing. Itis calculated to raise a,

‘degree---I had, almost said of :resentrnent—--at all events, of isurpriseand indigna-»

‘tion, not in one man’s breast, butin the breasts are million of petople,,,-noiwtearningj
their bread, as they think,‘under~laws and assurances that thesetlatvs shall be.con-~-
ti°nueidlt,‘1,.which enable them to import the raw materials and work upon it, and bring"
their labiortiinto market, as advantageously as theelaborof the foreign mechanic...
Calliyoupilthat ajbill of peace which disturbs all these ~te:rpectati'ons'!- It isrnot.
llpeace~—-~it‘is‘ganlygthins‘butt tpeace. ,        t l    t    t   i r    

, . .

M;Sir, therets an article, the growth of which isveryinterestingito ttl1eli~Western.i

States, being well euitedito the fertility of theirsoil. It is hernp. (The manual

«hm

cm

“W.

i'”““~«...,,l1en113 finding a market here, as the expense of’

l9

factors of that article into cordage is essential to the navigating interests of the
United States. Well, sir, 1;l11S constitutes one of the cases which ,I have men-
tioned, and with reference to which, allow me to read several letters from high-

ly respectable gentlemen. . ‘ p
The first letter is from Mr. Isaac P, Davis, of Boston, who has been a rope.»
maker for forty years,‘ and whose opinion, on this as on other subjects. is an-

thentic.

Mr DEAR SIR: I send you vlewpaper, which contains an article on Hemp and Cordage by a
writer who appears to uénderstand. the subject. _ ‘

I enclose a statep1ent‘of_the average cost of hemp end cordage in Russia for the last five years;
also, the tTreig.lrt:"‘t’6 the United States; the cost of frelghtior at ton of hemp from l\/Iissouri, Ken.
‘tuck “ Incliana. You will see the advantages Russia cordage will have in our market over

r own manufacture. _

Foreign cordage also has the advantage of drawback on shipment to another market. "We also

consume 6000 -barrels oftar in the nmnufecture.
‘ l  l , J. P. DAVIS.

Yours, truly,
July 16th..

The following is the statement alluded to ubove:

 

Cost of a ton of Hemp in Russia, in.cluding charges, - - i «- — $140
Freight per ton, - - - — - - - - - 12

l 0 , $152
Cost of a ton of Cordage, ~ — - — - - - 333150 e
Freight per ton, ' ~ — - — -— - - — 8~..—§l,‘,158 ,

The above are the average prices for five yours.

F1-eiglit of a ton of Hemp frorn Missouri, Kentucky, or Indiana, to Boston. -— $521

I add two other important letters, from very respectable persons in the same
city: , l .
l BOSTON, J-uly l5th, 1846.

Hon. D. WnnsrnnmS1n:_We wish to call your particular attention to the interest of the
co1'duge n‘1Et‘m.1fll_.ctu1'6 in settlirng; the ‘ttlfltlf questuzm now beftn-e the Senate, as the bill, as passed
by the House, is destructive to the interest of the .A.mer1cz:m, and grunts a. bounty to the foreign
manufacturer of 20 or 25 per cent., VIZ:

' 0 Per cent.

The difiiei-ence of duty more on hemp than co1~tltige - - - -
The difference of foreign shipping ('.l”1t:tI'g‘cS - y - - - - 10

. The difi"erence of freight more, being cliurged on hemp, on account of‘ its bulk,
then cordage - — - -« ‘- - - - -« - 10‘

u-——u

Making — ‘)5 l

l -u -- i an on ~ ‘
Arid the foreign. ninnufecturer has another udvo.ntn,ge over the domestic, 1nll3ei1*ig enabled to do-

pcsite in warehouse, undvsuppltyiytliey home _1_no.rket when the price will answer, to, secure the exe-
port denuuidttby sellingst that price‘. 0 ‘We wish to'llie.rell‘L1sticeilet the hends of‘ thefGovermn'ent,
if not protection, and think 21 specific duty should l3e‘lni on cordag;e that should be equal to at
least 20 percent. over the duty of hemp, besides the extra expense of importing hemp ‘over
cordase-ow l  0  «.  t  or r
, .A.nCliW6’fi1I‘l.l1l31‘ think it decidedly for the interest of the country,
in this country. 0 ‘ , l y . y _ V . y
i As the foreigner willsupply cordege under the House bill, which “will prevent the produce of
getting American hemp from the place of raising
cordege can be broruglit .t'ro‘In, Russia, exclusive

and of’ the §;rowe1‘s ofliemp

hstpowl over 50 per cent. of -the first cost, while
Of‘, , at from 5 to 7 per cenpt, ‘_ V . i . r . y p ‘ ..
We  k the domestic menulfacturer should he allowed a drawback on cordege made from
foreign tramp (which has paid a duty) when expox'tetl--4-or, if this cannot be done, the drewheck
slmuldinot bet plowed to the importer of foreign cordage one'xportetion.i Soliciting your-zuten—
tioiitotlieforegbipg, V. 0 .M I. l. . V. r , fl. . V
in . * 0  are, very respectfullyyyour obedient lservunts, in , y l _ .
  l   0'  it it i fl r ‘ SEWALL& DAY;
, . r . up . ‘ y 1 , l r t , Bosron, July 1'7, 18453.. "
I_-Ion. D_ANInL VVnssrnn--—-Dn.en_Sm: Iteppeersto me so ezxztraordinery that so many ot“ou:
legislntorsplat Washington cannot, or will not, see the injurious Jelihcts tlie proposed tarifi" ‘wil

have '$l’l1'O11;gjl1\4Clill.lO1.l1‘iCCJt1l1try,ClfaCl0}Z)l;£3(l., that I ce;nniot,re:t'rain from eisgpressiiig to you my opin-.
m_n»:1n. regerdto it, and particularly to the western ‘seretioiis oi‘ the cottntiy, for instance, '€‘.T.l1E3t‘€,}_~

t not call the attention of Congress to the injurious effect these 'rcc'iprccct treaties
l inerce of this country. i ‘ '

20‘

so‘ much hemp is produced. If this ad valorem tariff passes it will bring Russia again in co1n#-'’v
, petition with them; whereas, at the present time, but very little Russian hemp 1S wanted, and
our rope-mak ers are now using the American hemp, almost entirely, for tarred cordage. If the

tariff should be adopted by Congress, we shall be able to import Russian tarred cordage cheaper r

than we can import the same weight in hemp, inasmuch as there isan export. duty on hemp in
Russia, and inany expenses in preparing it to pass inspection if imported, when on cordage there
is no export duty of any consequence, a mere trifle, and the yarns are spun in t.he interior in winter
‘at a cheap rate; of mixed qualitiyes of‘ hemp, not inspected, sent to market on bobbins, from which
the rope makers take the yarns and tarr and twist them into ropes of various sizes for exporta-
tion, and cheaper than they can ship the same weight in hemp. iThus you see, that this tariff

will not only afi'ect the western hemp growers very injnriously, but it will in a great degree des-

troy the inaiiufacture of hemp in this country. i
There are many other articles I could mention that would be a-' general injury to the country
by an ad valorem tariff, but you, no doubt, are aware of it, and, therefbre, Idesist frmn further
‘Vcbservations, excepting that it is astonishing and extraordinary that the Government at Wa.sl1-
ington will not profitby the eX.perience and experiments of the governments of‘ Europe, who have‘
tried rad oalorem trtriflh, and find they do not answer at all; and have resorted to specific ta.riii's on
almost every thing of importance.
It is now so late in the season, and your duties have been so arduous, that I ‘ resume you will
lievcon the com-

I remain, deo.rflsi1', your obedient servant, i JAMES HARRIS.

i What answer“ is to be made to all this? Is it the result of intention, or of
culpable ignorance? Are those who framed this bill determined, of purpose, to
break down the manufacturers of the country, or are they only inditferentand»
utterly recletless, in all that relates to them ? »

'I‘h.ere is, sir, another article, very important to the shipping interest, as well as
thei1ia1it1facttiri1tg interest, and grown into its importance lately, the fate of which
is still more striltitig. Formerly it was not of much consequence, but lately it
has grown into tconsiderable importance. It is the article of linseed, and of lin-
seed oil. Now, this is acase of very great interest. So important is it, that
I shall read to the Senate letters from mercantile men, who say, if this bill passes,
ions-thirditof all the trade and shipping between the United States and Calcutta is
cu‘t=oi’f and destroyed. Let us see how that stands. Years ago, and when Ifirst
remember to have been conversant with commercial men, and was living in the‘
midst of a navigating people, there was a considerableexport of the article ol'tlax—-
seed from the United States to Ireland. and England. It iswell known that Ire-
land, a great seat of the linen manufacturers, acountry” thatraises and manufactures
so much flax-«--does not raise its own flzixseed; and the reason of that is, I suppose,
that the flax must be pulled at a period of its growth before the seed has ripen-
ed; if not, the fibre becomes so hard that it does not answer the purpose of fine
manufacture, and can be used only for the coarser fabrics. In our Middle and
Northern States, flax, israised For both ppurposes. g. It is sufierted to ripen, a11d_tl1e=
seed is sfaiviedi and r eirporlted1.to,‘rr=rI,rel~arid, ?or7u:si*e tl-itor7‘?hel,'i*i  manure c-
tured into those coarse goods which answer for household purposes, and the flax
wasspun by our mothers and sisters, and their assistants, in times past. Butnow,
this isgreatly changed. Linseed oil has become an article of great importance‘
and vastly extensive use. It is manufactured in this country chiefly frornlinseed.
imported from abroad, and, as Itsuppose, mainly in that immature state in
which it would not vegetate. But here, it is used for the manufacture‘ of linseed
oil, and has become a very important matter, not only to the manufacturers ofrthea

article here, whohave invested large sums of money in” the erecrtiotigofamills,‘but,
i also to the navigating interest, as touching, very seriously the employinent of

a11,.,.those viesselsitofi the: pUnitejd* States whlich carry on the trade between us and

llndiia.'..f~.jI11Utl1e rfirstilplace, let meflgivie?you‘ a statementini respect to the Yesptab-+
lishtnenjttsirfor thenlanufacture ofgthis articleg, ‘ l i i t ‘  "

 At tl1B_il,a.StgCBtl1S1IS,, thlerewerer 840 llinsleetl oilitmills inthei United. pS‘tates_r,p~aind».

 ‘notvrnuimb.e.r frotnT';1,000 to 1,200, rrioived; by water or steam. ‘ , i

 i rf.'P,liey ~ consume from <s0r:brushe1s 0fis.e~ede daily u,p*to=800, accorditig to their car:

Bl.
pacity. Taking the daily consumption at only M bushels each, and they will
consume in a. year three millions ol" busliels. The whole annual export of flax-
seed does not exceed 30,000 hushels,M(tl1et is the matured seed to Ireland,) which.
is only one bushel out of every Izunclrczl of the crop, the remaining 90 bushels
being consumed in niaking oil. 0

 

Present duty on linseed oil, per gallon -» -.. . 25 (gig,

Proposed duty :20 per cent. ad vnlorem, or only, per gallon 7 “
Being a reduction of - -- «- - 18 ms,
Preseirt import of linseed oil 200,000 gallons, duty 25 cts. $50,000
 import, at proposed irate of '7 cents - - lv~t,000
Loss in duty - - - - - =tit:;3(3»,0{)t,l

.__-.................

 

It will require an inorensetl import. ot" :3t'.)0,00tIt gtillons of oil to get the some
amount of duty tl'1etwe now do, it’ the duty is reduced as proposed; and. this can
only be done by tlestroyiiig our own niills and stopping the growth of seed in
this country. The imports oflinseed are shout o/l00,00() husliels, pnyziitg :1 height

offlla’l20,000 to our ships. Tlfle coke  shipped to E1tg*’l.z1t1tl, znid pays a freiggjlit:

of #tlt~t0,000 per annum to our ‘pocket ships.

A gentlennni engaged in this 1'1i1onul'ncture Writes to me thus :

“Fi'o1:n our own mill we send 40,000 l..nn'mls o:t'(r.ul(c-. to London yenrl y.

Engleiicl imports 3 5; millions of l.)uslie.ls of li')t.s‘m;2(l cr2.lxi'rc:l_2,/_fi‘ce r)__/‘ditty. Slim imposes :1 proliihi—~
tory duty on linseed oil, nnd does not llfl‘t1i")().1‘l‘..h it si.ng;leptgnllon. Sire: luts (:n.pit::tl, nm.cliintn.'y, con.ls_,
and wages niucli cheaper tlion ottrsclvlcs, und lior mill«;2rs get double the price for their Oil culto
that ours do.

We consume in our own mill, 900 tons of cools yen.rl'y.

No monopoly is asked our <':.x1;:'>c':c't;e(l; lnit, our opinion is, tluitt. :1 duty of  or 15 cents n {;;::‘1.llort
on oil, in lieu of the present. rote oi" E35 «Lannie, with semi tree or cu; 5 cents duty, will l_H.£ lit!‘ the
best interests of our t‘nrirnr.:rs, n‘1illors‘ zmd. consuiri1<n's, und give. more revenue thnn the 1‘:.'Lt«.;::~3 pro-
posed by Mr. McKay in his new bill.” ‘

See, then, with what care (Mr. "W. then sni(.l) this interest is proteot.ed. hy the
bill on our table 3 I may not stop here. l have alluded to the ellect oi’ tliis
measure upon the commerce and the freight of the country. Here is :1 letter
from one of the most respect:1hl.e l1"lGI'Cl"l2.1I.ll:"5 in Boston, formerly :1 see captziinz

. . A p l3osT02~t, July 13, 1:94-G.

HON. D. VVi:ns'rER.~—-—DE.m Sin: Tliis will intro<;luco to you Mr. N. Stortcvant, n re.spectoble
anerclinnt of this place, largely interested in tho rno,_uut_i,i<.:ti.1i'e of oil froin linsootl. _

It” the tnril’f' passes in the shape it c.o‘ne front the House cit" l3tc:]..iresc.r‘1rtttt1res, it will destroy
more tlcroyn one—third of" our C-u.lcut:t:1 trud.c. “   p H p H 

‘vVit.h grout ircspoct, your ob::.dicnt. st;-rv;n1t;, lilill\l.l. l.l.lCl-I.

And here is another letter, from n. inercentile friend of mine, in the same city:

l3os'ror~I, Jitly 13th, 1846'.

Hon. DANIEL Wnnsreit, in Wlzslrirzgtoozi.

” , Sin: I bear leave to introduce to our act: un.intz;n'1cc the bearer of the .. resent Mr. N ooh Sturte-
l 2 Y l ll 2

vigtnt, one of our largest linseed oil rnontut'nct.rn'crs, and who proceeds to WttSl'l’lngtO1l upon husi-
ness relating to the new thrift‘, t’tS all‘e¢:tit1g the articles of linseed‘“‘° and linseed oil. “
Ret‘errin_g to Mr. Sturtevant for ti.1i'ther pz:trticuln1's, I 1'en‘1z:ti11, sir, with much respect, your
very obedient sci-vniit, ' 0 . ROBT. Gr. SI-IAVV.
But, Mr. President, there is e curious specimen of legislative history con»
nected Wlll1’ll18 duty laid on linseed by this bill. In the 20 per cent. schedule
is “flay:eseec'l;” in the 10 per cent. schedule is “ hempseed, linseed, rapeseed.”_
Orignially it stood tlaxseed, linseed, hernpseed, rapeseed, in the 10 per cent.

”“A large proportion of the tonna.9;e now employed in the Calcutta trade with this country, is
occupied. in car1°ying linseed. "With the proposed clmnge in the to1*itl‘t1pon this article this trade
would be broken up. ‘ . I

22

schedule. UOppositiort tothis was made in the other House, on the ground that

flaw-seed was not sufficiently protected. “ Flaxseed” was therefore carried into

the 20 per cent. schedule, leaving its synonirne “linseed” behind, in the lower
schedule! .

Iproceed, sir, to another article, in regard to which the advantage is given
against the manufacturer. It is copper. I. presented this subject to the consid-
eration of the Senate theother day, and will do no more now than to read the
statement of persons most concerned in it, in the United States, as embodied in
theirlpetition to the Senate. . p r t

.“ Therundersigned, manufacturers of copper, and others interested in the trade
to countries whence this article is obtained, having seen that a bill is now be-
fore Congress imposing a duty of five per cent. on raw copper, whilst copper
sheathing is to be admitted free, beg leave to submit to your consideration a few
remarks upon the effect and impolicy of the proposed measure.

“ In order to present the subject in a clear and intelligible manner, we shall

endeavor t.o show the origin of t the copper used in the United States, thetnature 0

of the trade by which the raw material is obtained, the effect the proposed duty
will have upon this trade, and its disastrous consequences upon the mauufac-
turing interests of the country.” c 0 1

Do you see (said Mr.  they tax the raw material, and let England send in
‘her rnanufactured article free '3 Well, this presses on every interest, I have said.
If our people cannot manufacture raw copper, they cannot import it. We lose
the freight of it in that degree, and of course the employment of our ships. This,
the'r"efore, affects the manufacturer of copper here---r-affects the exports, and af-
fects directly the employment of our ships. For what’! For what purpose’!
Sir, for “whatlpurpose? The petition goes on: p

“The consumption of copper in the United States is about thirteen millions
of pounds. annually. It is obtainetlm . r 1
U U 0 U L U Potmtls.

