Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-07-31
CONGRESSIONAL.
SPEECH OF MIR. SELDOM.
lc.,ni.h from, First Pn.rl


features would be overlooked il its sectional par
tialilies and lis peculiar uslice on large portions
Of The Union were no, al least briefly e4Poseu'
To limited portion Of the North, The oo"nl,es
and monopoles given 10 The manulae iuiT,s ""o
constitute The preponderaing class, anu
lv disnensed among their dependent employees
and neichborng supporters, may perhaps over
balance It's general misrhIe's 10 olhel P"it'ohs'
;,s onsra,ions NAV be accompanied by coGnle!-
ra;l;no agencies o. Partial compcnsalions, which
NAV alleviate lis expressions. But 10 much u
Tho West. and all o, the South, lis ehec's d.,
those OF unaloyed oppression Such sse ,"c,sd
inequalities might naturally nave pee' Nc.
from the attempts even OF The " sest 20 :. 49,,
hy Federal legislation, special o'dnenr ,hr -
,ry and 10 regulate the employ nlsD' =, '"'o, 49,"
a.,;,ol in country of such VIDE extent, Faiieo
edp.ai " ara diversified interest, as that oil our
Union On this account, The spirit and ineory OF
onr Government 10 say nothing oil Inc STRICT re-
on,sitons OF its written Constitution, require iha
only The few great Interests national IN lneif
character, and common to all. should be super
yised and controlled by the Federal au'noli'cs
and that the special interests or Pecuiiaf Pulsu,s
Of the people Of the States respectively snouu .e
left exclusively TO their local legislatures. f1o~
palpably these wise considerations oil our Pscu-
liar policy have been disfesaIdet, and The essen,
,ial relations Of our Government, STATE anu
Federal disturbed, k, this very protective sys-
lem with he effects il has wrought, and me Gan
gers il has menaced sIfSngy display. Inc pro-
lecliye interests, with few exceptions, rom me
commencement, have existed almost exclusively
in the North and one ortwo oil the lnldoie safes
while other sections, and the whole South parl'-
cuarly, have, from the nature OF lhelr asricu.u-
raj and staple interests been incapable oil receiv-
ing encouragement or supper; from any equlVa-
lent system Of partial legislation. Hence Inc
adoption OF system OF turcing industry ana
le,apt,ng capital and labor 10 speca pursuits mas
Iedounded, so far as advantage was aliainaoie,
wholly 10 the North, while the SCUM mas ie" 'he
operation only in burdens AID forced con'fioulions
This has gone SO Tar, that for years as the SCUM
has firmly believed, Inc special interests 81 only
= few States With should never have looked De-
vopd ,he Supervision Of their ioca Governments,
have virtually controlled the legislation ana
corrupted the Administration Of ihe feuefai
Uni N. especially on The ail-imporant subjects
OF taxation and expenditure, 10 such extern 'ha'
all the burdens OF the former, and much more
in the nature of bouniies, have been practically
cast on them, while, with the exception oil &C.
casioual crumbs doled cut to them all the benefits
OF the latter have been enerossed by The para
mount section. need not say 10 what exiTemi.
ties such convictions but few years since led
one OF the most enlightened and gallant States oil
the South nor BY what prudent concessions and
wise counsels the crisis which threatened IRA
lricidal war and was big with the late oil the
Union ITSELF was averled The transactions OF
that deeply interesting period are fiesh IN Tie re-
collections of the nation, and many pairloi
heart yet beats faint al the remembrance OF the
sad messages then INDUCED. Ii seemed almost
inevitable that before another anniversary OF our
national Independence, the proud banner ot our
country, emblem Of the happy union Of these
States. would wave in severed stripes; or that,
as the least evil from lis pure azure would De
boted out one of its tairest sars-a Pleiad LOST
forever to its sister throng. IL IS lamentaoie 10
reflect that The guarantees OF The COMPROMISE
bill which, though veed in the iorins oil leSis'
lalion was as sacred compact as was eve
sealed by couiendins parties On their country's
altar. and which rebound, in the bonds OF peace
and fraternity the alienaci feelings Of save-
reign State, Should nave been ever marred al The
nslisatIons OF sectional cupiity, ana under ihe
frivolous pretex, of a transient necessity. Inc
deed was done however, in the passage o; The
odious act oil ls42. And again the almost united
voice of The South is raised IN remonsranee ana
appeal against lha renewed expressions Of IN |
hateful system. No front VI menace is assumed |
nor is the last resort Of nullihcation con,empa-
led, but only the claims OF justice, OF plighied
fat and party pledges, are relied on TO secure
redress. The admonIllons OF the past should
not, however be nnheeded and The goad OF oppres-
sion should be removed before il shall have Grv |
en- 10 madness.
