The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-05-26
From the Richmond Enquirer.
TO THE STATES RIGHTS REPUBLICANS
OF THE UNION.

Fellow CItZens: You are now told Dy the = c"s-
ralisis that Protective Tariffs necessary to regua'e
the paper currency of the United States. Ony a
short time ago you must well recolleei Naun1
Bank was their great panaeea for all the Ills " wnen
the currency was sub iepeclsly "s ~, ~
iia TO regulate our paper currency ou -
told that National Bank alone could conlroi Tue Is
sues of the State Banks-and that unless That was
done il was impossible that the currency OF lhe unl
led States consisting Of the paper issued oy lne oe
Banks and of gold and silver com, could become
uniform and stabe--ergo National Bank, and no
th,ng but National Bank could regulate our paper
currency This false hypothesis has, OF late years
been attempted to be sustained too by assertions OF
fact equally false Ithas been asserted land repeat
ed again and again. till repetition has procured very
general credence for that which not true that dur
inc the existence of the late United STATES Bank
we mean the National Bank, not the Pennsylvania
Bank-the currency of the United States was al all
times uniform, and that exchange between me dliie
rent States was always at par, or nearly So now u
you will turn TO any newspaper or other register CIV
ing table of the values OF the notes ot the different
State Banks at different times, you VIII ma that
those values varied often and as materially during
the existence of the late National Bank, as al any
other period. As you may not have convenient az
cess to any such means OF information, we extract
from Report Of the Secretary of the Treasury, 10
the Senate in May, 1888 few of the variations IN
the values Of the State Bank notes, during portion
of the time when the late National Bank was ~ lui'
operation, merely as samples oil the great sachiauoh7
value of these notes. The following are the rates o
discount at which the notes of the Banks OF the
States named stood in the different years men
toned In 1918, New York per cent DIS
count, Pennsylvania to o., Maryland TO ~
North Carolina 2 to g. In 1919, Massachu'
se,ts and Rhode Island 4 to 5, Maryland to
s, Georgia to 20. In 1920, New England generally
2to4 Virginia TO B. North Carolina = to 10 ONO 10
10 %. In 1921, Name and New Hampshire TO =
Kentucky and Tennessee % to 50. In 1922, Maine TO-
other New England generally to 4, North Carolina
2toI2 Georgia 2 TO "a In 1924 and 1925 Name
10, other New England generally to 3, North Caro-
lima to 8, tennessee 10 10 20. tn 1875, New Eng
land generally %, New York, County banks) TO
5, Louisiana s. Mississippi 10, &c. &C.. These are
enough for our purpose You here perceive that dur
ing len years, when the late National Bank was IN
full operation the notes of the different State Banks
varied repeatedly in value, from par, TO ~, ~ anu
even sc per cent discount. As these notes formed
considerable part OF the currency othe United States
then, as similar notes do now, that currency WIS no
more uniform at that time, than il Is at present-in-
deed is believed to have been less uniform; and ex
change if paid Tor in these notes OF different values,
was of course no par then than now through
out the Union Yet in the face of these facts, IT has
been asserted and you have been induced 10 believe
that at that time you had currency perfectly uniform
and exchanges nearly at par and the attempt has been
made 10 persuade YOU that a National Bank, which
produced these happy effects them will as certainly pro
duce them again. Indeed, until recently, you have
been told that was the only thing under heaven that
could regulate the currency-thatit was absolut ly
necessary and alone proper for this purposes and upon
his very necessity was based the argument IN favor OF
its conslitutonaty. That 1t was the only remedy I'M
der the sun for the evils of deprecated currency.
Now, you are told that high protective Tariff is the
necessary and pro means for regulating the curren-
Cyl and that it is the sufficient and compete remedy
for these evils Of paper circulation. II So by the
way, what becomes of the argument IN favor OF the
constitutonaiiy of National Bank
But we are done for the present with National
Bank We congratulate you, fellow-c tizens, that
your wise political doctors have at last discovered
another remedy for these diseases OF the body polite
that they have found out another means OF curing
the disorders of the currency and rendering il uni
form and stable-a high protective Tariff. We may
now hope at least that you will be permitted to choose
between the two medicines prescribed, and not be
compelled to swallow both; and if so, we then only
have to fear that the last will be found nauseous
and inefficient as the first, and perhaps, even more
poisonous and destructive Let us examine it for a
moment, and the arguments by which it is recon-
mended.
1T is said, that high Protective Tariff prevents ex-
cessive importations that in this manner we are
made to import less of their products from foreign
countries than we export of our own products to
them; and especially so in reference to Great Br-
tain, with whom trade represented to have been
particularly disadvantageous to us, In this respect
that this operation keeps the balance OF trade in our
favor and not only prevents the export of the pre-
cious metals, but causes them to be imported into
this country, in this way extending the specie basis
securing it against the fluctuations Of sudden demands
from abroad and of course preserving the paper cur
rency, which is based upon ii, sound and trustworthy
and rendering it uniform and stable This, we believe
is fair and correct though concise statement of
the argument; and we shall show that It is both false
in theory and mistaken in fact 1t may be admitted
that the effect of high Protective Tariff is to dmi
nsh importations though the present Secretary of
the Treasury, in recent communication to Congress-
says, experience has shown that whilst this is the
first effect of Protective Tariff, yet importations
very soon regain their former level But, however
this may be, we will admit that the first and last eff
feet of a high Protective Tariff is to check the
import of foreign products into country; and VIC
affirm that its effect at the time is to diminish the
export of products 10 at least great an ex
tent And this results necessarily from an established
law of commerce. that trade between nations consists
in an exchange of products, and that nations will
rarely trade long together unless they mutually take
the products of each other IL we take less of the
products of foreign countries, they will and take
less of our products in exchange They loW do so,
because their interest demands and they must do
So because their ability to do otherwise is destroyed
And thus, if imports lessened, exports
and must be diminished at the same time and by the
same cause. But direct effect Of high pro-
tective Tariff Isl to depress domestic industry in all
occupations except in those which protected and
as the occupations which are not protected furnish
the products for exportaton lessons the amount of
those products which we have to export. Hence it
diminishes exports to much greater extent than
it lessons imports If this be so, and we think it
obvious, then, under high protective Tariff hall
inevitably import more than export; the balance
of trade instead of being kept in favor by it, will
be turned against us the precious metals be sent out
Of the country the specie basis contracted and the
paper currency, resting upon it, be rendered unsound
and unstable. II will be rendered no less vacating
than unsound so far as it is effected at all by pro-
tective Tariff, because another effect of such Ia
riff is to beget speculation the one hand and fraud
the other, which know no law, and are governed
by no rules. The whole argument of the Federallsts
is thus reversed, indeed 1t should be- for it rested
on an assumption which condemns as false.
We shall see, too, that experience shows it TO be un-
true in fact.
Fortunately fellow-citzens, for our argument, but
most unfortunately for our country, we have made
one sad experiment of this high protective Tariff
sustenn ns now see what in fact have henn &c