Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1842-05-02


Now. the freedom Of trsdc which the senator from
South Narona and hie associates propose, is trade
with duty Of - PER eeht. On one side and 600 Per
cent. On the olhcrl That Is the freedom Of trade on
which the senator dw's with such enthusiastic delight
llat lc llhtls il Ia the div right II uns il cane
hr tells u, from heaven its,-a divine ,tdluanc,
Ncll iel hook little inio the Practical ,Gct Il tb4s
divine deetnne Of free trade, where. - thc Senator as
surCs Is. II ts 81 late years. been making triumphant
progress. v Eol the reduction Of duly which IL, PEI
pie oi England have bgeEa5e to achieve The pnmafy
arplco human SIT! sstcGcr, the very bread oflADflr}
Forty percent! Forty pei cent is enacted by alalIao
scale nn1l the population shall have been reduced Hy
famine 10 a Sat, oi actual starvation; and then. ubrn
The want and dc'raiiono The people may no on"ef lie
safely resisted then. and th,n only the hrc.d4tu,. Of
this country tolc admitted. Aud tins Is the divine
free trade ooquouy commended to the adoption dian
American Congto~sl
Ana NON let us look at the practical operation Of thu
protective system ~ modified by tue compromise
Aud. fSi. a. To the pIoafess o our home manufactures.
The duties hayclccn hitherto reasonably protective on
most Of ON aIrc5 ill 3lst December last and II yuu
VIII now continue thai protection 10 the ARTICLES needing
IT, and admit The rest duty free There VIII be
plant.
What 10 he Senators from pens, yaaa ard from
Mary land ash2 lha the duties on non ma, he Tia
SAME rs in Bcccnl'r. La. lndc The practta ope-
ration Of protective duties our manufacture have all the
Tine teen expanding l.earsc they onjoyod moderate
protection. bat did tell You tins very point IN
/
side predict feel pride and pleasure III being able
say thai there has moi been solitary prediction made
the other sde that has not been contIsdclcd 10y fact and
experience: nor snole prediction our side which
has not befn completely fulfilled. What Were these
dooiul warnings HAT the revenue would be ruined
that must resort 10 direct taxation IInpurialiuns
would cease, and shonld be driven the necessity of
dom, site taxes. What further did they tell us That
prices would rise, aud that the duties must be paid by
the CONSUMERS in quarter oihe mon for the benefit
f,tp trtta tbr re IN thor,
And hoN did the fact Turn out} The revenue proved
fully adequate, hut there was no excess q mean from
the duties customs for all the which did
cruc was exclusively from the cnomous sales Of the pub
lie lands) l. is true the actual amount o imports
looScncd. but the augmentation Of the duty more than
compensated for the dminutun and we received more
revenue than hen the duties Were lower. In these
points then, our predictions were fully verified And
bow was 1t with regard 10 prices Did the American
pay ior the objects OF his cunsumpon?
Without entering into the details, Qor which there is
not time assert. in general that III every SINGLE
Instance IN which sufficient protection was afforded,
the price instead Of being augmented, WIS actually
reduced. | do not recolleci single exception. The
European monopoly Of supply was broken down. and
their fabrics had to encounter in our markets the compc
riton arising from the skill and industry Of American
manufacturers
WtIl: bnti has been asked, if an increase Of duty
produces dnnnutlon OF price, why do the manulactu-
iaclur,Is ask for an increase OF dnes? viii answer
the question The augmented duty is thrown on the
iorcign producer BY increasing the duty you compel
him 10 submit 10 reduction Of price equal or nearly e
quail 10 the duty hut 10 such reduction they cannot
submit but from necessity A diminished importation
aud abe no vacuum thus created IN the market,
il sflcd blythe rival fabrics of the American nannlactu-
rcr WHO in his turn finds his compensation for tho re
ducCd price in his quiet possession OF greater portion
of the American market, and IN the stoadncs 81 that
market.
There is the whole theory Of the matter There Is
no mystery. no Inconsistencies the perfectly clear:
and facts prove it 10 be just told you in ~ that
it would be.
know wiser course for n statesman than 10 rocur
to history, and thence to draw his lessons tn future
policy. wish had time to trace tic course 81 this
matter from the Revolution to the present hour: could
show that, in every period Of history when CON
norcc and manufactures have been neglected, or left To
the unendly operation Of foreign legislation and foreign
regulations. national distress and embarrassment have
uniformly toowcd-there has ever been drain OF epc-
cio and heavy foreign debt. But am warned by the
lapse Of time that this will be practicable Let
me call the attention OF the Senate Oh 10 few facts,
which marked period remarkably like the present
refer 10 that between 1916 and 1919 The country
was then flooded with foreign imports: duties were low:
and precisely similar general embarrassment was eXpe
riCnccd To HAT which feel. Let me call your
recollection some oflhe facts, they are well set
forth memorial presented recently to Congress from
Cincinnati:
Wow t5.3l i'm statistical ff1q