The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-04-02

gumenta were adhered tOi anu th a1uil the
produced their effect. They apPesed To the naturs
disposition TO retsliae injuries; the spirit and
pride Of our people; and repeat, they had their ef
! feet.
! But Great Britain no sooner changes her policy
she no sooner does the very thing which n had
been admitted would make II sxpedieat 70 unfette
commerce; she no sooner removes even the nomi
nal duty from our cotton, reduces the duty upoT
all the produce Of the farmer, and proposes to re
| move the duty entirely from our Indian cOrn-the
great grain crop Of the country-from our bacon
beef both sailed and fresh pork, and other meats
from our buckwheat-an item Of Improvisation
aay, another one Of lmpoTtance-leyylngon only nom
lnal duty upon our rice; aboshes her sdng scale and
admits wheat at low fixed duty, all January ls49
and thereafter free; in word, shs no sooner sets
the example Of aboshing commercial restrictions
the relics Of dark and feudal age-and admits
three-ourlhs Of the articles Of domestic exports
comparatively free Of duty, than these gentlemen
turn round, recall all their own admissions, recan
all their former arguments, and attempts 10 pass Oh
upon ~ oIbs1s utterly Inconsistent with them u
remainsto be seen whether such OF the people as
have been beguiled into the support OF the protec
tive policy by the arguments | have referred TO-
will adhere 10 It now after they have been aban
doned.
The foundation of the f.laciss 70 which have re.
fened, being demolished, IL has been found necos-
sary TO lay the ground work Of new ones. And
the speech of the gentleman from Massachusetts,
Mr.. HUDsos,l is very rigorous beginning. He
does not the advantages to Of the relaxation
the repeal OF the corn-laws by Great Britain; says
that, by the repeal Of them will lose the adVan.
tages of the indirect trade; that the wants Of Eng.
land will be supplied from the continent and by the OK
tens and mpro vement Of her own agriculture that
the demand there for our broadstufs and provisions
will be very lnconsiderable; and that the bsst TO-
lance Of our farmers il 10 high tariff, by which
home market will DO built up! This is the grand
finale Of all their Arguments. The panAeea for al
the ills the State is heir to!
| desire TO examine all these propositions, and
some others connected with them.
j. AS TO the advantages Of the indirect trade
through Canada, Of which the repeal Of the English
corn-laws will deprive Us. | admit it was Of much
advantage to the American farmer and went far to
compensate him for the injurious operation OF the
sliding scale. But there are many circumstances
which made that trade far less advantageous than al
hrst sight would appear. The route through the
lakes and the canals which connect them, and the
ST. Lawrence, TO the ocean, is long and clrcuitous
much more so than the one through the States. II
closes early in the winter and does not OPEN in its
full extent, until late in the spnng, upon the APP
Proach Of warm weather. which is unpropitous To
the shipment of bresdstuffs and meat. The ex-
ports from Canada are chiefly Of heavy articles
mostly breadsufs and timber The imports in
bulk are comparatively small, consisting only OF
supplies for themselves, and such small articles as
Nhty Gail btnugSlo lntO the united Stdtes. COnSe-
quently nearly the whole freight is on the out
ward voyage. Thus the advantages Of the IN
direct trade are not very great. This is sho wn
by the fact, that direct expectations take place
to a considerable extent Besides, when the
export takes place through Canada il is carried ex-
elusiyely IN English bottoms, and our navigation
loses the advantage of carrying to market our own
produce | admit that the indirect trade through
Canada has been Of much advantage to the farmer,
and compensated TO some extent for the injurious
effects upon us of the sliding scale. But deny
that the advantage, even 10 him, ia anything like
great as free trade in corn, to say nothing
about the advantages which the latter coners upor
our navigation So the farmers need not be fright
ened at this part Of the gentleman's exposition.
2. As to the assertion, that England viii be amply
supplied with breadstuffs from the continent of Eu
rope, without drawing much Of iheut from us
and at cheaper rates than we can Afford: To aus
tain this position the gentleman quotes largely
from the Of he British consus made to their
government in 1910, The history of those return,
is this: In the discussions which were taking plac,
at that time IN England relative to the repeal of the
corn-laws, the apprehension was not so much that
the English market would be overlooked with con
tinentaI wheat; but that if the stimulant OF protec
ton Withdrawn, production would be less a
home, and Great Britain could not safely rely upon
an adequate foreign supply. 1t was argued that the
only ehectual security against scarcity, was the
stimulant of protection to home agriculture. Tt
possess itself OF full inormation on this point, the
government directed its consuls in all of the grea
grain marts Of the continent, to answer the follow
ing questions.
lst What quantity Of grain of each kind could
be exported to England from the country or distric
in which you reside, if the trade in corn in England
was made constantly open moderate dutyf
I'd. What would probably be the average price FREE
on board
Sd. What would probably be the freight per quar-
ter to England
4th. Would the expectation be subject to any
other charged
9Th. Whether if there was regular and stead,
demand in England for foreign corn, the quantity
corn produced in the said county or district would
without much difficulty and in a short space of time
be materially increased
The replies to these questions are contained in tn
large quarto volume hold in my hand. have ex
amned them with care. AS to the quantities which
could be supplied, the following is the summar!
printed in the gentleman's speech: