The Arkansas banner., 1844-10-23

the farmer can get as much for bushei oi wheat, or barrel of pork or beel. as ne could two years ago
 The present tariff is unequal, unjust, and oppressive, because it lays heavy tax upon all articles used by the poor, and light one upon those used by the rich.
 Cheap cottons, such as cost in England five cts. a yard, are taxed lS0 per cent, while ! if they cost thirty cents q yard they pay but 30 per cent. And this is attempted to be concealed by the regulation that "all goods of this class, costing less than thirty cents yard, shall be deemed 10 have cost thirty"
 So smoothing-irons are charged with I00 per cent duty-ox-chains 124 per cent trace chains I37 per cent, while gold chains for the rich come in'at , per cent
 So carpets and silks, and many other arti- cles, are charged with duty ol so much on the square yard so that that the poor man pays as much duty on his fifty dollar carpet, as the rich man on one that costs five hun dred and the teH-dollar dress of the farmers or mechanics daughter pays the same duty as the Glty-dollar dress of the Broadway belle And we might go on for hours, show ing how, ill every way, the tariff, as at pre- sent formed, benefits one class of the commit nity at the expense of another.
 Now this Is not the kind of protection that Democrats wish for, or advocate. They are not for taxing labor for the benefit ol capital. They are not in favor of crushing the great agricultural interests of the country fer the benefit of a few rich manufacturers. They. are not ill favor of raising an enormous re- venue, merely 10 give to certain owners ol steam engines, water privileges, and power looms, from fifteen to thirty per cent. OH thelr investments, while labor is at lower and decreasing price, and the profits of the far mers, even those in the vicinity of the best home markets, do not average five per cent.
 They do not believe with the author of the Junius tracts, that war is preferable to commerce, as he maintains in one of his tracts on the tariff, nor do we believe, as MT. Greedy has often argued, that 1t is good poli- cy for us to shut out all foreign importahons by high duties. Ne believe the whole argH- ment in favor of an exclusive home market a fdlacy. With surplus of produce 1t must continue to fall with an excess of duties, manufacturers will continue to rise. This is fine sport for the rich manufacturers, but death to every body else.
 Under this system as we have shown, near Iy everything the great mass of the commit nity buy has risen, and nearly everything they sell, including their labor, the poor mans only capital, has fallen.
 Clothing has risen, and the tailors of New ! ork, have had their wages reduced, until they were compelled 10 strike, we believe unsuecessfully.
 Rents have risen, and wages have decrea- sed.
 Manufacturing capital is paying a higher profit than ever. But the wages of the ope- ratiyes have not advanced though many of their expenses have.
 The imports last year were $28, 100000 less than this year, and in consequence ex- ports were still diminished. When people cannot sell, they cannot buy.
 As Democrats, as Americans, as phlan- thropists, we do not wish to see this country reduced to the state of crime, wretchedness, and starvation, to which the Protection sys- tenn would bring us. We do not wish to see the sturdy, rugged, independent Ameri- can farmers, turned into race of pale, puny, miserable dependent Wretches, wearing out their days in hot manufaetories, with just enough wages for a scanty subsistence, and when sickness overtakes them to be sent to the hospital or poor house. We do not wish to see our blooming American girls made the pale and wretched slaves of the power loom and the spinning jenny; we de precate, as national curse, a system which would force large portion of our popula- ton into unhealthlul employmeuts, leading 10 ignorance, degredation, immortality, and slavery, compared to whiehthe negro slave " of the south, is independence and happi- ness.
 This is no fancy picture. The condition of England has been described by Dickens and Caryle-we have it in the pages of its reviews and in reports to its parliament and it is full of ghastly horrors, and terrible crimes. There wealth, boundless wealth has accumulated in the hands of the few and misery, gloomy and horrible, has crush cd the many.
 Let every Democrat, every friend of equa rights, oppose the first step which must leat to result like this. Resist the first en. croaehment of power. Give no privileges tc the few, at the expense of the many. Pro tect every interest Garry out the principle of Equal and exact justice to all men," Sc shall we triumph and our nation prosper in all its great interests.
 The high tariff of the Wings is unequal unjust, oppressive, and calculated to foster one class of men and one single interest at the expense of every other. The course ol Mir. Clay has been inconsistent, dishonest. and contemplble, and neither the party nor the man is worthy of support.
 Such tariff as the Democracy of the coun- try would approve, would give sufficient and just protection 10 every interest, and would be made to bear with equal weight, and there fore sii lightly upon every class in the com munity; and 10 such a course of wise and comprehensive policy, our candidates are pledged. Would it not be as well, under these circumstances, for the Wings to stop their cry of s'proteetion," which sounds so much like the Stwo dollars day and roast ] beel2 of the lasl canlnairn and t1lrn tln;r d.