Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-08-14
LOCOFOCOIsM ON WOOL.

tually unprotected, while she has TO pay the most
exhorbitant tribute to the manufacturing nabobs
who now lord it over the land. Our resources will
soon be exhausted, and we shall shortly become
miserable poverty stricken people, a jest and
laughing stock for the whole world! If they, good
souls, could only get the management Of the State
government into their hands, they, forsooth, would
speedily redress all these crying grievances and
would prove themselves such generous benelactors
of the wool-growing interest that the sheep upon
thousand hills should bleat forth their praise, and
even the little lambs should baa ppans Of glory
Now let us test these patriotic gentry little by
their acts, and mark how truly solictous to pro-
mote the interests of our great staple product they
have proved themselves
When the present tariff was under consideration
in the House of Representatives, amendments in
creasng the duties on wool were introduced by
Messrs.
Slade of ".
Everett of ".
Hall of ".
Fillmore Of NJ y.
Briggs Of Mass.
Moore of Ohio and
.4rnold Of Tenn.
all Wings without exception. Amendments reduc-
ing the rates fixed by the bill were introduced BY
Messrs.
Cushing of Mass.
Bropn Of Pa
Johnson OF Tenn.
Smith of IA. and
Roosevelt of ". Y.
all looofocos, save Gushing who was Tylerite,
which is about equivalent. The proceedings of
the House upon this question so papably and I'M
tad who hn dc
ofthe wool-growers, that the Vermont Patriot fear
ing the consequences, if it did otherwise, sudious
" concealed them from its readers, and to this day
it has never dared to publish them Advantage,
however, is attempted to be taken of the following
circumstance. When the House Biz came before
the Senate, Mr.. Benton introduced an amendment
similar tc Mr.. SHADES, combining the minimum duty
to coarse wool costing fve instead of seven cents,
and under This proposition was generally voted
for by the locofocos. 1t was done for two fold
obiect-irst to afford, where needed, profitable
capital for electioneering purposes, and secondly
to embarrass the bill, and if possible, get il back
again into the House, where, upon a second trial
they hoped it would be defeated. They never had
the least semblance ola serious intention to benefit
the wool-growers; they did what they did solely
TO subserve selfish ends. Not manyof their party
in either House made the slightest effort to increase
the duty upon that description of wool, which
completes with ours. Their exertons were confn-
ed to an article whose Importation no more con-
Germs us than the importation of Campeachy log
wood. When the main question upon the passage
Of the billcame to be taken, every locofoco the
Senate and every tocofooo but one in the House
voted against it; and thereby proved that they
were in favor of maintaining the existing tariff,
which admitted all wool costing less than seven
cents FREE and enforced upon all over uniform
duty of TWENTY per cent, whereas now it aver
ages FORTY. The Friendship of the wolf in the
fable for the lamb is the exact prototype of modern
locofoco friendship for the wool-growers.
But let US examine, little, the action of the last
Congress in reference to this same subject. The
locofocos then had the ascendency and made sys-
tematlc attack upon the tariff of '42 Mr.. Mckay
chairman of the committee Of Ways and Means
prepared and presented substitute for that Tariff
and by locofoco votes it came very near being
adopted In this bill the duties on fine wool aver
aged thirty per cent, Ten per cent. less than is given
by the Wing Tariff now in operation. With the
design of catching guls, they raised the duty or
coarse wool in which we have no interest, 10 pei
cent For all practical purposes the Wing Tariff
is TEN per cent. better than that proposed by oul
opponents in its stead. So much for the hollow
pretensions of locofocoism on this question of vita
importance to the prosperity of Vermont.
But our opponents are sadly disposed to com.
plain Of the present low price of wool, and affirm
that it goes to prove that our tariff affords this ar
Gle no protection. We are perfectly willing tc
admit that the price of wool has materially faller
within the past year. This fact is mainly attribut
able to the operation of two different Causes
First the market is much better supplied than l
was year ago. Since that time the number
sheen has immensely increased in both the East
ern and Western States; and this circumstance
alone necessarily has produced an essential effec
upe n the price of wool. But secondly, there i
NOT SO great demand for the staple, because man
nfacturers know that the protection they are nov
receiving rests upon very insecure foundation
They are men of sagaciiy and foresight, and the!