The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1842-03-15
VOL. VINO. 40.

the protecting power of tie legislative authority
and the duties of The bodies aIe 10
conciliale them in harmony together So far as
! she object Of taxation is 10 raise revenue for
dSchargiug the debts and defraying The expenes.
of the community, il Should as much as possible
suit The burden, with equal hand, upon all, with
their ability Of bearing it without oppression.
But the Legislation Of enc nation is sometimes
Intentionally made 10 bear heavily upon the in
Ieress of another. That legislation, adapted
as it is meant 10 be, 10 the special interests of lis
own people, will often press unequally upon the
several component interests of lis neighbors.
Thus. the Legislation of Great Britain, when
as has been recently avowed, adapted TO the
depression OF a rival nation, will naturally
! abound with regulations CT nterdict upon the
productions Of the soil or industry of the other
" h Oh come in competition with its own, and
will present encoul agement, perhaps even bnun-
ly, to the raw material of the other state, which
il cannot produce itself, and which IS essential
10 its manufactures, competitors III tn markets
Of the world with those Of its commercial rival.
Such is the state OF the commercial lrgisla-
ton of Great Britain, as it bears upon inter
ests. 1t excludes with Interfering duties all
importations Except in time of approaching ia
mine) of the great staple productions Of our Mid
die and Western States. 1t proscribes, with
equal rigor bulkier lumber and live stock of the
sane portion, and als1 of the Northern and
Eastern parts of our unDn. IL refuses even the
rice OF the south, unless aggravated with q charge
Of duty upon the northern carrier who brings il
10 them. But the cotton, indispensable for their
looms, they will receive almost duty free to
weave it into fabric fer own wear, to the
destruction Of our own manufactures, which they
are GRABBED thus 10 undeIsell.
Is the self-pIotecting energy of this nation so
helpless, that there exls's in the political insti
tutions Of our county no power TO counterfeit
the bias Of this foreign egslalion; that The grow
crs If graih must submit TO this exclusion from
The foreign markets OF theI produce; that the
shippers must dismanlle their ships, the trade of
the north stagna e at the wharveS, and The man.
uiaciurers starve at their looms, while the whole
people shall pay tribute to foreign Industry, 10
be clad in foreign ga b. that the Congress of
the Union are impoIent TO restore The balance in
/ favor of native industry, DESTROYED by the sta.
tutcs of another nation? More just and more
generous sentiments will, trust, prevail
If tie tariff adopted at the last session Of Com
gress shall be found by experience TO bear OPP
pressvrly up n The interests o. any one section
of The Union, it ought to he, and cannot doubt
will be 50, modifi'd as to alleviate lis burdens.
| To the Voice of just complaint, from any portion
of their constituents, the representatives of the
states and the people will never turn away their
ears. But Sc long as the duty of the foreign
snail operate only as a bounty upon The domes-
tic arIcle-wEile the planter and the merchant,
and the shepherd, and the busbaudman, shall
be found thriving in their occupations, under the
duties imposed for the protection of domestic
manufactures-lhcy will not repine at the pros
perily shared with themselves by their fellow
citizens Of other professions, nor denounce as
vnIatons of the Constitution, the deliberate acts
OF Congress to shield from the wioEgs of foreign
laws the native industry of the Union
If might allow myselfto interrupt the rehec-
tions suggested by this eloquent and unanswer-
able yindicatinn OF the protective policy it would
be to dwell, for a moment, upon the sentiment
with which il commemorative indissoluble uRion
Of he Interests Of agriculture commerce, and man
utactures, so that the permanent prosperity of one
necessarily becomes the prosperity of ALL Al
the reasOaings have heard on this Aior, in op-
position 10 the protective policy have overlook
ed this great truth; insomuch thai that whole po-
Icy has been repeatedly asserted 10 be for tie
exclusive benefit Of those eng ged 10 manufac-
lures. We have been referred TO the 79I 600
returned by the marshals as manufacturers and
artisans and tauntrgy told that these alone, out
OF the 100000 of our poPDlat N, were TO be
benefited by the protecting system, al The erpeRse
Of all The resi-. have been amazed al the perth
naclty with Which this position has been main
laiued in the face OF tie most obvious and over
whemng proofs to the contrary. Why, sir. the
sympathy is not more strong between the differ
ent members of the human body than il is
between these interests. With great pr,r
priety. may the beautiful language Of inspra-
ton be applied to them-'If one member suffers,
all the members suffer with i and ifone member
be honoed, all rejoice'
Look at the producers, in one form or another,
Of the raw materials employed in the various
manufactures in The United SIates-such. for ex-
ample. as the manufactures Of woollcns cottons,
iron, glass, paper, hats, boots, shoes, &c. have
no means Of computing either the value of these
raw materials, or The number of persons employ
ed in their produc ion. When the statistics oh
Iained BY the marsbals, in connection with the
laie census, shall be published, we shall havo
information of great value bearing on this sub
jcct. 10 which may take occasion hereafter
10 refer moments reflection, however.
viii enable any one 10 see that the persons
employed in the production, in various ways,
of the raw materials that enter into the manu-
futures of the United States, far outaunber
those employed in the production of the manu-
features themselves-to say nothing now of
the vast amount of capital invested in the
production of those raw materials, and the I'M
mensc creations of value in many kinds of
them: which value, but for our manufactures.
would have had no existence. Strike fatal
blow al the manufactures, and see how soon il
would be felt among the producers of their
raw materials. Its effect upon The wool grow
ing interest would be especially disastrous. |
shall refer to this interest more particularly
hereafter.
But, then, there is the still greater interest
involved in the production of the means of sub
sistence of the 1911 manufacturers and
artisans, who, We are told, are alone benefited
by protecting tariff. Whence come the
wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, peas, beans, pork.
beef, poultry. butter, cheese, &c. consumed
by them, and by the families dependent on a
large portion of them for support! Are they