Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-06-18

| I'VE omit the Introductory part of Mr..
SrEwARr's speech, which is not essential to
the development Of his argument Heremon-
strated against the effort 10 make this party
question, declaring that it was an American
question ;--in one important aspect, indeed, it
was party question, hat who were the par
ties--Amercans on one side, and tie British
on the other, and the true and practical ques-
ton for every gentleman TO decide was. which
side he would take, the American or the Brit
tish
"Mr. S trusted gentleman would decide in
favor OF their own couniry--in favor OF their
own farmers, mechanics, and laboring men,
that they would protect their own labor en-
ployed in the conversion OF our own agricul-
tural produce INTO articles for use, instead of
importing them from abroad; for il was demon
strabie that more than one half of the hundred
millions Of dollars sent abroad 10 purchase
foreign goods was sent to pay for foreign agri-
cultural produce, worked up nto goods by labor
employed ard fed IN foreign countries instead
OF our own"
Mr.. S. then made some remarks on the Ma
tional Fair, which, he said, was gotten up to
counteract the efforts Of Mr.. HOMER, the Eng
lishman, by his exhibition Of British goods in
he Capitol, to induce the members to favor
British instead Of American manufactures
MIR 5. justly called it ''a bold and barefaced
British attempt, made in this House, to infu-
ence our legislation, to destroy our tariff. and
again inundate our country with British
goods" Mr.. S. said thew TO the .i,aeri
can, other gentlemen to the British fc,ir;
mere difference in taste"
The first argument of the gentleman (Mr,
PAYNE of Alabama) had been the position that
the effect OF a protective tariff was oppressive,
especially ON the poor, and on the interest of
agriculture and labor. How was il oppressive
upop these? Ne other interest in the country
waShalf as much benefited by the tariff as the
farmers, and mechanics, and worlsingmen.-
The gentleman said that it injured them By in
creasng the price of manufactured com
modties for the gentleman's assertion was
that protection die invariably increase the
price Of the articles protected. Now, in reply.
Mr. s. would distinctly put forth this assertion,
/ to which he challenged contradiction, viz, that
/ there meyer was protective duty levied in this
country on any article which we could and
did manufacture extensively, which had not
resulted in bringing down the price of that ar
! ticle and he challenged gentlemen TO point
I him to a single instance in reference to which
this was not true. The prices Of commodities
instead Of being raised by protection, had been
reduced to one-third, one-lourth, and even TO
one-tenth and one-twelth part of what had
/ been paid for them when imported from
abroad. The gentleman, if he had walked up
/ TO the Fair, might there have seen American
cotton, such as had cost, when the enormous
minimums were first imposed for its protection
/ by MIR LowNDEs and Mr. CALHOUN, eighty-lve
cents ward. now ready TO be delivered in any
quantity, and ofbetter quality, at seven cents;
and woilen leans. sold in 1910 at sixtv-Gve
cents. now selling Of much better quality, for
/ thirty Ave; and these articles were subject TO
the very highest duties in the whole catalogue
proving beyond all condensation the truth of
the proposition denounced as an absurdity by
the gentleman, that the highest duties often
produce the lowest prices, when levied on az
ticles which we can supply to the extent of our
own wants. Here was the result Of American
industry, skill, aud improvement, when left
free to act out their own energies, and occupy,
fully and freely. their own appropriate mar
kets, without the disturbing and destructive
competition of the pauper labor of Europe
Mr.. S. had mentioned the article of cotton,
because il afforded striking illustration Of the
general doctrine, showing that the minmums,
the highest protective duties, had produced the
greatest reduction of prices. But the same
thing was true, TO greater or less extent, with
respect 10 every protected article in the entire
list. Mr.. S. stated inconuovertible matters Of
fact He challenged contradiction: he courted
,l,F,
am atom of what he had asserted. And, 10
put this truth in the strongest light, he repeat
ed that the highest and most obnoxious duties,
those abhorred minimums, against which gen
rlemen had wasted such furious dehuneiationS,
presented precisely the very cases where the
reduction of prices had been the greatest
Those duties, it is said now amounted to two
and three hundred per cent. nd eai0len, And
why because they were fixed specific du.
ties. They remained stationary, however
prices might change and, of course, as the
price went down, the duty bore a larger and
still larger proportion 10 il. AT first, the duty
was, say, half the price Of the article; as the
price declined, the duty became equal to the
price then ii became greater than the pnce
then double the price; and, at length, treble
and thsn gentlemen exclaimed IN horror,
"What an abominahle duty! 1t three hun
dred per cent. ON The total value OF the article
What horrible profits! How the duty must
raise the price!" when all the while the duty
remained the same, and its effect, had been,
not to increase, but to bring down the price
just three hundred per cent.--from thirty TO
seven and half cents peryard, and this was
robbery and plunderl And still the gentle
man said il was an absurdlty, which no man
could swallow, TO say that the higher the pro-
tectiye duty the lower the price. Now, Mr..
s. would venture 70 say that, if the duty on
iron and its manufactures were increased to-
morrow five hundred per cent, the rapid rush !
of capital into that business, and the vast in
crease of supply would be such, and the con
sequent reduction Of price SO great that the Y. |
States would soon supply the world with iron,
its capabiliiy for ms production being unllmit- |
ed. He had stated facts, showing that high I
duties had produced low prices. Can the gen !
tleman deny theml There they stand on i'm
pregnable foundations, firm as the hills. Let I
the gentleman and his friends disproye them
as they can
But he wished to be understood correctly /
Mr. S. did NOT say that the effect Of all duties
was 10 diminish prices; on the contrary, he /
did not deny that il was the effect Of some du
ties to increase prices. But what he said was
thfs.. tko+ duties levied IN articles we r0ul 1T