The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1844-07-26
NUMBER 43.

mencemen, Of the session Of that Congress
which passed the act, President jackson, in
! his annual message, threw off the cloak OF
a "judIcious tariff, and openly array ed
the whole power of the Executive against
the protective system. Then, for the first
time, We heard from him the declaration
that experience, our best guide on this as
on other subjects, made il doubtful whether
the advantages of this system are not coun-
ierbalanced by many evils, and whether il
did not tend 10 beget, in the minds Of large
pcft.sSaS Of our counirymen, spirit of dis.
content and jsaioaas aqBHSek0ns 10 The sta
6thty Of the Union J" that ,.aI'i "
slenated for perpetual protection hadS
ed INTO the minds Of but few of our stf,.s.
men, and that the most they had an,icpa.
ted was a temporary protec,lon;" and
" that those who took an enlarged view Of
The condition Of our country must he SAILS
he'd that the policy of protection must be
ultimately lnited to those articles Of do
mesllc manufacture which are iudspensa
bic 10 our safety in time of war"
These and many other declarations
SN''0N ~ Sh'S'ibs td' III ~ lHC ItS'utit
annual message almost instautaueously ar.
rayed the mass Of his party against the pro.
tecIlve policy throughout the whole coun-
try. II required no gifted seer TO predict
sta,e, ilsome conclllatory measure was not
speedily adopted by its lliruds to alIay the
existing excitement. The Presidents mes.
sage against the tariff was communicated
( 0DnrpCa Mt fbat - ~ 20
December; md with such expedition did
his party in the House of Representatives
act on that occasion in pursuance Of his
suggestions, that on the 2olh of the same
month the Committee Of Ways and Means
reported bill to repeal the existing tariff,
and in lieu thereof to collect revenue Of
but ST. 800 600 by all imposts on foreign
merchandise, the average duty on which as
in the bill was about 10 per cent,
and that to be assessed on the foreign raj
udfion. This bill, which has been some
lines called Mr.. Verpldncks bin, but
which was really measure emanatlng from
the Executive, was actually far advanced
on lis passage in the House at the time
the compromise was under consideration in
the Senate and lis final passage in the
House was no longer probematIcaI. TWAS
a measure which if successful, could not
fail to prove an immediate death blow
TO the whole protective policy. lis pas
sage had been forced through the Commit
tee Of the Whole on the state of the Union,
after IN Intellectual effort by the friends of
American industry 10 impede its progress;
when, on the 23d Of February, 1888, the
friends of protection in the Senate made the
las, effort in their power 10 arrest It's down.
ward tendency, and TO stay for so long
time as possible the hand which was extern
ded for its destruction. AT that critical
moment the question FOR them 10 consider
was, NOT MERELY now MUCH PROTECTION
WAS NECESSARY FOR HOME LABOR, BUT How
MUCH OF IT COULD BE SAVED. The bill in
the House, backed as it was by the power
Of the Executive, and the public sentiment
IN It's favor daily increasing, IN consequence
Of the Presidents denunciation of the then
existing tariff, might be temporarily arres.
ted by the action of few Senators; but
those very Senators saw that, unless some
could be effected while they
retained their slender and very precarous
majority in the Senate, the ultimate tri-
1mph Of the destructive system, and that
too at no distant day, was inevitable.
Time can never etface my vivid remem
brance Of the anxious responsibility felt by
myself and those who acted with me at that
momcn,. did no. rely upon my own
Judgment alone, nor upon that of my asso-
cales in the Senate, for the course should
adopt. | sought the advice OF one who was
a citizens of my own State, and who stood
at the time at the head of the manuactur-
ing interest of the count.y-a man whose
extensive aud minute acquaintance with the
whole subject Of the tariff was not exceeded
by that of any other man in the nation
one who had embarked largely in man
uiactures himself, and who was deeply in.
terested for other manufactures, and, with
al, one hose exalted character as q man of
pure, patriotic, aud homes, purpose was IN.
surpassed. refer to the late Z. |. DU
PoNT, oil the Brandywne. AT my solicit
tation he came 20 Washington TO advise
with me on the subject, and, after fully
weighing all the circumstances which sur.
TOuNueu US, dHSlousiy huNleeu INC W aIIcPt
the compromise, and TO exert myselfto pro-
cure its passage. He expressed strong ap.
prehensions that we could not carry the
compromise in the face of the rival meas
ure, which offered better terms TO the enc.
mics of protection, in the House and when
represented to him that those who had
been threatened with rope by the Prest-
dent would prefer our bill TO the bill in the
House, on account of the paternity OF the
latter, the possibility tina, we might tor a
time arrest the passage OF any bill IN the
Senate, and the deep sollcitude felt by the
nullifers to procure some measure OF lmme-
date relief to save them from the conse-
ouences of their own folly, he expressed
the highes, qualification at the prospect Of
the passage of the compromise as the only
means left of preserving the principle to the
maintenance Of which he had devoted
great part of his own useful life. His judg-
ment on the subject confirmed my own