Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1846-07-16

cy lof America 10 pursue They might be A.
mercans who recommended IT out lney were
certainly playing into the hands of our trans
atlantic competitors. II manufacturing wa,
such profitable business as these gen.
tlemen represented it to be, why not
let Americans have it rather than for
e'gners! Why not keep orr money
and our profits TO ourselves instead Of
giving both to the labor of Great Brit
ainf The profits of manufacturing
were chiefly owing to the use and con-
slant Improvement of labor saving ma
chinery. The saving of labor sXsf the
increase Of human power prod 49,
this manner was almost incai +,
BY its aid one feeble woman '" 10 70 =
11nk1eauD9gnql11l nkenueo1 oAa1 WI W. u a.
would pay for the productions Of forty
able-bodied, hard-handed men without
it. Did gentlemen desire, and was it
their policy, to let England enjoy all
this benefit, and keep it to herself as a
monopoly? 1t was this, and this alone,
that kept the British Government from
bankruptcy. This prolific source Of
wealth and power enabled the British
people to stand up under debt of four
thousand millions of dollars, and to
pay taxes to the Government amount
ing to more than two hundred and fif-
ty millions every year. This was the
result of her immense labor-saving
machinery, Was it the policy of gen
tlemen to let England have this profit.
able business of manufacturing all to
herself? That seemed to be the poll
cy Of the Secretary Of the Treasury
Indeed, he had avowed it in lis report
TO be his settled policy to break down
the manufacturers of our own country
and derive his revenue fromBritiSh and
other foreign goods. His policy was
to increase revenue by increasing i'm
portatlons; and, as he would reduce
the average of duties to one half, of
coursc,to get the same amount of rev.
enuc, we must double our imports.
This was manifested and undeniablc.
Our present imports amounted to one
hundred millions; to carry out the Sec
retary's plan, we must raise them to
two hundred millions. Our exports
were about one hundred millions, and
Of course one hundred millions in spe-
Gle would be required annually tc pay
the balance. The whole specie of the
country had never been estimated at
more than eighty millions. How, then,
was his policy TO work? How was he
to make up this deficit? Not from the
banks, for they would be broken up
within the very first year ofsuch sys-
tenn; and then what was Mr. Secretary
going 10 do for his revenue? The duty
on foreign iron, he tells us, is now rs
per cent. He was for reducing it to 81
per ccnt.--less than one half. We must
of course, import more than double the
amount of foreign iron to get the pres
ent amount Of revenue, and to that cX
tent break up American supply. Now
it was impossible to make our people
double their consumption, and so the
result must necessarily be TO get them
to take foreign goods where they now
took domestic, thus reducing the de
mand, and Of course destroying the
domestic supply to that extent. Was
not all this plain? Could any man in
his senses deny it ? And then, besides,
where was the Secretary going to ge,
the money to pay for all these foreign
goods There was the rub The gen.
tleman from Virginia (Mr. BAYLEY,
| talked about exporting potatoes to Ire
land. Export potatoes to Ireland =
He would tell that gentleman that last
year we imported 2ll 1927 bushels, pay,
ing a duty Of ten cents per bushel-
Is, 045 from Ireland, while Ireland took
of all our grain only 100 bushels ofcorn
not barrel of flour, cornmeal or bush
el Of grain, or its productions in any
other form. The whole of our nigh
ty export of bread stutfs 10 England
Scotland, and Ireland, amounted to les:
than 900, less than one fourth o.
a million---leSs than could be furnish
ed by a single Western county. Pota
toes were cheaper in Ireland than II
the United States, yet the people are
starving, because they had no protec
ton against England, no money, NJ
employment. This was the effect o
"free trade" with England, and it wa.
precisely the conditioninto which Gre
trade" with England would soon brin!
this country, if 1t were adopted. "tre'
trade" with England reminded him o
an Irishman, who, when complann!
Of starvation in Ireland, was aske'
whether potatoes were not very cheap
he answered, "Cheap? the Lord low
We, they're but sixpence busheI. y
allow is it, then, you are starving u
Gust because we have no work, AM
can't get the sixpence." "a laugh.
Such were the fruits of changing az
ricultural products for manufacture
goods-the products Of manual labo
for the products of machinery-work
81