“Froml Chili, in pigs 0 0.. - - .. t.» A - 6,500,000.
“ 9 England, in sheets . 0 - - - ‘ - - U 3,500,000

“r "' in cakes .- -t - ,- 0 l - "1,000,00.0

“ mines in the United States U 0- -  «- I - l -0 500,000
‘Old copper, from various sources —- —- p ‘- t - 0 - 1,500,000
In all, about - — - _ -3 - - - 13,000,000

“ It will be seen that nearly all the pig or raw copper imported is obtained

@f1‘0lI1 Chili,-(erroneously, called Ppe2~ttoiun.,_copp,er intthis .conntry,) andtythatp lEI1gf..

land‘ “supplies as, 0int*refined»=’°oropp;er‘ Uantl  twirutrt<rn.otre**than one-
fourth of all the copper consutned in the United States.

“ The trade hetvveenthe United States and the west coast of South America,
embracinglChili, Bolivia, and Peru, is of the annual value of about $1,500,000.
The principal articles of egaportr are domesticcottons. Of these, ten or twelve
rnillionsof yards are sent annually, constituting more than half the entire value
of all our exports to those countries; and as the value of the raw copper ob»
tained in return bears the same relative proportion to all our iinpiortsr thence,yit:
may be truly said that we e5ccItange,in ourtrade jwith Chili, ten or t?wUeUlve~mil-
iions of yards of cottons for six‘ or seven millions of pounds of copper; 0

~“‘=O'ne ofthe causes,tperhaps the chief cause, enabling us torcompeUtewith

the English cotton manufacturers in that inarkethas. been, that we have made our »

principal? returns in copper, and they have made theirs in the precious metals,
usually theleast profitable articles of cornmerce, as is Well 1kt1own.to,. all» practical

t‘.iJUfterchants«.‘ UTWi‘thout Udotnestic cottons for outwU*ard,and fvvitl1oUuit yicopperfor re-

turn cargoes, this trade must be abandoned; In the ibillUreferredptUo;\it is, pro--y

2.3‘

fposedto levy a duty of five per cent. on raw copper, and to admit copper sheath-~
‘ing free. Under the present law, where both are free of duty, the American
manufacturer has to contend,iunatded by Government, against the lovvtpricei of
labor, abundance of capital, and cheapness of fuel, enjoyed by the English and
iWelsl1 ntanufacturer. The large imports of copper sheathino‘ from Emrland
show the competition against which we contend, and againstbwhich we bhave
hitherto sustained ourselves without any protective duty on this important arti-
cle. But if, in addition to the advantages already enjoyed in England and
Wales, the raw materialimay be taxed here, and copper sheathing be admitted
free, We are in effect called upon to pay a bounty to the foreign manufacturer
equivalent to the duty levied on the raw material. England now supplies us

gjwith more than half the copper sheathing we require; with this new advantage

ref five per cent., she will furnish all.

‘F Alarge portion of the copper we import from England is made from ores
or pig copper obtained in Chili; and if the proposed duty on raw copper
lbe exacted, nearly all that we now get from Chili will be sent to England, and,
being there ntanufactured into sheathing, will be sent to the United States; thus
-giving to English vessels the benefit of transporitittg, and to English :n1anul'actu-
rrers the profits of refining; and rolling the raw material, besides depriving us of
«our best market for the sale or exchange of our domestic cotton. ,

“ It is estimated that the capital now invested in copper rnanufactutes in the
iUnited States IS about one and a hall‘ millions of’ dollars, letnl:iracin_.o; five refining
and rolling mills, and employing a large number of worlwnen. jI'Ilil1£31'i0tl'1€~L’SG
establishments have struggled, unaided by Government, against the superior ad-
vantages of English and Welsh tnanufacturers; and we now only aslr. for them
let continuance of the same freedom of competition. We ask no privileges or
special ‘protection. If the bill referred to heconne a law, these must he closed,
tor continued under ruinous disadvantages.” i

“ The navigating interests thank you for competition, butlet it be a state of
«competition. Do not proceed in carrying out duties in such sort as to put down
the whole American product, using none but the ntat1ufi~.tctu't'es of England for
;the sheathing of your vessels.” 1 will read another paragraph l'ronn the petition:

“ We have thus shown what will be the eli'ects of the proposed duty; the

liviznpolicy of the principle involved is not less obvious. Withoutjentering into

the haclrneyed question of free trade and protective duties, we may freely aver
that it is not the intention of Congress to tax the citizens of the United. States
‘for the benefit of foreigners ; and yet such is the operation of this duty. Wetax

-stratusn1aterial,jwhichwewant for n:1at1u_fnctut“ing pruifposjesrutnd we crltargeii our

icmanufacturersiiwith that tax, if E at the same time we allow thireigners to mann~
ifacture that material and send it to us free of duty. Tltis is a bounty to foreign»
ers, and a taxrupoi1iours.elves. What would be said of the policy of Englattd,
rwere she to tax raw cotton and admit cotton manut"actures free of duty?’.’

Well, (asked Mr. W.,) is that not exactly what we are doing.?, ‘Are we not
‘performing that very act, which were we to see an English Parliarnent perl"orm-

ring, we should pronounce both Lords and Comntons either out of their, wits,_or

«else resolutely bent on destroying the cotton ttnanufactures of England ?‘ j
Thereis another article, white lead, with respectrto which the same policy is

«observed andion that subject I have received the following letter from in very

.1I1l'.6lllg'eI1l3 andrespectable quarter in_NeWIYorlt: , j u r
W t it E  2 - ‘ ii 4 W i i  ” ,’.Wrisrr1nu-ToN,J7ttiy 13th, 1846.,

g l-lion. DANIEL 'Wnnstrnn.-~g-De.-in Sta : Respecting thcjproposed duty on white lead, I hadgftzhe

honor OflJ1‘lt1glt1g‘ to your consideration on the .evening ot‘lastrStaturd-ay, as you then reques,te~d.,

I now make the following disjointed statements, wliiclt, when you come to speak onthe taritt,

nnav be matter that you can ‘make useof in opposing thehill.

Tire capital invested in the manufacttire or White Leedjin the United States, arnountsto up-»

24

wards 'of.Qé2,350,000. T About one tliousandincn as laborers are employed in the business, and
42,000,000 lbs. or 600,000 pigs load, all of which is the produce of the l\/Iissouri and Illinois.
mines in the fabric. The present duty is 4 cents per 1b., the proposed duty is 20 per cent.,
which will be equal to one cent, or, at most, to 1 1-5 cent per lb. The white lead nianuf'actu1'edi
in the United States, is not i'nfer2'.o/r to that of any other country, and has attained its present:
goodness within the last three years, owing principally to the eYlCOu1‘agF:I11el1t given. by the tariff '
of 184.2, which has induced the investment of large additional capital in the manufacture of the.
article, thereby creating great competition amongst the nianuf'acturers. I

The price of pure lead in oil in 1820, at which time there were but two factories in the coun-~
try, was 14 cents per lb. Since that time, it has been gradually declining; in price, and is now‘
only worth 6,‘; cents. I 0 i I ‘

Perhaps there is no article imported into this country in favor of which there is so strong a.
prejudice as that of Englisli white lead; for, notwitlistanding the duty of 4 cents, considerable.-
quantities are yearlyhnportcd and sold at a profit to the _Eng_lish maiiufactui~er. It‘, _with the.
present duty, the Ainerican n_ianufacturer can merely sustain hirnself against the prejudice exist.-.
ing; in favor of the foreign article, should the duty be reduced to one cent per 1b., what but total,
ruin must to hijm be the consequence?

‘We think the i°oi'cgoiiigifacts could not have been known to the frainers of the bill now beforcr
the Senate, and that the Senate will see the justice of transf'erriiig it to the schedule of o.i'ticlcrs*.
under the forty, or at least, the tzliii-ty per cent. duty. . . JNO. LAID.LA,"W.p.

So much for that articie. ~ .

Mr. President, there. is one manufacture, just heginniiig amongst us, of”

such an interesting character to the labor of the country, and the ag1‘iciiltural"
interests, that I beg to call it to the particular attention of the Senate. It is that".

article which they call 7?’l.0‘u.S‘.S‘€]'i2’l8 do lcriite, a woollen fabric just commenced in  

this country, and its early life is to be crushed by this bill. It has been a inat-
ter of immense iinportfor some years past. Now, I wish to state the facts con-
nected with one ofthesc coniinencing establish nients. There was no nianul‘.-icture~
of this article before the tarifl'of"42. After the tariil‘ of ’4:2 was enacted, in seven
ral of the Middle and Easterii States it began. Arnong the rest, within a few
months, or at least within the year, a inanufactory of this kind has been latteinptw
ed to be established at l‘/Ianchester, New Hainpsliire, near the residence of my
honorable friend from that State, on my right, (Mr. C:tLLr.ir.) It proceeds on the
basis of a large capital. Those concerned ask. for no new protection. Theyycaii.
maintain themselvesunder the tariff‘ of ’42. Now, what is the ‘consequence, if"
this inischievous measure, is to prevail? I have a statement from the agciit coir-»
ducting thatestablishinent, an inteliligent and respectable gentleman, every way

worthy of credit and reliance; and I beg; to lay it before the Senate, for the espea-.

cial consideration of the gcntleinen of Ohio and Pennsylvania. He says,before-
there was any .expectation that this bill would pass, they had sent agents into»

Ohio and the western part of Pennsylvania to buy wool; that they proposedVtog

buy annually from $300,000 to $500,000 worth of wool in those States, and per-

haps in the westerii.part,ot" New Yorls:_.p,p I suppose pthatpis of some iin._poi‘tanc.e+

to the ool’- 5-no wars‘ of *7’0hio,ii Pcniiissylivaiiiia‘inland it New   it I the '  as
reached New I-Iampshire that this bill, asiit now stands here, had passed the-.
House of Representatives, these agents were directed not to buy another ounce g;
and they never will buy another ounce, until they know that this bill cannot:
pass. This is an eminent instance in which home manufactures aid agriculture..
It well deserves the attention of all wool growers. When will the Western:
farmers sell as much wheat, annually, to England, as shall equal.their loss, by

this bill, in the articleof wool alone . i ’ I

Mr. President,~here is another petition, or a paper in the form of a petitions. I

.rcspectiiig another raw rnaterial. I was thiiiltiiig the . other day’ ofiiaskiiig the

Senate to print it, for I know that papers cannotbe. printed here till they have had _
a pretty thorongli examination by a committee. This paper, sir, respects brim-f

stone. . [A lauglm] I had some idea of sending it to the Cornrnittee on Priin‘ting,i.
that they might bring it to the judgment of allapproplriate orgai‘is,tO see wlietherrl
ltnught tombs pri:iited or not. [Laughter-.] This is another‘si?nall,i but iilot.Win=~»~

 

appropriate, exeinplification of the bill. Hear what the "persons eon;cerned'*ir_».
this manufacture say : l ”

New YORK, July 13th, 1846.
. Hon. DANIEL Wnnsrua.—Dn.tn Sm: The subscribers, manui'acturcrs ofbrinnstone, 1'espec‘t~-
fully ask the liberty to call your attention to the following; facts : r ‘ l

About four years ago they connnenced the rnanufactui-e or 1'efining of britnstone. Previous
to that time, all the brimstone used in melting gunpowder and for other purposes in this country,,
was imported from Europe, chiefly from France and England, and the price was about $75 a ton.

.. Sincethe introduction of the manufacture as above mentioned, the price has been verytnuchi.
reduced, and is now, and has been for more than a year past, a fraction less than $40 a ton.

The tariff‘ of 184-53 admits crude brinnstone free of duty, and levies a duty of£25 per cent. upon
refined. Mr. McKay’s bill lays a duty of 15 per cent. on crude, and only 20 per cent. upon;
refined brirnstone. ,

y The quantity of crude imported into the country is notlarge, and the amount of revenue which
can be raised from it will be more than counterbalanced by the increased price which C-‘rovern-
meat will be obliged to pay for its annual purchases of brirnstone for the Ordnance and Navy
Departments. , . r p . _. , i i it

Should lVIcK'ay’s bill become a law without amendment, the manufacture in this country
must be abandoned, because the advanta,g~cs in low rate of tvtigcs, interest, &c., &c., enjoyed by:
the European inanufacturcr, will enable him to under-sell the Ainerican in his own market.

In view of the national importance of‘ tlic rn.anut'acturc of this indispensa.blo rnunition of VV€t1‘,,
the tirirdei-sigiied respectfully and earnestly solicit you to use your influence to have the article"
of crude brirnstone taken from schedule E and placed on schedule H of‘ the proposed tai'itl:7, so
as to be adtnitted as at present, free of duty. . Very respectfully, your ob’t sorwts,

t J'EFl7‘ll.lES dc. Oi5iTTlEItFIELD.

Thus We see a reduction in the price of this article of one a ton, in conse»
quence of the tarifl’ of ‘H12, and the manufacture of which will now‘ be totally de--
stroyed by this bill. ~

I shall read another letter relating to an article connected with that topic,
which was alluded. to and very handsomely discussed, yesterday, by my frieiid
from Rhode Island, (Mr. SIMMONS.) It is a very curious spccirncn of legislation,-.,
with reference to an article of some intport.ancc~—-sulpliuric acid: i

Ilosrozn, July Sltlt, 1841-”.

Hon. DANIEL 'VvEBSTER.---i-SIR: I have works in l.\Tewton for the inaitufacturc of Sulphurier
Acid, or Oil of Viti-iolmtlie most extensive works of the kind in the country-—and lcncitving you
vvouldlwish to be put i.n posscssionot‘ the b(3E\.1'ilTlg of the proposed tariii’ of  l.\/Icliay upon the
different interests it aiibcts, I take the liberty of sho~;vin,r_,r the operation ofit u tion tliearticle that
I rnanufacture, and the obvious (it-3:~'5l.g'-.','1’1 of some one to {miles a blow at this l:>usincss. By this
tarifi",” acids of various kinds, such as rnuriatic, nitric, &c., used for chcniieal or medicinal pun-
poses, or for 11‘l€tl1l1falClLlrlllg', orin the fine arts, are charged with a duty of twenty per cent. till,-E
less otherwise provided for. l i i V ‘

As an exception to other acids, sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol, is particularly specified, and is:
cliaigecl with a duty of ten. per t3>,(".;l'll”m-.-—-..‘Z1,Il1(,l,l3l”lt3. iriajtet'ial.; from wliiclt. this lf_nitttde,,i...isulpl1u1*----l
which“ has”beeri'rheretofore t'ree,isicl1a1-god vvitzha am; of airman? per cent. i I liaire.ibe,enirat‘a loss:
to know the reason for singliitg out this acid in the V lay it has been, for it is evident that it has
been particularly dwelt upon in coi'ist.i-rietiiig this taritl‘; and for the want of any inibrrnatiou in
the matter, Icannot avoid the suspicion that it has been arranged by the represen‘tation« oi"
those”specially interested to crush the manufacture in this country. ; p ‘ f  X 7

_l3u1*inlg the past year the supply of bleacliing powders has been vcr short, so much so as to»
drive some of the bleachers into tucking a substitute, called bleaching liquor ; and I am infbrrned

that the substitute , is preferred by those who have used it on account of its doing; the work fully-

as Well, and bcirig much cheaper than the oowders. , ~ , i 

iTh;e inariufacture of bleaching powders  also been carried on in this country during the
last ten years to a considerable‘ extent, with a duty of oneicent per pound on the_imported, fwltichw
JS rnoietlian twenty per cent. And, theref'ore,I do not believe the article has yet been made to
be p_1',oI:ub,i.table,.tomanufacturers, yet the nmriuilicture in this country of the'powders,iand more:
particularly of the liquor, isle cause ofialarrn to the foreign manufacturers. ‘

i Sulphuric acid eintersi1a1'gely into the cost of making ybleaclting powders and bleaching‘ liquor 5;

and it is evident that the foreign . maker of bleaching powders, could notbetter attain his end.
than by raising the cost of n1ah:iug*sulpl:u11‘ic acid in this country, at the same time that he gets:
areduction of duty. on his povvder. -_ , _ ~ _ i i g l = t X 
As I have formed, this opinion, I have tliotigltt proper to communicate it. ‘ i 7  .
 “ i  i I am, sir, with high respect, your obedient servant, i, i
. l «  it ” i GEORGE GARDNER...

