The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1844-02-14


mand for labor and all its products, which full
employment Of our manufacturing facilities
invariably furnishes.
The name: in which protection, acting d.
rectly on articles of manufacture, difrues its
benefits through the whole community, and
acts on labor in all its departments, Mr. Van
Buren, seems not to understand. He affects,
on the contrary, to consider protection as III
uring to the benefit of the manufacturer ex-
clusiyely, whose interests seem to him TO be
built up at the expense of other classes, and
especially the poorer classes of the communi-
y.
1.-The position assumed by Sour conveB-
tion," he says, E" and in which fully concur,
is, that the Incidental protection thus derE-
we'd, THAT is, as before quoted, from "a dis
eliminating tariff for revenue purposes only'1
is all the legislative favor which can, at this
time, be conferred upon the manufacturer,
without great injustice to other interests.
We have it from quarters entitled to respect,
that the most considerate of the domestic
manufacturers are satisfied with this measure
of protection"
Where those "coLsiderate manufacture
ers are to be found he does not tell. They
must be manufacturers of public opinion
against protection; for no other could be sat
isfied with the principle, which as ! have
shown, utterly excludes protection fro m the
purposes of tariff, and makes discrimination
for rereHue only, the - rule of le eslaiior " Oh
this subject. And now comes one of the
most nsidious thrusts at the protective sys-
ten through the manufacturers that have
ever seen. Referring to the e co.'s derate
manufacturers" he proceeds to say
"ConscIous Of the extent to which. for
more than a quarter of century they have
engrOssed the time and attention OF the ma
tional legislature, and of the people as ihougli
90 the people" had been ANNOYED by the man
ufacturers, with whom they had no cCmmu-
nifty Of Interest," and of the millions upon mil
lions which have, during that time be, n col
lected from the latter, avowedly TO FAC ilitate
and give special advantage to the particular
pursuit in which they are engaged, net only
to the exclusion of, but at the Immediate
cost of those of others; there is the stereo-
typed anti-protection argument, which has
been thousand times answered sensible,
as the most observing among them must be.
| that the period has passed away when tariff
designed for protection can be kept up in this
country without doing more injury TO every
interest by the commissions and revulsions
which it cannot fail 10 produce in public opin-
| ion, than il can confer benefit on theirs, they
would themselves prefer that the protection
secured to them by the legislation of Congress
should be that which is incidentally derived
from revenue tariff"
Where let me repeat, are those "consid
crate observing" manufacturers, who have
abandoned the idea of keeping up protective
tariff! What anthony has Mr. Van Buren,
for putting such language as this into their
mouths for thus giving up, in their name,
and as by their authority, tariff L" dcsieRed"
for protection l-rhe only Kind Of tariff that
ever did or ever will, eiectually secure to the
country the benefits Of the protective poll
cy.
But to proceed. Mr.. Van Buren, goes on
to admonish the manufacturers to an acqui-
escence in his sort of tariff, by referring to the
danger which he processes TO see, that the
whole system of raising revenue by imposts
will be superseded by a resort to a system of
direct taxation; in connection with which he
says:
1.-THE manufacturers cannot he ignorant of
the fact that prejudice against direct taxation,
springing, in some degree, at least from sup
posed abuse of the power in times past, may
yield to time aud reflection, or may be sup
planted by a new and stronger antipathy.-
Antipathy against protective tariff he evil
likely to awaken popular aversion than the
sight of great and aluent interest in the
country, meaning the manufacturing inter-
est, standing out amid the general gloom,
pertinaciously exeriing its influence in the
councils Of the nation, not only to save itself
from the misfortunes which had Oyertaken all
other classes, but 10 secure its own 7ggran-
dlzcnent by new and unjust impostiOfs a
community already borne TO the earth by the
adverse course of events
Now, why parade the manufacturing inter
est rs "great and affluent amid the general
gloom" but TO create the impression that its
prosperity necessarily depresSes the other in
terests and produces general gloom! And
why is this ''aifluent interest" presented in
the attitude Of pertinaciously exerting is in
huence in the councils OF the nation to secure
its own aggrandizement by new and unjust
impOsitions an already oppressed commu-
nity,'' but to awaken the very popular aver
sion" which he affects to deprecated But
the most direct thrust is yet to be made:
''Individnals and their families" he adds,
"may be. and in other countries are, per-
manently billetted on the public Golfers; but
all experience has shown that with us at least,
it is not in the power of government to Sc
cure permanent advantages to the business
ers."
And thus, Mr.. Van Buren, deems the pen
sion systems Of the governments Of Europe.
by which families are bieted on the public
Golfers, fitting illustration of the encour-
agement afforded by a tariff for protection, 10
''the business" of manufacturing in the T.
Statesl Mr. Van Buren, knows that this is
representation of the case rank with the gross
est fraud upon the public mind; for he knows
that a measure Of protection which shall es-
tablish our manufactures upon firm basis
will, by necessary consequence, give vigor and
activity to the energies Of all the producing
classes Such has VIGOROUSLY been the re-
suit, and such will, manfestly, always be the
result, of adequate protection to manufacture
ing industfy-connected, as of course it
should be, with protection to the raw mate
rials, when it is in our power, or for our in
terest, to produce them.
/ might proceed with similar extracts from
this remarkable letter; but enough has been
presented to show what it is, and to exhibit