Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-09-24
The Iron Business.
4" Alas the peril, that environ
s M man that me- ddles with cold iron !

The Enquirer seems TO be highly delighted with the
"confsssion, 4" which il is pleased to say we have made,
that % the Iron intcres, has not been entirely sacrificed by
the Locofoco Tariff" We ore not aware that we made
any such confession, nor do we think such a phrase at all
applicable to our remarks. On the contrary, we endesvor-
ed to show. that, in consequence Of an extraordinary dc.
mand for iron in Great Britain, consequent upon the large
number Of railways in progress and in contemplation, the
'Locoloco Tariff" which we believe to be the very incar-
nation of evil. would be rendered, for a time at least.
practically II not altogether innocuous, as far rs that branch
OF industry is concerned. The Enquirer, indeed, seemed
60 catch a glimpse OF our meaning before il finished its COM
ments-and in order to neutTaize the only inference which
could be legitimatcly deduced from our remarks, it hazards
the very extraordinary intimauon, that, although "all these
English railways were in contemplation at the ume Of tho
passage OF our new Tariff, their progress and completion
might have been retarded or defeated, had not q new act.
witty been given to business by the liberal revenue enact
ments on both sides OF the Atlantic" Ii is impossible for
n,, OF course, to say what 'mishf" or might not have hap
pened IN tue contingency supposed but we confess that
we cannot perceive, either in the relations Of the two mea-
sures, or in the previous course of the railway projectors,
any reason TO suppose that the spirit OF internal improve
ment ia Great Britain has been stimulated by the 'hberal
revenue Measures 10 which such magical effects are as
crbed, or that il would have sustained the slightest check
had Sir Robert Peel on the other side Of the water eonrnu.
ed stesdfsst to his old opinions, or had "Sir" Robert Wal
her on ths side OF the Atlantic, been defeated IN his grand
financial revolution.
The amount OF our confession, then, Is this-thst, in
consequence Of the demand for iron in Great Britain, aud
the high prices consequent upon that demand, the 30 per
cent al valoTem duty Of the new tariff will enhance the
cos, to the consumer OF that article, so that IN fact English
iron will be deIrer in this country than iIhas been heretofore
under the specific duty Of the tanff OF 1912. What ad.
vantage, then, does the eOnSumer deuye from the reduction
OF duty 7 And what becomes OF the complaint Of oppros.
Give taxation, about which 20 much has been said and
sung7 We un,suu,e hoXpvsr that tho outeunuIatad r,T.
ways IN Great Britain will, some day or other, be compile.
ted, and that the demand for iron In that kingdom, and
consequently the price, will gradually decline. What, then,
will break the force Of the blow aimed stlhsi branch Of IN
dusty, the steady prosecution Of which is so essential to
the comfort Of our citizens, and TO none So much az to the
sgreulturalist, in time OF peace, and not less essential to
our defence in the event Of a war with any European pow
e, from which, by its destruction, which Is inevitable
under the tariff OF 1886, whenever the existing demand in
England shall be materially lessened, we shall be compel.
led TO procure our %suppliesl If that class Of our citizens
engaged in the iron business shall, for a comparatively bnef
period, DO shielded from the ruinous consequences Of our
own legislation, by the domestic policy of Great Britain,
what right have the advocates Of the new tariff TO exult that
their mischievOus measure has been thus ofits pow
CT TO infict a fatal blow upon their prosperity Indeed, is not
such a line Of Argument itself an indirect confession, on
their part, that, but for the happening OF a contingency
wholly independent OF our own legislation, the iron BUSH
ness in this country would have been seriously Injured, ii
not entirely prosirated1 What we have said, then, amounts
10 ihis-nol, that 'the iron interest has not been entirely
sacrificed by the Locofoco Tariff" but that the internal p.
licy OF Great Britain, creating an unusually heavy demand
for iron, has saved it from the ruin, which would have
been tho inevitable consequences of "ihc Locofoco Tariff"
but for this fortunate coincidence Of eyents-and which
must oyertake it whenever that demand, either by a change
in the policy Of the British government, or by the compile.
lion OF its great works, shall be materially lo.soned. The
iron-masters are saved, not by, but in despite of the new
Iarh. They are saved, not by the operation OF the bill
but by causes which nou:ralize those features Of il having
reference 10 the business in which they are engs-sd.
What stronger proof can be asked, or afforded. Of the mis-
chievous tendencies Of this measure, tlan the fact that even
its friends and advocates eKult At the occurrence Of i state
of things elsewhere which renders it, temporarily at least,
a dead letter upon the statute. book 7