26

' Here, then, on one hand, the foreign agent prays foriand urges the passage of‘
Mr. McKay’s bill; and, on the other, the American manufacturer implores us to
stick to the tariff of ’42, reject l\/Ir. McKay’s bill, and suffer him to go on and
get an honest living, as heretofore. They have a directly opposite interest;
and as it is no matter of revenue of any considerable amount, how are we to
interpret the fact, that the former is so obviously protected at the expense of
the latter’! How, is it that, in this contest, the foreign manufacturer obtains
the preference? Are the suspicions of this gentleman--—whom I know to be a
‘highly respectable man of business---entirely unreasonable? He says, there
must have been some one at work, having an interest foreign and hostile to the
‘interestof the American producer of this article, and similar articles; andjudge
you, whether that be not the case. ' It is plain and manifest, it is an English

‘provision, favorable to English labor, and prejudicial to American labor?

lltiponth

I am admonished that it is high time to leave these various articles---—I will not
call them minor articles, because they are all important. There are many more
to which I might have directed the attention of the Senate; there are the articles
of skins and pelts, of which we hear nothing here, but which aiiect a great many
‘hundred persons employed. The same thing takes place in regard to them.
“The raw material is taxed higher than the manufactured articles. N ow, I want
somebody to show if the result of this bill be not to benefit the foreign nuanufac~—

turer and laborer, at the sacrifice of our own manufacturer and laborer ? I wish‘

somebody to show where there is one case inwhich discrimination has been
resorted to, and in which it has been in favor of the American laborer or the
American manufacturer. Every where it is the other way. I

, ‘Sir, the honorable member from Connecticut spoke, the other day, of a F‘ pet-
=ty Congress” of subordinate persons, brought together from about the custom.
houses and the great marts of importation, and of the evident proofs that this bill
was prepared in that “ petty Congress.” * Mr. President. I know nothing of
that; but I say, not willingly, but from a sense of duty, that the long series of pro-
visionsi contained in this bill, in which discrimination is obviously made against
the American manufacturer, and infavor of the foreign Inanufacturer, gives rise
to very awkward suspicions. If there has been, in truth, such a “ pettyCon-
;gress"’ as has been mentioned, for whose benefit were its deliberations carried
on? What interest, whose interest, was its “petty Senate,” and its “'- pett
House of Representatives,” assiduously seeking tolpromote ? I

But now--— ,
‘ Paulo rnajora canamus.

Inow go from these interests to articles of more prominence, and perhaps

ggreatcr importance; and I wish to say, thatin discussing the effects of this tariff

‘named in regard to the new manufacture of mouslin ale Zaines, I make no partic-
ular comment on this bill, in regard to the great interests of that part of the coun-
try with which I am connected. I leave that tothe consideration of others. “I

may not permit myself to be supposed tobe influenced, on these topics, by the

interests of manufacturers around me, and amongst whom I live, and for whose
prosperity and happiness I never can feel unconcerned. Driven from her original
and chosen pursuit, to which she had been enthusiastically addicted--commerce

yw-—-and compelled to enter upon the field of manufactures tWenty~two years ago»--
Vjgifiitlbe now the pleasure of this Gr0V£’3I‘!11',I1(?.l]l1v--?l.l'll.l3(3 the sense of the American peo-

*it,_,to \v‘orlt‘."i”ouirtee11 h

ple-I---if the South andthe Middle and the Westsay so»-—-New‘England can go barley,
«and .s‘till live. You can distress her--—--you can cripple her---t-you can cramp her
---but you cannot annihilate her industry, her self respect,ihe:r capacity to take
care of herself. Aylcountry of itvorlring men who are able,’ if necessity calls for
i ours ia*day,in1ay,ibid defianceto“all«tarifiis,§and all miserable,
,-false, partial legislation. They standupon the strength of their own character,

industrial; labor or * the ciouintry,width-9the§;si.ngleIi,e,ir.e.erittiiaqas.wlrieh~~v:I*% I

2?’
resolution, and capacity; and by this strength and that capacity, they maintain
thexnselves, do what you please. Not, sir, that there is one house in New Eiig-»
land, at this moment, in which the proceedings of this day are not looked for
with intensest interest. No man rises in the morning but to see the nevvspaper.
No Woman retires at night without inquiring of her husband the progress of this
great measure in W'asl1ington. ’l”.‘l.iiey ash about it in the streets. They ask
about it in the schools. They ask. about it in the slioeniakers’ shops, the machine
shops, the tailors’ shops, the saddlers’ shops, and, in short, in the shops of all
artisans and handicrafts. They ask about it every where. And they will take
whatever answer comes, as men should take it; and they will t"ecl as men should.
feel when they hear it. I therefore leave. sir, to the Seiiate, all these consider-
ations. I will not st1:l"i‘er myself to be subjected to the teinptation of laeing‘ led.
away by causes which iuight be supposed to "influence me, and trii'ii.ii'ig
:ff'i'0in them, tl1ei'e:l'o1'e, ll proceed to the consideration of other srilrijects, in which...
so far as Netv Eiiglaiitl is conrcerued, if she have any interest at all, it  in favor
of this bill, and agaiiiist pi'ot;ectcd interests. :l)(j)t3:T~.‘» she mean the less to exercise
her power, little or great, or whatever it may he, in lhvor of‘ those whose inter.
ests are menaced by this bill? No, sir; no, sir; never.

lam now about to speak of the iron interest and the coal. interest. (El-i'eat
interests in which several of the Eitrites are c(:nic:erne«;l, but which, by way of orni-
nence, men are accustomed to call the great l-“'ennsyflvanian interests; and so tliey
are. Massachusetts is a purchaser of Fennsyl.vauia coal, and she  a purchaser oi"
Pennsylvania iron. She is one oi‘ the best purcl‘iasei's oi" these articles from her
Pennsylvania friends. She will, to the ext.<:~nit of her power, in-ai.nta:in a just
system for the preservation oil" these gx‘e:i.t interests, precisely as if they were her
«own. And, sir, l do not fear that I am 1‘Lll.'llllllg‘ any ll2lZZ:lI'£l at all wljien I say,
that this feeling of Massachusetts towards “l’cn‘1ns} lvania is entirely reciprocated
by Pennsylvania towards Massaclinsetts. I hear it whispered about these Halls,
that there might come some specie}/ic, for the case of PennsylVania. That
there might be an aniendnient rnoved to sooth her on the s1,'1l)jcr:.t of iron and
‘coal, leaving all the rest of the country to the desolation of this bill. But, sir,
no such thing can take place. l7’en'ns_ylvania would not rlegratle herselli by ac-
eepting such a boon. Pennsylvania. stands, and her Represex‘ttatives here stand,
pledged and instructed to the tar,ill' of ’4l.t2. ilLi1.’i‘t ll take this occasion to say i'm.'ri1yse’lf',.
that I am now argliiiig agaiiiist this bill——-«this particular l:iiilil----arittl I have not said,
and I shall not say now, What other p'rovisions it i1iig;l'1tl:ie advisable tior the houses
of Congress to adopt. But I liave not the least; l’car in the world, sir, that Penn-
syylvania is going to bend her proud neck, to take a boon frorn those Kvhfl are in--
iflicting this severe measure of discorntort and distress upon the country; that she
will just take a sop to 'horsoll" and turn her baclc. upon her l'rieni.ls. 'lf’lit1e1'c is not
in Pennsylvanian who would consent to such a de;.§i'ai;lii1g, (l6l)z1.‘"5l!;1g, discreditable
act of selfishness. Now, let us proceed to consider these important subjects of
the iron trade and coal trade of l5’eni1sylvania.

It is well known that l’ennsylv-ania is very rich in mineral wealth. Next to
England, Pennsylvania, COlilSl(l€3I‘li]g‘ her CO11l1(.XlOl'1(33.Sl3 with. the Atlantic, and
west with the Mississippi, and then considering her soil, and mineral productions,
is perhaps the richest spot on the face of the globe. She has more means oFst1p-
porting population than any countryl know of in the world. exriept it be the
south end of the island of Great Britain. For thirtyyears the making of iron
in Pennsylvania has been a considerable business. The present duty on.
iron. by the law of’ 184.2, is $25 per ton for plain bar iron. The proposed duty
is 30 per cent. ad valcrem. on the imported article. Now the price of iron at
Liverpool at this moment is £8, or -‘$40 per 13011. The amount of duty, therel'ore,
proposed by the bill, that is to say, a duty of 30 per cent. ctcjl 'vall0W3ma W0Ul(l
be $12 ‘50, or one-half the present duty.

28

1 will read the clause of the bill with respect to iron, for it is Worthy of being
3'ead: “Iron, in bars, blooms, bolts, loops, pigs, rods, slabs, or other form, not
otherwise provided for, thirty per cent.” i i

Here we see, then, that the same ad mtlorem duty isassessed on iron
as a raw inaterial, and on all its successive stages of manufacture. There
are proprietors in Pennsylvania who hold great estates in iron mountains,
which are called “royalties?” Tlieyisell the ore at so much a ton, in the
earth. This, as a raw material, is protected bythe bill bye duty of thir-t
ty per cent. ad valorem. But the duty, beiiig still the same thirty per
cent‘. oicl oalorem, only rises on the article in different stages of its inanufaci-

ture, as the value of the manufactured article progressively rises. American law

bor, therefore, gets no protection over foreign labor. As the niaiiulhcture of iron
advances from one degreeto another, it calls, in each successive step, for a high»
er degree of" labor. But the bill makes no discrimination in favor of this labor.
Englisli labor, in advancing the nzianufacture to its‘ higher stages, is as rnuch re»
garded and protected as American labor. Butas labor is higher here, thaiiin
Englaiid, (and long may it continue.so,) if there be not a. discriminating protec»
tion, the work must of course fall into foreign hands, and the loss fall on the
American laborers. The question, therefore, is one which touches the interest
of the American worker in iron to the quick; and it will be understood by the
man Who works at the furnace, at the forge, at the mill, and in all the still more
advanced and finer operations. ‘ ,_ t i
But now let us look to the act of 1842, and see, its careful enumeration and
specific assessment of duties on iron, and on articles of iron manufacture. It
‘reads thus: , i t
CK ' . ' . .. *' .‘ ._ - t ' . .i
On non in bais oi bolts, not irie.nut'actured in whole or in part by I‘Oll]t'l§;‘, seventeen dollars
per tpn; on bar or bolt iron, made wholly or in part by rolling, twenty—five dollars per ton :,
Provided, That all iron in slabs, blooms, loops, or other f‘orrn, less finished than iron in bars or:
bolts, and more advanced than pig; iron, eatcept castings, shall be rated as iron in l).‘<11':.'$_(")1‘ bolts,
and pay a. ‘duty’accord‘ingly: Proviclcd, also, That iron iinported prior tothethird day of March,
eighteen hundred and forty-three, in bars or otherwise, for railways or inclined plaries, shall be
entitled to the benefits of the provisions of GXlStll"l,g‘ laws, exeniptins; it froin the paynicnt of
duty on proof of its liaving been uctuallynnd .ieririe.i’iently laid down for use on any railway or
inclined plane prior to the third day of Maicli, eighteen hundred and forty-three; and all such
iron irnported from and after the date afbresaid, shall be subject to and pay the duty on rolled
iron. ‘ A t 1
Second. On iron in pigs, nine dollars per ton; on vessels of cast iron, not otlierwise specified,
one cent and oi halt‘ per pound ; on all other castings of iron, not otherwise specified, one cent,
per pound; on glazed or tin hollow ware and castings, sad irons or sinoothing iron s, hatters’

and tailors’ pressiiig irons, and cast iron butts or l.1l1’.lgeS,tWf.J and a half cents per pound ; ,onii:o1'i

or steel w_ire, not exceeding No. 14, five cents per pound ; and over N o. 14, and not exceeding‘
No. 2:), eight cents per pound; over No. 25, eleven cents per pound; silvercd or plated wire,

'¢5l1i1‘tY ‘P¢1*.t=@..t1l1i¥n~eclfvtilfirettlit tbtfess Or ca,pperw,ire. ’¢W011W*fiWP’31'°431’lt11t-nodVi1l01'¢3m§   it  t

bonnet wire, c‘overed witlii’ silk, tt.ivcltre'i\cen‘ts l per potindltgilwhen‘-t coiveseai "or
other material, eight: cents per pound; on round or square iron, or braziers’ rods, of three six-
tcenths, to ten sixteenths of an inch in diameter, inclusive, and on iron in nail or spike rods, or
nail plates, slit, rolled, or hammered, and on iron in sheets, except tag.g'ci's’ iron, and on hoop;
iron, and on iron slit, rolled or hanirnered for band iron, scroll iron, or casement rods, iron cables
or chains, or parts thereof, nieiiufactured in whole or in part, of whatever dianieter, the links
being of the form peculiar to chains for cables, two and a half cents per pound; on all other

chains of iron, not otliemvise specified, the links being either twisted or sti'aiiglit, and, when

sti‘aiglit, of g1‘Bflte1’lEl'lgtl1 than tlioseused in chains for cables, thirty per centuirn ad valorern;

on ancliorsor parts of anchors, riiaiiiifactured in wholeworin part, anvils, bilacksiriitlis’ lian1- t

mere and sledges, two and a lialf cents peinpound; on cut or wi*ought iron spikes, three cents per
pound ;- and on cutiron nails, three cents per pound; and on W1"0ugl1l‘.”l1‘On nails, on axle-
trees, orpa.rt.s_tliereof', rnill irons and mill cranks of wrouglit iron, or tvi~oug'lit iron for
ships,” locomotives, and steam engines, or iron chains other tlian chain cables, and on nial-
leable ‘iron’ or castings, four cents per pound; on steam, gas, or Water tubes, or pipes,

made of band or rolled iron, five cents per pound; on inill saws, cross-cut saWs,*'and.'*
* pit-saws, one dollar eacliygiponi tacks, brads, and sprigs, notiexceeding sixteen ounces to the

thiopusand, five cents per tliousand, exceeding sistteeii ounces to; the tliousaiid five cents per
poniid _; on taggers’ iron, eve per centuin ad valorem: Provided, That all articles partially
manufactured, not otherwise provided for, sliall pay the sanieiratc of duty, as if "wholly

,<s'a1nie estimate: a

29

tnanufactured: find provided, also, That no articles manufactured ‘from steel, slteetgrod, whoop,
or other kinds of iron, shall pay a less rate of‘ duty than is cltarg,-cable _on the material of‘ which
it is composed, in whole or tn part, paying the lngltest rate of duty etther by twetght or value,
,and,a duty of fifteen per centutn ad valorem on the cost of the arttcle added thereto. , y t -

Third. On all old or scrap iron, ten dollars per ton: Provided,  nothing shall be deemed
old iron that has not been in actual use, and fit only to be rerftartufacturedg and all pieces of
iron, except old, of more than six: inches of length, or of sufficient length to be made into spikes
and bolts, shall be rated as bar, bolt, rod, or hoop tron, as the case ‘may be,_and pay dut.y ac-
cordingly: Provided, also, That all vessels of cast tron, attd all castings of tron not rough as
rt-om the mould, but partially tnanufactured after the casting, or Wltll handles, rings, hoops, or,”
other additions of wrought iron, shall pay the same rates of duty herein imposed on all other
rntanufhctures of wrought iron not herein enu1nerated,:it’ that shall amount to more than the duty
«en castingsl. l '

Fourth. On muskets, one dollar and fifty cents per stand; rifles, two dollars and fifty cents:

each; on axes, adzes,_'hatchets, plane irons, socket chisels and vices, drawing knives, cutting
lmivcs, sickles or reaptng hooks, scythes, spades, shovels, squares of tron or steel, plated or pol»
 h,t~ass,saddlct-y, coach and harness furniture of all descriptions, steelyards
and iscalleibeanis, A«‘Et11(1'itll‘AAfi"Pit’3 arrnsprothler than rnusltets::tand,rtlles,s and all aside £1.1‘1fl'1S,tl1I.l'l‘.y per‘!
c'e'nt.urn.ad valorern; on square 'W1I‘t3, used for the manufacture of stretchers for umbrellas, Wl1€:1'l:
cut in pieces not (3XC(3(~3Llll”lg the length suitable tl1cret'or, twelve and a half per centuxn ad 'valorent...

Fifth. Qn screws made of tron called wood screws, twelve cents per pound ; and on all other
screws of‘ tron not specthcd, thirty pct‘ ccn‘ttttn ad valorcm; on brass screws thirty cents per.
pound; on sheet and rolled brass, a duty of thtrty per centutn ad valorem ; on brass battery, or
" "annotated kettles, twelve cents per pound.’ 4 0 V

Sixth. On cast, shear, and Grertnan steel in bars, one dollar and fifty cents per one hundred
and twelve pounds; and on all other steel tn bars, two dollars and fifty cents per one hundred and
twelve pounds; on soltd headed pins, and all other 'packttg«3 ptns, not exceeding five thousand to"
the pack of twelve papers, forty cents per pack, and tn the same proportion for a greater or less
quantity;_ on pound ptns, twenty cents per pound; ott sexvtttg, tatnbourtn,9;, (lEt1'l‘l1l‘lg', ttetttng,
and knitting‘, and all other kinds of needles, a dutybf twenty per ccntum ad valorcnt; on coin-~
men, tinned, and japanncd saddlcry, of all descrtpttons, twenty per ccnturn ad valorem.”

