New-York daily tribune., 1844-07-10
Hon. Geo. p. Marsh ON the Tarin.


Hon. Geo. r. Marsh on the Tarif1.
We have intended for some days to give por-
ton at least of the Speech of Hon. GEO. I.
MARSH Of the Burlington District. Vermont, on
the Tariff question in the House at lis late scS
sion Mr.. Marsh is fiPe scholar and sound
thinker. and discusses several branches of the
great question with much felicity and force. We
will make room at least for the following tx
tracts-the first in reply To the hackneycd oblec-
tion that what is called Protection in England
ha, produced or increased poverty and distress
there, therefore Protection here (,h"ugh really Il
very different thing would produce similar ei-
tects. On this point, Mr.. Marsh says:
at ia extremely hazardous to argue from Eu
ropean prccedents, and perhaps there IS no cohn-
try from whose conditions it ls more unsafe 10
draw conclusions Than from that one which IS,
unhappily, almost the only ever referred to IN
our debates for the obvious reason that commit
nity of language, frequency and facility oi III
tercoursc, and The extent OF our commercial ic
lations with England make Us more familiar
with that country than with others. from whgh
we might draw quite valuable lessons "f prac
our national character and institutions and those
of England are So numerous and striking -
quite to cOncca, from the view oil the superficial
observer those less obvious but more deeply
rooted and most important features IN which
they differ. Sir, in genius, habits, and condl-
,ion, The American people, and | thank ileavcn
for it, are as diverse from the people OF England
as they are from any Christian nation Oar
most cherished and valued institutions ate based
on principles Fundamentally opposite TO those OF
the civil and political systems oi England; and
apart from community Of speech and historical
recollections, and those habits of thought which
similarity in the forms ol language ncceSsau:
implies, we arc radically distinct people We,
sir, are tho genuine representatives, OF that gio-
rious race who ovorthrcw the Stuart dynasty IN
the middle of the seventeenth century, and The
principles of Cromwell and Milton, which have
now become extinct IN their native soil, aud no
longer mark the English character, flourish here
in their full vigor. For these reasons, arSu-
ments from English practice arc rs inapplcanle
As ii drawn from the policy of the Celestial
Empire There is, therefore, no force II That
argument which would dissuade us from pro,Gc-
ting our own industry, because England, which
protects hers, exhibits so fearful an amount OF
ignorance paupcrism, and crime. There Is no
parallel between the cases. Iou hnd the same
abandoned vice. the same unenlightencd ignor-
ancc, and the same ablcct poverty, III every hu-
ropean country cursed with hereditary ore'o-
cracy, law of primogenlture, an established
church, and to crown all, u national debt OF such
magnitude as to weigh like II miIlstone about INC
neck of the people
$50 vast IS the public debt Of England, that
Tor the payment of It's interest alone, popuia-
ton but once ard half as large our own is
taxed annually a sum equal TO the total amount
of the debt OF all the American States and in
order that the burden may not fall toe heavily an
the rich the entire body CT lands, IN which tGo
poor have no direct interest, IS taxed but 1--we
millions of dollars. while the other taxes. whch
press most heavily on the poor, amount to no !nsS
than fifty times that sum, or two hundrcd Aho
fiftv millions of dollars per amman. ihis Is IN
dependent of tithes and church rates, parish
charges, and the thousand other Government
e1actions, which crush the operative to the very
dust The British laborer is followed by the lax
yatherer from the cradle Ia the grave. Hls lroc
his physc, his fuel, his clothing, the implcmoa
of his trade, the humble furniture OF his cottage
his windows, his chlnneys. the very ala anc hght
and even fis shroud, all these arc subject ic a.
rect taxation. His bread he divides with hl>
temporal and spiritual lords, and the ruler taNes
the hons share. His children are punched aad
starved, that the younger sons Of the ariStocTdc
may be pensioned, and he tolls. and shlvcrs. nd
suffers, that the sclf-styed successor of thf
Apostles may roll in gilded chariots, and dwell IN
sumptuous palaces.
1t is not, then, the protective system OF Ens-
gand that oppresses her people; no, sir, on the
CONTRARY, it is that system and that alone VIII n
enables her laboring classes To bear up slage
ing under such ID load as never clscwht t
laid upon the shoulders OF humanity. Her pc.
tective system is not the burthen, but II is TIE
elastic spring which alone renders that burtheri
>supportable Let England abandon ina, system,
s,nd adop, the insane doctrine OF Free Trad -,
~ puld her humble classes gam by the exchange
Admit that their bread stutfS might cost them
ess would their taxes be lightened by the loss
ii i hundred millions IN duties Would their
'ss9es be raised, or their opportunities OF en-
pioyuDent be multiplied, by the destruction OF her
industrial establishments 2 Would other nstonS
supply them with manufactured goods AZ cheaper
rates than they obtain them now Z Sir il neecS
so Edipus TO answer such questions as these !;
and the man must be mad who traces the wretch
edness Of Englaud's cuslaved laborers To the pro
aon of her industry, ar supposes that Their
erics would be relieved by IT'S sacrifice
.'he following passage suggests considerations
aich are never considered by Free Traders. yet
ssl!ich rightfuly outweigh ali they have ever
Offered
.Thcrc is smother point Of far deeper, though
less obvious, intere.; than the mere question of
revenue, or the present pecunlary gam or loss to
the consumer and which IS most worthy the
profound consideration OF the philosophical states
man. refer to the Influence of such manufac-
lures rs are carried on BY machinery, upon the
oretr,. of mechanical improvement, and tho
,.:,, ,n5 J,tTnsnn nf hnfh