Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-03-17
DjGcult Questions.

Difficult Questions.
80 $40, ,,,,,r,ci,,res b., sustained without high du-
tc; And II they cannot, should one portlon OF Tue
community be taxed for the benefit oil another; anu
does protection cause such taxation these 1ues'ohS
nd others connected With them, have been decuSseo
a"a s;nce The psace of 1915 ill almost every reader Of
! ,ews,apers has had enough OF them but rs me
contest between free trade and restraint ~ sun
rauing all these questions VIII Sill oe kept oeofc
,h, comnunI,y In the IT, S. the questions have never
fairly been tried. The proteeie< system mas no' De."
allowed 10 operate fully, and free frade has never
besn aIlowed at all Our system has always been an
eritima,e compound OF both restraint ana ree tfauf'
containing the evils of both and the DEMENT'S oil ne'heI
", have Tried the experiment OF hgh duesj pul Win
The Inconsistencies which leg slaton always exhibits
ben controlled by trade this xperen; has been rem
dcred abort;ve by excessive banking. From lclo TO
Ie2S The manufacturing merchants were conthuahy
;uporiunluu Congress Tor high duties and Congress-
as blind as these merchants were continually granting
what was called protection. At the same time the ner'
chants were continually importunlng State legislatures,
with equal blindness, were continually cIeatng thei'
till their number augmented from Soo, III 1917
!, e;oit hundred in 1887. The effect of this excessive
banking in rendering high duties nugaory as protec.
,ion was not forcseen aud it was strenuousy denc
nv all The patsans of paper money, wien II was pro-
claimed by the opponents OF the system few years
since But we believe that few are blind to II now
And those must be blind indeed, who do not perceive
TIM, 10 country with cheap currency no duties can
ford protection against n country with dearer one
All augmentation of the currency augments prices
for though commodity IL rendered more Value oe
by the process yet the representative oil It's Value
il rendered less so, greater amount OF this repre-
srntahre or measure or instrument Of efchanSc, Is
NECESSARY 10 represent given amount OF proper.
w. Thus, if yard OF cloth be worth one ooiuf
with certain amount OF currency, every merchant
knows that it the quantity OF currency be doubled,
the cloth becomes worth two dollars, not because ne
cloth is worth but because the currency IS worm
less This augmentation Of currency, and consequent
" Of prices the process which the country con-
tinually underwent from 1clJ To lo:}f.
The perniclous influence of this augmentation Of
currency in counteraclng protecting duties, was not
nerceiyed bv the lecturers, till within very snort
pe,iod But we believe that few of them are blind TO
il now The object Of high duties, as measure OF pro-
lection is the promotion of foreign competition by aug
mennu the price of the foreign article by the amount
of the duty Blu! Of what are high duties when lie
prce Of the domestic article continually augmented by
an ncreasing currency This continual enhancement OF
price still enables the foreigner to undersell the domestic
manufacturer. Thus If yard oi English cloth cost Two
dollars aud he charged with duty OF hity per centum
il cannot be imported and sold in competition with
ward of American cloth which costs two dollars
The American has the advantage over the foreigner
bv fifty per centum. But it our currency be dou-
bIed by increase Of banking, the American cloth
will cost four dollars because all prices are raised
in PROMOTION to the increase Of currency or IN
other words ench dollar has only half OF the value
belonging 10 before the duplication; and then the
forepu has the advantage over the American IN
ward Of cloth, by thirty three per cent. Then II the
American would keep the market and exclude the for
eirner he must the duty TO one hundred per cent
at least But the currency still increases in amount
md dminishes in value, the American is continually
losing his advantage the foreigner, TIL he hnds IN
additional duty necessary. THIS wall account Tor
the continual call Of the manufacturers for more pro
lection, from 1915 10 lc2s. They were always behind
the very laws made for their protection. In spite OF
these laws, foreigners were still maintaining with them
successful competition and they thought that the
cause Of the difficulty was insufficient proection-l
But the explosion of the banking system, for it may be
regarded having exploded, has taught them the al
vanagrs of dear currency as measure oil protection
What then is 4 certain measure oil protection TO The
domestic manufacturer: We answer, dear currency
or currency so much dearer than that of the country
from which competition is 10 be principally dreaded
as keep prices continually below the standard OF that
country. Thus England is the country where compe-
ton The most powerful against the American ma
nn.aciurer and its abors under the burden OF cheap
currency. Iflhen, all other things in the two coun-
tres beng equal, the currency OF England be cheap
est English manufactures cannot be imported, be-
cause prices al home sill exceed their prices
here But though England has cheap currency, |
because it consists principally of paper, at least
currency far cheaper than that OF France, which
is almost exclusively metallic, yet 1t is far dear
than that Of the United States and has been since
1885, and this the principal cause OF the dsappoInt-
mcnt 10 which our manufacturers have been doomed in
relation To tariffs No tariff has been high enough, be-
cause the highest has not been sufficient TO overcome
the obstacle presented by our cheap currency The
remedy, therefore, TO render our currency dearer
than that of England, if all other elements OF manu-.
featuring in the two countries be about equal. How is
this TO be accomplished: By the suppression of bank
inp-by abolishng oil substitutes for coin All paper
money being abolished and all prices being reduced to
the ndard of SPECIE should perceive the i'm
possibility OF importing from England, unless 1t has
the superiority other ground.
This brings us TO the question, has England the ad-
vantage over any element OF manufacturing, ex'
cep,ing labor To this, we answer in the negative
With us, land power, subsistence, materials, every
thing excepting labor, cheaper than in Eng land.
For power, steam is cheaper in Eng land than water,
because water, land, and timber, abundant, and
cheap We raise the two great staples Of English ma
nufacture cotton and wool, and England must import
them Therefore, manufacturing these articles, we
have the advantage over England in every thing except
nr labor aud these advantages more than equiya
lent for that In iron, another important manuiac-
ture we have the advantages over England IN land
fuel and raw material In cheapness Of labor we can
not now and il is hoped will, have the advantage
over England; for while immense country open to
settlement competition in labor cannot exist ms among
the overstockcd population of England That country
has the advantage OF US IN what 10 called capad or
preparation in machinery and other things appendant
10 it. but this element is continually increasing with U.s.
What then prevents manufactures from flourish
inp Nothing at present but dearness of the currency,
which can only he attained ty the point at which we
begun, and from which we never should have deVated,
currency exclusively metallic
Avrypursr TO THE CoNsTITuTIoS-Mr. Stevens
Resolution to amend the State Constitution TO
limi, the State debt TO $40000,000, has passed final
reading in the House, and been sent to the Senate for
concurrence. To become part Of the Constitution
il must receive the sanction of The next we'll the
present legislature and then be ratified by the people
at the ballot box Philadelphia Spirit Of the Times
Political More,nents Arrangements are in progress
in Washington it is reported for the purpose ofbrnging
Mr. Clay out for the Presidency in the month Of April
fIe is to be nominated by the State Convention in n
York. about the middle Of next MONTH North Carolina
is to follow suit and several other States to fall in
as early as practicable. The politicians have not yet
made up their minds respecting the Vice Presidency.
Richmond Star.