The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-09-25
The great Day OF tho great Session.

Yesterday is likely TO be remembered by
many as the great day of this session of Con-
gress The killed and wounded We're numer-
Of the tariff. For time its prospects were
fair, but, at the fiat of the Speaker, handsome
majority was converted into minority, and
the bill was laid upon the table for the session,
as its enemies hoped and believed. Next came
various bills containing large grants Of land to
Western States, in aid of various contemplated
railroads. On their appearance, the representa-
tives of the older States seemed To waken up
to the fact that every such grant must operate
bounty on emigration from those States, and tend
greatly to their impovershment, unless accompa-
MED by some measure leading to the re-openiHg
of their now abandoned mills, and furnaces, and
mines. thus creating demand for labor. That
they should, even at this late period of the ses-
sion, have opened their eyes to this important
fact, can surprise no one accustomed, like our
selves, TO see the notices OF emigration with
which the newspapers now so much abound
since the tariff Of 1916 has become fairly and
fully operative. In recent one from the State
OF Maine, we saw IL Sldttu tHdt tie
therefrom to Minnesota had become alarming,
and threatened even to impair the position of
the State in the Union. From other States we
have seen statements Of the great diminution in
the value of land, consequent upon the extern
sion of emigration following the closing up OF
the ordinary means for employing labor. In
Pennsylvania, we are told, the population of va
rous places has been largely reduced. Under
such circumstances, it can scarcely be deemed ex-
traordinary that the representatives of the older
States should have arrived at the conclusion
that emigration would go on fast enough with
out offering new inducements in the shape of
contributions from the public treasury, to be APP
piled to the purchase of British iron. We can
readily imagine that while the representatives
of Pennsylvania would have objected little to
the contribution of homemade iron to the con-
structon Of these new roads, they should have
found it difficult to see the advantage to be de-
rived by their State from closing her remaining
mines and furnaces, for the purpose of compel
ling her farmers customers to fly to the West,
there to raise food to be transported on roads,
to the making of which he was himself a
contributor-thus, in fact, making a stick to
break his own head. We confess that we Co
incide in opinion with the representatives of the
older States With an efficient tariff to raise the
price of labor, and thus promote immigration,
we can see no disadvantage in these new roads;
but with such tariff as that of 1916. under
the operation of which immigration diminishes
from daV 10 day this further extension of our
railroad system, at the cost Of the national
treasury, would seem uncalled for and nnneces-
sary. The anti-improvement party has now
its own way, and we fear our western friends
are likely to pay heavily for having failed to send
representatives that were honestly in favor Of
the extension Of our great national works of i'm
provement.