The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1842-02-08


Now sir, | maintain that the laborers or opera
tyes have direct interest in the manu- factures as
direct as tho owners themselves When, from any
Cause there is stagnalion III business, end inc
manufactured product accumulates, is disposed
of at reduced price who suffers? Not the hands
employed, but the owners. The owners OF cot
ton Or wooden mill, frequently run their mills
without any profit tor months in succession rather
than dismiss their hands. The FIRST loss always
falls upon the owners. But the gentleman says
that the wages Of operatives are regulated not ny
protection. but by the rate OF wnges given other la
hor around. This may be to certain extent true;
but the converse of this IS equally true. The Ia
borers employed in manu- features are generally ia
ken from the agricultural class, and the w!hdr raw
al Of them from agricultural pursuits, tends 10 IN
crease the price Of labor IN that pursuit. But my
ffie nd has told us that the whole number engaged
10 manufactures was less than 100000, and does
hs mean to intimate that S00,0 900 citizens are Wor-
thy of no consideration? While the gentleman is
Unwilling to protect 100000 laborCrs engaged in
manufacturers, he is strong advocate for The en-
enlargement OF commerce. The gentleman re =
minds me that he has not asked for any protection
for commerce. No, he has moi; and for the plain
reason that commerce is already protected; protec
ted moe perfectly than manu- factures have ever
been. But all the gentlemans speeches show that
he is q strenuous advocate tor commerce, and what
number demand, Is engaged in that pursuit p
The same census gives | II 900 as the whole mum
Der engaged in commerce; and if these deserve our
consideration, why not those engaged in manulac'
lures! seeing they more than six times as nu-
meIous. But confess have but little confidence
in the statistics connected with the census. That
document represents the whole number engaged in
manufactures in my own State 10 be S5,OOO. Now,
sir by the official returns made by the assessors OF
the several towns TO the Secretary ofState in Mas.
sachusetts, in 1897; the whole number engaged in
manufactures was $4,000, and in this number
were not included those engaged in many kinds of
household manufactures, such as bradng straw,
palm leaf hats, &c. Hero then, Is an error OF 32,-
COO in single State.
Bn, we have been told by the gentleman from
Gn,tt linn hat he n
tho manufacturers against the people. The manu-
facturers against the people! Who arc the manu-.
facturers but part of the peopie1 The people and
the whole people, have an interest in the success
of the manufactures. The commercial interest is
intimately connected with the manufacturing To
say nothing ofthe imports OF the raw materias,the
exports OF manufactured articles make an important
item in commerce, being about one tenth of the
whole amount. There were, during the past year
exported from the United States, manufactures 10
the amount Of $l2, S66 900, amount larger than
The two great staples tobacco and rice Munufac-
lures not only give employment to our foreign
commerce, but they foster our coasing trade, by
giving employment TO large number OF our YES
sells There is no natural hostility between com
MERGE and manufactures; but on the contrary, they
have one and the same interest, That policy
which encourages enterprise, which developes The
resources and Increases the wealth CT the country,
increases our commercial prosperity.
In like manner agriculture has direct interest
in discriminating duties. 1t seems 10 be taken for
granted that all protection is given to manufactures
and none 10 agriculture. But it is not Many
of the products of the soil are now enjoying pro-
lection greater by fur than most of the manufacture
cd articles Potatoes, oats, wheat, flour, indigo,
cotton, pork, lard, hams beef, butter, cheese fax,
hemp, wool, &c, ale now enjoying Il high degree
of protection. Tho potatoes of Maine protected
10 tho of ten cents Per boehui. Repeal
this duty, and how lorg would the potatoes of that
State be found in Boston, New York, or BALTIMORE
Immediately would they be supplanted by the po-
tatoes of Nova Scotia and even now, you find the
two competing for tho same market. have in
formation that can be relied upon, that there were
imported into the city of Boston alone, during the
wear 1S4l ,438 bushels of foreign potatoes
Take the article of cheese; 1t is sold at the North
for from seven to ten cents per pound, and it en-
Joys protection of nine cents per pound, being
some one hundred per cent. This article is made
in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. as we'll
in New England Remove the duty, and the
cheese Of gland and Germany would come into
our seabord cities, and drive the domestic article
from the market, greatly reduce the price My
svmpathies are with the agricultursts. Their cal
ling, at once the most ancient, healthy, and honor
able, is the foundation of every other And if
believed that tariff was destructive Of their IN ter
ests would abandon it altogether.
But the great value of manufactures to farmers is
the market which they open for its produce
Where would the South and West find II market
for their yellow corn, of which the gentleman
from Virginia [Mr. Wise so frequently speaks, if
we had no manu- features in the North and Eas!?-
The ports of Great Britain shut against the
corn, the wheat the flour, OF the great grain grow
ing States. These great staples, together with the
rice Of the South and the pork of Ohio, find their
bes, market at the North among manu- acturers.
There were imported into the city of Boston alone,
during the year last past 100000 bushels Of corn,
the product of the South and West, while the guam
,ity raised IN the State amounted to only 100000
bushels. The -four brought into the same city, a
mounted to 400 900 barrels, and the rice 10000
casks small portion of this was sent into New
Hampshire; but much greater amount was brough;
in through other CHI nels, and consumed in the
State. l then address myself to the grain
growing interest In every part of the House, and
say to them, the subject is one in which you have
u vital concern; and if you know your own inter
ssts, as trust you do, the manufactures at the
North will be dear to you as they to North
ern men. And yet gentlemen on this flour will
talk about manufactures being hostile to the public
interest, and especially to the interest of agrIcul
ture
The manufacturers, as such, party in this
case. The great party interested is the iaborers
the soorking men Of the aohole country And if gen
tlemen insist upon presenting this as a suit, and
will have parties in the case, the true parties are
the laborers Us. the oilers None, as it seems to
me- can be hostile to manufactures, or TO the pro
drctions of American industry, unless it be those
who lead a life OF idleness, and wish to live upor