The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-07-26

operations 10 make her the great repository Of the
PIeelous lneals and 70 give her all IRE advantages
most egiegiousIy disappointed. She will be more
and more The head quarters Of brokers and money
obbers who will exercise over The banks OF The rest
Of the county, especially the South and Southwest
The most iyrannlcilssay. Whenever |, shah please
them 10 drain those banks (wiose notes will be at
perpetual discount in New York; they will do il
without impeachment and without Tenlor>e. Banking
will be rendered more easy at thai great centre q
commerce, IN proportion as i will become more DIFF
lcult elsewhere; Us paper will be every where IN
demand al a premium, end lis supremacy Of credits
be established more firmly the spccis Iasas h?n IL
ever has been ON the paper system Il is possible,
indeed nay, think certain, that The aggregate
amount OF our commerce would be diminished by
The new plan New York would not, perhaps, ac-
qure the same absnlnte grandeur end prosperity I'M
der II, she would attain TO- IL things were i 10
take their natural course but her Tei0firc import
ance, so far from being impaired, would be- In my
opinion, greatly increased. Look at The growth Of
Harse. What is become Of the commerce, once SO
considerable, Of Bordeaux, Nantes, LOrenf, Ro-
ehelle &e.7 Why Is Il all gone to a city OF yester-
day, and that too in country where commerce is so
lilile understood, that It's metallic cprrcLcy alone
amounts 10 GOO millions of dollars; -ourls of
which are absolutely thrown away7 Why has The
q hard money" system al France had not The least
effect in preventing this Capitalization Of all The
foreign trade OF that great nation, with ITS diversified
interests Of norlh and south And If il has not pre-
vented Il there, why should Il do so here7
repca, IL; The absolute prosperity Of New York
may be impaired, by The Sub Treasury scheme, but
not her yelatire importance. We shall, by with
drawing, In chnrlish spri', from the uses OF com
merce, the deposits Of public money levied com
mercc, diminish the aggregate trade of the country
some fifteen or twenty millions year. CVi Bono?
That is n question which others must answer,-Ia am
totally unable 10 dosobut IL do not know who is 10
gain think II very clear who is TO lose BY IT, Have
you forgotten, sir h. W we, or rather you and your
noitcnl friends n Snnth n Inn nd khu
The effects of the arif, 10 show that producers
merely, We paid the whole amount of the duties
levied on the commodities sent hher by foreigners
in exchange for our crors? YOU check (Said you)
and in proportion as you check, iinporiaiions, you
discourage and diminish explorations: our interests
demand the freesi and most extended commerce; the
principal product of soil BE- grow in almost
unlimited quantities. over vast portion Of the eahs
Suriace-the only chance Of maintaining prices, as
products on increases so enormously Is 10 remove all
impedimeniS in The way OF consumption, &c. |
thought them, and think now, that you pushed ycur
notions upon this subject TO great exaggeraion, but
that there was some truth in them is indispulabl Bile.
But how, j would ask, was he argument better then,
Than it is now1 Iftaxing imports 10 The amount OF
forty or foryfve per cent. was oppressive 10 our
agriculture, when you helped commerce by lending
TO II The very revenue levied upon it, why should not
average duties Of from twenty TO thirty per cent do
at least as much harm when in addition 10 The direct
loss by the tax MS before you 10 lose all the trade
formerly carried on, upon The Government deposits,
to the whole extent If the acreage Of those deposits
and the bank accommodations founded upon them,
amounting probably TO as much more We COM
planned bitterly al time, Of the payment of duties
in cash, rather protested vehemeny against II, rs
an aggra walton of the protective principle. Why
is payment moi only in cash, but in specie (Which,
pace iantt riri Mr.. Wright must not expect as TO
confound because he does less hardship now You
will remark that the withdrawal of large amount
Of capital from commerce which the producers OF
such an article as cotton have every motive TO ex:
tend us much as possible, must not be coniuunded
with the evils OF a contraction IN The currency in
England or a deranccd currency at home another
probable effect as we have seen, of this dangerous
policy. They are perfectly distinct, and nee shall
suffer from both. beg you 10 reflect, with The Sc
robustness it deserves this important view Of the
case and then 10 say whether any advantage which
possibly accrue to the South from the withdrawal
Of the Government credits is at all likely 10 com
pensae for positive diminuiion of its commerce 10
such an amount, accompanied with disoIdered or
sined currency.
How, then, Is the projected system to bring about
that commercial emancipation Of the South which has
been so confidently promised US as ono Of its fruits
Will 1t repeal the navigation act VIII II eqnalze the
burdens and disbursements Of the federal Government
viii it give TO the merchant residing in Charleston any
facility for importation which he does not possess
VIII it take away from the merchant residing at New
York. his right, citizen Of the United States, TO
shsh house in any part Of the southern country for
the purposes Of commerce. with all the advantages Of
~
absentcesm, fatal to all pursuits Of industry
mutation Of capital among Us, except in agriculture
absenicsis, not, IN Ireland OF the rich ard the
profgae, but Ga much worse) that Of the sborug and
economical classes You know that il has been more
and more growing into established system, that
tradesmen Of all sorts, visit periodically, during the
winter and spring, in quest Of employ without
intention Of spending upon soil the wealth which
they ultimately draw from IT, The South has been, for
many years past devoting lis whole labor and capital
,lfhr. h,.h n,. 1,l
buy Of strangers almost every commodity hut pro-
duce, paying for what she bought in her great staple
commodities only The middle classes Of society -
those classes which constitute its bulk aud body. its
strength and its activity IN other counres-havc been
gradually disappearing. That this natural effect
OF the division Of labor under system Of free trade in
country like this united under the same Government,
do no, deny do doubt that the causes will.
to certain extent continue TO produce The effect
hereafter unless by violation OF the principles
that govern the distribution of capital and labor when
left TO take their own course protection be given 10 do
nestle industry among us. Were Charleston the seat
of an independent Goycrnment-wcrc preference given
10 merchants residing there and ships sailing from
her port-were oil the money drawn from the south by
taxation, returned to in expenditures for its defence
and government should Immediately that city a
hourshing commercial emporium. The planter il is
probable, would have to pay little more dearly for all
the commodities which his income would be expend
ed but he would be compensated for this inequality Of
taxation by the general prosperity OF the country But
nothing short OF disunion OF The staies will prevent
New York from engrossing the far greater part Of the
import trade of the whole country That city is in
some sort the creature Of the union with all her i'm
meusc natural advantages, she could have absorbed
as she has donc the business not only Of Charleston,
but Of Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities but that
she thus grew into the commercial emporium of great
and undivided people. do not mean that Government
patronage any shape. that government credits 60
vernmcnt disbursements, have done all this for her
BY 10 means The national bank at Philadelphia
there have been navy yards Notifications, custom
III ~; nf F.J.