Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-05-29

In the process of this experimental legislation,
mistakes, some OF them of grave character, and
of alarming consequences, have more than once
been made During the adminiSi ration OF the first
| President, an excise upon ardent Spirits arti.
Gle which, to the mind of the moralist, and to the
| heart of the Christian, presents subject,
| above all others, suited tc heavy, to burden
some, If not TO prohihitory taxation, found in
| practice so I'LL ad@pcd TO bear the burden of
| am extremely moderate duty, that the attempt to
| raise one kndlcd in ono portion of the Union the
| flame of two successive rcbclionS, while, through.
ont all the other States 1T was submitted to almost
without murnUr.
| At later date and during the administrations Of
| Mr. Jefferson and of Mr.. Madison, Il restrictive
| system adopted Cor the common defence, against
| the bcgcrcut hos'ilitcs of the contcnding Euro
| pcan Powers, found to operate with peculiar
| severity ON the Northern and Eastern section of
the Union; and there arose spirit of extreme dis
| content at tho system OF government then pursued
which being further cNasprratcd by the subsequent
| War, provoked the people in that quarter OF the
country, till some of them were almost ready to
rcnouncc their conncxon with the Union.
The War terminated, but the restrictive system
which had preceded it, and the necessities with
which the War itself attended, had created
and ioStercd and more extensive manufuc.
turing interest than had before existed. The in
! vcn,ivo ingenuity Of few natives OF the British
| Islands, awaiting itself not only of their own disco
verics, hut of those contcmporaneously made in
other parts of the civilized world, and applying
| them to the exercise of the mechanic arts, had
placed Great Britain AT the head Of the manuiactu
ring nations OF modern times, and by that symps
thy which circuatos through all the veins and ar.
tcres of national power had made her also at the
same timo the first and greatest Of commercial
nations. Such was the multiplication of physical
power by the agency of machinery, that, at the
period TO which ausIon is now made the mechan-
zeal inventions then in use ia Great Britain were
estimated equivalent to the manual labor of two
hundred millions of people. Thus, producing
more and at less cost than her ncighbors and rivals
of the many articles which contribute to The com
fort and enjoyment of man, she was enabled in a
great measure TO command the markets of the
world and connecting with these advantages Il
steady system of commercial policy, not only
selfish and monopolizng, but, as explicitly avoNed
in the parliamentary speeches of Mr.. Huskission
armed with permanent, unrcenting, prcmeditatcd
hostility against tho commerce, navigation and
| manufactures of other nations her rivals and COM
pcitors, she had succeeded in rendering them all
tributary TO her industry, and in small degree
dependent upon her power.
OF this hostility, and of this depeudancc the
People of the United States had shared more than
the inhabitants Of any other portion of the globe
| From the time when they had shaken off their CO.
loHiat dependence, they had become in the eyes of
| their Stcp-mothcr the most hated of her rivals
| The imbccty of their confederation left them
without resources of common defence, commercial
ly at her mercy aud the tcndcrcst of her mcrcics
was cruelty IL in the instinct OF self pr2scr-
walton from this yawning ruin that the Ccnstit,l-
ton of the United States had originated, and il
was relief from the pressure OF that iron hand
that the very first Acts of the Congress of the
Unlscd States were provisions for the common de-
fence by the protection n domestic nmfactures.
The protection, with regard to most import
| ant article of domestic industry, that of shin
| building, was immediate and effective. Your sta
tStlcal writers, Soybcrt and Ptin tell you that it
operated like cnchantmcnt. Providence, az if TO
reward with instant success the memorable exam
| pie given by the American People to all the ma.
lions of the earth, of constituting themselves, by
pcaccabc and social compact, founded on the basis
| OF human rights, one contcderatcd People, seemed
| 10 adapt the general history of the world in the
most signal manner to the organization of the
American Government The of the French
Revolution, Immediate succeeding, gave rcdoubled
efficacy to TIC encouragement afforded by our new
institutions 10 Our shipping and navigation
| They opened at the same time ncW avenues 10 our
| commerce. The colonial monopolics both OF
France and Britain cvcrrulcd by thc para
mount interest of their bclligcrcnt condition The
ports of their tropical islands were burst open TO
our ships and our trades, by powers beyond their
control We became the carriers of France be-
cnusc her commercial flag banished from the
ocean by the naval supremacy of the British pow
cr VIC became often the carriers of Bri;a = herself
interested TO trade with her enemy through the
medium OF Il neutral flag.
The commercial hostility of Great Britain was,
however, exercised against i'll war no less than
in peace. She began the of 1888 by inter
dieting all neutral commerce with her enemy. She
Tor the support of the life of man, to be included
| ia the list of articles, contraband of war. She I'M
dcrlook to exclude us from all commercial inter
course with the colonies of her enemies because
we were sometimes excluded from them in the time
OF peace; butt when she took those colonies she
was constrained to admit into them herself and
she was reduced 10 the necessity of inviting our
people into her own colonies, sometimes in viola
| ton of our own laws, prohbitory of the trade In
the midst of all this political chcancrv and all
these VeXdtIOuS crossings, larTc a of c
commerce and navigation of the world was by the
irresistible course of events, thrown into our hands
that all the floating capital of wealth was turn
ed into the channels Of commerce, and scarcely a.
ny manufacturing establishments were Attended
until continual series of aggressions, and at last
an undsguisCd attempt to annihilatc our commerce.
and to cngross even that with her enemies to her
self, upon the ruins of all neutral nayiuation dis
closed on her part the deliberate purpose of forcing
us INTO the war, either in league with herself or as
! her enemy. In proportion as it became apparcnt
that our neutrality must finally yield to the ncccs
SIZES OF Seli-delencc, the attention OF our people
was directed to the necessity of forming among
ourselves manufacturing establishments to furnish
supplies of the articles most Indispensable TO the
comforts of life, and which We had been accusiom
ed to receive by importation chiefly from the work
shops of Great Britain The injustice of belize
rent practices and prctcnsons in proportion as they
became grIcvous and lntOerabIo, threw us back
upon our own resources, gave rise to Il succession
o! measures restrictive Of our own commerce. as
well as OF that with which we were contcndnr
and induced a conflict which finally frettcd into
open war In this state of thir s it was that our
dependence upon the MANUFACTURED productions of
our enemies was most senaiby and most extensive
ly felt. Than twas that the conviction became
general, that domestic manufactures, of all the ar
tIcIes essential TO the comfort OF human life were
among the primary elements Of national indcpcn.
dcncc. Let 1T be observed, that this restrictive svs
tenn, throughout, and the in which they tcrlni
mated, were prc-cmiucutlv Southern measures 'Tbc