Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1842-09-21
NO. "a.

and starvation that now pervudo millions
Of her population, i; is enough TO oil The
hrart with The most melancholy feelings.
Gan il 10 possible that any man LIVING
woul,i prefer the condiliun OF her people
10 that OF ours Go into Ireland, that
,Inwn-trcddcn laud Of genius aud clo-
uueuce. aud follow the care-worn peasant
4, he gathers his suffering children. OF
erer.re, into his miserable hovel. To sharo
amongst them that scanty fuod which has
acsn rrorlrcd by the poor Piitance Tor hli
daiy iAbn.;-ask him il he feels tho bics-
sings or British wealth and British pros-
per:ry. 60 into 'hc very heart OF Old Eng-
land herself. und see that pour lille iucto-
cir! raise her trembling hands up To tho
wis,icw crates of some dunScon.~ork-
shop, craving and begging The ifo'f1 air OF
heaven 10 blow upon her pnrchcd brow
au.i exhausted ffamc;-a.k her If she ices
.hr blessings Of British protection und Brat
ism wealth. All. sir. The burning hr-dtor.
al il rolls down her pale cheek, but appeals
,u Heaven for vengeance upon The cruel
yolicy of that hcurless government. the
| si,nl ubirc, of whose whole legislation istn
place labor ,cillOut hope at The rssrey Of
camtal IstErre anything in this state q!
.h,u-s to recommend the career OF Great
| Britain TO the admiration Of ireemcu! iier
brow mny glitter with the accumulated
wealth of ages; but who eau tell the ws"hS
and misery lia: tester aud canker beneath
| H.! Poorer We may be; but give US our
own country, with equal rights To all, ana
monopolies 10 none, blnzins over The bfoa"
fold, of our national 3auner. rather 'hon
all the wealth and power and glory OF
England,
Mr.. Chairman, it is said ,i!at we must
have ;arll. and restrictive measures, ia
order to preserve our specie in the coun-
try, and prevent its eNporta,iou. Let US
examine for moment this propos'tIon.-
Suppose il to be true: how is j, to opcratcl
As n mere measure Of value, specie has
two great offices 10 perform: first, IL adjusts
balances in trade between US and lore'en
countries; aud, secondly, i, is the measure
of value for osr domestic productions at
home When the balance Of foreign trade
IS against US, foreign exchanges rise, ana
there is a demand for specie to meet them.
This can be prevented, as is said, by re.
siric,iye neasures-which. Of course, must
operate to cut otf importa'inus that other
wise would be made, SO as TO adjust tho
ba!auce of trade. aad make foreign eS-
changes iu our favor. For instance: sup
pose you export siG0, 600. LOCO in value,
and. under free trade; would import in ez-
change for il more than tha, amount.
Then. say the advoca,es Of The rarif 10
preserve specie, you mus, have atsh re-.
stric,ious, or foreign exchanges would, III
that case, be against us. and the exPorta-
riou Of specie would follow it. Aud TO pre-
ven, this. the argument is. thar ~ restric-
ton you would reduce the importa'Ions
below Sl00, ,000, QUO in value; and thus tho
balance, councctch also with tho profits oT
trade. would be brought buck in specie.
This must be the modus operGndi, IL II 10
true that restriction is TO preserve our spe-
Gle from expectation. But do no' gentle
men see that by tbs course they admit
that high tariff does cut of imponations.
mud thereby, Us a necessary consequence,
Iesscus The demand for exports; aud IS, 10
that extent, a tax upon exports! But sup
pose. sir. you do. by restriction. i"rco the
importation of specie instead Of goods. For
instance, ia the case "f The SlOO.OO0.OoO
OF exports, ius,end Of bringing back $llO.-
U0U 600, as its value, md the profits ia
trade IN lnportninmS;-Snp by rcstrIc-
,un, you Gu, off $4,000 00O. and bring
back that amount III specie; what. then, ~
the result The value Of specie here Isl
, that i; furnishes an accurate measure OF
our annual domestic productions and pro-
perry at home. Any more brought into
the country Than what is necessary for this
purpose, unless il be used in plate or furni-
lure. Sc, i, an actual injury. A redun-
dancy Of gold and silver may produce an
initiation Us well as too much paper. eX-
cep, that il is Rot so disastrous in its effects.
because it is not subject TO such great vi
brH,ions. But il you have redundancy
of specie, il takes the direction of becom-
ins The basis Of credits and circulation
Under high restrictions. if specie Is 10 DO
brought in. il will be. thal i; will immcdi-
| a,ely become. in the hands OF capitalists.
accumulated capital, and furnish the basis
OF new credits, new expansion, new circu-
u;ion.
And, then, what is tho second result! :!
Prices rise OIL every thing, aud the cost Of
production is increased until it reaches tho
point at which you have. by restriction.
| fixed your protection and then the for
cicn article comes in under the swell Of
your local expansion, Aud then you must
raise The restrictive barrier hisher-until
new expansion, in like manner,again takes
place; when you mus, run tho sanc round.
aud thus the wages Of labor aud the profits
Of capital. in the protected region. are Kept
in n bloacd and unnatural state until The
final catastrophe Of prostratiou and ruin
ovcrakes them. When you once COM
mcncc this system Of prohibition aud pro-
lection. you must pile. periodically, re-
s,rictiou upon restriction. TO meet each ci'-
Gle expanding after circle.
For instance: you attempt to project
the manufacturing interests OF Massachu-
sctts BY this bill. Well, in it you lay tax
Of thirty dollars a ton upon iron, which is
about for,y-cight per cent. upon the cost.
Massachusetts is a grea, consumer Of iron