Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1815-11-29

not . soon settle to manufactures" and.
therefore, woollens will be wanted from
England to supply the place of those
which were formerly made abroad. Does
your Lordship think that we shall thresh
the French into the wearing of our wool
| lens And, do you think, that the ear
h'aaasting of the nations of Europe, that is
70 say, the making of them poor, will tend
10 make them better customers than former
ly! You should not think so, seeing that
you tell your hearers, that the ruin of the
farmer produces that of the tradesman.
! seeing that the former is, the customer of
the latter. Observation had enabled YOU
to reason correctly enough upon what was
passing just under your nose; but, you ap-
pear not to have been able sufficiently to
enlarge your mnd to extend that same rea-
soning to larger scale.
Besides, supposing your notion of the
suspension of continental manufactures to
be correct, does not that notion make di-
rectly against your main hope, namely, an
increase IN the price of wool at home If
those manufactures were to be wholly sus-
pended, the ioiiote Of the wool of the con-
tment must come here and, would that
tend to enhance the price of wool in Eng
land Thus it ever is with mind incapa-
bic of enlarged views. 1t catches hold of
detached ideas it puts them forth one at a
time without combination !; it gets entan-
gled III confusion and absurdity.
But, your Lordship appears to me to be
| completely III error, even as to the devas-
tatmg effects of war and invasion. The
injuries OF invasion are great, very great I;
| but, as has been proved by numerous ex-
| amPles, these injuries are seldom of listing
duration. Armies pilage, rob, violate,
murder but, in country of any conside-
rable extent and population, they can act
ually commit these violences only on a
comparatively small part of the property
and persons. In the inyasions of Napo-
leon he always took care, not only to pro-
test, but to cherish and promote, every sci
ence and every art. He hoped to remain
master OF the greater part of his conquests,
| and, therefore, he every where favoured
the. pursuits of industry. The agriculture
! and manufactures of Germany suffered but
little from his irruptions. He dispersed
indeed, but he did not DESTROY, the flock of
Spain. While he lefta sufIiciency behind.
his INVASION stocked many other countries
| III Europe with fine wOolled sheep: and. as
l shall by and by show you, the United
States OF America. The two staple com
modlties, In all countries, are, man and the
| earth. From these all the rest arise
Numbers are killed in wars but what are
two or three millions, and that is beyond
all computation, when compared with the
population OF Europe The earth. the eli
| mate, cannot be changed. The character
OF apeople for industry, cannot be changed
very suddenly. Men cannot be made TO
forget what they know. Invading armies
Cypress and often murder /; but. the invad-
ed soonreylVe, uPiess some dead weight on
them be left behind. Belgium. tI.o theatre
OF everlasting wars, conquered and recon
| quered many times in every century, has
always continued to be the most poDulous
and most ilourishirS part of Europe, even
the enyirOns of London not exceDted,-
The United States OF America, invaded by
| Engllsh and German armies In every quar-
ter all their cities and towns alternately
taken formidable division amongst the
people themselves intestine as we'll as
foreign war assailing them at one ard the
same time government without credit
ana without money, not only carried their
point IN war, but as soon as peace return
ed, started at once in q career of prosperity
that astonished the world, and that com
pletcly falSilied all the predictions of those.
who had fortold that feebIeness would be
the consequence of their Independence, a.
mongst which foretelIers your LortIship
occupied a distinguished place.
have not heard it proposed to burn the
several manufactures in France. The
Times and Courier newspapers recon-
mend the murder of a great number of
people applaud the acquisitions imposed
upon the French would have the country
dlsmembered, but, have not heard even
them point out the burning of the manu-
factories, though, perhaps, they look upon
that as understood amongst " The measures
neeessaryto the security Of England. -
But, even this would answer us no profita-
Die purpose. These manufactures would
soon rise up again and, if they did not,
France would be supplied from other
countries than this. Iflrom this, our pay
ment must be in her produce. She would
arise again quickly in one way or another !;
and, nothing that we can do against her
will have any very durable effect as to her
prosperity, while every day of war is adj
ding to those taxes, which are the real
cause OF depression, of which your Lord
ship complains, and Of which no man living
/ NV - IL