But, MIR. Chairman, when We OF The South
have been deaouncing Inc sectional iavof'tisU |
and unreasonable monopoli-s awarded by thr |
protective system 10 the manufacturers 9. The |
North, the tanning inquiry has more than once,
in this very debate, beea addressed to rs, why we
do not participate IN lis bounes and share lis
spos bv The establishment I'll manufactures |
among oar people, and not few covert snee;s
have been INDUCED IL their supposed want oi
providence aud enterprise. TIE honorable gen.
ile.nan from Massachusetts. MIR. Winthrop |
having understood that some few manufacturing
establishments have been started in the South,
and especially in my own State, has more kindly
rendered his congratulations that our people are
awakins 10 o. their Interests, and arc soon
10 follow in The wake Of the protected classes -
Sir much icar the coacra'uaiion Is as iil-i'med
as the taun's are pnmefi,ei. Ualess grievou.ly
mistakes: II coariei:uns, not adopted wi'hou, some
thought, believe the people oi tie South have
no, embarked, AMI oash not IN prudence 10 en-
bark, 10 aay great extent in manufactures, be-
canse they, without default or lack ot Industry
on their part, labor under disadvantages which
preclude hem IRON equal c0mpei ion with the
people Of In Norm in supplying with manuiac
,ured products The general consumption O. The
country. No rational man wonders that The peo-
pie OF bleak New England DO not engage in the
culture OF sugar; nor that he Citizens OF Lousi.
ana Do not betake themselves 10 the manufacture
OF ice; because, in such instances, the obstacles
Of nature pa pablo 10 all, evidently preclude from
such waste of capital and labor. Yet, Sir, in The
constitution and circumstances OF socisles ee-
ments OF disadvantage and inapituie Tor parli-
GUAR industrial pursuits, ii not ot equal potency
with physical inredim-E,s, may exis: IN snch
controlling influence. that when discerncd and
es.ma;ei thev will h. readily admitted ~ pre-
Glade from the successful prosecution OF those
pursuits sub | believe 10 exist In Inc SCUM,
including nv own S ale, with which am best
acquainted at leas, relatively with Inc North,
an especially New England. To elncidate Inc
facts tending 10 prove such relative disadvantages,
and TO explain the nature and effects OF the causes
Tor them | shall, Mr.. Chairman, select and con-
irast the States OF Virginia and Massachusetts,
as The leading ones ot their respective sections.
From The report OF Tench Coke, in 1913, alrea-
DIV alluded TO- the TACT appears, that, as eaIly as
1910 before the commencement OF the protective
system, the annual value of The manufactures in
Massachusetts, th-n having in whole numbers
population of 100000 was S,I 900 900, while in
Virginia, with population more imam double,
say 100000, the annual valne Of all her manu-
iactures was (in Found numhers) SIS 900 600
At that remote period, then, before any forced di
version by embargocS, or by The temptations of
The protective system OF the capital aud labor OF
Massachusetts TO manufacturing, from the ope:-
ration oi some general causes, theIe "dS SUI
greater proclivity and adaptation on the part OF
her people to manufacturing over those OF Virgi-
MIA, that with less Than halt her population she
produced annually much larger amount Of ma
nuactures. In estimating, too, these relative
products in this line at that time, we must also
bear in mind how much fewer were the facilities
of intercourse and transportation OF products,
and that such difficulties tended very much 10
force manufactures in each Stale for its own
supply, and 10 prevent distant States though bet
Ter adapted 10 the business, from supplying lis
wants. The dispropoHion, then, was probably
less agains. Virginia than it would have been,
had present facilities Of communication been en-
ioyed Again, after The lapse of thirty years,
from the accurate statistics OF the census of 1910,
We find the whole manufacturing capital invest
ed in Virginia was only about SI2, 100000, being
less by s., 600, 600 than the annual value OF her
manufactures in 1913, while that so invested in
Massachusetts was near four times as much: still
the nonniafjon of the former exceeded that OF The