Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1815-11-29
From CObbett's Register, Aug. 90,
LETTER u-To LoRD sHEFFIELp


LETTER Ito LORD SHEFFIELD.
Intended to shotc, that his Lordship's
hopes Of a more .jiomishiag trade, IN
consequence of the decastations of other
countries, are .faHacioas.
My LORD-After expressing your dis-
appointment that prosperity had not re-
turned to the wool-trade in consequence
of the g fdihrreo ofthe American embargo
and flo't-inportatioa laws, and the cessa-
tioa of the" continental systeng'' of Napo-
leon; after skipping over nearly three
years of WAR with America, a strange skip
on the part of a person who became known
to the literary world by his writings on A.
merlcan navigation and commerce after
ascribing the low price of wool and other
produce here, and the consequent depres-
sion OF the farmer, to the importation of
produce from abroad, grown ON untaxed
and untythed lands; after exhorting the
landlords and farmers to apply for a LAW
to make foreign wool pay duty, or, in o.
Their words to make foreign wool higher
priced In England, instead Of exhortas
them to apply for the abolition of tythes
and the reduction OF taxes, which the pre-
misses seemed to point to US as the only ra.
tlonal conclusion; after all this. your
Lordship comes to ne1o grounds of hope ;
you discover, in the fall Of Napoleon and
IN the present state of foreign nations,
sufficient ground to expect an extarordi
nary demand for wool.'
The passage, alluded to, is as follows /:
SsBut should add, that there is sufficient
ground to eIpect an extraordinary de-
atand for 1oooL in consequence of the com.
plete subiugation Of those who have so long
disturbed the world and deranged its com.
Inerce. France, and the other countries
z0htcb hare been ouerTua by desoIating ar
mics, are exhausted, and will not imnedi-
ately re-estabish their former occupations.
and settle to manufactures it is therefore
most probable there will be very unusual
demand for those of woOllen, not only
from the countries alluded to, but also for
those countries which used to be spppLied
from those parts 1chich haze been raUdged
by7odr."
Whether it discover any great degree of
benevolence, and whether it be wise in an
Englishman, thus to describe the hone Of
our prosperity as built on the devastation
and misery produced in other countries by
wars, by ilivasions, of which it is well
known that we even boast of having been.
by the means Of our money! the urincinaj
cause whether this discovers much beng
violence and wisdom in an Enelishman |
leave others todecide. But, think nv
self able to show, able to convince anv ra-
tional man, that yor Lordship is as much
deceived in your present expectations as
events have proved YOU to have been in
your expectations Of four years EGO.
The extraordinary demand for wool y
which you anticipate, is to arise from the
eatausted state Of other countries. Nov,
my Lord, we will leave .9n,erica aside for
separate observation and then let me ask
you, whether Spain, Saxouy, Silesia, Hol-
land, Sweden, are Tess likely to crow wool
nOio, than they were three gears AFRO p
France never exported wool. Whatever
may be the political evils now to be ex-
pected, is there any reason to suppose.
that the continent Of Europe, settled Ia
peace, will not grow as much wool as it has
grown during its years of war ? What
then, as far as EurOpeis concerned in the
gr0leh Of wool, is to cause an g extraor-
binary demand for our farmers wool
But, the benignant armies have devastat-
ed in such a way, that other nations will