The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1844-05-29

mer, but the outlay of costly arrangement
for storing and preserving the various arti-
eles of food requiEed for the consumption OF
: his stock. So the quantity and variety OF
clothing needfal 10 meet the changing sea
sons, the greater necessity for nutritious ans
stimulating diet, the supply of fuel expensive.
modes of building to ward off the rigors Of
winter, and to preserve for long periods n
stock Of vegetable food; all these impose ad-
dilional burdens upon the farmer. On the
other hand, his season of productive lal or is
short, the variety of his products narrow, ard
the obvious result is, that the dillgent and
perseyering toll tf summer scarcely suilices
to accumulate supply for the consumptioR
of long and unprOductiye winter. A few
horses and cattle, a little Of the produce of the
dairy, small and yearly decreasing quantity
of lumber and The feeces Of our sheep, are
alive have 70 spare. 1t is upon these pro-
ducts that the northern farmer relies for the
means to pay his taxes, educate his Children
and give them slender outfit when tley a.
bandon the paternal fireside, and cen mence
their pilgrimage TO the sunny South or the
mig hty West. PROSTATE our manufacturers
deprive us of this one resource, land you p!unc,
! us into absolute. hopeless, irretrievalle rpiu>
vast comprehension and extent, it admits ce
such an infinite variety of argumo Mt al illus
| tratiOn, and involves such a mass of details.
that not single hour only, but days would
| be required for its adequate discussion; and
find myself enforced by the narrow limits
prescribed by the parliamentary law Of This
| House, either 10 content myself with present
ling some very general considerations, or Ia
| contne myself TO a very partial view OF The
| question. | ought not 10 complain Of tile
one hour rule, both because | voted for it, a.
| dOption, and because in deliberalive assem-
| bly, of two hundred members, all OF v hon "a
| pire TO be heard, while none Is content to lis
ten, the exuberance o. elOquence must some
| how be checked, and such Iulc may lie con-
sidered as necessary evil. But for this evil
il such it be, there is ready remedy ly APP
pealing TO our C;esar-ihe peoplc--tLrUus
the press; and it is happily no breach of priv-
| ilege to print as a speech that W hch was utv-
er spoken. Moreover, gentlemen wi o WAIT
the sIentorian power Of lungs required 10 GiS
the echoing void Of this vast Hall, may Ena
consolation in the reflection, that the SITS
small voice Of the press will penetrate to
hooks aud corners where the tones OF the
speaker are never heard.
shall, then. make no effort to compass an
impossibllity, by essaying a full discussion %
| the tariff question within the space OF sin
gle hour, and / shall limit myself 10 some re-
marks Of a general character. l beg, how
ever, not to be understood as undertaking.
the importance of minute examination and
precise detail. None could have listened IL
the instructive speech Of the gentleman ;rons
Maryland, (Mr. Wethered,) so replere with
sound sense and practical knowledge, Wlho ne
being convinced Of the value Of such attUr-
ate statistics. But, sir it has been my FIR
tune to have had even a better instructor. I
have been schooled in this matter by s,Rr-
bought experience. Myself unhaIpily Il man
ufacturer, knew too well the Indispensable
necessity of the most rigorous exactness IL
the calculation of the numerous elements Of
profit and loss. | have learned how dr7s-
trousy an apparently significant change in
the arrangement of duties may affect large
establishment, and that a trivial modification
of the tariff, which shall not perceplibly vary
the amount of revenue, and shall scarcely
save penny to any individual consumer,
may work utter ruin TO the manuli eiurr6
capitalist, and the hundreds who depend up-
! on him. But, after all, this experimental
| knowledge makes me suspicious Of the aeca-
ra:y Of statistical detail, and the reasonings
| founded on it,and know not whether have
been more strongly moved to ridicule or 10
contempt, by the ignorant assumptions and
| the puerile calculations to which | have lis
tened upon this floor.
| Figures, it is said cannot lie; but this aph.
orism, mere truism in its proper sense, is in
its popular use. a mischievous falsehOod.-
In the rage for what are called .fGcts in this
calculating age, it is astonishing how eagerly
supposed facts and half truths are caus IL NJ,
I l. - ..
and how readily these facts, by PiotrGs-
team process, are forced into accordance VIII
preconceived theories. SO far has this gone.
that it is time for reaction. Men are in drB-
ger of running into the contrary exiIcn Q #
despising all statistical knowledge; and in al
probability, ITO lie like the nutiI lea ion ia
BILE" will soon pass into proyerb.
In fact the uncertainty Of srecuhf.se est
mates in matters Of political economy is such
that we are authorized only to form lororI
conclusions from priori reasoning. We
may infer, in general that the protection "f
domestic industry is, or is not, advantageous
TO the interests of nation; but il is inpcssi.
bic 10 determine, even approximately, Tie e.
feet of a given duty upon either reTeEuc OF
home production, otherwise than by expert
ment. But the interests involved III these
questions are of such vast magBitnde,lhat ex-
periments are always in the highest degree
dangerous; and when you have tariff witch
satisfies at once the demands of the reveIhe,
the producer, and the consumer, ii is the &c
ry acme of madness TO adventure ur0n OK
tensive changes, except upon such eofent
evidence as, in The nature Of things, Is hardly
attainable. An alteration Of the tariff, which
shall add but few thousands TO the revenue
may not improbaby destroy branch Of bu-
sness in which millions are invested. You
may safely amend your tariff by the gradual
and cautious change of the duties on single
items, or narrow classes, but the sudden sub
version Of a complete system, passage per
sGiium from protection to warfare, is an act OF
absolute political revolution.
Sir, as have said, there is in the specula-
tons of political economists most remarla-
bic unc ertainty. The calculations ofthe keen
est and most ssgacious publcIsts have been
more frequently disappointed than varifei;
and there is no branch of human knowledge
in which the results of experience have sohe-