The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-06-21
Carrying Coal. to Newcastle.

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"Rssolosd, That the construction, with iron of
foreign manufacture, of the york and Cumber-
land Valley Railroad, an improvement whose west
ern terminus is within sight Of this convention,
and which passes of the richest deposites
iron within the borders of State furnishes
the best illustration Of and commentary upon, the
ruinous effects Of the British tariff Of 1916 upon
american labor"
The fact stated in the above resolution, which
was adopted at a recent Wing convention in
Dauphin county, Pennsy vania, is one well cal
culated to excite reflection. A stranger to our
land and its commercial regulations, who should
see the laborers upon the York and Cumberland
Valley road engaged in laying down the rails,
and, walking along the road bed, should observe,
from the geological formation Of its excavations,
that iron existed in rich profusion beneath
his feet, would doubtless crafty himself with
specializing upon the large increase of wealth
to accrue to a community who were turning
up the lower treasures of the earth, the ores in
its bosom, and employing them in facilitating
the transportation Of those which remained, and
of the products Of the upper surface, to the mar
kets, where they could find consumers. He
would be apt to take it for granted, that the iron,
Of which the rails were made, was mined on the
spot, and fashioned into its shape by mills in
the immediate vicinity. What would be his
surprise, when, on expressing his satisfaction to
the first intelligent Pennsylvania he met, he
should be told-Sir, you are laboring under
great mistake; the rails you saw were rolled in
British mills from Welsh iron.
"But how comes this about2 This iron must
be paid for in England, and all the charges of
transportation, by sea and inland, must be de-
frayed. The latter, at least, might have been
saved. Is there not proverb which pronounces
il an Improbable business to carry Goals to
Newcastle2 Besides, does not your Govern
ment exact some duties on the Importation Of
this iron, which makes the proceeding still
more expensive2'-He might be answered, if
his informant was disciple of the late Secre-
tary WALKER, something after this fashion
Certainly this iron has to be paid for in Eng
land. That is the great advantage of importing
it, for we desire to have the wheat of our farm
ers sold in England, and we cannot effect that
unless we buy their iron. Besides, the iron
costs enough less in England to enable us to
pay what would seem to be wastoful expen-
diture in transportation, as well as the duties.
AS to the latter, the matter is admirably ar
ranged, for the cheaper the foreign price, the
less are the duties added TO it.
"But'-says the stranger TO the special ad
vantages of foreign trade-''a man who works in
an iron-mil in great Britain can eat no more
wheat than one who pursues the same trade here.
am informed that, in point of fact, he eats much
less, for his wages are so small, in making
cheap iron, as not TO admit of his purchasing
any thing more than just enough to keep of
starvation Why might not the wheat as well
be sold TO an American workman2 Besides, it
strikes me now that there is another great waste
in this mode Of dealing-for if your wheat goes
10 England to be eaten by the workers
there, it must be burdened with large cost Of
transportation, which will be charged over to
you in the price Of the iron. Grain is an arti-
Gle Of great bulk in proportion to its value, and
you subject yourselves to paying the cost Of
transportation both ways. whereas if you ex-
changed the breadstuffs for the iron at home,
the transportation Of both would be saved"
"This all looks very plausible, but, then, all
the advantages and disadvantages Of your sys-
tenn Of home trade, and my system Of foreign
trade, are comprised and expressed in the low
cost Of British iron, and the high cost Of Anne
rican. There is but one rule for trade-buy in
the cheapest market and sell in the dearest"
THAT may he very true in respect To an indi-
vidual who has all the money he needs to sur
ply his wants, but nations, aggregates Of indi-
viduals, must get their money by their labor.
They can have no more than the sum Of all
their labor will produce, and but the smallest
portion Of that can be in coin. What they have
10 sell is their labor The dearest market at
which that can be sold is the nearest. The
wheat, for the sake Of making foreign mar
ket for which you are ready TO give up the
at Liverpool than on our own seaboard; il has
ceased TO go abroad, and the consideration for
admitting foreign iron TO be laid down over
American ore beds has utterly failed.
Meantime those who found employment in
the manufacture Of iron, and whose consump-
ton Of wheat has given to il higher money
value than that il commands in Europe. have
been driven by thousands to the west to raise
wheat, instead Of eating diminishing the de-
mand and increasing the supply. The number
Of grain growers is moreover annually swelled
by three hundred thousand enigrants, mainly
from the British islands. and by half million
of native citizens annually arriving at years Of
maturity, all Of whom are forced by this system
TO devote themselves 10 agricultural labor and
thus to continually diminish the money value Of
the labor Of each one Of them"
II the stranger whom we have imagined thus
TO express the thoughts naturally suggested by
the fact stated in the Dauphin county resolu-
ton. should chance TO know any thing Of the
proceedings in Congress, he would be vastly at
loss 10 comprehend why il was that men
should expend ak months in resisting the adj
mission of California, for fear Of its disturbing
the eouilbrium in the Senate while they can