Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1846-06-25

then gentlemen exclaimed IN hoiror, Whai
an sbominablc duty u Is three hundred
per cent ON the ,o,al value Of the article -
VIVA, horrible profits dow the duIy must
raise the pricef when, all the while INC duty
remained the same, aud its eiec. had o@-n,
not 10 increase, bat 10 bring dowa the price jus.
three hundred per CENT iron ibIsiy GEMS
down 10 seven and half cents per yard, and
This was robbery and plurder! And >i'll The
gentleman said il was al nbsuidlly, which NJ
nan could swallow, To- soy that The higher he
protective duty the lower the price. Now,
VIZ. ;. would venture 10 say. that II the duty
On iron and It's manufacturers were iUcreaS.
ed tomorrow five hundred per cent, lie rapid
rash of capital into thai business, aud the vast
Increase OF supply would he such, and The con-
scqneni reduction ol price 30 great, tii! ine
United States would soon supply the world with
IRON, its capacity for ITS production beng un-
limited tie had stated facts, showing thai
high duties he'd produced law prices Can the
gentleman deny them There they stand Oh
imprcgnable foundations, hfm as he nils -
he! the gentleman and his iIicndS dlSpIoye
them aS they can. That such is The practical
operation of The system IS fully established by
the fact, that whilst manufacturers OF various
kinds had declined 10 one.iUur;h Of their fol-
iner price, agricultural produce and The ,rGges
III lefor had underwent little or no reduction,
owing TO the constantly increasing home de
pand for both resulting from the protective
policy.
But he wished 10 he understood correctly -
Mr.. =. did nor say that the effect of all dulieN
was 10 diminish prices on The contrary, he
lid not deny that II was the effect Of some du-
ties 10 increase prices Rut what he said was
This that duties levied on articles we could
make, 10 The extent of our own wants and
with a view 10 project our own manufacturers,
did in all cases operate in The end, 10 lower
prices, by increasing capital. competition, and
supply. Duties imposed On foreign articles
which we could moi make for ourselves, would
generally increase the prices because they did
moi increase the supply by increasing home
competition. Ills position was this dutns fe-
oiei for rsrs"ne on articles zee cannot produce
Increased prices ,ohlsi protectire duths, hoisd on
articles ne and d0 produce, diminished pIIcs.-
The truth of both these propositions was prov
I'd by undeniuble facts. aud by all experience
And the rcason was Just rs obvious NJ III.
fart When the supply Of an article was not
equal To the demand, he admitted the imm"di.
air effect ot high dur, might for the moment
increase the pricr aud profits of It's manuiac.
tnr., but this very increase induced capital To
rash into ~, and the competition aud increase d
sapp!y resulting, soon brought down the price
and profits T., the lowest rates, proving the
truth Of The proposition, that the "hlgher th"
auty, thu lower the price" The impo,itlon
of n dut, on an article produced here, give an
IMPULSE to American enterprise; the ma.
cbinrry empi"yed in its production was stu
died aud improved m increased supply was
the nnturni consequence aud Increased sup
ply, white the drmand remained The same,
must always diminish prices Would the
gentleman undertuke 10 deny tint the pro.
por,ion b-twr.d demand AID supply regulated
price! Mr. ; hardly thought he would 90 -
far M that. Bnt, 10 the gentleman had assert.
ed that duties .rals' d prirts, he vas bound To
prove The irnih Of his pusiilun by quoting iacts,
The man Who asserted thing to br n fact was
bound 10 prove II, in court or out ~ court As
lawyer the gentleman knew tbs 10 be ST..
Now, Mr. : challenged the gentleman 10 put
hs finger nu one SOLITARY case where his asser.
inn was true. What one p,otecird article, tn"
product Of 'Amcruan .klll aud industry, had
BEEN prrnanrnti, increased IN price, after the
duties, however h:gh, had been first Imposed
for a.. proterlIunP Nr. =. challenged III" gen
ilrmau aud al his friend, 10 polnl 10 oae. Name
%. article-.a PIN or ~ needle The genl.tnun
had not--he could not do Il. Aud Vet he stood
mp III the tncr "f The country and the world
nri advanced The position that proiectiv. du-
ties always increased prlcrs Mr.. >. made his
appeal IL facts. Lot tho gentleman meet him
wlih tacis. Tie could not; he dealt altogether
in assertions against iucl-. Now If, ~ Mr.
had proved, pr"t"eliv. duties had not increHs.
rI, but reduced prices, what b"carne at Nil this
eIs,nur about high prices, robbery, oppression,
and pIundrr? u vanished into thin AIR; IL had
no foundation To stand on, and the gentleman
and his followers we're bound by their own
,tinr,pl-s To go for The protective policy,
which rcdiccd The price of manufactured goods
hy increasing th" .uI ply whilst. on the ulhrr
hnnd II increased The price b, increasing the
demand for agricultural produce, aud rnhanc I'd
the wages Of labor by increasing it's employ
menis.
But the gentleman had also said, that Will.
ia, tarlif was oppressive on the interests of
agriculture aud oi labor u was highly brnch
cal TO invested capital To the rich mounpolists,
the lords of tn. lpom. Now, Mr.. =. sad that
in,t the reverse of this was true. While pro.
t-ciion benefited both agriculture aud labp,, il
was but u small ad, aurngs, fan,, to reSisd copi.
tai The gentleman aud his frebds, without
knowing ", were ~ fact doing more ior the
benefit uf rested capita, by keeping up lhls aei.
tatlon aud opposilIon To the tauh, ana thereby
establishing a monopoly by checking c"npctl.
ton, than ~ i,s iautf mon in that House pat
together. In the case Oi vested capital the tar
M had done it's york II had bulii the manu-.
factories up il had Introduced improved ma.
chinery aud increased skill II had done all
that fixed capital required Vested raprtal was
now on lis r.ei-it could get along without
help. They bad exported during the last ear
between tudr and hve uttiiions 81 dollars worth
Of cotton cloth they bad beaten the Blush
out of thrir own markets. The great manu-.
f,ctutrts rr ihe.. good. f,arcd no foreign com
peut,un Ihry bad uvoitumo that A that
they now fcar,d WAS American competition
at hone, Thu protective tariH raised against
them that very competition. Whir advuca. .
ting, therefore, the continuance of our existing
tariff, aud resisting lis reduction, Mr. ; wa,
working IN the most direct aud 'iiicient man
ner for the interests ut American iabur-hc vas
resisting foreign; he was going Tor The Interests.
Of the American farmers and the American Ia
borrrs, and not for the interests oi largo vested
caPiial he went To destroy existing monopoly,
by increasing investments aud Coinp,tItiuu-
tho only thug that could destroy It. IL was
the gentleman, aud those " ho acted with him,
by keeping up tins ,arltf agiIaton-Il was ih-y
who were aiding capital. This agitation opera
ted to cheek new investments, nnd Of course
10 promote and secure monopoly. Those who
were contemplating the investment of new
capital would defer u. One would say TO a.
mother, "Don't build new mill or furnace
now the tariff is going 10 b. reduced - Mr.
;. knew THIS to be tue. Tie had heard of
twelve larg. companies who had intended 20.
build furnaces IN Punnsy ylvanm this spring,
hni had suspended thrIr purpose ill they