Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-07-02

in this House, or read out oil NJ, soin nh
| met with no attempt to ~cnalyze and demonstrate ~
peccssorv tendency to increase the national weai'h'
lite n,o4,,s enerard. Instead OF TINS, Scmie'oe"
iinvariaLlv appeal 10 what they choose u ue"o"'-
nate facts, OF e~ramptes, which either q" NOT eN's''
or which ifadmit,cd, would depend entirety on inc
general principles by which they IN eNhai"eu'
whether they support or overthrow them afsn'hen'.
Their 4, voritc example, and ono WATCH The Speaker
has made the .heme of n considerable part Oh ms
spcec,,, (Which was characterized by ms usual eio-
auencc,) IS ;ha, of England. But the most cni'gh-
,eued men IN England, 10th theoretical and prac-
| teal. are united in the opinion that she mas pccoEas
wealthy, no, b. the restrictive system, but IN spite
| oe homecoming Il weight Of authority against
! This system, tina, it would be more chiVaircuS than
logical even Tor the Speaker TO defy. England owes
her prosperity To her great moral ana natural al
vantascs,-to the genius and enterprise OF her pco-
,lr,- her comparnsivciy free institu;ious-her in
| sulir pcsi,ion-lurl NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., &c. If
she owes it tn her restrictive system, let 1t be shcwn
how it has operated. This cannot be done. Cen
tlcmcn must first s,cw that the causes l have emu
! mcrated, OH the authority above alluded to, either,
have had no effect at all or they must assign to
them the precise g~uGaium of effect they have pro-
drced and then, if any yet remain unaccounted
for, they still have the task OF proving that it is
owing 10 the restrictive system. But political c.
economy, though admitting of a grcet degree CT GER
taimty in its results, Is not exactly like the science
Of experimental philosophy. whore, by successfully
abstracting the circumstances which attend n pho
nomenon. you may, by the iniuctive process, deter
mine which of them stands in the relation with il
of cause to effect ; ana 1 fancy it will puzzle any
political metaphysician however great an adept
he may he III the theory Of catsntion, to trace the
necessary sequence of the wealth of England to her
restrictive policy.
The honorable Speaker had ascribed the general
distress which pervadcd the country to the absence
of this system-or in other words, to the absence of
taSa.iDu fur thulrh hr had Is fined tho tariff m IN,
4 tax on foreign industry, it was TO all intents
and purposes Il tax on domestic consumption.
There was something new in the Speakers doctrine.
He had often heard ofthc distress and ruin pro-
duccd by taxation, but had never known them to
be accustomed by the absence oft. But there were
much more familiar phenomena than tina, of distress,
Or indeed, any thing could be more familiar.) OH
the causes of which very knowing persons differed.
As Inc was ascending the marble staircase Of the
Senate the other day, he heard Il member ask Il
messenger what was the cause of the water with
which the steps were covered. The messenger re-
piled, that 1.-The stones were q s1ceateng." A che
mist, (and he believed the member was n very able
onc-) would probably have aScribed it to the con-
dcnsation Of the moisture III the atmosphere. The
Speaker aud himself agreed as 10 the existence of
distrcsS-!t Unfortunately did not admit of dispute {:
put he (Air. G. adopted the vulgar theory, and as
cribed 1t 10 taxa'ion-to 81 treGting,"-of the
a5ricuiunists; while the Speaker, by a refined
chcmicn- poiitico-economical theory, emdeavoured
.na.. ~ '' "t '"N''ior'
,non,tnI = n,nm S"an.Ss I"' in 80
,;r.,nnn ,,n;onI,.r w. ~ US
f%actures.
There is, said Mr.. G. no political economist, in
England, VINO ascribcs her wealth to this SYSTEM
there ;S M ,oIit;cal eroror;s, ,nr ur.a nm.
epu,ation.-nou who's, w,itings will ho ro,s e.
years hence, who now supports tho restrictive poll
cy. However they may differ oil some of the more
CIV of this nojicv. ,hcv orr ,n,n;,,o,s 7, :. .a;,
ia endc,vo, tn discrcd;, ,bo;, o,;n;o,, -.
them with helm, ,heora,ic,I NJ, 49,
DISTINGUISHED have hacr ,r,r,;..I ,,a - :"
the active business of lifr.-haye moved ,rc;r ,hco.
ries to be sunnorted Inv nr;rcin,cs ond fon,I ,ha',
TO pe consistent with practice. Pm, ,o nort,o,a,
contend that the theories of those yyho boSc ,.,i,,ar
on a science which is sus-an,ible of norn co.,,in,,
than any other branch OF noli,;co, rJ,;I,sonI,, ~
TO be renounced. while those of o,I,., nor,;rr. 49,:
tiers are TO be approved aud recaiyed? NO ws
must renouncc Them all together. we mn.t eos
tend that human reason has occomnlishcd n,,h;nr
that after aces of na;n;ul Ioborr ,,d ;n.us,:.'
ton nothing bas b,en nroveJ tibet cye,, IT,
vet uncertain I've must, i'm sio,,. bocon1c ,.iro,
sal sceptics. As firm however as his co,Gdenco
was in The conclusions of the roliticaI econn,n;s,s
Mr.. G.. said If one SINGLE axamnIe could hn ,dJ,oo1
of the adenuacv of this svs,en, ~ ,cco,,nl;,h -
promised ends, either AZ home or .hro,J l., ,,;rh,
be induced at least 10 hesitate, and re-eyaminc tLa
foundations of his opinion. Gent emcn had, indeed.
appealed frequently to an example.-,h,, of coarse
cottons and they had spoken OF it with so triu,n-
pi'an' ar all that one would suppose it was undo
niable and conclusive. But v,aS ,,;s ro,rr,no.
ample? Did it slew what was co,,trndcd for-,k.,
the advances made by the consumers in order -
bring manufactures to matrritv. were suhscnmcu,in
repaid to them BY their GETTING the dor,es,ic ,r,i
Gle cheaper than the foreign? This brouohi ON FIN.
| question of direct indemnity. If ,lis inL.n,:,.
| did nO{ axict -, tho c,e of -,
in no other. Ia-oTdcr te determine whc,ter il ex-
lists OF not, let us suppose a case. A man is occ,s-