Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1840-09-11

be established. undertake to say that no greater
allacy than this was ever uttered the thing impos-
sible, and for this plain reason The dues which gov
ernment collects come from Individuals each paysfor
himself But tits far otherwise with thedsburscnents
Of government. They do not 60 down to individuals,
and, seeking out the workmen and the aborcrs. pay
TO each his dues. Government pays in large sums to
large contractors and to these they pay gold and silver
But do the gold and silver reach those whom theco
tractor employs On the contrary, the contractors
deal as they see fit with those whom they employ or
WI whom they purchase The Army and the Navy are
fed and clothed by contract, the materials for your
sumptuous house, your fortications, for the
Cumberland Road and for other public works. are all
supplied by contract. Large contractors flock to
but do they carry ii with them to Name Mississippi,
Michigan, or wherever their residence and vocation
may BET No-not dollar but sclngt for depreciat-
ed paper the contractor swells bis previous profits by
prccated bank notes. This is not an imaginary case.
lspcak of what is in proof. A contractor came to
Washington last winter and received draft Of $780,
COO on specie-paying bank in New York. This he
chased wildcat money, with which he paid the pro-
duccr the farmer, the aborer This is the operation
Of specie payments. gives to the government hard
money to the rich contractor hard money, but to the
ly: and yet this system is recommended as especially
favorng the poor man, rather than the rich and Gre
dit s claimed for this administration as the poor mans
friends Let us look little mole nearly at this mat
ter, and sec whom, in TRUTH il does favor. Who are
the rich in this country2 There is very little heredita
ry wealth among us--and large capitals are not nu-
merous But some there are nevertheless, who live
ON Of their money these certainly do not
suffer by tins new doctrines for their revenues are rem
dered more valuable, while the objects of living are re-
duced in value There is the money LENDER, too who
suffers not by the reduction Of prices all around him
Who else are the rich in this country Why the ho-
hn0 a rod y. n
25G0 to S6OoO finds prices falling; but does his salary
fall! On the contrary three fourths of that salary
will now purchase more than the whole of it would
purchase before and he therefore, is not dissatisfied
with this new law.
There is too, another class of our fellow citizens
wealthy men, who have prospored, when nobody else
prospcrs ! mean the owners of Shipping What is
the reason Give me reason The shipping of the
country carries the foreign and domestic tradche
larger vessels being chiefly in the foreign trade Now
why have these been scccessful. I will answer by
an example. live on the seacoast of New-England,
and one Of my nearest neghbors is the largest ship
past year he has made what might suffice for two or
three fortunes, and how has he made it He sends
his ships to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, to take
freights of cotton. This staple whatever the price
abroad, be suffered TO rot at home and there.
fore it is shipped My friend tells his captain to pro-
vision his ship at Natchez for instance where he buys
flour and stores in the deprecated currency of that
region and pays for them BY bill on Boston, which
he sells at 4S per cent. premium. Here at once,
will be seen, he gets his provisions for half price, He
delivers his freight in Europe, and gets paid for in
good money, The dlsordered currency Of the coun-
try to which he belongs does not follow and afflct
him abroad. He gets his freight in good money, pa
in the hands of his owncrss banker, who again
draws at premium for it. The ship wner, then,
makes money when all others are suffering, because
currency Of his ocn country Now, l will contras,
the story with that of another of nv neighbors not
rich. He is Now England mechanic, hard working
sober and intellgent-a tool-maker by trade, who
Yields his own sledge hammer. His particular bust
ness Is the making ofaugers for the South and South
west. He has for years employed many hands, and
been the support thereby of many families around him
himself, meanwhile, moderately prosperous until
these evil times came on. Yearly, however, for some
years. he has been going backwards-notl less indus
trious-not less frugal he has yet found, that how
ever apparently good the prices he might receive at the
South aud Southwest for his TOOLS the cost of con-
vcrng those funds into funds current in New England
was rulnous He has persevcred, however, always
hoping for some change for the better and contracting
gradually the circle of his workmen, until at length
the little earnings of the past wasted, and the cond
ton Of the currency becoming worse and worse he is
reduced to bankruptcy and the twenty families that
he had supported beggared by fault of their
What was his difficulty? He could not escape from
the evils of bad laws and bad currency home and
| while his rich ncghbor, who could, and did, is made
richer by these very causes he the honest and indus
trous mechanic is crushed to the earth; and yet VIC
are told this system for promoting the interests Of
! the poor.
| This leads me naturally to the great subject Of
American labor which has hardly been considered OF
discussed carefully as it deserves What s Ameri.
can labor? 1t is best described by saying it is no,
European labor. Nine-tenths of the whole labor OF
this country is performed by those who cultivate the
land they their fathers own or who in their work.
shops employ some little capital Of their own, and
mix it up with their labor: Where does this exist
dustry, whether agricultural manufacturing or me.
chanca ard you will find thatin ALL the laborers mix
up some little capital with the work of their hands,
The laborer ofthe United States is the United States
strike out the laborers Of the United States, inclu-
ding therein all who in some way other belong to
the industrious and working classes and you reduce
the population Of The United States from sixteen mil
lions to one million. The American laborer is expect
ed to have comfortable home, decent though frugal
living to clothe and educate his children, TO qualify
them to take part, all are called to d. in the po
cal affairs and government of their country Car
this be said Of any European laborer? Does he take
any share in the government of this country feel il
an obligation to educate his children There nine
tenths Of the aborers have interest in the soil they
cultivate, nor in the fabrics they produces no hope
under any circumstances Of rising themselves or Of
borer at wages, and only know the government under
which they live by the sense ofts oppresslons which
| they have no voice in mitiga ting.
To compare such state of labor with the labor o.
this country, to from that to ours, prepos
tcrous And yet the doctrine now is not of individ
uals only-but Of the Administration, that the wages
of American labor mus, be brought down to the leve
of those of Europe.
have said this is not the doctrine of few individ
uals and on that head think injustice has been done
to Senator from Pennsylvania, who has been made
to bear large share of the responsibility ofsuggestne
such policy. If mistake not, the same idea i.
| thrown out in the Presidents message Of, and ir
the Treasury Report. Hear what Mr. Woodbury.
| says:
nShould the States not speedily suspend more o.
their undertakings which are unproductive, but, BY
new loans or otherwise, find means to employ armie.
oflaborers, in consuming, rather than raising crops
and should prices thus continue in many cases TO be
unnaturally inflated as they have been of late years
in the face of contracting currency the effect of
finances would be still more to lessen exports
consequently the prosperity and revenue ofour foreign
trade"
He is for turning off from the public works these
''armes of aborers' who consume without producing
crops and thus bring down prices both Of crops anC
labor. Diminish the mouths that consume, and mu
tpy the arms that produce, and you have the Trcasu
ry prescription for mitigating distress and raising pri
ces! How would that operate in this great State
You have perhaps, some Is, 00enen employed on you
bubble works-works Of the Kind that the Secretary
alls'unproductive"-an even with such demand
they must produce for provisions prices are very
low. The Secretarys remedy is to set them TO rails,