Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-07-16
LETTER FROM MR.. CLAY.

The following letter Is from HrrRY CLAY
addressed 10 mercantile house Of high stand
ing IN this city, under circumstances which
/ the letter itself sufficiently explains, win b.
read with thrill OF pleasure by the hundreds
Of thousands Of his devoted friends throuehou,
the country. II relates TO the great principle
OF Protection TO American Industry, and ut
tiers words of wisdom at a crisis when they
should not, and viii not, pass UNDECIDED. In
the comments upon the character and aims oil
the new commercial policy Of England, will
be found suggestions well worthy Of attention,
and the whole letter is one Of marked interest
and importance.
Our readers, we are sure, will share the de.
! light with which we listen again 10 the wise
and patriotic counsels Of the great Statesman
| of the West. His letter is the more valuable,
because il comes from the quiet and repose oil
his retirement, and not from the field OF active
public service. II is in every way worthy OF
attention, and cannot be without an influence
upon the current Of public atfairs.--.N T. Cou-
rier.
ASHLAND, June 9Th, 1886.
| Gentlemen II postponed answering your
favor until the arrival Of the articles to which
it refers, which you have been kind enough 10
present 10 me. They reached here yesterday
in safety, and request your acceptance of my
thanks for them. The pleasure which we
shall derive from using them, will be much
increased by the fact, that both the raw mate
rial and the fabric are American. Their ex
cellence a,tests the perfection which this i'm
portant branch of wooden manufactures has
attained in the United States, and il is the more
gratifying because of the great difficulties with
which they have constantly TO contend.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the policy Of
affording protection TO domestic manufactures
appears to be under consideration in the ma
tionai legislatures. The British Minister has
brought forward measure embracing the
doctrines OF free trade, not however without
exceptions of several, and some very impor-
tant articles. The manufactures OF Great
Britain have reached very high degree Of
perfection, by means Of her great capital, her
improved skill and machinery, her cheap la
Dor, and under system Of protection long,
perseyeringiy, and vigorously enforced. She
moreover possesses immense advantages for
the sale and distribution of her numerous man
ufactures, in her vast colonial possessions,
from which those of foreign powers are either
entirely excluded or admitted on terms very
unequal with her own.
| am not therefore surprised that under these
favorable circumstances, Great Britain should
herself be DESTROYS TO adopt, and 10 prevail on
other nations TO adopt the principles Of Free
Trade. shall be, If any Of the great nations
Of the continent should follow an example, the
practical effects OF which viii be SO beneficial TO
her and 50 injurious to them.
The propriety of affording protection to Do
nestle manufactures, its degree, and IFS duia-
ton, depend upon the national condition and
the actual progress which they have made
Each nation, OF right, ought TO judge for itself
believe that history records no instance Of
any great and prosperous nation, which did
not draw essential supplies Of food and raimen,
from within its own limits. Hall nations were
Just commencing their career, or if their man
utac,nres had all made equal progress. it might
perhaps be wise to throw open the markets Of
the world to the freest and most unrestricted
competition. But it is manifest, that while
the manufactures Of some have acquired all
the maturity and perfection Of which they are
susceptible, and those Of others are yet in their
infancy, struggling hard for existence, and a
tree competition between them must rebound
to the advantage of the experienced and skilul,
and to the injury Of those who are Just begin
ming TO naiuraze and establish the arts.
No earthly qualification to the heart Of a
statesman can be greater than that of having
contributed TO the adoption OF a greatsystem of
National Policy. and Of afterwards witnessing
its complete success in its practical operation.
That qualification can be enjoyed by those who
were Instrumental in establishing the policy Of
protecting our Domestic Manufactures. Ev-
cry promise which they made has been fulfill
ed. Every prediction which they hazarded
as to quality and quantity OF The Domestic sup
ply, as to the reduction Of prices, as to the eff
feet of competition at home, and as 10 the
abundance Of the public revenue, has been
fully realized And it is no less remarkable
that every counter prediction, without excep-
ton, of the opponents Of the policy, has, in the
sequel, been entirely falsified.
Without tracing particularly the operation
Of our earlier Tariffs, adjusted to both the OBJ.
iects o. Revenue and Protection, and coming
down to the last, it seems 10 me that If there
ever were beneficial effect from any public
measure fully demonstrated, il Is. that ihe Ia
riff of 1912, beyond all controversy, relieved
both the Government and the people Of the U.
States from a state Of pecuniary embarrass-
meDt bordering on bankruptcy.
Entertaining these views and opinions,
should deeply regret any abandonment Of the
policy of protection, or any material alteration
Of the Tariff of 1912, which has worked so
we'll. If It's operation had heerever doubtful,
would it not be wiser to await further devel-
opments from experience, before we plunge
into new and UNEMPLOYED theory Scarcely
any misfortune is SO great to the business and
pursuits ofa people as that OF perpetual change.
am sensible that have extended this let
ter to an unreasonable length. | hope you
will excuse and attribute 1t to the beautiful
fruits Of favorite and cherished policy which
you have kindly sent to your friend and obd't
servant, VI. CLAY.
Editorial Correspondence Of The U. S. Gasetc.
FREMONT House., BosroS,}
JUNE &c, 1876.
My Dear .9rsa Chair
Seldom have allowed an absence Of eight
days from your embrace without letting you
know of my Whereabouts, and my chow
abouts" But there are causes which not only