The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-12-16
THE UNION.
CITY OF WASHINGTON.
SATURDAY MORNING, DEC. IS, is4s.
The treasury Report and the protseuon,.,..

best may through some three columns of very abored
effort to make some sort OF Roadway against the stubborn
facts and victorious logic of the report of the Secretary OF
the Treasury. The Tribune is undoubtedly among the
abest newspaper champions of the protective system IN
the country and its utter failure TO make out any
all in its present article and still more the unguaded
admissions TO which il finds itself forced IN order to
make out any toerabe SoW of present in strong
relief the mpregnabiliy of the positions taken in the
mastery document which it assails and seeks 10 dis
parage.
Here is the first of these admissions and upon reading
it we cannot but ask readers to mark the desperate
strait to which the protectonis sophsty in the hands
of its leading expounders has at last The Trl-
bune says:
The So cretary is right in assuming that the natural ect
of protection gradually TO diminish and IA time substan-
italy eringuis. the importation Of foreign products
which rival protected branches of industry The
end by protection is not the importation OF
clothes, wares &c, at higher prices bM the substantial
stoppage Of their importation at dH"
Here the matter is fairly out at least The "end pro-
lection "anS at is the Substantial extnguishment and
soppage' of our commerce with other nations 1t is
idle TO say that stoppage OF importation is alone aimed
at for surely the Tribune will not deny that Importation
and exporation being parts of the transaction OF
exchange, must fall or flourish together If nation
takes our exports in any considerable measure must
pay us with imports The proposition is, therefore, sub
santally to put end to commerce. in order to found
and foster, by law-that is, by heavy taxes the
consuming commuuty-branches of industry which
would not take root among us, if individual labor
left free to take its own natural direction law 10 be
passed by Congress, with the direct 'aim" of making
Richard Roe pay ten dollars more for his wfe's silk
Il + II, noo, e., 18th
quit his corn fields and take to silk-growing There is
legislative wisdom for the nineteenth century,
But this is not all-nor the worst In order to pro-
duce this result is to be broken down. That
great branch OF industry already established among us,
which is not improperly called commercial, but which,
in fact, ramfes itself through the whole community
building ships and building cities, and giving gainful
employment to myrads of hands, in all the forms Of
labor which pertain to the carrying trade of the world
this great branch of industry to be stopped broken up
by law in Older that may thus be forced to plant
and weave and spin and hammer, what, if left TO them
selves they would let alone, being proftably
gagged upon something else This-ust ths--is the
ayowed sam" of protection How will the county like
this % aim? ="
And here rises another question. Have the American
people in this confederacy of States intentionally clothed
their federal government with power to do this hng-to
determine, in the first place, what branches of business
our citizens should follow, and then ride gh-shod
over other established forms of industry, and "er
tnguisb" them, in order that these branches
may sooner get established, through bonus 10 be paid
out of the fruit of heavy taxes laid the people for that
end Is there warrant in the constitution for the
else of such power as that If so, is wonderful that
the trainers of that instrument should have said nothing
about it. Surely is power requiring plain terms 1t
is not to be hid in corner, to be Struggled through
implication, appended as an incident, nor wrapped
up in an nuendo 1t is power to change the whole
ca aspect of the country TO interfere in every mans
business; to legisate any into beggar mil
lionaire as the case may be-and that, too, by law
which "aims' to produce that very result; and surely
such power as this, whether you call it projections or
or "exngushnent," what you will, is
power which requires very plain words grantt Where
then, is the grant in the constitution
But let look step farther into this aim' OF the
protection to extinguish our foreign commerce. The
Tribune proceeds:
M Walker is appalled, the thought of foreign nations
casing to buy products while we, if that cessation
were caused by their artisans coming here and making
their and fabrics for better wages, advan
tageously for us, wod regard That catastrophe at
all, but great blessing to all parties"
The Tribune must settle with its nativist friends who
helped it elect General Taylor all this matter of bringing
the foreign artisans here TO do their work at better
wages. That is not the matter now in hand But, we
ask, where is this cain" of protection 10 stop? 1t is
to cut off our commerce with foreign nations, and TO
make them "cease TO buy our products" SO much
seems settled But what else We are told in another
sentence:
'A that ask, and all that protection seeks, is that
ercangcs be placed each other their toor
no more contradiction OF natures laws than digging
canal is.'
Now then, we ask the Tribune, is it in favor-is this
theory this sam" Of protection, in favorof free trade
between Illinois and Massachusetts, Are "the ex
changers living respectively in those two States near
enough to each other to satisfy this political
my, or would the Tribune have protective State tariff
tier of EACH in order to make the Massachusetts go
to Illinois and do their work there Protection thinks
bad for Texas to send her cotton to Liverpool because
of the Observation-Disclosures the eychangers live too far
apart Is protection, then, quite willng-can it consist
emily be wng-that Texas should send her cotton TO
Boston, so as to be spun and woven at Lowell We
submit that the "exchangerS' still far apart And
it be good to extinguish commerce between Lucr
pool and New Orleans in order to make the Texans
ufacture their own cotton, why is it not just as bad to
keep open free trade between New Orleans and Boston,
by which the Texas planter gets his cotton manufactu