Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1842-01-31


Mr.. Speaker ana rejoiced to perceive that the |
gentleman has relaxed little, aud is disposed to
come down from the regions of distractions, and
look at things in more practical manner. | shall
endeavor to look at things in the same way. But
the principle stated by the member from South
Carolina, and repeated by other gentlemen in the
House, cannot he better illustrated than by at an
ecdote which will relate. We have in our part
OF the country such an article as quack doctors.
IL was once my fortune to fall IN with one, who
was assailing the regular practice, and had select
ed ,he subject OF blood telling us the point of at
tack tie said, " cun convince any man, in two
minutes, that blood. letting in all is injurious
und dangerous This is the principle blood rs
tye If you take away the whole of mans blood
you take away his lilo--he must die. And 50 if
you take away half OF his blood, you take away
half of his life; If you take away one quarter OF
his blood, you take away one quarter oil his life
and so on, downt to the least fractional proportion"
Here is perfect illustration of the gentIeman's
ubslracon-tho very thing.
But how does this principle operate in practice
In 1888 aud 1886 duties on protected articles were
high And was not the Treasury OVERLOOKING a
thai time? Certainly. Wero not manufacturers
then protected! The gentlemen admits that they
were Tor, IN arguing in favor Of the compromise
act, he urged this consideralion-that during the
former portion Of the period covered by that act,
the manufacturers enjoyed high protection; aud
II ought TO he continued, that during the latter por
ton the producers might have their share. YET,
notwithstanding this protection Of manufactures,
revenue poured into the II easury IN such torrents
that to get rid of it, Congress was compelled to
depose it with the States. IL protection destroys
revenue, how came the Treasury to overflow
when the protection was ample?
Another illustration of this principle will be
found in the case of silk. Previous TO tho late
extra session, imported silk paid very small du-
~ now it pays 20 per cent. Here is protection
TO certain extent afforded TO this species OF man
md lr,n. frnV,, l.
Carolina to say, whether he believes that 30 per
cent. duty will bring no additional revenue into
the Treasury Will he or any other gentleman
say this? They will not; they dare not
Take any article now paying per cent, and
raise the duty to 20, and what will be the effect
The duty is increased four fold but is the rev.
enue from this article diminished in the same pro-
portion! viii it be diminished at all !? No, il
VIII be increased. The amount imported may he
diminished, but the revenue will be augmented
go further, and maintain that duty in given
case may amount TO n prohibition of that article,
and still the revenue on the whole may he ncreus
ed by that very measure. The prohibition Of that
article may induce our own citizens to go into the
manufacture of the article, and his species of
manufacture may operate as an incentive TO in
dustry. BY prohibiting the importation of that
article, new resources may he developed new Wig.
or impaired, and new sources of wealth opened
which, by producing general prosperity, would
enable the great mass Of the people TO purchase
more OF other lnpottalions, aud so on the whole
increase the revenue of The country. What, then,
becomes OF the geneman's position, that where
protection commences revenue ceases?
But my friend from South Carolina represents
the parties in this controversy 10 be The inanuiac
turers the people of the United States and
he refers TO the late census 10 show, that while
our whole population is l7,000,0O0 the manuiac.
turers in the United States amount TO only 79l 000
Here are 100000 against 17,000,000. But does
M pypr on hut lie nola pTct Cnco ia
unfair Are the 100000 all aborers: Does
not that number include women and children in
fancy and age, The lame, the blind the sick and The
dying, while The 79l 600 IRE all aborers in the
ygor and activity of life Is such comparison
fair one? Surely not. But, uninir rs it is, the
gentlemen goes even further, and contends that
$4,000 is too large for the operatives have no
interest in manufactures, and ought moi TO be coun
ted. Such is the position of the gentleman.
Now, sir, maintain that the laborers or opera
lives have direct interest in manufactures as d.
rect as the owners themselves When, from any
cause there is Il stagnation in business, aud The
manufactured product nccumulates, or is disposed
ofat reduced price, who suffers !: Not the hands
employed, but the owners. The owners OF a
cotton wooIlen mill frequently run their mills
without any profit for months in succession, rath-
er than dismiss their hands. The first loss always
falls upon the owners. But the gentleman says
that the wages ofthe operatives are regulated, not
by protection but by the rate of wages given 9TH
er labor around. This may be, to a certain extent,
true J.; but the converse of this is equally true
The laborers employed in manufactures are gen
orally taken from the agricultural class, and the
withdrawal of them from agricultural pursuits,
tends TO increase The price Of labor in that pur
suit. But my friend has told US that the whole
number engaged in manufactures was less Than
100000; and does he mean To intimate that $780,
coo citizens are worthy of no consideration P
While The gentleman is unwilling TO protect $780,
laDOrerS N ~ S
strong advocate for the encouragement of COM
merce. The gentleman reminds me that he las
not asked for any protection for commerce. No,
he has not and for the plain reason, that COM
merce is already protected; protected more per-
fectly than manufactures have ever been. But all
the genllemans speeches show that lie is u siren.
uous advocate for commerce and what number,
l demand, is engaged in that pursuit The same
census gives 1000 as the whole number enga-
ged in commerce and ifthese deserve our consd
Grafton why not those engaged in manufactures?
seeing they are more than six times as numerous.
But confess / have hut little confidence in the
statistics connected with tho census. That docu.
nent represents the whole number engaged in
manufactures in my own State to he $1,000. Now,
sir, by official returns made by the of the
several Towns 10 the Secretary of State in Massa-
chuselts in 1887, the whole number engaged in
manufactures was 10000, and in this number
were not included those engaged in many kinds
OF household manufactures, such as bralding
straw, palm leaf hats, sc. Here, then, is an err
ror OF $4,000 in single State.
But we have been told by The gentleman from
South Carolina that the parties in this suit, were
The manufacturers against the people. The man.
uacturers against the people Who are the nun
ufacIurers but part of the people? The people,
ana the whole people, have Az interest in the
cess of the manufactures. The commercial in
terest is intimately connected with the manufac-
turing. To sny nothing OF the imports of the raw
materials, the exports of manufactured articles
make an important item in our commerce, being
about one tenth OF the whole amount. There
were, during The past year, exported from the Uni.
ted States manufactures 10 the amount Sl2 $685.
O00-an amount larger than the TWO great staples,
tobacco and rice. Manufactures not only give
employment 10 our foreign commerce, but they
foster our cOAsiinp Trade hu nivnn a.,