Here we see labor protected. The duties are specific, and they are enhanced
more and more, as labor constitutes more and more of the value of the article.
This is the spirit of the act of 1842. No such sptrtt ts mantfested in this bill.

Let me now, Mr. President, after reading this lortglegaltenacttnent, direct the
attention of the Senate to the amount of capital invested in the tron interests in
Pennsylvania: i l
0 The account for 1843 stands time:
, l V l Annttal Aproduct.

Furnaces up to 18452 - - -t Charcoal - Q06 " ' - 173,369 '1‘.

i Antlnactte —-l ,7 —-‘ l - 16,487 T,

W , £313 A 18A9,856A‘T.A

'_ ‘Fttrnaces since 1849 - -it - Char‘coa_l »- 0 67 l -“ t ~“ 75,000 '1‘, ‘
 it _t . - t p,  t    t t _A»ntlzractte]-;.,  30;  -‘};F    103,000 T, ‘

 

-n——u—un- ~uu:—uawn

 

 

; A W 316 368,056 T.
,"*§tn:creesed ~Aprodact‘jofAo1dffurnaces . --  r-l - t e '- .-H  -“ w37,971‘T., “
p.Increased.produ:ctiof new t'urna'cee~ ~ 0 - l 0 --l -< ‘ --W ' - 178,200 T,

A A A A A 0 0 216,171 T.

,_jTl1is prodigious in,c‘re”ase or the business has, of course, called‘ fora large investment and em».
ployrn_entiot' capital, which, after much reflection and experience, is estimated at $47 00 per ton”
for every ton of‘ charcoal pig metal manufactured; this would therefore i give, on 75,200 tons,-,
$3,534,400 ,-,_and for everyt ton of anthracite pig metal, $25 00 per ton;«%$3,575,000m-making the
.enor,mous sum of six: rniltlions on‘e‘h‘undred and nine ythousandliand ‘four "urldred dollars invested
 furnaces alonesince 1842» -The agg'regate,capital,, tl1eret‘o‘re,, would be calctilatediitaupott the

i, . . t l  ~ , y,  , a pi i = _ 8 0 '.i_5
Cliarcoal furnaces previous to‘ 1842 ] i--** i  :~“ l7_3,369 To A ,-  8,f4l§:343

 

Anthracite furnaces previous,to»1p849l A As  —-p  y - 016,487 T. A -0‘ 412,075
r '   A ‘7e;eo%o['I'. * - e,r5e0;4-‘ts’

NW" l i1o3‘,‘ooaT.pts;l, — i'i6,~l‘109,4ot}

   

3ee1,o5e'r. l  §i:i:ee9,ete ,

30

This quantity, 368,056 'I‘., at $30 per ton, would be
[worth - - - '- -- - $11,040,000
It is probable that one-half of’ this metal is converted
into bar, hoop, sheet, boiler iron, and nails, at a cost
of at least $50 per ten more -x - V 1 - - 9,201,400

$20,201,400 Capital forcopa , it
'2 " ' t ‘L.
33333? ‘ 0 3,680,460

   

The other halfinto castingsat $20 per ton  - 3,680,560 tDo.ata1o 1,840,280
$23,921,960 8 $20,190,658

And where does this enormous sum of money go, and how is it expended? All in labor and
agricultural products. For of what materials is iron composed, coal, 1imesto.nel--~iron ores, sand,
and fire-‘-clay—-almost worthless unless converted into iron. The number of men employed in
producing the above iron would be, in the charcoal operations, one man to every twenty tons 5‘
and, in the anthracite, one man to every twenty—four tons of pig metal. This includes all the
rniners of coal and limestone, wood-choppers, dire, &.c. Upon this estimate there would be em-~
played, in charcoal, 12,428, anthracite, 4,978—-in all 17,406. Allowing a wife and four children as

sustained by this labor, we have a population of 87,030. 1 Towhicli, if we adldtilithet labor terns’

ployed in its conversion into bars, hoops, sheets, boiler plate, nails, castings, railway iron, &c.,.
&c., which would more than double those directly dependant, we should have, upon this suppo»
sition, 17 4,060 men, women, and children. But w.hen we look still furtlier at the labor created
by this business in railways, canals, &c., who can estimate it—both the labor of man and horse.-P”

We see thus What the iron interest of Pennsylvania is. The inquiry,

0

now, is, can this interest survive, and hope to enyoy moderate prosperity, un-

der the provisions of this bill? The people of the State of Pennsylvania aalt the:

Government to suspend execution of the sentence pronounced against them, till
this question shall be fairly considered. "

Notwithstanding the acknowletlged richness of the Pennsylvania mines, and
notwithstanding‘ thetgreat improvements which have been made, in the State, in
the means of transportation for heavy articles, yet there areldisadvantages of la seri-—
ous nature to be overcome. Her mountains are abundantly full of iron ‘ore, but then’
theyare in the interior. They are remote from title water. The largest regions
of iron tp1’0dt1Cti0n~ are ahundred and fifty miles from the navigable arms of the:
sea. The case is far different in Wales and Scotland; the furnaces in l2l'1OSer
countries being almost immediately conttiguous to navigation.~ Hence, their pro-A
ducts are sent all over the world at less cost. Welch and English iron may‘
be brought to New York and Boston, at one-half the cost of bringing iron from»
the principal iron works in Pennsylvania. to the same markets.

Freight on iron from Wales and Scotland to New York and Boston may be
stated, at an average, from one dollar fifty cents totwo dollars fifty cents per ton..

Butthe average cost of transportation from the principal establishments in Penn-

eylvania to the same marlret, is from tliree dollars to ‘five dollars and a lialf V,  

ton; 1 0 tWthe“n the tarifi‘ aict*o,ft1e:4a went*'i'ntol~ioperationr%r

 

manly low, say £4 10 per ton.  With an ad valorem dutyiofN30 per cent., as:
proposed bytthis act, and the usual freights, the article could have been offered’

here at thirty-two or thirty-three dollars. Could Pennsylvania iron have stood
this competition? It is plain that she could not. and that her ironwork must have

stopped, but for the helping hand of that act. I observed in the English‘Mining,
Qlournal of January last, the following statement; P - 0
.1 “ It willremernbered, thatin 184:? the amount of pigmetal exported from Glasgow alone was
7_0.thousand tons ; 0 and it isajpainful fleet”, that since 1842 the exportation-of pig iron has all but
ceased.rt ‘Under these circumstances,.we are atva loss to conceive how our surplus iron is to be»

*1j¥l§3P9§¥?;$l.0f-i’ _ _  pt 1 8 8 ‘  
, 0n,j;1.this.Englishystatemlent, an intelligent friend of mine remarks thus: 8  

 “ Whatjttill beythe effeetioif this overtradinig and siwplus istoclt, if it can be exported theretiunia 1

Mderya thirty Spar cent. atlmtlorem duty 3---Wl11Cl1 is no duty whatever’;-¢fo1*l at theitime it is most.

neededtit is l0weet.. 3Sipeeilfie,;,duties are tthetionly check wihichtwe 11av_e‘.upon~frattd andperjury.
.Al;)§.ndO11 them, and you, have effectrially prostrated the trade, antdjplaeed‘us entirel 1 in the“ hands

frtnscrupulous,foreigners.,t 0; Butlet us see how. this ad vatorem dutyitwill wot-1:."

   

n June, 1824,...

Ell

l~.a.r iron in Eng-lzit'icl was «:57 per ton, and in Jlnrntury, _lt39."i, the price was a5',l.él per ton, and it ’t‘"ellL
the some yeair to ..£l.Cl. In 18536 urtid 1.8127’, the ltigltest quotation was still, while in 183,‘? it fell to
add 15.. ln .l"t§ll'“tt;:3, l.l§l¢l=-l, the pr.i<:.c vms t-£6; in April, e£'S.l 15; July, 5237 15; attntl in OCt(".')l)€]7,
 l5; Decct:nll.iet', «fill. 'I:.ltus it will be seen tllntt in Ll.;‘33.53, thirty per cent. duty yvonltl have
  per ton, while in December, 1.844, it would have heen $314 40, and in Ja.nuary,.
tr‘-' 7 tr" “‘

Sir, in my opinion, we have before us at this rnornent the general question,
shall we give ellicieitt protection to the American production of iron 2? lf we say’
We shall, then it is clear this l)lllOugl1lI'10t to pass. If it should pass, leav‘it1g iron.
“with all its inanufactures and rarniiticatioits at 30 per cent., they mightjnst as
‘well he put at 5 per cent. ’.l:‘l'1€ trade would as soon have it so, as l understand.
‘The rnauul'actnre declined under the old “cornproinise act.” lt rose in ’42,
and the labor of persons employed rose in proportion. 'Ll'l1at law was certainly
hailed in l“er1nsylvania as being conlortnahle to all her views and opinions.
N-owestralatttuscome to ac~onc.lusion. Let us decide, once for all. lam for
protecting the domestic iron interest in the United States. Are you ‘i’ ll you
are, reject this ljiilil. ill‘ you are not, say so, and pass the hill; and let every man
along the branches, and up to the sources of the Sl,lSqtl€3l'1I;tl'll13.ll., and the Schuyl-
liill, and every man beyond the Altilekgrliany, in Penns “lvania, and everv man in
Maryland, Tennessee, Viigiiitizt, and every other Stiite in wliich irdnis pro»
rluccd, understand you. Let us have no more tiig'liti.n.g; under false colors.
ll§‘not1gl”1 of that. If you t'avo:r the dornestic rnannfacture of iron, reject the hill.
ll" you wish to destroy that domestic mar'1ul‘actn;re, pass the hill.

Closely connected with the iron interest:, is that of coal; and therefore it is
necessary to see how that great interest is likely to fare.

Pennsylvania produces, oi‘ antltracite coil alone, two millions live hundredl.
thousand tons annually. 'lT"'l1e capital invested in these anthracite mines, and
the several railroads connected with them, in all the coal fields, is near forty mil-
lions. lo the Schuyllrill region alone, ll.1(L‘fll;lLlltf‘tg the costs oi‘ the l‘te::uling rail-
road, and Schuylkill canal, the investment amounts to ‘2G,800,(l0O. 'l‘he in»!
crease of product of the l3chttyllt‘i.ll 1‘E?g‘l.()l‘l, under the coniprornise act, from 1837‘
to l8tlf?., was only 313,000 tons. In the sncccetling three years, that is to say,
tltoin IBM to l845, that increase amounted to no less than 5t3(),000. 'l‘he price»
of labor, of course, l')ecarne greatly a(Ilv;:t1'1ceL_l; but the price of coal. fell frorin as 5(1)
per ton to  37. A pretty good proof, this, that prices may fall in cor'tsequence.i
oi". protection.

And here, sir, l wish to advert to a general. fact, worthy to he recollected, in
all our political economy. Titre increase in the in.vesttnents of capital, in great
‘worltsotf-this l<.'.ind,. tends to reduce the profits on that capital‘. "I‘l‘1atis a neces-
sary result. But, then, it has exactly the reverse, action upon labor; For the
:i‘n_ore that capital  invested in these great 0pt:t."4ttlO't'tS, the greater is the call for
lahotyand therefore the ratio is here the other way, and the rates of labor
increase as the ‘profits of capital are diminished. Well, i is there any thing
nnciemocratic and unpopular in such a system as that? A system that causes a
dpptptttipti of profits to the capitalist and an increase of remuneration to the hand
o a or.

But the serious inquiry now is, whether Pennsylvania coal, with the degree»

of protection which this bill proposes, can maintain competition with the coal of”

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick? ‘That is a matter of commercial calcula-

tion and of figures. The present dntv on coal is one dollar and seventy-five

cents per ton. This bill puts the duty at 30 per cent‘. ad valorem, which is
equal to 42 cents per ton at present prices; that is to say, it is now proposed to
reduce the duty on coal by the diilerence of one hundred and thirty-three cents
in every ton ; a sum almost equal to the price of coal in Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia coal, free on board the vessel in the harbors of that province, costs

$1. 50 per ton. . ll‘ to this we add the duty at 30 per cent, the aggregate will 

32

$11 95. Goal, therefore, on board vessels in iNo‘va Scotia, costing $1 95 cents
per ton, is free to proceed to any part of the United States. I
The freight of coal from Nova Scotia to Boston, I am informed, is now $2 25
er ton. So that the cost of a ton of Nova Scotia coal at Boston, duties included,
will be $4 20. i l , V
The cost of coal on board in the Delaware, at Philadelphia, is said to be $350;
‘$2 being the price at the mines, and $1 50 the cost of land transportation. Ad»
-ding‘ freight from Philadelphia to Boston, at $1 75 per ton, the Pennsylvania
[coal will have cost, in Boston, 555 25. The Nova Scotia coal is cheaper, there-
fore, by the difference between $4 20 and $5 25. This difference of twentyper
cent‘. is of course a serious matter, and is likely to be entirely fatalwto the home
article. n One cannot say howsoon it may comeabout, but there would seem to
be no doubt, that in the end, the coal from the Provinces must take the place of
Pennsylvania, under” such a Tariff‘ as this. It will be seen, if this statement of
costs and prices be accurate, that the rate of duty proposed by this bill is no pro-I

tection whatever. 'I‘he foreign article rnigltt aswell roosxne in r free. it T.het:..coal>->ef4r   ‘

:P,e‘l1l1SylV‘£ll1l8., like her iron, is far in the interior, and, although it is brought to
:n.avi~gable waters by one of the noblest worlts forland transportation, yet the charge
is heavy. As will be seen by the statements which I have already made, the
fI&lg_l1t~Ol’ coal l‘ron'1 Pottsville to the tide is equal to the cost of the article on
‘board at Nova Scotia. Land transportation of heavy articles, overlong distances,
is necessarily expensive, notwithstanding the means of conveyance may be highly"
improved. The cheaper transport by sea is seen in many striking; instances.
New England is not a limestone country. There is very little of her surface
that can be called limestone land, east of the Green Mountains. On the other
hand, great portions of the Middle States, and some portions of the Southern.‘
States, have lime in abundance. , Yet lime from Maine finds its way to the cities.
~along»the rS0utl‘1eI‘I1‘~.C~0aSt, andtsornetimes, I believe, even to . New Orleans.
l“This;is because, although Maine is notalimestone country, she. yet happens
to have one vast quarry upon the very‘ edge of salt water. ‘ 1
It is said, that there are mines at ‘Willtesbarre, from which coal may be placed
an board of boats in the rivers at the Nova Scotia price, that is to say, [B1 50 per
ten, or even lower, sayone dollar. And in these boats it may reach tide water’
by inland navigation. Yet the distance. is great, and the ezsztpense so large,that
the article only holds competition with the Pottsville coal. Distance is compas-
ratively of little moment in conveyance by sea. I think I have “heard it stated
that manufactures of iron, such as nails, may be brottgltt from Massachusetts.into‘
Market street, Philadelphia, for less cost of transport than the same articles
-can be b:roug,..1t.to_the..city, from worl,<sten miles oft‘. , = r
  ,  r   to   I
and ‘Scotland, and the coal mines of Nova Scotia, as
we‘ mean to be supplied by our own products. We must act accordingly. , ,
Sir, there is another view of this subject not uninteresting, and very fit to be

       

H  ..r«.  ; .. .._.,,. _;  ' "  ,,.2..j;':*»._ "'1  V-"hr "W ‘i I  ‘ilk
being close by us. And if

taken. .What is coal? .,A. coarse and raw, natural product, what is it which‘

has created its value, at the moment it comes to be consnrnetl i- ~j_;Clearly., labor.
It istheproduicgt of human labor ;' and that"lab_or, while giving value, to coal,‘thas.
called for contributions from many‘ other branches; and varieties of I htu~1nan,rlabor~..

Coal undug, and still in the mines at Pottsville, is WOI"Ll1 tw,-en.tyVicents7 per ton.

 place of consun1ption,‘at New'York or Boston, itis worth 9tBr532:i5 ‘per tort,‘-1
iI‘he~:~difi'ere‘nce is the value, added to the original material,~by thehand of man»;

andstofithe creation" of this va1ue,.farmers,.merchants, tradesmen,»mechanics,ship ,
ylbuilclersmsailors, and those employed in the landxtransportation, have all ~cont*rib-,- I

uted. To these, therefore, it has given employment. _..'r1t;e population Pott:s4-
iii’”i1leiis:saidii‘1rto~ consumes millions of dollars,“ anrt.urally,,';f01f rpagricttlttlral .‘p,r0£1‘JrCt.?3i§

I ranotltermiliion, probably», in znanttfactttredr particles; Titus gthe miners, tthe»

\ .

u.

ml-‘-V’

W“

“M

"M.

lmnte t

n
M 0

C

farmers, and the mechanics, stand side by side, in this great interest.
he protected :.1g:ti11stinj urious ioreigii <co1‘npetition, or shall they not ?

