The Arkansas banner., 1844-02-27
From tle Richmond Eno,,;rsr

terady " HE MY Oplmon IS, that the reasoning in drawing the distinction which the writer does, between white and slave la Dor, should never have found its way into any Southern paper. The writer could not so have intended 1t, trust, but the spirit of il smacks strongly of abolition views, in an of fensive form-that of arraying the white la bor against the slave labor in manner to build up abolitionism at our doors. It is sn easy manner to misrepresent principle and the reason so as to draw deductions which may suit the case as stated. ssVirginiusn as- sumes the ground, which he ought to know IS false one--that the Democratic party fa- vor repeal of all duties upon imports; and as a consequence, the Government would have to be supported by direct taxes So far from this being true, the Democratic party uni formly contend for the support of Govern ment by duties upon imports, with the sales oi the public lands, and very justly contend, that the high and oppressive duties which the great Whig party have laid, will natural ly lead to direct taxation, while at the same time they infict great injustice upon the ag- ricultural and commercial interests of the country.-Mr. Clay's famous free trade let ter to Dr. Bronson clearly shows, that the system of high protective duties must lead to direct taxation. He says that, under the pro tective system, some branches of the manu- factures of the country have taken such deep root as to be able to compete successfully in foreign markets with the English goods of the same kind It must De admitted that all such articles were sources of revenue, until the protection was laid to an extent as to amount to prohibition, and that the system rapidly forced an amount of capital into these channels which soon swelled them beyond the wants of the country, and made 1t neces- sary for the manufactures to find markets abroad. Other interests, which have receiv- ed the especial protection of Whiggery i'll the 27th Congress, will also soon be speedily oyerdone from the same causes, and thereby leave less and less articles to lay duties upon, until the abomnable system of protective, or rather more properly, as l conceive, prohibit tory duties, will force direct taxes upon us. MT. Clay, in laying the duties in lS4l, stated, think, that they would requires duties at an average of 26 per cent upon one hundred millions of dollars, and they laid them accord ingly; but they proved, in so many respects to be prohibtory, that the imports fell of one-third from that amount; and the rates of 1842 were such as to cut off the imports to less than fifty millions of dollars, at an av- craze of about 35 per cent. The action of the Government, in principle, amounts to premiums to the manufacturing interest of the country, which does not occupy one eigh- teenth of the population of the country, at the expense of not only the revenue of the country, but that of the agricultural and com mereial, as we'll as all other interests in the broad limits of the country. The Wings af- feet horror at the idea of placing free Ameri- can labor on footing with English pauper labor, and advance this as strong ground in favor of high protective duties, while, at the same time, they boast of sending their goods abroad, and compete successfully with the goods sent to the same markets from the pauper factories of England. Admitting their statements to be true, does 1t not proYe, be- yond all doubt, that this ''hot bed" system of protection will force more labor into man. uiactures than can be healthily employed, and the natural result is, that the price ol la Dor must decline to that point that will ad- init of the goods finding markets in direct competition arah tte pauper laborers of Eng land. Abolish the present Tariff, and frame one for the support of Government, and think '.Virginius'' would very soon sec an advance in the value of Agricultural labor, and, what is nearly of equal importance, rev enue sufficient to support the Government upon.
 'sThat the Government is now rapidly run ming into debt, under Whig misrule, is clear to the minds of all as the Tariff, the only source of revenue to the country at present, is falling millions short of the wants of the Government.
 ssThe policy of the manufacturers is sell fish as well here as in other countries, and they would not employ white laborers if they Gin the slave States) could get the slave labor for less. In one of the largest manulactur- ing establishments in Eastern Virginia, slave labor is used to very considerable extent perhaps above one half-and 1t is likely that more would be employed there if the inter est of the Company would be promoted by it, in the way of cheap labor. When slave labor can be employed at a less rate 1t will as soon 'sextirpate' white labor in manulac- turing as it would in agriculture or farming. It is the ruinous policy of the Government which makes the price of Agricultural labor so low; and as the field of white agricultural labor is immensely large, the injury inflicted by the Government must be proportlonably great upon all those who are engaged in such pursuits"
 HENRY CLAY NEVEe WAS AND NEVER