Mississippi Democrat. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1844-18??, 1844-12-17

The friends Of free trade contend that il
is best to let each and every interest de-
pend on its own merits, TO rest en- its own
resources, on the principle that every in
dividual can and does know better what
pursuit will be best for him than any legis-
lators can advise for him; and that if eve
ry man be left to follow, unrestricted, the
pursuit most conducive to his own interest,
the sum total Of the commonwealth viii be
greater than by any other system; that
what is thus true of individuals, Is also
true of those various pursuits themselves;
that if a man can make most by aoricul-
ture, he will adopt that pursait-so Of all
others; and that if manufacturers, or com
merce, or law, or physic, or any other pgr-
suit, becomes more profitable than the
others, each will, in due time. attract their
various friends, by that suTest and best of
all guarantees, the interest and profit they
afford. To this there is no exception, 10
time Of peace with other nations. i state
Of war may alter some interests, in some
countries. in some degree; these are ex-
ceptioGs, and must vary with the peculiari-
! ty of each country, and the country or
countries with which IT IS wagjng r.
It is not believed that any exception need
now be made in this widely extended coun-
try, so full as it is of every kind Of ncces-
sary resources.
The friends Of protection, as il is call
ed, say no! it is better 70 make other in
terests tributary to mauuiactures-or in
other sense, they say it is better to protect
American labor. 1t is better to DO all our
own work, however unprcpared for it, how
ever much more it may cost us, however
unsuiled our climate Or our circumstances.
We had better exclude all intercourse with
foreign nations, establish home markets,
and, like the terrapin, live under or within
our own shell. They will deny this plain
Interpretation Of the nature 81 their svs-
TEN; but such Is It's true character, rs /
can readily show. What is protection ?
Mr.. Webster says it implies something and
somebody to be protecled-and Something
and somebody % be protected against
that il is solely to protect American hand
labor. | 90 further, as he might and
would have done, had it suited his purpose
to do so, and say that protection implies
something 10 be protected by, somebody to
be protected from, and that it has been
made to protect under all the tariffs, for
30 years past, not only American labor.
(whether of the hand or of the machine.
and by system calculated to deprive Us
ultimately of all foreign markets, and
leave us the home market only.
And now to the proof: The production
whether at home or abroad, of anv and
every thing, requires the joint operation OF
two things--capltal to furnish the materi.
ais, and labor to work them-and when
any article thus produced is disposed Of.
the division of the result or proceeds Of il
belongs to these two sub which, in all
countries are generally opposed to each
other, though acting otherwise harmonious
". If capital take more, less is left for
labor. Ii capital take IS per cent, labor
can get but % per cent. 10 not forget
Mr. Webster'S words, that 1t is hand labor
alone he acO@Id protect By protection, and
against hand-Jabor, the pauper Aand.lqboT
Of Europe.
Now, a ton Of iron is made in Europe
which, when taken to market there,
IS worth 500
Let US suppose that the capital
which bought the mine, -lhe ma
chinery, the lime, and other fuel to
; make II, were worth II
And that the labor was worth q
Is it not evident that, if You would pro
teot the labor alone, that duty Of Sd pei
ton would be sufficient, even if the Euro
Pean manufacturer got his pauper labor foI
nothing. If this lndisputable fact be so
does not the duty of S25 per ton on iron
f under the tariff Of 1912, not only protec
) the labor of making iron to the full amour
} of oil It's cost, but protect the capital ais,
to the amount of twenty-one dollars pc
D ton?
Nothing can be more plain; and tht
same is true, not of iron only, but of ever,
other protected article. How can am
5 man of veracity pretend to say that dut1
, OF $50 per ton Is necessary 10 protect tn,
5 Fdabor only, IN making iron in this country
2 against the foreign pauper labor, when tn
whole cost Of ton OF iron is but S25!
r But protection means something to b.
protected by, and something to be protect
0 cd from.
Or, in other words, protection require
4 sacrifices in money, or its equivalent, iron
r the many for the benefit of the few, fror
d all oiher classes to the manufacturing.
?, matters not whether this tribute be pai
0 IN lowering the price of what they buy O
enhancing the price of what they sell;
s is the same thing % the protected who re