Sir, the ealcnlati.ons which I liave submitted, have been n1acleifi*o,n1idcttot, or
mstte1'iels, fnrnisl'1etlffro1n authentic sources, and I believe they may be relied on.;

Shall tlieyi-I

Mr. .lo:on~isoN, of Maryland, here rose and said, that it was now late in the day,

and if the Senator from Massachusetts would yield the floor, he would move that
the Senate adjourn. t t t i 3

Mr. LEWIS cgi,tlled“”f5f“’llieMyeas and noys. , t

Mr. Wen "R--(s1niling)-—Co1iie on, then. it t t ,
The 4. ,stion was then taken, and the motion adopted by 21 vote of 27 to 26.;

‘::%e'nate then adjourned till lVlonL'loy. i

  

,....w" ['I‘he Senate Chvznnber was densely crowded during the delivery of this speech.

Sh.oi'tly after lVliI‘.lVVEBSTER comnienced spealtiiig, the House of Representeti,ves~‘
ztdjonrned,i'len‘t'lAtnnny of the mergnbers were -without smll within the bar. l Every’
joint of the galleries was occnpieél, and tlioitgl‘1'tl1e d'::ty“\ivas oppiressively hot, the“
::tnditory 1nonifest.etl the most mznslzed zind patient attention throughout.i Mr.
‘W.n:es'rI:n spoke four hours. i l ' t
.. A lVlONDAY, July 27, 1846.,
1.3.-lllfl Scrtttte liswing resumed the considemtion of’ the special order of the day, the new terifl"_
“:1; .«~---— i
Mn. Wnissmszii rose, and times l‘E:SU.l't1CLl and concluded his reinarkstin op-
position to the h:iIl.l-~~~—~~ , t e l 1
It is at (:i1'ct.;unst:-once «"3. good deal clinn'ttct,et'istic, M1‘. l§’resident., of the state
of t'liiiigs in which we find ourselves pinned, end st1'ci1'ig'ly indicative of that
tthsot'l3ir1g interest wliich belongs to the qtiestioiii hofore us, t.l1t-t.t I lfiovc not
the l.“JO1710l‘ , to—dtty, to odclress at 'f"nll Setmt.e. t Since the comtinencetnent of
my ohse1'vot.iot:is on Sntimlny 1iiioi'ttiii‘t1g, zstn hot:'ioro,l;ile nfxernlmr froth one of
the Scmtlierii Stzsttes (lt.l1'.l*lM:'w'c>ci1)) lms Vocoted his seat in. this body.
We jperlziops rno.y soon l'1€~tt*.t‘t' 'f1‘()1'flhfltj}ix the reo.son.s whicli V led him to leave
the $l,L,L1€l.i.i.0I1, which he l"liitCl occupied with so 1;l*l't1(3'l"1 nsefnlifiess and 1'ept1to-
tion. I am no ot.l1erwise ecqttoitittaclwiththose 1'ettsons,tl;1on as I got.lie1'it.l1ex"i1
ifrottri at very c-:s:t1'not'Clit1tt1‘yortiole in the (ii0V*tEt1'I’l17t‘l(-3-Ill; pet}:ier of this nioming,
or rotlier of Sot;t1rdoy eventing. I Jllt"1’l"€3l'i"i'l70l‘3"tol.-lT1f;tiL, , ttliottl‘1e‘lt1otio1'ohle tneinherl
left his seat here, f1'o1fn zoo, ‘iino.hil,ityi totsnppoi“t, the 1t1:i%o‘si1i*r,:to:f tl1elAd1i'ii1'iis-:

trotion nowobefore us, and f;ro1fn ogreot n11,wi1li.ngr1esston the otlrzer hood, to

disoblitss tlftis tps1*tywfx'tite::ds      flsilmtis

av 

gone, Itmo.ytispeo.l«:iof' him osexinzm of cl*hn*o‘cte1' so st;ottidinig,rt,liet'etmd at
home; at 1mm of l,e:.n'ni1tg and nttnjin1nei:its, of great courtesy, unsn1'pessed
industry and attention in the discl"1arge;tof his public duties tggond , as we all
know, so for as we can judge of his course in the Senate, en~ir1teliltiget1t
and constexit friend of the present AClt.1']lI1lESt1'tttl01’1. i

 Now, sir, I confess that I am ashznnecl of my country when I see_o;ger1~

on of that cl1a.rocte1', on hisi'eti1'ing,froi'n this place, from such a tnotivje,
abused, defamed, according to the cleg1*ee;oofVabnse and defainetion
whiclitso1l1tie,,w1*ite1' for the Giovetnrnent in the peperxof the Government, sees
fiti,ito pour otdhtngoinst hirfnt. t It‘, iisatdisgince“ tothe civilization of the age,
It = is a it.ll.‘:‘~gtt’a()(.i‘i“""‘”"l:Lt,) .A.tI1C1'lCttn loiviliztnion.
3,t:nent.“t* It i,s‘o,disigtoce to theihnteriooiti 1:it*ess., “

 

. t Another ci1*c1titnstto.zitc¢H'of ooirmnon ii'1tellio;*'exice is not unworthy of iilotice‘,

hefote ,Ifproci,eled‘to the ,t1‘e1‘neini,ntg obse1'vet:ionst which I intendto suhlnit to
the Se,ne.te.f ‘ If We imttytf,heilieVVe the current reports of thedey, the ztd,tn[m}S~
1sIft3;11‘ont‘of theGov:e1'n‘n1e11t_isnowtin possession of toiiicial and aU.tl1,ei1t1c ins

It is at idleisgmce to this Governi-

34

formation, that an extraordinary and vigorous eflbrt is inakirig throughout
the whole Republic of Mexico, to sustain herself in the War now carried on
against her by the United States. I suppose the Guovermnent is now in-
formed that Bravo is appointed President. of Mexico ad irzterrhrt, and that
Paredes with such forces as he can collect, is inarching; to the North 5 and
that there is a spirit of united resistance, united action, and of general con-
tribution toward the purpose which they regard as the defence of the coun~
try, such as was never manifested before. That the clergy contribute,
that the provinces contribute, that individuals contribute, in a manner
altogether unknown in Mexico, since the time of her revolution. I sup-
pose that the Government is at this moment in possession of all that inte1li~
gence, how well-foundecl the information is, they are to judge; but that
they have such information from oiilicia.l sources, I entertain no doubt at all.
And I use it now only for this end , that in this state of tliings a new reason
is afiordetl why we should do nothing to disturb the just expectations of re-
venue, or to diminish the necessary income of the Treasury.

Now, sir, as connected with l;lJ1flJif. SUl.f)J.8C‘if., I will reacl to the Senate a pa-
per which I had not strength to read on Saturday, and I will makfe no com-
ment on it, except so far as to desc-:'ibe the character of the gentleman who
wrote it, and the character of the geruxleman to whom it was addressed. Tlte
writer is II‘I_IiCl‘W'€tI"(l H. Nicliol, of the city of New York, a merchant of Very
high character in that. city ; a gentleman every way friendly to the present
administrat.ion of the Government, and to the party now in power , a gen-
tleman who was an Administration candidate, very recently, for a seat in the
other House of lCong1*ess. The letter respects the efl’ect of this bill on six
articles of importation»---spirits,Ipepper, pimento, cassia, cloves, and sugar
Iandmolasses. It is addressed to Isaac Townshend, Esq., another highly
respectable merchant, and of the same political ‘ associations. And I
will venture tosay, that if the gentlemen connected with the adn1inist'.ratio,n

of the Government had sought amongst all its friends of the mercantile“

classes tlii'ouglioL1t the whole country, for the most intelligent and comps»
tent gentlemen to give them their opinions and advice on the sub_}ect of this
tariff bill, they would have found nobody of superior recornmendat:tons for
that oiiice to Mr. Edward 0H. Nichol. Havitig saidso much I will read
this letter, and submit it to the Senate without another remarlt: 2

Isaac Towusnnun, Esq. 

_ .DcarSir .:,———,I,1-1 answer to your note under date of the 13th instant, propounding certain ques-
tions as tegrardis the presertt tarifi‘,:Iand the-coins new proposed: andunder*'discussionI I:in~Itl1e'Senate,
I answer in the follotvingiiiatiner, viz: _

Spiri.ts.—Tl1e duty accruing on spirits of all kinds, under the present tariff‘, at 85 to 90 cents
per gallon, may be estimated at $1,400,000 to $1,500,000. I to
The average cost at the difi'e1'ent places of production may be estimated at 42 to 45 centsper gal-
, lon, on which the ad valorem duty, as now proposed, would be 100 per cent., and estimating

the annual importation to be equal to that of the last three or four years, viz: 1,500,000 to

1,000,000 gallons, would yield about - - - I - -- - I $790:0D0

I , ID,iii'erence -- I,-I I -» - - - I .- - - t£i780,U00
Pepper.--4-«Tits annual consumption of pepper may be estimated at 3,500,000 potLn<3iS--~preS8rll1

__ duty, 5cet1tsperlb.,yie1di1“ig _ y 5- — H 1752099
.‘I‘1ie‘ave1'a,g"e'cost'at. the ialace of production is 2,-;—to 3 cents peripound, ar1dip1‘0p0$6d It .
I -f'I,du.ty of 30 per cent. tr. valorem, would yield -I I- r '- Q - r , pl". 341500
I  ,;II:llli"81't3l1§38 .I- - I’- - - - I I ‘- ,~ I - $1{l0.r500
Pinzewtto-a—j-Tlie annual consumption of pirnento may be estimated at.1,500,00.0 poundse-With 1116
present.duty of 5 cents per pound, would yield - I ~ *' I “'_ ' 775aI000
_ The at*e.rsg_ret*cost at the place of production, 3;; to 4 cents perpound.“ 01"! ‘Wl’11Gl1 tl”1€’»~ . r  I
 r,p1’Qp0S6d"€lt1Il:y of 30 pI£3t'Icet‘tt. ad valorem, would be about -  , I5. I p - ‘ ~ I. " 1§8‘a0OO
  Difi"eremce»_ ‘ . .. , I , .. ,, .. II p ..   ..p _, .  I”~V-; , . -’ .. ‘ -  $57,000

N

u
w.
“W
'5:
“an,

 

35

etJassia—--Tlie annual consumption of cassia is about 1,000,000 pounds, at the present duty of 5
. cents: per pound, would yield -— _ _— - - - - - 50,0010
‘The average cost at the place of production, IS 7 cents per pound, and the proposed .

duty of 30 per cent. ad valorem, would yield — £20,000
Difference - - —- 0- -1 $30,000

‘The annual consumption of cloves is about 160,000 pdunds, at 8 cents per pou11d—-present duty
would yield about - -- — - - -1 12,800

   

‘The cost at place of production is 13to 14 cents per poiind---at"30 per cent. ad valorem 6,400
. Difference 1 _\ 1 "—- - - - - 9- 1 - - $6,400
.Sugar and .M0las§ea=5'—"'Tl1e annual duty accruingunder the present tariff of 85 to 90 per cent. ad
valorem, n be estimated at from $3,000,000 to - — 1 1 - - — 3,500,000
'17Vhe1-as 1 proposed duty, 30 per cent. ad valorem, would yield - - - 1,400,000
Say, difference — - 1 ~ — - - -1 — 02,100,000
, . Present. 1 iroposed. Dijfereetce.
 1,500,000 teaccri 780,000
 175,000 34,500 140,000
 75,000 18,000 57,000
 50,000 90,000 30,000
 122,800 6,400 16,400
tfiugar and Molasses. . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . 3,500,000 1 1,400,000 2,100,000 \
$;l5,3l:'.?.,000 $2,198,000 $3,163,000

You will notice by this hasty sitetchthat 1 now hand you, that the difference between the pre-
sent duty and that now proposed is about three millions one hundred and siszty-three thousand
-dollars, (_3,163,000) on the various articles above named, but it is to be p1~esnniecl that there will
"be a gt-adual increase of irnportations, yet a number of years must elapse before it will make up
the deficiency. As regards the exportations of t'oi*c:ign mercluuidize, should the proposed tariii'
become a law, it is difficult to arrive at any definite conclusion. It is to he presumed, however,
1 that, with the large surplus in the ditfererit warehouses, now in the Atlantic cities, and the very
Ilitnitcd demand we noust have previous to the first of Deccinber, as no jobber or vendor will buy
1-any more than to supply his daily‘ demands. Consequently, the etxtportations probably will be
Inigo, cxceeditiglthe ordinary expectations under the present tari‘fl', and may rnalte cl1'aug'l'1ts on the
various custo1n-houses, in debenture, to the extent of l$$800,0ll0 to $1,000,000 more than other-
vvise would be- 1 p 1 1 1 . 1 1  1 f ' 0
The importers, should the proposed tariff’ become alaw, will very soon liegin to ship their
goods out of the country; then, re-irnport them, and place them in the warehouses, to remain. or
be taken out in detached parcels previous to the first of iDecen1hcr; when, whatever then rernains
will be subject to a low duty. How much better and more just would it be, (as was the case
«when the reduction of the tariff‘ , took place in.1830,and.1831,) to let ri1lf1ne1'cha1'idise, ‘1fnot,in bro»-
Zkenp-aroels” goto the oustonlyh1oLise”1on11the eve1lof’the1first of’ nelce=mber;1*and 'rernain1, Vrather-than
force the merchants to the expense of shipping, for the purpose of evading the present duties.
You must be aware, as well as myself, that the importations for the next five months must be
wttremely limited, and that all the goods that are imported for the next five months will go to
the public stores for the benefit of theproposed reductions. Consequently, the Grovernmeiit will
derive little or no revenue from foreign iznportations for that period. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1,  1 ‘ 1 1
So far as my experience teaches me,I have ever been in favor of specific instead of ad valorern
rduties, believing that the revenue is more securely collected, and e:~s.‘.tendi1'1§5r_ likewise prot.ection.

. valorein is brought into our city by fore,i,gners. "I,‘hlesel,1men 1con1eainong as possessing no
, ,,%elin_gs, and little or no regard, for our laws or institutions, and a custom house oath
13- but a lyieword with them. They locate .th1ernselvesin by-streets‘1andIalley1s, subject tone
military orju”“i”'5rLdu1ty, and pay little orno taxes. ' 1They have a11;mn_ch of? their house or tvorlc-1
shop in Euro tie,“ ‘id however 'intel1igent<or1adroit our appraisers may be, it is almost impossi-
i.Jole”to detect tl1ernii’t11~tl1ei1~ falsificdiinvioices. 1 1 ‘ ' V 1 3 1 1 1

i“1  honest importer. You will notice that1two_-thirds‘of the noerchan ise imported subject.
190 A 0
nation 1.

 1=S1hould the proposedtarifl" become a law,the American rnerchantsi will, froniiiecessity, almost
cease to be importers, so far as our trade‘ is concerned with Europe. Therefore, let our duties

oustomhouse with ‘ these foreign ,irnporters.

, be ascertainiedby wei,ght.and measure, and we1shal_l at least standa fair and equal chance at;th1e1

, 11lftl1cse reinarksaehould
xesp1e,ct,fu11y,‘yoors, 1; t   . t 1 1
 ,.NnW Yong, 17th'July1,,118,4‘6.i 1 1

be of anyserlvice toyoul shall bepleased and;-gratified, and 

1sow3o H; NICOLL. V

36

Oil Saturday, Mr. President, i submitted reniarlrs, estimates, and calcu».
lations upon the stibject of iron and coal, and I founded those reinarks and’
estimates on the iron and coal of Pennsylvania for sake of precision, and to
1TlE1l{6 such calculations an example of the rest. I have now only to say ,
in that respect, that there is iron and coal, also, in N evv York ,in Tennessee ,.
in Georgia, in "Virginia, in Maryland, all coming in, share and share alilre,

for the good or for the evil which the new system will produce.

NOW , sir, I proceed to say sotiietliing upon the influence, the necessary
intluence, which this proposed cliantre in our system will exercise, upon the
cornrrterce and navi,<g:ation of the country. I shall do that by exliihitiiig a.
series of tables which will speak for themselves 5 which I lrnovv have been
dravvn up with great accuracy , founded on the last official conirnunicationt
of the Eieci‘et.ai'_y of the Treasury, so far as revenue is concerned, and esti-»
mates l't?gE1!'t”llE}g the value of treights, collected from the first tnercantile
sources in the country. Now, as a general retnark on these varitoustpapers,
and, which they fully confirm, I swish to say, what would naturally‘
be expectetl to be true, that for some years past, since the favor anti protec-»~
tion of the Government were given to the internal tnantifactures of the
cottritry, the foi'eign trade of the country has conforrned to that state of"
tl1‘itigs, and a clitttrige in the business of navigation, and corntnerce, and.
:freigl'it._, consequent upon these internal cl1.ttiiiges, is quite as sti'ilring as these in-
ternal cl1a.ng"es themselves ; and the great element of that Cl']t‘tt1g‘€3 consists in
a Glltttllge in the nature of the rnain articles of import, showing a dirninution
of articles of rnanufactu red character, and a vast augmentation of articles of”
the charact.er of raw material, or bulky articles. The consequence of which ,.
as will be seen by the tables I am about to exhibit, is a large actual increase
of the earnings of the shipping interest on imports. Because all lrnow that
freiglit is proportioned to the hull: of the article, and not to its cost. It is:
the space that the cooiirnodity fills in the ship, and not its value, whichre~»
gtilates the rate of t'"reigl.1t. Therefore it is, that tliougli the irnportations
may be gi'eat;ly EtL1gt1t'1€3t1leCl in value, from beitig composed of rnanu-
factored articles chiefly, yet the fi'eiglit is not increased in the satne ratio ,.
but niaybe diminished. That fact is notorious to all those acquainted with
the cornnierce of the country. It is perfectly understood by all the ship
owners of the United States; and that fact is of itself sufiitzient to account.
for the great and important truth, that the navigatting interest of the United
States, the sliip owners, to a man, oppose Llitispchangje of ysystern ; because:
the existing system‘lg*ivesl’i:nore, ernploynnent” to this-*n‘aviigatiolniyltthan”the"sys:--
tern now attempted to be substituted for it.

