Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-04-13
DOW ES1'1C.

Report of The Committee Of 81 to The Merchants COncen
oa presented Rednssday IF the session Of that body,
by Gen Ro Y. Hagne
The Committee of 81 who were instructed ",o consi
der and report of the proper to De adopted BY
this Convention" beg leave respectfully to report
That they have bestowed upon the subject referred 10
them the attention which its Importance demands -
Time durs permit does lire occasion perhaps
ouire an elaborate examination of the subject in all its
bearings and this the less necessary as the able do
cu,nrnts recently published by The Convention, have
hibsd in thu clrarest light, and demonstrated in thu
most conclusive mannsr, every point which it could be
important for io establish Indeed the whole question
is -inbac in the single propos,on that is the int
rest nd duty Of h- slaveholdng States Of this Union
improve their natural advantages by securing 10 them
selves that portion OF The commerce ni the country which
riphlully belongs 10 them-a proposition, which, if il
b. not self vdrnt derive much support from
pumen, or Illustration. We rest our whole case upon
the fact which is beyond all dispute, that the Southern
aud Suth western States furnish 4ths of the entr
domestic exports Of the Whole Union lille they ppr
but little more than 10Th Of the productions received
from abroad in exchange for these exports has been
shown in the documents published by the Convention
that when The imports OF The w. 5 amounted 10 $3.50
mo- 900 those oil all the Atlantic States South Of the Pc.
t,.nac and he STATES the Gulf OF Mexico, amounted
to only $50 600 600; and while The domestic exports
thr Unl''n amounted TO Sln7 600 the States of the
South md S,uth ives, exported $40 100000.
South Carolina. and Georgia while furnishing exports
to the ex,ent 4 900 900. actually imported less thar
three millions aud haii-The amounts have varied in
different but Tins may he taken as an exempiihca
ton nf The condition of Southern trade.
The mere statement Of these facts, must surely
vince any nnprejudced mind, that this unnatural state
of affairs could only have been brought about by Tn
most powerful and extraordinary CAUSES and that ou
the very Of things, the effect must have been
highly injurious TO the Southern States Without al
tempting to trace all the causes which have had
agency IN producing this result, we will merely advert
to one of the obvious and which is perhaps sn.
Glen, Of itself account for il a|lude TO the
FrDERAI GDyERSNRST
ally in the mode Of LEvYisG and DIsBURsIsG THr
PUBLIC REvESUEs IL instead OF throwing nearly thu
whole of the public burdens, in the shape Of duties
upon those foreign goods which are received almos
exclusively in exchange for the great staples Of tn
South, the revenue had been levied 10 direct taa
(however largely exceeding The wants Of the Govern
mentO the burden would have fallen, al least equally
upon the different portions of the Union But by the
system which was adopted, while The labor and piio
of The South borne down by weight OF taxation
which in instancrs amounted To one half OF III.
whole of the articles received in exchange for thel
productions. the labor and capital of other portions
the Union. substantially exempt from taxation
and even stimulated by enormous bnunties. Nor dn
the evil stop here Under the pretsxt of encouraging
domestic industry" duties on foreign goods were i'm
pnsec to amount greaty r1cesdng The ,canfS ~ M
Government The amounts thus brought into the Tea
sury in Tie Northern Cities and especial
" in New York from wh.nce they were drawn only Il"
be distributed among the military and naval establish
ments at the North; the surplus being finally divided
among pensioners. and Internal improvements in tn,
same quarter and in the West Hundreds of millions
dollars we've thus DRAWN FROM TIE Souri, and expend
ed North of the Potomac; and weath conveyed
from US by steady constantly flowing norhward
i'm current undertaking and irresistible the Gull
stream ITSELF which "knows no rehux With this sys
tenn other influences combined. all having the
object in vie tending produce the general
result On these, time does not permit us TO dwell
j. sufficient for merely to mention the long credits
the auction systematic Capitalization of the exchanges
and the concentration Of The whole patronage power AND
influence Of The Government in favor Of the North,
and especially of city Of New Yok-causes Of them
selves sbundantly sufficient to them those ad
vantagps against which so long struggled in vain
The colsmiies under which the South labored, under
the operation Of this SYSTEM behng 10 that class which
Of the ablest writer's political economy has de-
clared be than barrenness of the soil and the
incpmency of the Henvens:-for if fields fer.
tile and the heavens propous the harvest for those
'.who reaped where they had not sown" Under these
circumstances far from it's being matter of surprise
il was the result almost Of iuvncble necessity that
the commerce Of the South and South west should
be thrown into the hands Of the Northern Merchants
that the exchanges should be centralized al New York
and that We should be rendered rarBurARr OUR
NORTHERN BRETHREN To show, that we have not mis-
taken the character natural effect OF the causes hch
we have me Toned. we will advert to among many
iacs illustrative Of The truth OF our poston-Beore
the introduction Of The protecting duties large and
profitable direct trade actually carried between
the cities Of the South and the ports of Europe by South
Merchants. and in Southern ships For several years
prior Ia 1907 for instance imports into the city Ut
Charleston amounted IL several millions Of dollars
nually From this period, under the operation of the
:'reslrictve system, they gradually dwndled down to
less than half million. From the period, however.
when the American system received fatal blow, and
the Government commenced retracng its steps, back
to the free trade system our imports began TO in.
crease, and have been steadily increasing ever since
thus showing conclusivey, the true sources Of
Southern depression the one hand, and of South.
e,n prosperity on the other.-FREEDox is the very
element of The South, in which " she lives and
moves. and hos her being" Freedom in "oll the pur.
suits of industry is essential to our well being We
look back with surprise the fact that people possess
ed of such vast advantages should have long and
patiently submitted TO state almost of"Colonial Vas
salse and hesitate not 10 say, that the page in our
history which shall record the rise and progress of the
.Amcrfesn System $50 celled0 will be regarded here.