Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-04-14

the laborinp man and the mechanic From my soul, ]
respect the laborng Labor is the foundation OF
the wealth OF every country and the free laoorcrs OF Tue
North deserve respect both for their proby ana heIr
intelligence Heaven forbid that | should do ihem
wrong Of all the countries the earth, we ought 10
have the most consideration for the lnborng NAH
From the very of institutions, the wheel OF
fortune is constantly revolving and producing such
mutations in property, that the wealthy man OF to-day
may become the poor aborer tomorrow. Truly wealth
often takes to itself wings and flies away large Tor
rarely lasts beyond the third generation, even !!
it endure long. We must all know instances OF IN
dvduas obliged to labor for their daily Bread whose
grandfuthers offortune. The regular proces
of society would almost consist of the efforts
of one class to pate the fortunes which they have
inherited, whilst another class, By their industry and
economy, are regularly rising to wealth. we have
all, therefore, interest, as it is our common
duty to protect the rights of the aborng man; and il
believed for moment that this bill wonld prove IN
furious to him, il should meet my unqualified opposi
| ton
"Athough this bill will not have as great an influence
as could DESIRE yet far il goes II will benefit
the aborng much, and probably more, .A,n any
other class OF society. What is it he ought most 70 de
sire? Constant employment, :cgnar wages, and UNI
form reasonable prices for the and comforts
of life which HI requires. Now sir, What has been his
condition under system of expansions and con-
fractions He has suffered more by them than any
other class Of society The gate of his wages is fixed
and known and they the last to rise with the in.
creasing expansion, and the first to fall when the
responding usion occurs He still continues to re
ceve his dollar per day, whilst the price ofevery art
Gle which he consumes is rapidly rising. He length
made to feel that although he nomnally much
or more than he did formerly, yet from the in
creased price of all the necessares of life he cannot
support his family Hence the strikes for higher wages,
and the uneasy and excited feelings which have nj DIFF
crcnt periods, existed among TIE laborinr classes
But the expansion al length reaches the exploding
point and what does the laboring man now suffer; He
IS for thrown out of employment altogether.
Our manufactures suspended our public works
stopped; private enterprises of different kinds are
Abandoned and, whilst others able to weather the
storm, he scarcely procure the Of bare sub
sstence
again, sir: who, do you suppose, held the greater
part of the worthless paper of the hundred and SIX
ty-five broken banks to which have referred; Ger
tainlv il not the keen and wary Spectator who
snutfs danger from affair." If you to make the
Search you would find more broken bank notes in the
cottages of the labOring poor than any where else
And these miserable snnplasters, where are they -
After the revu!son of 537, laborcrs glad to OBJ
tain employment any terms; and they often received
it upon the express condition that they should accept
this worthless trash IN payment Sir, an entire sup
preston of all bank notes of lower denomination than
the value of week wages of the laboring is
absolutely necessary for his protection. He ought al
ways to receive his wages in gold and silver. OF all
the GARTH the laborcr IS most Interested IN hav
ing sound and stable currency
'A ether circumstances being equal, | agree with
the Senator from Kentucky that that country is most
prosperous where labor commands the highest wages
do not, however, mean by the terms ''hghest wages,
the greatest nominal amount. During the Revolution
arg war; one day work commanded Il hundred dollars
of continental paper but this would scarcely have pnr
chased breakfast. The proper expression would
be- say that that country most prosperous where
labor com,nis the greatest reward; where one days
labor will procure not the greatest nominal amount
OF Il deprecated currency, but most of the nec2s-
sarIes and comforts of life Ii, therefore, you should
i'll some degree, reduce the nominal price paid for
labor by reducing the amount Of your bank issues
within reasonable and safe limits, and establishing
nre the laborers Certainly not because the price Of
all the necessares and comforts Of life reduced in
the proportion, and he will be able TO purchase
more OF them for dollar sound state OF the
rency, than he could have done, the days ocxrava
CANT expansion, for dollar and quarter. So far from
iniuring it will greatly benefit the laboring man Ii
will insure TO him constant employment and regular
prices, paid IN sonnd currency. which &c u things he
ought most 10 desire; and It will save hun from beng
involved in ruin by of those periodical ex
pansons and conractions of the currency, which have
hitherto convulscd the country.
ssrhis sound state Of the currency will have another
most happy effect upon the laborlng man. lie will re-
ceive his wages in gold and silver and this will induce
him TO lay up for future use such portion of them as
he can spare, after satisfying his immediate wants.
This he will not do at present, because he knows not
whether the trash which he IS compelled to receive
as money, will continue to be ofany value week or
month hereafter. \ knowledge OF this fact tends 10
Danish economy from his DWELLING and induces HIM TO
expend all his wages rapidly possible lest they may
become worthless MS hands.
'Sir the laboring classes understand this subject per-
ftctly. 1t is the hard.handed and firm-isted men Of
The country whom must rel in the day of dan
ger who are the most friendly 10 the passage of this
bill II is they who the most ardently in favor of
Infsing into the currency of the country very large
amount of the precious metals.
Now | ask, can any man after perusing this extract
believe Mr. Davis understood Mr.. Buchanan he has
represented he did, The thing is impossible. He was
not SO understood any gentleman present at the time.
And any man who asserts that he did understand
him. does at the hazard of truth and the risk of his
reputation for candor and veracty with all honorable
men FERlTAS