N ow ,sir , aheavy mass or amount ,in value, of rnanufactured articles, as is ‘

well known , comes from France and England. Our niore various comn1odi-
ties and ourimportations of heavy articles, come from round the Capes, and}
from Brazil, and the North of Europe. i The tables which I propose to ex--«
hibit to the Senate, will show the amount of these, respectively, and the.-it
change produced in them within the last five years. Now, sir, let tnetprem
noises, that articlespof import into the United States are properly divisible into,
three classes. First, those articles whichcottue here niamifactured , and fit;
for us_e'or for sale; secondly, articles not manufactured , brought here for con»
sumption as irnported, without any manufacture after theyjarrive; thirdly,

pt those articles whichare in the nature of raw materials, and are broughtherer

to unde_i*golila process of manufacture. Let us , then , see the amount of freight,.

derived from these three 1“espective classes of itnports:  A

.... ,1
,,,, 11

15,,‘
-.
x,_ ‘
,1‘
. N
-a.
‘W.

Value, in Duties, in Freitrhts, in:
ARTmLE‘S 0100 dollars. dollars. dotflars.
i_“§3ilk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,840,100 2,968,000 36,100‘

Wool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,750,000 3,755,000 80,625

Cotton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . .. . . 0. . .. . . . . . 13,360,000 4,908,000 133,360

‘Flax. . . . . . . . . . . ..  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . 4,893,000 1,263,000 48,930

Iron . . . . . . . .   1.01. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .  . . . . 4,022,000 1,607,000 120,360

Railroad irg1‘1001.00 ., . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . .. . . . . ..0 . . . . . 1,000,000 600,000 96,000
11Cigar§,,...«»1-f“10i . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,086,000 305,000 25,000
B .- and other metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,690,000 688,000 55,500
-11111"CEarth_en and glass ware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,182,000 1,087,000 818,540
1C1oth111g, ready made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . 1,108,000 449,000 11,080
Hats :.md1bo1mets. . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . .  7353,4100 , 256,000 10,080
Leather, boots, and..~sho7es. .1. .0. .0. . .   1 1 , 1848,000 1 1248,00!) , 10,7011
Pape1- . . . .  . . . . . . .  276,000 60,000 4,140
Cotton bagg111g. . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  109,000 56,000 1,530 1
~1kOther ur1em1n1erated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., 3,000,000 250,000 75,000
Total ............................... . .! 58,829,000 1 1.3,494,0oo 909,865
Foreign1art~£clesfo2' cons2m21pt2?on as 'imp07‘te(l.
Value, in Duties, in Freiglltfi, in
0 ARTICLES’ dollms. dollmrs. do00l10-ars.
<C0fi0e€:.. . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,380,000 Free. 043,580
‘Téa . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,800,000 Free. 3~43,0001
.sugar, [p1'oport.i.on of] .................... .. :2,o:24,ooo 1,067,000 375,000
ines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,403,000 1,F30f~2,()00 11]_,0:Z’5

«Spirits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,095,000 1,554,000 100,500‘

Fruits and spices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,480,000 560,000 184,000

Molasses, [proportion of] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000,000 300,000 080,000

Salt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883,000 678,000 $347,000

Coal . . . . . . . . .  . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188,000 130,000 188,000

Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300,000 050,000 30,000

Beer, ale, and porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00,000 0 10,000 . 0 8,000

‘(Other L1l"1€£‘1.11L111"1e1‘i1tB0. articles .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500,000 _ V 80,000 905,000

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0:'20,‘.'240,0()0 05,735,000 0 1 $2,985,005
Foreign amiclesfor man2.g“actm‘c in 1/26, United Mates.
1 , . Value, in 1 Dutie;s,1in1 y .F1‘oi,«zhtss, in,
.   1  2 1 .1 1   g1o011a_rs.~    1  dollm-:s._11 1 - .:11=do11.':tra. 1
-‘Sua,1ra1', [prmzxomon of] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1. . 2,025,000 1,510,000 0 510552.500

I\€1t30lL1$sc:s, [1§3x'r),:1r<)1'tiok*10of] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iZ,075?.,000 501,000 1 450,000

0 1 1Iron,_ [proport,io_n of]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,066,000 1,401,000  415,000

‘Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 750,000 .1 07,000 1 05,000

Hides and furs. . .1.1j..0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4,706,000 1 1 330,000 610,000

Copper and 0brass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .1; 1,051,000 1 Free- 140,000

~~1Ma11oga113r . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 248,000 1 1 $140,000 1 . 40,600

o1. . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .  1 1,667,000 103,000 11,330,050

Rz1g00=J‘“:1m, . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .   416,000 07,000 75,000,

1i1Sa1tpetr6‘1111**.11., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .1 . . . . . . . .  1 1 1,486,000 1 Free. . 1, 8415,0001

0He0mp.0. .  . .1 . . . . .. .. ., . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . 1 483,000 , 1 173,000. . 0 705000

0Indi_L3;o . .  . ..  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.  . . . 768,000 53,000 ; _ 1 15,000
D3f:e1stufl1".=s, &.<3.0.0. '.f‘1.1.1. . . ..1.1.1..   .1 .1. . ..1. .  . 204,000 Free. 100,000
B:,r,ist1es.,1.,..1,. .   .‘.' . . . . .. . . . .  .  .  .. . 0 _ 1,708,000 , 0 3,000 4,000
1Camphor.1. . . 0.00.. 0.  0.0 . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 143,000 0 0 35,000 1 3.0001
“Dye Woods. .1. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337,000 Free. 0 50,000
.0Linseed1.-1.  0..  . . . . .1.1. . .  . . . .. . .11.. .1. . . . 360,000 19,000 5305,0200 ,
1Ra.w‘si1k. . .1 . ....1 . .  .. .  . .. 1.1.  .... .. . .. ~ 7101,0001 173.000 11 1 13.0001
'«1~110tI1er, Lu1e11u1nerate:l 1- rticles. .1. . .0 . . . . . . . .   .1 52,000,000 1010300 .1 3'1 5:000
1  Tot:-11 . . . .1. . .. . . . . 1.5.1 .1  . .  . . .  . . . . . . . 1 22,560.000 4,677,000’ 3,754,150

37

Net: imports, in 1845, of foreign manufactured articles.

38

RECAPITULATION,
1 Value, in Duties, in F1-eights, in
dollars. dollars. dollars.
Foreign rne.nuI"z=tctured articles . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .1. V 58,829,000 18,494,000 1 929,865-
Foreigxi articles for consurnption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,242,000 5,735,000 2,985,005
Foreign articles for manufacture in this country 1 22,569,000 1 4,677,000 13,754,150“-
Aggiegate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101,640,000 28,906,000 7,669,0:2Ct::

Now, sir, I lieve said that changes have taken place in the foreign trade-
of the country since the enlargement of the n1e.nufnct111‘ing system of the-
United States, which were neturztlly to be expectecl. And I tlllllli it was
suggested the other day by my friend from Vermont, near me,  Pr—1rrLPs ,)
that at common and great mistelze 1s,that we do not accommodate our legis-
iiletion to the clietiging Cl1’Ct11T1SlEtl1CeS of the country; and that We think that We
can go back to where we were years ago, without disturbing any interests

1 except those immediately affected 3 Whereas such is the connexion and co-V‘

liesion, and so closely are all these interest.s united, that there comes to be»
fit complexity and mutuzstl dependence, and there IS no cllsturbing one great
bralicli of the system without miury to all the rest. Here IS at table of our

trade with South America, and beyond the Capes, with EL comparison of that

trade, in the year 18:38 and the present

C’077gz7ar'«i3orz Qf our trarle wit/2, ,-nlaces beyond the C’:

year:

Sout/L America.

zpe of Good Hope cmol"

,-5 .3‘. u u I Q a Q Q u Q 0 y uoflyfinuio U D I Q u on

' Imports, value Domestic e:;- Tons ofsl1ip--
mmns OF PLACES‘ in dollars. ports,,vnl.dols. ping empl‘’d.

, In 1828.—- y ,
Dutch East Indies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113,000 83,000 1,454:

British East Indies . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,543,000 , 55,000 2,589‘

Me1ii.lla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . 60,000 4 20,000 829

China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,340,000 230,000 9,900

Buenos Ayrcs and Montevideo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317,000 94,000 1,363

Brezils . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,009,000 1,505,000 24,482

Other South Ainericmi ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .;. 1,904,000 1,776,000 , 8,672}:
In 1845- l  ,
Dutch East Indies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 935,000 98,000 4,900

British East Indies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,650,000 4 338,000 10,4793

Menilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725,000 92,000 , 6,6367

China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,931,000 1,110,000 , , 15,035-

Buenosrlyres and Montevideo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1,561,000 640,000 1 17,300-

Brazils . . ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,883,000 . 2,409,000 1 148,550}

{Other South American ports. . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . 8,434,000 2,574,000 , , 19,74’?

 a a o o o n no 0 ‘Ir 9 din: u up - glad‘. u u on up to an I no - o 010 r o 1  ‘  
4 , 75 per cent. , V  90 per cent. 150 percent.

the present importatiton of the coarse and bulky

silk and cotton goods of China, lvianilla, and Calcutta, ’

0 1 '  {This doubleincrease of tonnage employed over the increase in the eel~ueo‘fi1nports, is owingttois
arucles for manufacture, xnsteadof manufactured;

39

To be more particular, we now give a general description of the goods imported from those ..
p1aeeein the year 1828,viz:--—  ~ - - t 1 to ~ - «-
1 1 ~ 1 Value in (101-lets.
Menufeeturedeottottgoods.............................;....1...........;.'1,041,000
Manufactured silkgoods.,...;.t.;..............,.e............t......t... 52,627,000
Indigo,[which Wesirnported for 1,030,000
 {anonnnc0‘IInuI“InoIInoIII:anonaoonunalluuall-uifibboollouobonpana 
 284,000
Copper,inptgeandbare......,..........,............................. 650,000
1Tee.e  1,800,000
-Uonoo‘oon'oonou'ooonIn-nooooaono-nonniuugauoonououaunon{oocouaouse 
 1,700,000
 1,000,000
Unenumerateda1'tic1es  1,090,000

,;:,12,eee,0000

   

Int1845-,---eviz=,, , .   1 Q  to m  0
0 t0l\/Iattufactured cotton goods . .0...  .   .  .  .. . . . . . . . 1,500
,0Me.nuf'e.ctu1'e(1eilkgoods...;.~..;....1.........t.....~...........1.......;.t.1 150,000

 660,000‘
Hides ..................................'..t.‘.;....’....a................ 3,600,000
 ....  419,000
Copper,pigsandbars....~........‘.............;......’....1.;............ 365,000
Teas ...t................'.t...“...t...1....;....;,...t.;;..*.’..0.“.‘...........; 4,075,000
VVo01......... . . . . .  563,000
C0066..........._..........\.u.......;.................. . . . . ..........0,000,000*
0  500,000
 Linseed  300,000
 110,000
Drugs and dye~stttfl‘et........,.  150,000
ginger  . . . .  . . . . . . .  43,838

 17,

 15,000
 $343,000
 . . . . . .......1,7300,000
Unenumeretedarticles  2,381,000

I-3: .4.-.

 IIVIOO0ItIIIlI'IIIll‘IlI000!IQOIIiIl!tIIlIIIIIOllfiOQUlUO,U00Ill! 

1 It is thus apparent t110.t the increased employment of our toxtxttege of one hundred andfifty per
cent. in this distant tmnsport, 1103 been from the i‘1Y1p0t‘tt.‘tt101'1 of the raw xnetetfinle t‘ox'nmm1iIeeture
in our country, and of the increased qttentitxee ‘of cofi"ee and teas, and no doubt inczreneed exp_or-
tetien of‘ our domeetie products to those dttetanttplttces 1105: been promotedbyt11istinc1'eese in un-
ports. Those d0meet1_e_produ0ts were n1enu\f'0.ctu1'ed cotton and woollen goods, 1nm1:>er, and arti-
cles of fm-niture, p1‘0V1S10nS of 011 Itimls, mtvel eto1'ee, COU;O1’1,,tO1)tL00O, ice, candles, 020.,   , to

I have another table, Mr; President, tezehibiting otmtrede with the,North
0fWEL11’«0P&*,, p1'eee:nting U"161101,t:Sflm605 g'BI1.6,t':0.1 t1‘£3$L11tt:,a%,a.nC1,.aS, we =httVe~tteeasec1, to
Import hemp to at great extent from Russta, the 1ncree.se m the tonnage is
principally from exportations :

Comparisovz of am‘ trade 71J’il‘/Z2‘/Z8 North qfE'ztrope,m7.. : Russian,‘ tS’weea’en,

Germrmy, and Hollaatcl, sltow-ivzg a fallmg 017’ in 2,,‘/ze t’mperz.'s.. ‘

Value in dO11£.'t.1‘S. 0

  n :00:-0 lclltldnotlcouullIIOOIOOIIilngilillltlvldlulhvl0“0II‘&uI 

   unuuouputouotugntncnoynu sauna gain an IlbI“:uIIUOQ9 on-an‘:-nc¢cu,ao‘¢' 

uwuunumnnn

 

‘   0 u 00 0 Iu u up I}: u g‘u“‘o IO an 0 a I In  vs 0 I“ll‘l‘I 0 I001  I I no 00104000 I‘! can  00 can I I I 

'4 And an increase in 'onr0Domestic~e:~;po1*te “of'—-—-% 1

 

Inttteyear182e.................... .....  5,085,000
  I‘III“IOIIC”‘IfOQU¢OOI‘0ID‘0I‘ltdrltD‘lOI!lIIllOII¢I‘¢lIIIOIIIIQIUC 

—n-um-nan...-nun».-.-tuvnu-Su-s-—.

‘ ‘p n‘¢t||'IO¢lnOO“IIo“Il‘DIut0Ot0‘0hIt11O000‘I0aQbillliblltlOOIOOIIIQIIIOI 

 

40

And an increase in the tonnage employed of-—
In.1$Q8nnanauonaouuIOIIIDIImuooooaooolcnoucoIollunplooniuqbuooooiilc-also 
Ill1845.gq|IOtIl1IOlOIIIIOIIOFIOQIIOIOUIIII!Ilillfilluggogggggg‘..‘...gg. 

 

 I-IIlfcilouloonlbldltoouI000l¢OOl05l§‘k!'ggoQIOIlunggggpggg 

This_i.11crease.is froth ,the,transpo1‘t of our domestic etgports to those places. 0. 0
It will be }ntcrestta,g- to, note some of the articles of import from those places, in which that
reduction strikingly appears. a t l t t . ‘A

t ‘ 0 ‘ ' In 1828 In 1845
ARTICLES m‘P°RTED' ‘ Value in dolls. Value in dolls.

