Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1844-04-11
i Treasury 10 Congress 10 l7eO.

| It is universally true that the contrary is
the ultimate effect with every successful
manufacture. When a domestic manu-.
| facture has attained TO perfection. and has
engaged in the prosecution OF it compe.
tent number OF persons, It invariably be-
comes cheaper. Being free from the hea-
w charges which attend the importation
of foreign commod ties, it can be afforded,
and, accordingly, Sc dom or never fails to
be sold cheaper, in process of time, than
was the foreign articles Cor which il was
/ substitute. The INTERNAL COMPETITION
WHICH TAKES PLACE, SOON DOES AWAY
| EVERY THING LIKE A MONOPOLY, AND BY
/ DEGREES REDUCES THE PRICE OF THE AR
TIcLE TO THE MINIMUM OF A REASONABLE
PROFIT ON THE CAPITAL EMPLOYED
This accords with the reason OF the thing,
and with experience, whence it follows,
that 1t is the interest of the community,
with a view to eventual and permanent
economy, TO ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH
OF MANUFACTURES. A TEMPORARY EN-
HANCEMENT OF PRICE MUST ALWAYS BE
WELL COMPENSATED BY PERMANENT
REDUCTION OF IT."
This passage takes for granted that The
article protected has been sold up to the
time of the imposition of the duty at no
more than a reasonable profit to the for
eign manufacturer, in which case the du.
ty may be considered as prohibiIorv, and
affirms that even IN this case the internal
competition at home will make the article
epentuaiy cheaper. The costs Of trans
portalion, additional storage, &C., on the
foreign article are reckoned more than
sufficient to equalize eventually any diff.
ference in the cost Of production caused
by the greater cheapness of labour in the
foreign country.
An article appeared in the Baltimore
American few days ago, taken from the
Augsburgh Gazette, great and leading
journal Of Germany, showing how the
impost laws which went INTO operation
few years ago in Germany under the
Zoll Verein, or customs union, are affect
ing the prices Of manufactures. The
customs union is commercial league en-.
tered into about ten years since by
number Of the German States with view
| chiefly to the establishme nj of a common
code of u,tom laws. give an extract
from the article which | take to be strong
evidence Of the entire truth of the views
| have been giving. After stating that
the consumption of English manufactures
had been immense in Germany before the
establishment of the Zol Verein and that
'the monopolizIng islanders" had not
even granted the 'poor Germans the pri-
vilege of paying for the manufactures
they bought in agricultural produce" the
German Editor goes on
ave must frankly acknowledge that
DIR. Bowring has irreiutably proved that
the Zoll We're does not, as has been al
legged, impose mere revenue duties--that
it IS not limited to between 10 and l 5 per
cent, as Huskisson believed; we say
plainly, that in respect Of articles Of gen.
eral consumption, it secures protecting
duties Of from 20 to 60 per cent. But
how have these duties operated 7 Do the
consumers pay from 90 to go per cent.
more for German manufactures than they
formerly did for foreign, as according &c
the theory they should! Or are the
German goods worse than tie foreign
By no means; DR.. Bowring himself bears
testimony to the fact, that the German
manufactures, which are protected by the
high tariff duty, are better and sold on
more reasonable terms than the like for
eign articles. The internal competition
with security agaicst the distressing fleets
Of foreign competition has worked this
miracle, of which the economical Free
Trade school knows nothing, and moth
ing wills to know. The proposition which
! that school maintains Is therefore not true
namely that protecting duty enhan-
ces to the amount Of such duty the price
Of the homo manufacture thereby protect.
ed. For q short time indeed it may
cause such an increase Of price, but in
every country that has proper capacity
| for becoming manufacturing nation in
ternal competition must, under system
OF Protection, speedily bring down the
price lower than it stood when free impor.
tation prevailed"
The views which | have presented are
addressed exclusively to the self lnterest
of our farmers. | have endeavoured to
shew that Wing tariff cannot take mo-
ney out Of their pockets. We do no,
Ind it necessary to call upon them to
follow the noble lead of MIR. Jefferson
who avowed, in 1916, that he was ready
in his own person 10 set the country the
patriotic example of dispensing utterly
with foreign manufactures al any personal
cost, for the encouragement Of American
industry. Il is not necessary to invoke
patriotic disregard of personal sacrifice in
support Of the protective policy; it does
not demand personal sacrifices. We do
no, call upon our farmers to sacrifice the
foreign market for their flour as | made
clear, think, in my last number; and
we do not call upon them 10 sacrifice any
part of their earnings in the shape of IN.
creased prices paid for manufactures.
We show them that their foreign foar
market will remain the same tariff or no
tariff; and that to say the least, they pay
no more under protective tariff in maxi
ing their necessary purchases than they
would pay without one.
have so far endeavoured TO show that
protective tariff does no: hurt our far.
mers. will attempt, in my remaining