The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-09-10

people of Scotland determined recently TO have 7
college, and twenty individuals instantly put down
their names for ell 600 each for that purpose. Since
then they have commenced subscription TO build c
weeks 100000 or $4,000 has been raised for that
purpose Globe.
THg PROGRESS OF LIBERAL OPINIONS ABROAD
The following, from the last number of the British
Quarterly Review, tells Of the growing weakness
of the cause of Especial inerestsn in England. Il
reads plain lesson to all who would examine into
the operation Of the restrictive system in our own
free and happy land. The statesmen of England
evidently beginning to see and understand that
their only hope of avoiding violent and sudden
change in the POLITICAL commercial, and social con-
dition of the kingdom, stake time by the fore
lock"-to change with the spirit Of the age, as all
who will read the debates, and compare the tenor of
English legislation at the present day, with that Of
some twenty years since, can see and understand
CoxMERcraL REroRM-The merit of the first at |
tempt to bring the whole subject Of commercial re-
form, in definite and comprehensive shape, before
the legislature and the public, belongs to Mr.. Hume,
who, on the 5th of May, 1910, obtained select
committee of the House Of Commons, "to inquire
into the several duties levied on imports into the
United Kingdom; and how far those duties are for
protection to similar articles the produce or manu-
acture of this country or Of the British possessions
abroad, or whether the duties for the purpose OF
revenue alone.n The committee well discharged
their task and in their report, and the evidence an
nexed to il, presented the country with body Of
facts and opinions of the very highest valne TO the
cause of commercial and industrial freedom. The
condemnation of the restrictive system, In oil It's
qualifications, was decisive and complete. ofhciai
witnesses secretaries of the board Of trade, every
way practical men-men possessing means OF OBJ
| servation and judgment far superior to those en-
| loved by the leaders of parliamentary parties
brought their official experience and knowledge to
testify to the commercial obstruction the fiscal ex-
| haustion and embarrassment the national waste,
impovershment, and suffering inflicted by the va
| rious monopoies which we pet and pamper under
the name of Interests" and TO show the vast and
unmixed good capable of being realized by rational
and honest legislation. We regard the evidence
given before this committee by Mr.. Macgregor, Mr.
1 g. r. Porter, and the late Mr. James Deacon Hume,
| as constituting one Of the most important contrbu-
tons ever made to the free-trade cause That such
| opinions as those expressed by these gentlemen
should be the result to which men led by years
of laborous service in the working departments of
the board of trade is to say the least most sign-
cant presumption of the soundness ffree-trade prn-
ciples Nobody can charge these witnesses with "the-
ory n"abstraction, and Missionary speculaton;" and
the natural bias of official habit and prejudice would
have been in favor Of the established system. Yet
we find these the men who are not only the most
vigorous and unsparing in their condemnation of the
restrictive SYSTEM but the boldest in their plans Of
reform, and the most sanguine and 'Utopan' in
their authorizations of the advantages of every kind
fiscal, commercial, and social-to be reaped by the
unreserved and fearless application of the principles
Of commercial freedom. The evidence Gin particu-
lar) of Mr.. d. Hume, ga gentleman whose loss" Sir
Robert Peel sis must all sincerely depore,
is especially interesting. 1t reads like that of man
who had learned to detest most cordially the system
in whose administration he had grown gray, Che had
been 40 years in the CUSTOMS and at the board OF
trade) who had long been Disguised and indignant
its injustice, absurdty, wastefulness, and suicidal
mpoIicy had bitterly felt his impotence to redress
Il abuses Of which every months additional expe-
rience had more clearly shown him the miscellaneous
and destructive qualities; and delighted at last
in having opportunity of throwing of official re
9 serve, and coming out publicly to speak his MIND
The labors of this import duties committee form
\ peculiarly interesting epoch in the history Of the
, free-trade question The committees proceedings
9 excited little notice at the time. Their report was
first unheeded, next rdicued, then angrily denoun
ced But afterwards it began to be quoted as an au
thority; and it is already sufficiently clear that III
doctrines are eventually destined for the statute
q book Ii made groove in which the course o
II our future commercial Legislation must inevitably
J. flow The wing budget Of l84l was the first fruii
of the principles for the first time placed author
tativey on record before Parliament and the public
2 Since it's rejection, we have had two tariffs NOR,
or less leavened with those principles. The very
Asexhevr common SENSE, as Heir looms Of office
British Quarterly Rerep.
n We take from late number of the Courier Fran
Gals the following exposons of the aaamercal con-
dition of the German Union:
! The ZoLL-VEREN.-The finar = obtain
ed by the ollVerein deserve espe4 - From
000f in 1884, the gross receip}S aVe risen to
,l2l OO0f in l843, and the net receipts from As
GIL OO0f to 66, 705, 000f-showng an advance of rs
per cent for the former and IS per cent for the latter
The average amount of customs produce per inhab-
itant has risen from If &c. to g. lie. The most re-.
markabe result, in financial point of view, is the
reduction in the expenses of collection In Prussia
those charges, from 1878 to 1929 were estimated at
II per cent on the gross receipts. In the Bavaro-
Wurtemberg union they exceeded "A per cent; thew
are now reduced to per cent. This extraordinary
dlminution must be more particularly attributed to
the reduction of the extent of the Customs lines Be-
fore the union, Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtemburg, and
the two Hesses had $4,000 kilometres of frontiers;
now the frontiers of the entire Zol Verein from the
increased compactness Of the WHOLE are reduced to
$500 Kilometres The economical results must also
be regarded as very satisfactory The extension of
market has given an extraordinary impulse to GER
tain manufactures, particularly those Of cotton and
silk goods. In 1884 the Zol- Verein received 49, OOO
OOO klogrammes of cotton yarn and in l843 il inn
ported ~ 500 900 kilogramnes. During the same pc
Rod, the imports of raw cotton from 1000 900 to
500 OOO whilst the imports Of foreign cotton goods
decreased from 800 600 klogrammes to $50 900 ko-
grammes. The import of raw silk increased from
\ 3l9,OOO kiogrammes in 1888, to 100000 kilo-
grammes in 1843 and that of dyed or bleached silk
from 10000 to 100000 kilogrammes. The principal
sale of manufactured silk has been found in foreign
markets-a third only having been used at home
The consumption Of tropical produce, which gener-
ally indicates the degree Of prosperity enjoyed by
the inhabitants, has increased greater ratio than
the population ITSELF In 1885 the Zoll-Verein re-
ceived 46,000,000 klogrammes of raw sugar for re-
hning, and %, 100000 kilogrammes of coffee In
le43 It received 10000, 900 kilogrammes of sugar,
exclusive of 10000, 600 klogrammes Of beet-root
sugar manufactured at home, and $4,000, 900 kilo-
grammes Of coffee. During the same period, the in
crease In the population was only Is per cent The
hardware trade has, Of all the other native trades OIL
me Aoi- verein, prospered the most In 1884 the
export of manufactured goods was only AIS 600 Kill
o,grammes, whilst in lS43 in reached I,245, 900