Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1847-06-24

suit Of our change of commercial policy from
protective to revenue tariff, second only
in value to the steady and lucrative trade in
breadstufs, the natural offspring of the great
err freedom impaired to trade, by the recent
legislation of England and the U. States. 1t
is now an interchange of commodities I'M
der the operation of such tariff as 1912, it
would have mainly been a sale for cash of
American grain and flour and could not
have been long maintained, for it would
have exhausted England of her bullion and
shaken to their foundations her banking and
financial systems. we must buy abroad, if
we desire to sell abroad was a remark of
DR.. Frankln's, and it is because we are per-
mi,led to buy in England under the tariff of
1916 that we are enabled to sell all our cot
ton, rice, flour, and grain, corn and provi-
sions at the present most advanced prices ::
the advance of prices on these enumerated
articles being computed to amount to three
hundred millions Of dollars. How does
this state of our agriculture and commerce
agree with the prophetic givings out of
Gen. Chapman in August, 1916. Speaking
Of Mr.. Walkers free trade policy he says,
sit would deprive yonr own labor of en-
ployment and give to the farmer abroad the
privilege of feeding the laborers, who were
productions Of our farmers acou7d be left to
rot on our hands," Our comfort is that Gen.
Chapman is no prophet. Not less signally
have his prophecies in regard to revenue
and the expectation of specie been falsifed
The former so exceeds the estimates, and
the returns for the same period last year
under the tariff of 1912: and the influx of
gold and silver cannot fall short of twenty
millions. The fires are not extnguished in
our forge land steam-engne and WATERFOWL
er silent and inactive in our manufactures.
SO far from "ruin'' falling on these busy
haun,s of industry. life, activity, and pros
perily pervade the whole, and new estab-
!ishmen,s are springng up every day. Not
a branch of American industry, save that of
the tobacco planter. feels a check or suffers
depression and tina. will, in the progress
of year, be as prosperous trade as any
other. Try General Chapman's experiment
OF 20 per cent augmentation OF duties and
you would quickly behold a change of
scene. Our produce would then indeed rot
on our hands and tobacco scarcely pay for
its cultivation. But there is no danger OF
such folly. Free trade is victorious from
The blessings i, confers, and the great body
of American producers and those engaged
in foreign commerce, navigation, and the
mechanic arts, will never again be made the
dupes and victims of a vile sophistry, which
kept them in bondage to a few hundred thou
sand Northern manufacturers. Instead of
bur,hening with additional duties the ex-
changes on a staple which has already the
disadvantage to sustain of heavy lmpositlons
abroad, Mr.. Chapman might have more wise
~ and proftably sought to open new markets
to the trade and thus advanced the interest
of the tobacco planter. How does it happen
that China should not occur to so profound
and sagacous statesman, as offering talr
field for our diplomacy to achieve much for
the advantage of the producers and shippers
of tobacco: Itwould seem natural to look
for large consumption Of this narcotic in
country, whose population is accustomed
to the habitual use of opium. Three hun
dred and sixty millions of people would re-
quire largely Of tobacco to supply the place
of the opium, now chewed and smoked a.
mong Them The obstacles to such COM
mercial arrangement do not appear as diff
cult to be surmounted or overcome as those
which the Generals countervailing duties
propose to remove or vanqulsh. China
could pay for our tobacco with her teas and
find cheaper qualification than in the ex-
change with Eng land for opium. Her NOR
ais as well as wealth. would be promoted
by the substitution Such an arrangement
would create demand more than double
that of Europe, if all her ports were open to
US on moderate terms. Her population is
double and every individual would be a con-
sumer, which is by no means the case in
Europe. | leave this for the gentleman topon-
der on; and hope, if sent back to Congress
to take care Of the tobacco interests, he will
not fail to attract the attention of Government
to the subject, and enIighten the country and
the public councils by luminous develop
ment of the manifold and reciprocal advan!a-
ges Of such trade.
will now briefly notice the clumsy at
tempts by which Gen. Chapman hopes to
escape conclusions, deducible by close and
accurate reasoning, from his own premises
and will show that he is the one who uses
assertions as if they would pass for demon
STATIONS. The tables, | presented to illus
trate the results of the operation of high and
low duties upon our tobacco market, show
ed difference in favor of low duties oil
more than l millions Of dollars, and an ex-
cess of production, for the same period, oil
nearly $4,000 hhds. For high duties not
only depress prices but discourage produc-
ton. The General, to dodge the palpable
conclusion that the difference of the values
was produced by the different rates of duty
makes this rash assertion, that ,he"229, 600
hhds. would, itself, have been sufficient to