The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-05-23

of the message il does not xpect to stand at ALL"
JDAsrEL WEBsrrR's Letter to the Union Meeting
at Wesfchesfer.
The WING Party and Internal Improve
snents.
From the Union of May %.
s'No matter by what authority or for what pur-
pose-whether for railroad. turnpike, or for
mill--the Wing doctrine is always for the appro-
priation OF the public money. There ia no room
for the Democratic doctrine. which discrimnates
between objects that national and local, and
what can be lawfully done by the General Govern
ment and the Statesno for The idea that there
ia any constitutional limitation upon the power Of
. either governments or individuals. Wing doc
trine dsdains all such idle distinction. It acts
upon the general principle that there ia room
enough in our growing and great country for all
that individuals, or States. or the General Gov
eminent do upon the subject OF improve
ments. And hence it il immaterial where the
President and his Cabinet go-whether on the
Erie railroad or canal, the Rockville turnpike,
or at the Richmond mills-they can say these are
the results of our principles on the subject of
internal improvements. This is Whiggery-
hurrah, boys-this is Whiggery, and we repre-
sent the Wing party
Our contemporary is little wild and high
he says; for he will not deliberately pretend
that the Wines disregard either the objects or
authority Of expenditure. He is wrong in all
this, but he is substantially right in conceding
to the WING party an earnest and sincere de-
sire to aid and foster all feasible enterprises of
internal improvement, whether they are COM
menced under the auspices of individuals, or of
L 81.
constitutional limitations.
The Wines are the party Of progress. They
are the party which seeks to stimulate enter
prise by all proper legislation, because enter
prise augments the rewards of industry and
the wages of LABOR. Hence it is that they
our own citizens into a ruinous competi-
tion with the pauper labor of Europe. They
believe in the policy of moderate and
discriminating tariff-not high tariff, for
that leads to ruinous changes, but tariff
framed upon the recommendations Of President
FILLMORE in his annual message. These re-
Communications contemplate the imposition of
specific duties sufficient TO raise the requisite
revenue, making such discrimination in favor
of the industrial pursuits Of our own country as
TO encourage home production, without exclud-
ing foreign competition. They further con-
template such change in our present system
as will obviate the unfortunate provision which
imposes much higher duty on the raw mate
rails that enter into our manufactures than upon
the manufactured articles themselves. We be-
lieve that very large majority of the Ameri-
can people are in favor of such modification of
the existing tariff--because, as things now
stand, the honest merchant and manufacturer
are made the victims Of systematic frauds which
have not only cheated the revenue, but have
Frustrated some Of our most important and me-
cessary manufactures.
So with regard to Internal Improvements.
We contend that there was eminent propriety
in the attendance of WING PRESIDENT and
CABINET at the celebration that has recently
taken place at Dunkirk. The WING party of
New York, in spite Of the cutlery of Locofocoism
Of "ruin0us expenditures" and abyss of
debt"-in spite of threats of sponging and re-
pudiation-early advised, and have earnestly
and successful Furged the embarkation of the
fortunes and energies of the Empire State in
this career of improvement. They were I'm
willing to see New YoRK outstripped by her
sister Commonwealth. They contended that
the State could not advance too rapidly for its
own interestin this great career that with the
most eager and continuous efforts il would be
almost impossible to meet the growing demands
Of the country, of that vast population which
New York was destined to collect within her
own borders, and Of that vast foreign and
the city Of New York the commercial me
tropolis of the world. Locofocoism took
the antagonist position on this question.
In 1885, a DEMOCRATIC Senate in New
York defeated all the Improvements passed
by VINO assembly. They defeated al
that time the bill to authorize the construc-
ton Of this very New York and Erie railroad
by the State. The Federal Administration a,
that time held that the Federal Government
could not undertake Internal Improvements
but that they should be left to the 'Stotes
Colonel YouNG, Mr. MARcY, Mr.. PAGE, Mr.
FLAeo, and all the leading Democrats in New
York. said that the State Legislatures could
not undertake this kind of work for their con-
stituents-and that the great secret of govern
ment was to leave every thing to the "volun-
tary principle" Their ground was, that the
less Government does the better, and that i'm
provements which iadiyiduais will not under
take had better remain unprecedented. This
policy the people Of the State repndiatsd, ~