Mamtfe.ctu1'es of cotton and flax . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 2,190,000 0 " 165,500
l‘vfia11ui‘actures of iron andsteel . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .  . . . . 53,204,000 677,000
IVIa11ufactm'es of,g‘lass . . . l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . .fl. . . . . . . 458,000 128,000
IVIant1factu1'es ofleatlter . . . p. . . . . 0. . . . . .t., . . . . . . .. .  . .. .. . . . . t 0 ,330,000 , 2,100
Ma11uf'aetures ofsailcloth . . . . .  .. . .  .. . . . . .. . . .. . .. .  . 0. y ,_ 0 _ 345,000 ll ' ‘  “ 186,000
. Mahut‘actures of linseed oil  .  .,  .  .\  . . . .  ,. .  .. . .  ., 130,000 , 13,000
Manufactures of cotdage , . . .  p. . . . .. . . V. . .. . .  .. A‘. . . V. .. . . 145,000 0" 54,000
lUnma11ut‘act.ured liemp . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . 990,000 ' 911,000
Uzimanufacttti-etl am; . .  . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . .  . . . . . 37,000‘ 31,000
Unmaitufitctured wool . . .. . .  . . .  .0. .  . .. , . .,  . .  -  _ 0 97,000 ' l_ 31,000
Un1nanufac_tu1'ed rags   . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . .. . p. . .  . . . . None. A 152,000
9  $6,026,000 $1,510,000

Thus showinga iedulctioh in the ;mai1ut'act.u:1*ec1 ;_g‘co(.1s, hemp, d2c., imported from those 001111»-
tries, of more than three-fou1'th_s of the whole amo_unt._ , i
These facts are certainly 0f‘111'1,pO1T.l1€tI1(:(3 no considering the employment of our shipping in the
transport of . t'aw'.:t'rtate,1'tal, sttch ,as_,cottou, flax, hemp, .iro11, coal, &c., coastwise in our own
country,f'ori the manuii.1ctt.1re, In our country, of‘ goods which have takenthe place of the foreign
ma11ufa.etured.goods, imported,andtconsumcd by.us,. l6,yea1:e.a,go. ‘   l. . t 0 V
A very important fact in connexion with this part of the subject is,that
this distant trade is 111 our own vessels. It is divided by home. We know

that in the trade between us and .El”.1gltEu1Cl, about a third of the naviga-

tiou is in the hands of Ehglaticl. But in the trade with the north of Europe,’

doc. , the trade is on American account, and to our advantage; and tea gt'ettt

extent, also, we pay for the importatiops by domestic products. l :VVeaclolnott

now hear of any eXtrao1'clina1'y amounts of specie to meet the demands of this
trade, because the products of outj own inclustry an own people, in a
11‘1a1‘1ufac'tt’tt'etl~ sttategwattet  ;;.»@;    ‘ K 0 0
other lE1l3leS,lSl1OVVil]g otherjresults ; but I am quite ties of getting through
the duty which remains to be performed by me on this occasion, iancl I shall ,
therefore, pass this part of the case by a very few additional observations.
It is obvious, sir, that for the same reason that the raw mateijiall imported

     

V 0

forthe m_a,n,t.tfacttitf,e1‘, pays a, latge proportion of freight, articles of export of lilze

liatute ~fromlou.t* side for. the same purpose pay also .a large p1'opot*tion ,as every:‘
byodyhtttowsyiips the case with cotton. And this proves that, in everymeasure
ctoitteeiriiing‘ 0 ”the°ihte1‘ests‘ of 1iatvilgati'on', we" 0 shoulcl pl ‘lcohsult” i'athei' the gteat
and htuyllty articles, than tlteyiysruall, wliere the ivlalulel is g1'eat, and theltbulkz
ditmihiisflieclt 0 0 * t t 0 0 t ‘ 0 t 

_ Nowgltbe pleased to noticelthese results, Fifty—eightmil'lions 0f*d0lla.t“S“Oi:

A * 1lf13§I1L1f€t0tt1.1‘,6,Cl .0 goods  .1.,n:1l3.,Qrted,p., yi.er1.d 1683, mm One; million for tfl'eiglftt~il

TWenty4t\t*o millions of dollarsl b1'oug*l1t in articles to be itfianufalcturecl l"ie1'e*,g

yield fthree millionsaxidthree quat*ters ; i ~bei*:.1g, ve1'yj;;lhiea1*ly,, o11et~half of all

41

the freight earned on all our imports. Certainly, this is a iriostTimportant

fact, and worthy of all attention. . T _ 
We propose , tlien, Mr. President, in the first place, to diminish andTTdis-

courage labor and industry at home , Thy tpaxiiig T the raw materials which are

, brought into the country for manufacture. We propose, in the second place,

 

to diminish the earnings of freight Very materially, by diiiiinishiiig tl1eTim~
portation of bulky articles, always brought in our own ships. We propose,
in thethird place , to diminish the amount of exports of our own domes-
tic manufactured goods, by refusing to take in exchange fortheni raw mate-
rials, the products of other countries. This is our present policy ! This is
our notion of l.7‘ree Trade ! Surely, surely, Mr. President, this enlightened
ssystem cannot fail to attract the t‘;t(ll”nl1‘E1ilOfl of the world I

 Tlilo.Tw,,s,i,i*, Ql1p_(3,,‘_f;ttl1flQt say to what pextent tliiyscharige of system may affect
the piiaviglatioii ofTtliTe“coui:itry, hutTTits tieTridencyT is, i.inqu*estioiiaiJly , to cripple
and cramp the navigating interest. Its teiidericy‘ is to diminish the demand
for tonnage, for navigation, for the carrying trade. And Ithink I niight

on this occasion, without impropriety, call the attention of the Senatoi'TTfroml

Maine, farthest from me, (Mr. FA.IRFII~3LD,) a gentleman who here repre—.

sents a State, if not first, at least among the very first, in regard to the EtTl’Il0tlnl§_
«of its navigaTtion.T The ships of Maine are found in every quarter. They}

Tare round the Capes, and in the l\lorth sea. They bring home these raw’
rriaterials; and every tliing that diminishes theiconsuniption of these raw‘
iriaterials in our own country, diniinislies the chances of employment to every
ship owner in the State of Maine. I will read an ezmact or two, from a
letter which I have received on this siihject : T

T p . BALTIMORE, 20th July, 1846.
Sia:—I notice that the new tarifi" bill has, in its schedules, sills 11'lt1l1O0‘m’| T, hides, brazette wood;
. . . . _ 9 a Y _ .
dl0,g\V0()d, fustic, Rio F-Iaclie wood, Lima wood, Sandal wood, redcedar, pig copper, nitrate of
ssocla, or the salsoda of‘ Peru, saltpetre, block, and all sorts of crude woods, and many (l1‘t1g‘SN0f
hulk, all more or less dutiahle, and tea and coffee left t‘i-ee. T T T ..
This is curious t’reeTtrade. T T i T ;

These are the articles that give our vessels l).OIY1f3W't1.1’(lT Tfreiglite, and being chiefly gi‘oss particles
Tet‘ fgreat l:iullr, they appeal most sti-iiiigly to be classed in the free list. You l£l_"l.OW "very wlell that
our outward. hound vessels to the El1,ff.,'l1SlTl islands can rret no sortpot” return carrro unless ti icy go
to Cuba or Poi-to Rico for sugar or rriolasses, or else Ttli seine salt port,Tor lflrltlg‘ liorne some sort
Tet’ wood or liides frorn St. Thomas, or the Maiii. I speak of,sina1.l vessels tliattracle to the WTest,
Indies and the Spanish Main. T p p T‘ 4 . VT  T T p _  T p,
M Chess crude art-icles of this sort, aid Sl"llp}_")l1‘l°“ interests and assist 1’mZtkl1‘tT0‘ up carsroes to Europe
Tr TT '   l1 1;‘! ‘ff ii“ “Ti 0 iii“ Tr‘ I'll" TiiTTi3T T '11 a*""’T an“ Haltewood
To TVti.l,*1l‘J7;'tsSt."lGT air it: Test _rieeT sun as or0*.wT o Tpar Ticixiar ygan  crest: is To an T .io~ ~ c .
in cotton slirips eveii foi~.dti1ina:ge.  T D‘ T T  l  TT TT T ~ TT T   g

I call t‘i-cc trade the policy that lets crude articles in free, as in “old times.” 1 } 11

As fares I can judgre antler heiiijg‘ niyselt‘ eiTi5ra<red, l.l1pSl_l.'1ppl110‘ interests_ TI_'i1l'1l1"1l{ t.1lS,)li very
=uiit'r.'e1itllyto such iintierest; T aridTas7tloTtbeiiig _a  trade 'hTill,ri.t is €tI1yt’l“il1’1g:' else, asiIi’undeifstanri
‘freetrade,asTto_therprticlesiianied. T T. .  it  T .    T

T T ‘ it Tf "am dear sir a your friend and fellow citizen , . T T T T y T.
[Sigiietl]' TT 7 TT T’ T, r T T, TT A y T ’T   WILLIAM MILES.

_ Inow come, lV.[r.T.Pi'esiident, to thei last topic on which I propose to ttfés.
pass on tTliTe;TpatTieiice ofthep Seiiatteygy itis tlfice Teiifect of the change pro;
posed by this bill upon tlie_g;eii,ei'al employment, labor and 1I1(lt1SlZl‘y‘_T_C)f
«the ,counti*y.1 ,1*AndTIwouTld beg , S11‘, in .i,.l11S,V1B‘Wil3O ask the readiiig oTfi,aTppe~r
titionwliicli has Tloeeri l incron in table for some (la s but Wl’11TCl1Ifl1t‘tVe
not had an opportunity to p_resent. It is a very short petition froin the
meclfianics and artisans of the city of Boston. [The clerl<: then read the
petitioiiy] T Now,sir, these pet;itiTofnei's remonstraTte against this bill, not in he»
half of TC-Ol'pOl'E3.llOt1S. and ,_<;>:ifTeatpTestahlislfimentsj, not in _l)eTl1ttlf of rich TrnanuT-
dlQ.Qt(t.l1fe1‘S, but in belialff of 5” irienivlio labor with theiprpoflwii l:iaiids,’"’ ttfliose

42

“ only capital is their labor,” and “Who depend on that labor for their sup-
port, andyfor anything they may be able to lay up.”

Mr. Pi'esident, he who is the most large and liberal in the tone of his sen-
timent towards all the interests of all parts of the country ; he who mosthon-
estly and firmly believes that these interests, though Various, are consistent;
that they all may well be protected , preserved, and fostered by a Wise adrninis-
tration of law under the existing Constitution of the United States 3 and he who
is the most expansive patriot, and wishes well, and equally well , to every part
of the country ; even he , must admit, that to a great extent. , there is a marked
division and difference between the plantation States of the South, and the
masses in the agricultural and manufacturing States of the North. There is a
difibrence growing out of early constitutions, early laws and habits, and re-

sulting in a diflierent description of labor; and to some extent, with the most

liberal sentiments and feelings, every man who is concerned in enacting laws
with candor, justice, and intelligence, must paya proper‘ ,regat'd,,ptoptlfia,t,disy
ytinction. The truth is ,that in one part of the country laboris a tiring more
unconnected, with capital, than in the other. Labor, as an earning princi-
pie, or as an element of society worl«:ing for itself, with its own hopes "of
gain, enjoyment ,and competence, is a different thing from that labor ,Which
inthe other partof the country attaches to capital, rises and falls with cap-
ital, and is in truth a part of capital. Now,sir, in considering the general ef-
fect of the change sought to be brought about, or likely to be brought about
by this bill , upon the emp.loymrent of men in this country,regard is properly
to be paid to this diti'erence which I havernentioned ; yet it is at the same time
true, that there are forms of labor, especially along the sea-coast and along the
rivers, in all the Southern States , which are to be affected by this bill as much.
‘as the labor of any portion of the Middleor No1'tlie1'n States. The artisan in:
Vevery State has justthe same interest, the same at the South as at the North .,
And this is at the foundation of all our laws, from ’89 clovvnward, which have
in View the protection of American labor. The first purpose ,the first object ,was
the full protection of the labor of these artisans. '1"‘hat subject was gone over
the other day by my friend from Maryland, (Mr. Jonivson ,) who presented to
the consideration of the Senate the first memorial ever sent to Congress onthe
subject of protection. It was from the city of Baltimore, and it was in 1789.

And from that day to this, Baltimore has been more earnest and steady in her 

attachment to a system of law, which shesupposed gave encouragement toher
artisans, than almost any other city of the Union. I say she has been steady

an d earnest, sir i  If, :sihe  ra‘f‘r-:H1‘*0*'t

ment, resume her attitude, aiidi pursue her accustomedicourse.

Now, sir, takiiig the mass of men as they exist amongst us, What is it, that
constitutes their prosperity? '1‘hroughout the country, perhaps more espe-
cially at the North, from early laws and habits, thereis a dist1'ibution of all
the property accumulated in one generation, among the Whole succession of
Sons and daughters in the next. Property is everywhere distributed as fast as
it is accumulated, and not in more than one case out of a hundred is there

p an accumulation beyond the earnings of one or two generations. The con—-
sequence of this is,a great division of property into small parcels, and a

considerable equality in the condition of a great portion of the people; and

the next conse uenceis that out of the whole mass, there is every small r
. proportion, hardly Worthy of being named, that does not pursue some active

ibyiutsiyness for a living. Who is there that, lives on hisincogme lg H0}? lnillnyy
out of rnillions of prosperous people between this placeand the Br1t1shPr0—~

 

is
vinees , and tliroughout the North and West, are there , who live without being

engaged in active business? ‘None I; the number is not wor'thna1ning. p This;
is, therefore, a country of labor. I do not mean manual labor ent1rely"..

‘There is a great deal of that, but I mean some sort of ernployment that re»

quires personal ‘attention , either of oversight or manual performance, sorne

form of active business. That is the character of our people, and that is I

the condition of our people. Our destiny islabor. Now ,what is the first great
cause of ‘prosperity with such a‘ people? I Simply, employment. Why, we
have cheap food and cheap clothing,and there is no sort of doubt that these
things are very desirable to all persons of moderate circuinstances, and labor»-
ers. But they are not the first requisites. The first requisite is that which
enables, men to buy food and clothing, cheap or clear. I And if I were to
~ililri§tlratie‘   on this ‘ subjeottttt, lby”e:ratr'niple , I I should talzze , of all the:

instances in the world , thepresent condition of Leland. it I V I q
I am not about to prescribe, Mr. President, forms of legislation for Ire?-

land, or principles to the 'Parlianrrent of Great "Britain , for the government of’

Ireland.. I am not about to suggest any remedy for the bad estate of ithingis-«
which e:r.ist,s in that country; but what that state of things is , and what has pro;

duced it, is j List as plain and visible to my View as a turnpike road; and I eon- 

fess that I am astonished, that learned and intelligent men, who seem to have
been brought up under certain notions, or systems, which appear to have turn-~
ed their eyes from the true view of the case, havebeen unable to solve the
Irish problern. Well, now, what is it? Ireland is an over—-peopled conne-

try, it is said. It has eight and a half millions of people on an area of

thirty—on;e thousand eight hundred square miles. It is, then, a very dense

population; perhaps a thicker population, upon the whole, than England.

But why are the people of Ireland not prosperous, contented, and happy ‘I

We hear of a otato anic and a no ulation in Ireland distressed b" the
P P 2 P P 3’

high price of potatoes. Wliy, sir, the price of potatoes in this city is three-

times the price of potatoes in Dublin; and at this mornent potatoes are twice
as dear throughout the United States as throughout Ireland. ’I‘here are po--
tatoes enough, or food of I other l{ll’1(lS,l;)1.1i2 the people are not able to buy it,
And why? That is the stringentpqrtestion. Why cannot the peopleof Ire-—
land buy potatoes or other food ? The answer to this question solves the’ Irish:
case; and that answer is simply this, the people have not employment. ~'1‘hey

I toannotobtpaini wages; tr~Tl1eycanirioitjeartnrrrnonleyraw;Tl1e«:.sun1t of their social;
:m1se1'y lies in these few Words.

’I‘hereis noadequate cllemand for labor‘...
One~half, or lesspthan one-half, of all the strong and healtliyilaborers of Ire-
land are quite enough to ifulfi‘1Vall~ den.1andL, ‘and I occupy‘ all ernployyrnentst
Does not this adrnitted fact rrexplaini the whole lease? If but half‘ the la--I
borers are ernploybtl, orthe Whole employed but halfthe time, or in what—-
ever form of divisionrit be stated ; if the result is, that there is, in so thicldy

"a peopled country, only half enofugll of ernployrnent for labor and industry ,.
1 who need to be surprised to find poverty and’ ‘want the consequence?  And

who can be surprised, then, that other evils, not less to be 1amented,“should‘t
alsobe found _ to exist among a people of warm ternperan1ent,and social’
happen. I t A, p 

 But, then, this only advances the inquiry to the real qu_estion——-—-~ W’/zy. are

l'rabits and tendencies? It would be strange, if all these results should not

I theelaboring people of Ireland so destitute of useful and profitable ernpl oy11'iient‘l"
pa, This isaqtiestion of the deepestinterest to those who arecharged with the duty
I of Iternedying the evil, if it can be rernediedlr But it is rather beside any‘

>..

L.

