Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-10-03
THE NEWS.

THE NEws.
The commercial advises By the Great Western are Of a
highly Interesting character. The sdvsnee IA the price Of
al kinds q provision. in Europe. has necessarily led to
activity % oar markets.
The cause which has led 70 this increased demand and
augmented price. ssaaot be ss1bjeet OF relOieins to bsneyo-
len, minds. involving q. IL does the desntuuon. reaching al.
mc-tto the point Of starvation. OF - many millions Of hG-
msn eeiaEs bat Il . \ fair subject Of eonSrsEl,uoR that
Inst dsruiuuSa esa be supplied GOm the sHrPlus products
q cur ewa sol. which Providence has blessed with absn-
a.at erOps. and that oar fsrrsers will derive from the ne
ee~iuss they are thux enabled 70 relieve something like an
equivalent for their lsSo;. Not only has the potato crop
failed in Ireland, and in other paris OF karoPe-i failure
which il is confessed in he summary of the news given
both in he Washington Union and Riehmsnd Enquirer,
"NTLUENeEs TRE FkIcK OF PROVISIONS OF EvxKY KIND"-bui
the wheat crop is said TO have partially failed in France and
IN the North of Europe also. We need notsay, therefore, 10
any intelligent man, that the augmented demand and the in
creased prices Of produce, which are so uneandidly aseiiSed
by come of the free traders" TO the modification OF the
commercial codes Of Great Britain and the United States,
result from n cause wholly independent ot, and happening
subsequently 10, the legislation OF the two governments on
that subject. If, for example, the repeal OF the British
corn-laws has had the effect OF extending the market for
American produce, why were not the evidences Of that
fact apparent before the failure of the European crops had
been a,certained1 Indeed, arc we not now told, even BY
the papers that pretend to trace the increased demand for
our products to the legislation Of the British government,
THAT the failure of the potato crop in every part OF the
world greatly muluplies the wants OF the laborng classes
in Great Britain" and that 1.-THE advance may be traced TO
the Increased demand for other descriptions OF food con.
.equent upon that failure 2 Who doubts that. if a month
or two hence, accounts should reach us that the eI-
tent OF tho failure in the potato and grain crops Of Eu-
rope has been grossly eIuggerated-hs they were last
year-lor purposes Of speculation, that prices would
ut once sink to lhen previous level-as they did last year
an despite Of the repeal OF the corn laws on the other side
of the Atlantic, and of the reduced duties on this1 Ys,
such an effect would not be produced by that intelligence,
II the new policy Of the two governments, rather than the
dispensauons of Providence, were in truth, as is most alb
surdly coutendcd, the cause OF the increased demand abroad
and the higher prices, which result not more certainly from
a failure OF the European crops than they would have done
from a ike calamity in the great grain-growiRg sections y!
the United States. And this, we think, with due Difference
TO the Enquirer, is a sufficient reply TO Its remark yesier-
day, that ing home market does not consume all the far
mers produced (which nobody ever asserted "nor does it
even regulate the price" We imagine, however, If the
L------l-. Al 80. ,vu-unV Iafni'aly Houu than the for
eigu. prices would be reduced greatly below the lowest
point to which they have ever attained-and that, conse-
quontly, although the home market does not exclusively
regulate the price" it eIerts an influence upon price great
CT, in the ratio OF the quantity consumed, than all the
other markets of the world combined. When there is no
foreign demand, or n very Sigh, one, the domestic market
- AN AAAH VI 49, "hNA - ae-NA~ HN --NfN
crops creates another market to be supplied, a new element
is Of course brought into action, and the price rises, be-
cause previously existing relations between demand and
supply are thereby disturbed. Need we illustrate this re-
mark2 Why is It that cotton, as well as provisions, has
advanced in price1 Itis because of the anticipated dimi-
mutton OF the crop on this side OF the Atlantic, whereby the
dspropordon between consumption and production will be
increased. Why is 1t, that, while cotton and bread-stuts
are thus looking up" other great American staples, such
US tobacco and hemp, are stationary or declining2 It'd re-
taxation Il commerce. restrictions is IN truth the cause Of this
sudden activity in the markets, why do not those products
participate IN this ~buoyancy1 Itis precisely because that fs
taxation is not the cause, that these articles constitute such
marked exceptions. The rise in price affects only these ari-
eos Of consumption of which there is 4 probability Of q great
ly diminished production. The wheat and potato crops have
failed in Europe-heneo the rise in the price Of bread.
stuff. and other articles of food. necessary 10 the supply OF
the conJcetured deficiency. The cotton crop has failed iu
the United Staies-honce, the demand for that article
continuing the same, the price rises in the ratio Of the sup.
posed diminished supply. Both will fall again to the former
, scale Of prices. should II be ascertained that that deficiency
has been greatly exaggerated. There is no subject, in
deed, in regard to which CAUSE and EFFECT are so
clearly and indisputably itnked-nune, il seems to US, in re-
gard 10 which there ought to be, or would be, so little diff
ference Of opinion, were it not for the morbid anxiety Of
some Of our political opponents 10 connect a question pure.
iy commercial with political theories which have not in
truth the romotest bearing upon IL.
We have deemed 1t proper at once 70 anticipate the
untenable infcrcnees Of the "iroo traders by showing the
true and obvious cause to which the advance in the prices
OF some OF our leading staples is properly to be aserbed.-
And we arc entirely willing to submit the accuracy Of our
views 10 a test which cannot fail to confirm or to refu,e
them. IL j. this II, as the LOcoloco presses contend,
tbe increased demand in England for American products
results from the legislation Of the two countries, that in
creased demand will Of necessity be as PERMANENT
as the cause to which it is attributed. II, on the other
hand. it arises, a. we assert, from the failure OF the crops,
and is therefore wholly independent Of that legislation, 1t
will DO TEMPORARY in its duration, and will cease with
the necessity in which it originated. To that test we submit
81 aud We feel 40 hesitation in saying, that, II the foreign
demand shall be permanent, we will at once promptly yield
tho argument. and give TO the free trade policy the credit
which, in that event, j, will have a right to claim. Our OPP
ponents eau ask nothing more Of our hands. viii they,
on the other hand, II the unsoundness Of their assumption
shall be demonstrated by future events, ovince equal can
dor aud lberaliy7 We arc prepared to place tho fate Of
the opposing systems Of commercial policy, advocated by
tho respective parties in the U. States, upon this issue
Viii they me ct US upon this grOund7