Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1850-05-31
New SerIes-V0l. R-Eo. 32.


ence OF the past, he repudiatcd the great prin-
ciple Of specific duties-rejected il as unworthy
a place IN his wonderful plan of financial re-
form-and substituted the Qd Uaiorem principle.
and with a foreign valuation. la word, sir.
we had, as the offspring OF these extraordinary
labors the Tariff act OF lC4G and the profound.
ly learned report upon finance and revenue
which accompanied it.
This, sir, Is not the proper time for the dis
cusslon, at any length, CT the merits, or rather
demerits, Of this act OF 1916. trust may
have another opportunity, before Congress shall
adjourn, Of entering more extensively upon this
subject. Suffice it to say at this time, that this
act has three prominent characteristics In the
first place, it destroys American shipping and
| American commerce, and builds up and pro-
notes British skipping and British commerce.
Its second Characteristic IS, that II offers pre-
miums, holds out rewards to perjury, and every
! species Of fraud and villainy upon the revenue
of the country. lis third, not less distingulsl-
ing Characteristic, is, that il gives protection 10
/ American industry when it Is not needed, and
wlthdraws from it all protection at the very
moment when 1t is needed at the very mo-
ment when, about 10 be overwhelmed by the
competition of foreign labor, it IS extending It's
suppicatng hands to the Government for relief,
/ 10 save II from utter ruin.
The consequences of this measure were dis
( tlnctY foreseen and toretold at the time Of its
/ passage; and although, in consequence of the
extraordinary state OF things existing in Europe
at that time, and for some time afterwards. the
evil day came not so soon as was expected, the
arght is now upon Us, with al It's darkness
/ The railroad mania, which prevailed all over
the continent Of Europe, and the famine, which
was not less prevalent in that same region Of
the world, postponed for a season the pernicious
q
are upon US in all their bghtlng power. | con-
fine my remarks to the iron aud coal interests
Of Pennsylvania, leaving to other and aber
hands to show the condition of the other great
industrial interests of the country. The coal
mines of the State, IN which millions Cf capital
have been invested, have been rendered unpro-
ductlve, Improbable Some have been sold by
the sheriff, others abandoned to dilapidation and
ruin. lam informed that the sheriff is the only
man that makes money in the great coal fields
of SchuykiIl county; and that the population
OF that county has been reduced about four
thousand within the last twelve or fourteen
months. a large portion Of our numerous
iron establishments throughout the State-I
would say the larger portion Of them have
been broken up, sold by the sheriff, OF have sus-
pended; and the little remnant are now send
ing up the daily petitions TO US TO save them
from the ruin that must speedily overwhelm
them also. Our great agricultural interests
must soon also feel the shock, and share in the
common ruin. They must soon be deprived Of
a home market, and they will look in vain for
a foreign one. The consumers must become
producers and competitors with the present
! farmers for market already overstocked. The
immense importations Of foreign manufactures
and productions, beyond all precedent, now
flooding the country under the present tariff, is
a Just subject of anxiety and alarm. The debt
incurred this year, it is estimated, must reach
the enormous sum Of 340,000,000 if it do not
exceed it. Not all the gold Of California will
enable US to meet the drafts that will soon be
made upon Us. The utter prostration of all the
industrial interests of the country--revulsions,
suspensions universal bankruptcy-all are per-
ceptible in the distance. They will soon be
upon us like tempest, as they were brought
upon us by the Compromise Tariff of 1888
VIII we take the proper measures to prevent
these calamities to the country
Much, sir, has been said in this House about
Northern aggressIOns, and about the great
amount of loss sustained by the South, in con-
sequence of the escape of their slaves into the
free States ana their inability 10 recover them.
Now, | venture 10 affirm, without wishing to
underrate or understate the amount of this loss,
that Pennsy lvana alone has lost more within
the last eighteen months, under the ruinous
operation OF the Tariff of 1916 than would
pay for all the runaway slaves from all the slave
States for the last halt century.
presume ali remember the extraordinary
favor with which this Tariff act OF 1916. and
the very learned report accompanying it, were
received in England Why, sir, the statesmen
OF her Britannia Majesty's Government were
smItten with astonlshment at the wonderful
wisdom of this prodigy Of learning in financial
science which Brother Jonathan bad produced;
and they paid him the unprecedented compli-
ment OF publication Of his learned report by
order Of Parliament. presume it will q lso be
remembered, as part of the history OF this
bill, that in discussion which took place ii the
House OF Commons, some time after il had gone
INTO operation, upon the then condition and
future destiny of the Canadas-upon their pro-
bable independence and future annexation To
the United States-that Sir VIM. Molesworth.
q distinguished member of the lower House,
argued, that they were then tax, burden,
upon the revenues of the Government; and that
their annexation TO the United States would
not only relieve the treasury OF great burden,
but would add greatly to the commercial pros
peritv of The kingdom. He exclaimed that
"our commerce with our American colonies
(meaning the United States, and he said he
would insist on calling them their cOoniesl is
twice as profitable as all our other commerce
with all our other colonies upon the face of the
globe" And the interesting feature of this
profitable commerce, as he said, was, that it
cost the mother country not one cent not one
farthing, for standing armies, for Notifications,
harbors, lighthouses, &c. All these expenses
were paid by the dutiful colonies themselves.
And now, sir, when under the operations OF
this tariff our coal mines have been rendered
unproductive, some sold by the sheriff, others
abandoned to dilapidation and ruin; when a
large portion Of our numerous iron establish
ments, our furnaces, our forges, and rolling
mills have become silent, their fires put out .
when our canals and railroads have also been
rendered 10 soG!e extent, unprg6fahla. Az