The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1844-10-18
From the New York Sun.
Agriculture.

/
Agriculture.
|, is a little singular that agriculture,
The natural pursuit.! or man and the only
sure and reliable source for the bread he
eats, is considered Of less importance 10
/ our country than what is called produce
| tive labor" We think the term is greatly
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. labor" Belongs
to The husbandman, not to those who az
tend the spinning jcnnies. As Ear as such
labor affords the farmer living for lis
family, he is so far an independent Ear.
His wheat lic,d furnishes him bread his
garden and orchards produces him fruit
and vegetables; his pigs and poultry fur
nish his table; his cows supply him with
milk and butier--he cannot starve. On
the contrary il may be SAID he lives well,
but he has no money because he cannot
sell his surplus produce TO any profitable
market; he cannot afford the expense of
raising crops of wheat and potatoes to ex-
change them at the store for tea, sugar,
coffee, molasses, and other indispensable
articles, which he can only procure for
cash, or barter at a low price. A farmer
has TO pay cash Tor seed, for labor, for
lime and other manure, and for other OBJ
iects connected with agriculture. lie cam
not afford to raise large crops because he
cannot sell them 10 any advantage, and he
contents himself with raising few acres
of hay and oats, a few Of wheat, of corn
and potatoes, &C., for his own family use,
the outlay for his farm not yielding him
two per cent. We can protect woolens,
cottons, and various other fabrics by an
ad valorem duiy-the master or owner of
the factory gets rich-the farmer is under
the necessity of making his purchases of
him and paying him cash, but there is no
protection to farmers indeed, it is con-
tended from the very nature Of his pursuit
that he cannot be protected. Mr.. Tappan,
Senator of Ohio, while the present Tariff
law was under discussion, proposed TO
add to it the following section -
"And he it further enacted, That whenever
the President of the United States shall receive
satisfactory evidence that the grain, -four, ard
sailed provisions exported from the L. States in
vessels owned by citizens Of the United States
are admitted free of duty into the several ports
Of any European state or kingdom, he shall make
proclamation thereof to the people Of the Ipited
States, and thcreupon, after the expiration Of
three months from the date of such proclamation,
the duties imposed by this act upon all articles
the growth or Manufacture Of such state or king
dom so admitting such grain, -four, aud snlted
provisions free Of duty, SO lar the same exceed
twenty per cent al yaIorcm, shall be thenceforlh
chaIgeahc with duty Of twenty per eeut al va.
loren, and no more
TWAS said that we could not force any
country to open its ports for the iuuotluc.
ton Of American produce, and the amend
ment was rejected, as was also propo-
siton to impose duty of 10 or 20 per
cent on the coarscr kinds of WOOL No
possible harm could have arisen from
passing the above section. Several ma
tons might have been induced on seeing
the above provision in the Tariff law to
open their ports free for the surplus pro-
duce of our farmers, and a cargo would
have been sold here and there 10 a profit,
and disposition evinced TO encourage
and protect agriculture. How can'larm-
ers depend upon a home market when
New York alone produces ten times the
wheat that all the manufacturers in the
country can consume! As farmers are
/ the most numerous class Of our citizens,
have in great measure to sustain the
burdens of Government, their interest
mus, positively be looked after and they
must have, as they are fairly entitled to,
just protection with other interests. Ii
we open the political journals Of the day
we are met by discussions upon the rela-
tive value Of high or low taritis--direct or
incidental protection to manulac,urers.-
! The rich nabobs Of the large factories are
to absorb the attention of Governments
and Congress, but the man of the plough
and harrow is to get on as well as he can,
and he gets on poor enough. The girl
who attends the spinning jennes, can lay
by 500 per annum in silver after paying
all her expenses for board, clothing, &c.
&c.; but the farmer, although he has
| plenty to eat and drink, has no market
for his surplus, and stands in need Of the
500 at the end Of the year. Suppose all
under high tariff quit farming and 60
to manufacturing, how are we to be pro.
vided for! The answer will be, Z" Get
,,,Lo,, from, tho noltr ~
THE Distribution Scheme. mo wri-
/ tor b,s over described !, co ,J,,;.it