The Arkansas advocate., 1831-01-05

His surely cannot Dc tic case, thls indispensable power, th,ls surrendered by the states, Inust 5e within the scope of tie authority on the slbieet exp-ess!v dc legated to Congress.
 in this conciusion, am confirmed, IS well by the opinions of President Y ash.
 ngton, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, who have each repeatedly recommended the essefossc uf tiTis right under tire Con stitutlon, as by the uniform practice oi Congress, the continued aequieseence of the states, and the general understanding Of tie people.
 The difficulties of more expedient ad- 1nstment of the present tariff, altho' great, are far from being insnrmoantabie. Some are unwilling to improve any of its parts, because they would destroy the whole; others fear to touch the objectionabep parts, lest these they approve should be jeopar- di2ed. | am persuaded that the advocates Of tiiese conflicting views do injustice to the American people, and to their repre- sentatives. The general interest Is the interest off each: and my confidence IS en- tire, that, to ensure the adoption Of such qualifications of the tariff as the general interest requires, 1t Is only necessary that that interest should be understood.
 Ii is an infrmity Of our nature to min gle OUT interests and prejudiees with the operation of our reasoning powers, and attribute to the objects of our likes and dislikes, qualities they do not possess, and effects they cannot produce. The eff fects of the present tariff are doubtless O. verrated, both in its evils and it's advanta- ges. By one class Of reasoners, the re- lssi ,f tnr, turai products, is ascribed wholly to ifs in- fluence, and by another, the reduced price of manufactured articles. The probabiIi- ty Is, that neither opinion approaches the truth, and that both are indaeed by that influence of interest and prejudiees to which l have referred. The decrease oi prices extends throughout the commercial V world, mbracing not only the raw mate rial and the manufactured article, but pro- visions and lands. The cause must there- fore. be deeper and more peryading than the Tariff of the U. States. 1t may. in d measure, be attributable to the increased value of the precious metals, produced hy adiminution of the supply. and an increase in tue demand while commerce has ra- pldly extended itself, and population has augmented. The supply of gold and sill yer, the general medium of exchange, has been greatly interrupted by civil conyul- slons Tn the countries from which they are principally drawn. A part of the effect too, IS doubtless owing to an increase ot operatives and improvements in machine ry But, on the whole, it Is questionable whether the reduc,ioni the price of lands produce, and manufactures has beengreat- CT than the appreciation of the standard ol value.
 While the chief object of duties should be revenue, they may be so adjusted as to encourage manufactures. In this adjust 1 Dent, however, ii is the duty Of tife tso- vernment to be guided by the general good. Objects ef national importance a= lone ought to be protected: of these, the productions Of our soil, our mines, and our workshops, essential to national defence, occupy tue first rank. Whatever other species of domestic industry, having the importance to which have referred, may be expected, after temporary protection, to compete with foreign labor on equal terms, merits the same attention in sub- ordinate degree.
 The present Tariff taxes sorne of the comforts of life unnecessarily higb 1t un- dertakes to protect interests too local and minute to justify general exaction and It alsoattempts to force some kinds ofman- ufactures for whichthe country is not ripe. Much relief will be derived, in some of these respects, from the measures, of our last session.
 The best, as well as fairest mode of de- teTmnlng whether, from any just consider ations, particular interest ought 10 re- ceive protection, would be to submit the question singly for deiiberation. If, after due examination of its merits, unconnect- ed with extraneous deratons-such as desire to sustain general system. or to purchase support for a different inter- est--it should enlist in it's favor majority of the representatives ofthe people, there can be little danger of wrong or injury in adjusting the tariff with reference to it's protective effect. If this obviously just principle were honestly adhered to, tine branches of industry which deserve pro- lection would be saved from the prejudice excited against them, when that protection forms part of a system by which portions Of the country feel, or conceive themselves to be, oppressed. What is incalcuiably more important, the vital principle of our system-that principle which requires ac- quiescence in the will of the majority would be secure from the discredit and danger to which it IS exposed by the acts of majorities, founded, not on identity of conviction, but 60 cont nations of small minorities, entered into for the purpose of mutual assistance in measures, which. resting solely on their own merits, cauld never be carried.
 am well aware that this is subject of so much delIcacy, on account of the cx- tended interests 1t involves, as to require that tshhould be touched with the utmost caution; and that, while an abandonment of the policy in which 1t originated. a pol