Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1831-02-24
urnGE HUGER,s SPEECH.

x,,.,r,,cf f,ou, The Hon d. f.. Huger's Speech de-
Erered ia the House u Representatives. y S0"A
Caroline IN DecemJer, 1850.
IS Cir 7 have not been mistaken in the views
h,ya presented Of the incidental effects oil inc Ia
';T acts. we have not sufficient cause 70 sa1c''"n
ira constitutional measures: we uo not
consume our Feticw citizens beyond
The Potomac. and the consumers pay the duty;
the manufacturer is encouraged at the common
expenses all the consumers in the United States;
and such of the consumers as live South of the
. Potomac have only cause to complain, because
thew have not a neighbOrhood market. do not
deny, | cannot be blind to the probable effects OF
this hated system on our commences perSevered
in. and EXTENDED; our direct trade with the pur-
chasers of our great staples, must &c materially
embarrassed if not entirely destroyed; 1t is to tins
effect look with most apprehension, but this is
remote and uncertain consequence. Congress
NAV not persevere-I hope they will not-our APP
prchensions may be groundess-the mercantile
spirit Of our people Is enterprising, new channels
for commerce may be discovered. AT all events,
it will be time enough when experience shall have
confirmed our fears. when commerce shall be seen
l,,on;sh. inerpose the so,e eight of the at".to
=, risk that government which has hitherto been
regarded As source of blessings to us all, and has
received the applause and admiration OF the civil
lied world.
Even when IN the hands Of Southern men, our
sectional interests we're yielded to the general
good. The valley of the Mississippi was acquir-
Ell at the common expense for the general good.
and vet to this we owe the depre ntlon OF our lands
and The reduced price OF our cotton. 10 this mea-
sure we not onlv submitted, but were It's most yea
Ions supporters aud were II to do again, we should
apnroye the measure, from its military and poiti-
cal importance to the West; and Ut Is to South
srn In Carolina statesmen. we owe the exhaust
mo system of internal improvement. But when,
or where. did Carolina ever SHRINK from uhequai
burtbens. for the general good: when mas she
ever asked one favour In return: her SOIL GEARS
M ;mnrcss of the nations hand, her shores know
80 ouard hat her own Palmetto; millions have been
soS,ndered on the WAYS of others. and yet our
ChorIeston knows not, feels not, the benefits OF
,,co,,mon defence" 1t has been the pride OF
this State TO be generous and national; her Repre-
scntatiyes have never calculated the profits ct Of
fee: thew have been the devotees OF Honour, at
the altar of Patriotism. And shall we now alter
u,r course? Shall we plan new voyage. and
calculate the profit and loss Of being honorable,
generous and rationale Sir, know the world
i becoming more and more mercantile; am a.
ware il is thought, that the march OF mind will
stop nothing short OF mathematical precision; but
n,nst be permitted yet to doubt the propriety of
ar,,l.t;oe the honor Of South Carolina by the rule
IS ,hree. of exchanging Washington's legacy for
y lsdoer. or of reducing patriotism into dollars
and cents. NAV be wrong, Sir, very wrong,
in the estimation of such as have no country, who
are floating in the political hemisphere as stars
deprived Of their centrpetal force-out SIR can
...,,, can the members Of the committee, can the
80 IS those her ole men, who, side BY side with
W"sS;rgton and Greene, fought and conquered
- tho canse Of America-can they calculate the
h ~ -. Of this Unioui Can they calculate the
S,o"d which their fathers shed at Brandywine and
P,G"c glory acquired at Yorktown and
ru"n,onS Can they weigh this. all this. against
four cents yard on woollens? If they can; we
have lost the most valuable part OF our inherl-
tance. ;.Io,, o.
It is to be regretted that human wisdom cannot