Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1814-04-25
could calculate on the permanencc Of its


policy for moment beyond the preient
What made i, worfe, was, that the
true standard by which the politics of the
government had been managed, had new
err been told TO the people. On the con-
trary, they had been led to believe, by the
friends and supporters of the admins
tration, that the politics of Europe had
nothing to do with OR mea(ures, and the
standard by which others adjudged them
was declared to be unjuf and unfounAed.
Who could have imagined that the re-
ffrietive syitem would have been aban-
doned so suddenly? If the people had
been told it would be abandoned when the
power of France was crushed, they
would have understood it and acted &C
cordingly Mr.. w. referred to the Pres
ident's mefTage of Dec laf to the bill
Which pailed this Houfe for more effec-
tually enforcing the non importation act
by introducing novel principle into our
laws; and departing from all eitabilhed
rules of law to the bill which came from
the Senate, and was now before this
House, fer prohibiting the importation of
any article which might come from En-
eliih poG 1ions to the recent decilion
asaiuit Paul Cuhee's bill, and againlt the
tranfpor,a,lon by water Of lime for the
ufe o! his houfelefs conftituents, lest they
should violate the embargo Ito show how
rigidly this syiiem had been upheld un
till the very moment that the menage
came into the House. recommending its
repeal. He adverted also to the Legislative
addrenes now on the table, approving Of
the meaiure and those which, though in
exiltsnce, had not been prefen.ed having
arrived little too late. A government
subject to such sudden changes. was net
competent to manage the affairs Of a
great nation.
There were many other very important
eonfderations connected with this change
in our policy. The people had been told
that this syltem had great tendency to
promote infan, manufactures, that it it
did nothing ellie but induce the habi, of
providing for our own wants by our own
means. it would be blsiling How Of
ten had this cor federation been enforced
And yet those who understood the syltem
did noe heGrate TO tell the people, that the
moment the policy of the government re
quired it, the manufactures would be sac
1i6ced with as little heiitation as the mer-
chants had been that the saaae unfpar
ing hand would proltrate both--.hat the
manufacturers well as merchants would
be suffered to fall without remorfe and
and without regret Something had indeed
been said in the meiiage 10 regard to dou-
BILE duties, which were to guard the man
ufac,urcs from .oss Mr. w said he ad
monilhed every man in the nation not to
be taken in by this. The double duties
would not be continueo. The proper
measure would doubtless be regular
tariff of duties on all articles, On coffee,
tea, and other mechanics, in order to en-
courage the manufacture of woolens, &c
The moment the purpofe of afordine
revenue no longer equired them, the
double dutics would be abolished, he re-
peated. What was the duty of a govern
1nent in refpcct TO its policy That it
should BE- regular, not variable. With
respect to manufactures, MIR. w.
thought it necessary to speak with sone
precifon. He was an enemy to rearing
manufactures or any other intereit in a
hct bed /; he would not legiate too
Yafl,ly in relation to them All manu-
features compatible with the interest Of
the country ought TO be foitered but
for one, ne never wiihed to see Shef
field or Birmingham in this country
He spoke of the evils of extenGve man.
ufactories, &c. and too populous towns
He wilhed TO let the different purfuits of
society take their own courie, and not TO
give executive bounties or preferences to
one over another. / he true spirit OF the
contribution did not confer the power OH
government to change the habits of
whole sections of the country, but to
grant protection to all sections OF 1t
to pursue their own avocations, which
ought to be encouraged but not forced
He hoped on this, as on other points,