44

present purpose of mine. It may be said, in general, that Ireland has been
‘?t11"1fO1'tLIl'1t1l£3, as Well as badly governed. In the course of twocenturies,
zrnuch the greater part of the soil of Ireland, g;ene1*ally supposed as much as
nine-tenths, has been forfeited to the Crown 5 and by the Crown given or
soldto personsin England, the heads of opulent families, or others. These
neW.English proprietors are lrnown as absentee landlords. Thevown 
vast portion of the island. The absentee landlord is not a man, ivho has
grown up in Ireland, and has gone over to England to spend his income.
He. may be a man who never saw Ireland in his life. Iihave heard of fa-
zrnilies,‘ no rnernber of which has visited its Irish estates for half a cen!
tury, the lands being all the time under “ racl:—rent,” in the hands of

I“ rniddle-rnen,” and all pressing the peasantry and labor to the dust;

There is a strange idea, at least it seems strange to me, which most re-i

rspectable men entertain on this subject of Ireland. Mr. l.V.lcCt1llot1gli,
so liiglily d1st1ngu.1shed an authority, for‘ , example, will insiist..........npo.n;’i~t»,«

that thereis no evil in Irish absenteeism, because he proceeds on the
theory Which, he says, admits of no e:x'ception——tliat it is best for a man
to buy where he can buy cheapest. "Well, that is undoubtedly so, if he

ihavettlie means of buyritig. Now, if Irish absenteeism did not diniinish the

employment of the people of Ireland, and so diminished their rneansof buy-
ing, the argument would hold. But Wl'1O does not see, that if the landlord
Tli.ved in Ireland ,consun1ing for his family and retainers the prod ucts of Ireland,
it would atigtiieiit the empl.oyrnent of Ireland’? It seems clear to me that resi-
dense would not only give geriet'al countenance and encouragernent to the
laboring classes , and benefit both landlord and tenant, by dispensing with the
services of middle men, but that it would also do positive good, by produ-
cing. new dernands_for:labor.r F1'oi.n earlyitiyrnes t.11eiE1ig'lisli government
has discouraged ,in Ireland ,every sort of manufacture, except the linen inan-
iufactured inthe north. It has, on the other hand, encouraged £tg't'liCul.tt1I‘6.
It has givenbounties on wheat exported... The consequence has come to
{be this, that the surface of Ireland is cut up into so many tenements and
holdings, that every man’s labor is confined to sucha small quantity of land,
that there is not half employment for labor, and the lands are cultivated
:miserably,after all. Mr. McCtillotigl1 says ll1t~‘t.i3,ft’)l1l‘-filfil1S of the labor of
Ireland is laid out upon the land. There is not-other source of employ--
ment or occupation. This land , being under a ‘ ’-’ rack rent,” is frequently in
iittle patches, sometimes of not more than a quarter of an acre, merely to raise
irpotatoesr ‘W  ¥  r   r  

  t  t  at

   

"‘¢<

    

- and can produce notltung but mere physical living, until the system shall be

._entirely cl'1ange,d. Tliis constitutes the g;reat. clitierence between the state
of tliings in Europe and America. In lilurope, the question IS, how men

»ca11.liye. With us, the question is, how well they can live. Can they live

iionwliolesorne food ,:in C011I'l1Tl0dlOuS and cornfortable ‘clwellirigsi Can they
be Wellfl-lotlledl, and be able to educate their children? Such questions do
:not. arise to the political t3COfl0l1T1lSlS« of Europe. I iWl1en.1'eason1ng" on such

“cases, asithatofilreland,the questionriwitli them is, l1OW “physical bpeing can

beEkepytifrothIdeatht _That isall  I :

 I 

‘~S.ilf§5 :i:f~Iwerenot”overwl1elmed with topics, and ifI were notconscioius
-of Iliavintg..:al1*.eadyfoooupiedg ;the attention of =tl;1e.»Senatsei rquitel too rlong~,[I 

ijwopuldi turns. your yatytetition to¢tl‘1er .~contra.stsi, produced _ by the Very causeis“

iwhiicli we "are? no iv}: considering ,“ between Iireland land a  co.t1aiid . The, I pop»-i

I ziilatioxiofiillteiandis 33.31%?..léI1"1i1l§i.10l”1~‘3i?i171d53<1h3lf5. 011 efl‘I,e*’€e.r0i. ‘31;-W0 iSC1.lttt¥t?= I A

45

miles. Seotllend lies a. population less then ‘three millions, and ztnerea of’
26,000 sque.1'e miles, only one-thirtjl of which is arable. ”

But, nevertheless ,the tOl'.tI1t?tg(: of Scot.lztnclis four huntlted amcl twenty-v
nine thousand tons of sliippiiing, employing twentyeight thousanClt;me‘nt—;’
“while that of ltelencl is only one ltunclred and forty thousand only, ern:
ploying eleven or twelve tl10l1Stt11(l men. Will} regard to -the agricul-
ture of Scotland, though her elitnate is not so good, 1101‘ her ‘soil so
Il‘lGl'1 as that of Ireland, yet Scotland is El wheat-growing country, endl
the prices are liigh, and all Etg1'lCL1ltL11‘al business active. Why, sir, how‘
less this come about? This greet t'et'm'1netion, it is said, has l3eME~)1’taC’-t~l
eornplished within sixty or seventy years; arid respeetttble authorities say,”
that the g.t‘OWl.l1 of the IY'lt“t1"tL‘tfat:»l1U1‘lt3g cities of Glasgow, PEtlSle_V,‘i’t11Cl Eclin’w

t ~   tE_tr1~(l*~tel‘1t6““‘t‘@$‘iI"§“’li§:‘,7l fttrtitislsitntg  mfl'1?lm£tf01',tl'1B lllllfflfidltflle sole of egt'ieul~

tnntl products, has clonbllleditho‘s‘e p1‘0ClL1CtS--—I‘£’tlStf_‘~t3lt them from at lower to st.
l:::igilt‘ie.r species of production, ztncl elitsngecl the Whole fees of Seotlend. I
will not pttrsne this ‘illuSt,1'nt‘l0I1 fu.rtl:1er. It is enough to say, that Seotlenol“
lilflttl eonmieree, 1m1mifi;tot;ut'es, and a. variety of ernploymentslfor labor. In:

Ireland t;l1e1'e is little of eotfnmerce and little of 11"]{tr}'t1ft;l.Ctl1I'eS-—;f0’M7“‘-fifUlSt‘y 
of me to/to/e ZoI2m" cf the cemetery beittg Zxeszfowed on the land. These facts l ‘

ere etiottgll to show why Scotland is that Scotlnml which we find her, anal
Ireletnct that Ireland wlueh We tincl her. i
l\C>W, sir, no men een deny, that the course of things in this country, for"

t the last twenty or tltitty years, has lizztd e. womlettul efleet in producing at

tve1‘iet.y of eiinployments. How tnueh employment has been furnished by
the canals and 1‘etilroo.ds, in t’t(l(;l‘ll.lC)t',l to the gt'eetett1o1.tnt of lsbor, not only:
in the t"oeto1'ies , 1'ent‘le1'et;l so oclious in some qi:1n1'te1's by eellting them 1TtDI10p*-~t
olies entlclose COl'p(I)1‘t\.i'l0I1S , but in the wo1'ls:sl:1ops , in the warehouses, on
theses ertcl on the ltuld, etzuil in every (lt‘}.p£’tl'll‘l'lt;"3I'll of business? There is to.
greet general o.etivit.y , end at gt'e:o,t VE7t1'l€3l.yl11”l.l‘71(E3 employment of men nmotagstlt
‘us 5, end thetis just exeet;l.y whet our eo1'1diti0t1 otrtglrtt to be. ‘

'l.‘he iitterest of every lttbo1'i1f1g eotnnmsttity requires diversity of ocetzpeml-t
tions, pursuits, ttlltll objeetsof industry. Tlietnore thet diversity is mult.iplietl<
or extended , the better .l To clit*e1‘sti,fy e1'n‘ploytn*ent , is to in crease employment ,.
end to enhmtce wages. And , 1' ,~teke this g'1'ezttt1'ultl1; place it on the title pages

of every book: of Political ll§ileono1“11y itttenclecl for the use of the Unitecl: States; ,

put it in evflltyy ,ll:lltEt1Tl7t161‘l,S;,;.AJl,t11tl.l’1t1Cy;I; letitill be lll1,,£3ylf18flCll,I1g" of the :1 columns in
every Meelmnieiis tMz1gezine;« pl1'ocle1ttn~ it every whete,and make it “ a pro-
verb , that wi2.ea~e tlmre is t'wor/.::fm- the itcmols: qf men, there will be worltfor

tfzeiift tee:/no t ” Wl1"ei*eiiit.h‘eresis]iempl0y1n’le11t,,there will be breed. It‘ is a great A

blessing to the poor to h eve cheap food ; but giteeter thenthet, prior to that, and?
of still higher Value, is theblessing of being ableto buy“foocl, by honest and
respelcteble ,emp1oyirhen't. lEmp1oyrnentfeeds, and ~elothes, and ‘instructs.
Employment gives health , sobriety, anclixnorels. Constant employment
and well paid labor, produce, in e country like ours, =gene1'e1p1'ospe1~ity,.
eontent,en,d ClIee1‘fulI1eSS. ‘ '1‘hus happy have, we Sl6enlI.l1elCOl111£1'y.li, ITl1L1S-
happy tneytwe long contimte to see it. ‘ t l  Q , y t  ' y l.
l ~And novv,sir," with a. very few words tadclressed to particular interests, I
shall relieve the Senate, It hes appeared e to me ypexticularly t strange that

our friends f1'0t”I1 the graing1'owingwStetes "of tthe northwest do not tttl§."‘t:’}?a '

tlifl'e1'ent view; then, that Whichfthey now entertain of their iultitnetetlltpeta-*

_mene1*1tinte1*est.y They t ;£-tlfe,lgrttiliv”g1'0VVerst. ,They entertain the ‘hope,

especially» since‘ the repeal of tthes; British corny lews,”thtett they ‘sltelllbe

46

table to produce Wheat to a still larger eiztent, and obtain for their com-
modity a com:rne.nsurate price abroad. For myself, I am fully of opin-
‘ion that there will be a great disappoilmnent in this respect. I do ad-
mit, for I always believed it, that with the British ports open to the ad-y
mission of»An1erican Indian corn , or maize , there will be agreat deal of it sent
to Europe, because of the cheapness of the article , and because when it comes
to be known , it will be, I think, well received amongst the laboring classes.
But it seems to me, that a few facts may be enough to satisfy us that there
cannot be a vast augmentation of western and southwestern exportations of
"Wl'1eEtt, on account of any newfdemand in Europe. In the first place, our agri-
-cultural products havedone little more than keep pace with the increase of our
population, In thenextplace .,the agricultural product of England about keeps

‘pace with her augmenting population , from year to year . But, in the third‘ .

‘place, if We go back: to the list of prices, we shall find, that Wheat is at this

‘inonient, after all we have heard of panics and fears of pt11,1,lCS,,,,_,t\Ve11ly_,}},§;_l:,, ,

»cent. lower than in former years 5 and I see by Mr. Brown’s  oi‘
the 3d of this 11'1OI.‘1ll1,l.l1i1ti prime flour was  538 per barrel in Liverpool, or ,
‘rather, yielded thatereturn to the eztiporter from the United States, It does
appear to me, sir, that gentlemen who live on these fertile lands of the west,
arnong the most prosperous and most favored , communities, would do eat-
«ceedingly Well, to consider whether , in fact , they gain anything by a suppose
ed augmentation of e:st'po1'tat.ions—--whether they profit anything by an ex»
tension of the market abroad, whilst they diminish the dernand at home.
If by an importation of British rnerchandize we increase the production of
that merchandize in Europe, by putting more hands upon it, and bringing
the goods here to the United States, is that not certain to diminish the cone-
sunoption at home of agricultural products, by diminishing the nuniber of

wcorisutners? So that after all it comes to this, whether it is better foran agri--_

-scultuyrist to have a home inarket, than to have a foreign rna.rl<:et l

Well, sir, allow me to say a word on this subject to gentlemen of some of the
;.Soutl1ern States. They will allow me at least to give them tables and cal»
aeulations. I will not undertake to instruct their reason, but wish to draw
their attention to facts. Now, the State of l.VIassachusetts is a greatgrain-
purchasing State. I have herein table of articles of grain, etc., purchased
by and consuined in Massachusetts in one year, and it strikes me to he
rworthy of attention : ‘ 0 0 0 ‘

Flour, 630,000 bhls. at $6.50 per bbl... . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . Q $3,465,000


1 y , ‘ Corn and ,Q,l..l1C«3,.',.gi\¢l.l.13$, 3,100,000 l)1,1,t3‘lT1s‘t(3.l_v,.,“~.’;‘m,1<1-3t.l,;r .. , . . .. .. . ._.,g ;.  .   ’.1“,6

 

Coal,‘ 1so;0o0ttotnsfiaet«3;5;5t0=tt‘rttpsr:r.     .. .. .. . .  .. . . . . ;r,0‘3  t ’ 
Wool, 7,.‘200,0001bs., at 33¢. per lb... .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .  . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. ,376,000
r .Lumberofal1kinds............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..........4,100,000

~Beet',pork, bacon and lard...............l.............................3,000,000
$16,950,150

H   ‘The corn comes chiefly from the eastern shore of Virginia, North Caro-
lina, and Maryland; r Where else can these States expect to find tat market
lil«:ethis?, TV A ‘ 0 t it “ “ 0

1 ow , sir,jw,hat is theadvantage to these corn»g1'owing States of turning our

people, the consujmers of these articles, outtot’ their Workshops, and to make

agricultural 7 p1‘odi;tc’ersrrof at. them, also? This is astrange po'l;icy.t i Where i

0  men a have, alreadyii more agricultural products than they can find a rnarlcet ~ r 

 , ,increase~.tl1~e rgproduet l a On; the bother hand , where gthereare more mouths
toifeedthancianytybersgtipplied, incyre-asethenumber,ofyrrmouths !*»  r i 

   

47

Tire northwestern States are destined to be tnanttfacttttitig‘ States. They‘
have iron and coal. Tltey have a people of laborious habits. They have
already capital enougli to begin w~orlrs_, such as belong to new States and
new con"1munities; and when the time comes. and it cannot but come
soon, they will see their true int;erest to be, to feed the Northern and East-
ern manufact;urers, as far as they trittjiibe fed, and in the mean time begin
to vary their owrt occupations, having’ classes of men at.rrottgst them who
are not of the now universal 8..g't‘lCLtliLttl‘Ell‘ population. And the sooner they
begit1 this worlr the better ; and begin it they Will, because they are an in
telligent and active people, and cannot fail to see in what direction their
true interest lies. t

Sir, it does not becorne me to do more than sttggest in what appears to

r.rne““”t:‘h’“errcttintltle»restr‘*'rof“r‘other parts of . tlre.l..couritry..,,, Men more competent to

judge will decide, antll do not wisli to eXet'npt‘tJl1t3l'l(1 from an eXet*cise of
‘til.’H“/ll.‘ _lL'l(lg‘li'tj1et"tl. lihtt now, in t'egiat'rl to this rnatit.tt’actttt'e of cotton, I said
the other day that l should not tal:;e up the New lilnglancl case. Site
would be injttt'ed-~ir1jured, to a certain ezttent, unq_uestionably; but she
tvouldnot be iri__'iured so much as the new ostabl.ishments of the South. it
appears to me the plainest proposition in the world, that there is nothing‘
which the whol.e Sotittlit can so profitably turn its attention to, as the mantt-
factors of these coarse cotton fabrics. 'll‘he t“3ot.ttl1 tniglfit soon come to ttn—~
tlersell New Ellgltttttl altogether, because it is a vf-al;;1'ic in the Value of which
the raw material is the chief element, and labor little. As labor, there-
fore, t"orrns but a small portion of the article produced, in its rnanut'ac—-
tttred state, why then 1i‘. requires less capital for tnachinery, and expert»
sive establislintents. ']l‘he raw t..naterial l3eir‘;tg the ,g'reater element corn-
pOS‘lt]g‘ the r:t.lue., gives, of course, an tttlvtttlttlge to those who raise the raw
r1na.terial, and who l’t"lt‘tl1Llll."tCl.L'll't3 it just t-vhere it is produced. Now, l. t“ntts’t.
say, l00l{lt"lg at t;.l;te exhibition here last t‘1"lOt7ttl.t , or the rnonth before, notltrirtg
appeared to me better done than some of these cheap cotton ‘fabrics from
"Vi:r:git'titt, N-0.l'll."ft. Caroilina, and Georgia; and l believe, as stt1*o11gly' as I may
vertture to believe anytl..tir1g ttgttirist. the opinion of men of more local l~rnovv-
letlgtz, that those rnanut'actt.tt'esy will succeed and prosper, if we let them.
alone, in the Soutltern States. And I wish them to prosper. They have
arisen in a desire on the part of the Southern people to clothe themselves
and tlieiicpeople 3£l.gttlt1S,t..NetV Englttnycl. competition. Well, lrdesire. to see
that ; and it strilres me that the etl"ort ouglitt to be encottragetls.

it is time that l relieve the Senate froth this discussion. l certainly feel
the rnornentons importance of tllefitlbleclti I feel that, in the course of tny

public life , I have never had a more resiponsible cl uty to perform , and certainly

I never loolted ‘forward with more interest to the consequences. If the pre-

sent system of things be deranged, no man can tell where that derangement

is to stop, or what are to be the rultirnate results. This, sir, is a proceeding,
in which we cannot see the end from the beginning. But again l come
ibaclt to the great question of the revenue. l hold that the responsibility of
«providing revenue for tl1eGovernr.nent rests with Congress. I ltoldthat we

care not at liberty to devolve"that responsibility upon the Eztzecutive“ Govern»

rrnent 5 and I would ask the Adrninistration itself, with all respect, if new
that there seems less prospect than we had hoped of an early termination

' of this war-—-if now, within three or four rnonths of the cornniencement of

the nerrzt session of Congress»-wif now, with the tried. system which we are
sure of for the production of adequate revenue, soyfar as we may expect rev—~

> r».
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