Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1842-03-14


ufactures OF the United States far outnumber those
employed in the production Of the manufacturers
themselves-to say nothing, now, of the vast a.
mount of capital invested in the production of
those raw materials, and the immense creations of
value in many kinds of them which value, bu,
for our manufactures would have had no existence
Strike fatal blow at the manufactures, and see
how soon it would be felt among the producers of
their raw materials. Its effect upon the WOOL
lgrowing interest would be especially disastrous.
shall refer TO this interest more particularly here
after.
But them there is the still greater interest involved
IN the production OF the means Of subsistence of the
I1el,OOO 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., con-
sumed by them and by the families dependent on
a large portion of them for support? Are they
not the fruit Of the labor of hundreds of thou
sands OF agrculturists, all OF whom must, of ne
cessity feel the benefit of policy that thus fur
nishes market for these means of human subss.
tence Try the experiment of leaving our man
Iutacturng interests without protecton-expose
them to the prostraton which must follow the
withdrawal of the fostering care which the policy
of foreign Governments has hitherto made it the
wisdom and the justice of our Government TO ex-
tend to them, and what becomes of these depen-
dent agricultural interests? Change the $4,000
manufactures and artisans with their dependents,
from consumers, to producers, OF the means OF
in the value Of agricultural products, and oil the
lands which produce them?
And then, too, there are the vast number of
persons engaged in various ways, in the exchan-
changes that are psrpetually going on between the
manufacturers on the one hand, and the producers
of the raw materials and the means of subsistence
on the other. These, too, should be added to the
79l 900 who, we are told, are alone benefited by
protection, at the expense OF the rest of the
munity
Ii is thus that, in the language of President Ad-
ans, "the planter, and the merchant, and the
shepherd, and the husbandman, are found thriving
in their occupations, under the duties imposed for
the protection Of domestic manufactures"
But must forbear comment, and hasten on
though can hardly do it without invoking your
attention. as pass, to the argument which Mr.,
Adams draws from The helplessness of the self
protecting energy of this Government" involved
in the denial Of lis right to counteract that bias
Of foreign relation" which lays our people under
";rihute TO foreign industry" This great and
strong point he presents with clearness and force
which it to me must put 10 flight all doubts
as to the constitutional power OF Congress over
this subject. But | shall soon present tue same
argument in another form, by PRESIDENT
JACKSON, and therefore pass on to consldera-
ton OF his messages, rs they bear on this ques-
ton. In his first annual message, of the 9Th OF
December, 1929, he thus dscourses OH the sub
ject:
To regulate its conduct, promote, equally, the pros
pery of these three cardinal interests agriculture commerce.
may be the complicated
which embarss the intercourse of nations could not by
common consent be abolished and commerce allowed to flow
in those channels to which individual enterprise always its
gson in other nations, aud therefore compelled to adapt
our to their regulations in the manner best calculated to
agriculture, commerce, and our manufactures Under
believing that some of its provisions require modification.
rule be applied graduating the duties the q
in fair composition with those Of other Countries and
the inducements advance beyond this point
controlling regard TO those articles which are OF primary ne
cessity in time of war"
pass without comment from this to the aunu-
al message OF President Jackson, OF the 9Th of De-
cember 1880, to which have already alluded, us
containing statement of the argument in sup
port OF protective tariff, drawn from the trans
fer, 10y the States, of their whole power over i'm
posts to the General Government And here is
the argument, in the language of the President:
the The right adjust these duties, with
view to the encouragement Of domestic branches Of industry is
completely incidental to that power that 1t is difficult
pose the existence of the without the other The States
al Government without Limitation esTctOn saving the very
reservation relating to their laws This
authority having thus entirely passed from the States the right
Sn @ G be Dp does % & M
Government must be Our political system would
thus the anomaly of people stripped of the right oos
sucve policy which might adopted by foreign nations This,
rendered by the States must be within the scope the author
y the subject expressly delegated Congress In this
washington Jefferson Madison, Monroe have, each
S mae the OF s gSs % e
of the peopie'
We come now to an eventfu period in the his
tory of the protecting policy. Though it had, as
we have seen, become the settled policy of the
country; though its consttulonality had been
confirmed by an unvaryng current OF executive
authority, "by the uniform practice of Congress,
by the continued acquesence Of the States, and
the general understanding Of the people, ye; it
was now to be met by determined spirit of re-
distance. MULTIPLICATION reared It's brazen front,
and bid defiance to the power of the Government
thus constuiionally exercised.
A State convention assembled at Columbia, in
South Carolina, in November, 1882, and passedan
ordinance declaring the tariff laws to be null and
void within the limits of that State, and making il
the duty of the Legislature TO pass such laws as
should be necessary 10 carry the ordinance into
effect. How promptly The Legislature obeyed
this mandate need not say.
The convention, having thus "nufed" the rev
enue laws, put forth address 10 the people OF
the United States, in which they said
1t remains for submit plan of taxation in which we
provided in due time and in becomming SPIRIT %
by the States interested In the opinion OF the
equitable plan would be- that the whole list of
protected articles should be imported free OF all duty and that
The import duties should raised exeu
sively unprotected articles that whenever duty
imposed upon articles imported excise duty of
featured in the United states"
Such was the plan submitted in liberal spirit
of concession! The convention proceeded TO say
"They are willing make large offering preserve tho
Union and distinct declaration that it is concession
their part they will consent that the same rate may
be imposed upon the protected articles that shall be imposed up
on the unprotected provided that be raised
than the demands of the Government for
purposes and provided also, that duty, sub
stantaly uniform DO imposed upon all foreign imports"
Thus, as matter of "concsssion'-as large
Offering to preserve the Union"-a principle of
revenue was proposed which utterly abolished all
discrimination for purposes of protection and
prescribed the only alternative to civil war,
what has, ia this debate, been denominaled
"horizonial tariff" that is, tariff OF duties
substantially unform upon all foreign Imports
And here is the origin Of the compromise .aD-
of the I'd March, 1888 That law was so far
compliance with the demand of South Carolina as