Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1820-05-23

| advantages, natural, moral, and political,
will have no small influence in shaping
the course OF other nations. Ii our sys-
TEN, IN a time OF profound peace, and
when smiling Plenty exhausts her cornu-
| copie over the land, continue 10 produce
harvest of distress, impoverishmeni,a and
dccay-ii by our impolcy we inflici as
| much suffering on Ourselves, as arbitra-
! ~ rulers do on their subjects: wherein lie
| the superior advantages OF free govern
| uent
| have already more than once ha-
| zarded an assertion, which now repeat,
that there Is no instance 10 he found for
Two hundred years, III any European ma
ton, except Portugal, of so PERCEPTIONS
| a descent from ii towering state OF happi-
| ness and prosperity, TO an abyss Of dis
tTess, embarrassment, want OF encourage
| ment for capital, ,alenisand industry, and
| failure of revenue, az we exhibit. TO
characterize il correctly, shall avail my
self OF The strong, but appropriate DIES
cripilGn of HE secretary OF the treasury
i'll his recent report on the state of the
| currency. But fer examples hare Oru'-
red of distress so Seuere, as Mat uhich has
| been erhitited IN the United States"
The case of Portugal is reserved for
separate essay.
Unfortunately in most of the discuss
sions on The proposed modification Ut The
| tariff. the views have been wholly see
tionat: and am sorry 10 say that these
have been Tie pEedominating views III the
opposition to tue measure. Ii has been
incorrectly assumed 10 I've a question Of
sacrificing the interests of agriculture
and commerce 10 those of manufactures.
Ii is scarcely possible 10 conceive Of a
pre Tor 'Ila ,Ix,
national one,a any that ever came before
legislature. The debiiiaied aud decay
ing state OF the nation bears strong ties.
ilmony to this truth. The great leading
manufactures al cotton, wool aud iron
have been crippled and maimed-and the
pernlclous effects are felt through every
fibre OF the frame of tie community.
The head and the heart might as well
he expected not To experience the effects
OF The ampufaIion of the legs or arms, as
the nation not TO feel impo, erisIment and
decay, when ii has paralized and DIES
troyed The protective industry OF so large
| portion OF its citizens. The instructive
fable of The Belly and The members has
been Wholly lost upon our statesmen.
shall undertake 10 prove thai there is
harmony of interests between the three
great neutrality-suspicious. manufactures,
OF the distress that pervades The land, has
arisen from the operation Of IL system
which assumes AN hostility between them,
aud from the sacrifice of the manuiac"
turers 10 the supposed interests of the
other two classes.
But, yoH say the farmers and planters
suffer equally with the manula Ciurers.-
This | utterly deDy.-But for the present,
l viii for The sake of argument admit the
position, III lis utmost latitude and de-
mand Why do they suffer?
They have the exclusive supply Of the
rest Of The nation with nineteen twenticths
OF all the fruits of the earth which they
consume; and if they sell their produce
cheap, they IN return buy according TO the
lauded maxim of Adam Smith every arii
iicle thty want at rates proportonably
low. What more can they desire why
then do they suffer! Because cutting
OF ihroais is out of fashion in Europe,
and the legions Of mercenary soldiers,
who riotously wasted harvesis, have
turned their swords into plough shares,
and raised harVests Instead OF mere
consumers, they have become producers;
and because. moreover. the nations In that
quarter Of the glebe have become Tired
OF paying us ten, twelve and fourteen dol
lars per barrel for our fourteen, twelve
or fourteen cents per lib. for our tobacco
and thirty cents for cur cotion-and lave
brought the prices nearly TO the level al
which they stood previous 10 the wars
OF the French Revolution.
Now, Messrs. Editors, do weigh this
matter soberly, and answer me, is this
so very hard a case Can ii for mo-
ment be put in comparison with that of
the manufacturers
OF the latter class, large proportion
have been reduced 10 bankruptcy, and
their families TO state Of dependence. -
Their capitals, To The amount of millions,
have been siroyed-My riads of their
Journeymen, whose sole property was in
the labor of their bands, are driven TO
idleDess aud exposed TO crime. And
wheRce has this calamitous state Of things
arisen ( Not because they are shut out
OF foreign maIkets--but because their
agricultural brethren employ the money
paid Them for food, To purchase clothing
aud other articles manufactured in China,
Hindostan, Great Britain, France and
Germany, instead of recipTocating The
support they receive from the manufac-
tuTers.
! One word more on the subject Of the
comparative distresses of the two classes,
TO which earnestly request your attcn-
ton. There IL not farmer IN The ma
ton, WHO is in want of the necessaries
OF liie--who, unless burdened with debts
through imprudence is in danger of bank
ruPtcy-who cannot sell his produce al
a saving price, WHO cannot, even at The
present low prices, make some advances
IN presperiiy-nor who cannot find en-
ploymeni, so as 10 support his family.
An awful contrast presents itself when
we cast our eyes on The manufacturers.
| There are thousands of Them ilrn1 phnmI