New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-06

that there is another, better, ano safer, road
than that by which they wous lead as; and il
we take the various Congresses % the past thirty
yesrs, we shall find that there has never been
| single one that has not furnished evidence tbss
a large majority Of tks rotiHg population was Of
that opinion. Such was the case, as you know
with the Congress of 1886. How absurd then ID
the effort to stile discussion OF this most import.
ant question!
II Is one upon which men may and do, honestly
differ. and the true mode OF arriving at decsioa
upon il is TO have it fairly, fully and honestly
discussed The truth IS to be found, and those
who feel assured they have 1t need not fear the
most thorough and complete exposition and dis.
cussion of the real facts of the case. To msstate
a fact. is evidence that the real fact will not an
swer the purpose To avoid discussion is evi.
dence of consciousness that the case is bad one
and will not bear il. Now cannot believe that
the gentlemen Of whom the League" Is com.
posed would desire TO avoid full and free discus
sion. for to do so would be to admit their own
doubt of the truth Of their position, at a moment
when they were assuming the high responsible
lity' of teaching the persons charged with the
duties Of Government, and in relation to q ques-
tion affecting in the highest degree the physical,
moral, and political interests of the whole com.
munity. their friends and fellow citizens. 1t is
the greatest Of all questions for this Union, for Il
is the one that lies at the root OF all the disquiet
now existing a. the two extremites OF the Union.
Ii is, therefore, the one of all others that needs
full clear and calm discussion, and such IL u.s.
doubt not, that "the League would desire 10
10 give IT,
Thoroughly impressed with the advantage Of
perfect freedom OF trade, was for many years
opposed to the protective system, aud believer
in the doctrine which led to the pas age Of the
Compromise bill in 1888. The results OF that sys-
tenn of policy led me to see that there existed
some difficulty that was unable to comprehend.
The universal prosperity which followed the pas.
IS th.T apttf of = ID 1,.h
and induced me to examine the subject more
closely, and at length was enabled to satisfy my
self Of the existence OF an artificial cause tending
to produce an unsound and impoverishing state
of things, which il was the object of the protect
i've system to correct, and that here, as ia many
other cases, the common sense of the multitude
had outrun the speculations Of philosophers. From
that hour II became satisfied that the true and
only road to freedom of trade lay through perfect
protection, and bad there remained doubt upon
the subject it would have been removed, when,
after an interval OF many years upon reperusal
of The Wealth Of Nations, found that the essen.
tial object of that great work had been to teach
tho people of Great Britain that the system
against which it has been the object OF protection
among ourselves to guard, was not less manifestly
destructive Of themselves than It was vioatye
"of the most sacred rights of mankind" at large
The Tariff Of 1916 has caused the total ruin OF
thousands and tens Of thousands OF the most
useful men in the country. 1t tends to the utter
destruction of the coal and the iron, the cotton
and the wooden interests and unless Its progress
be stayed, at that goal we must soon arrive, as
must be admitted even by yourself For all this
we should elsewhere find some compensation. IL
we produce less coal and iron, we should have more
wheat to sell. If we make less cotton CLOTH we
should export more cotton. Ii we make less
wooden cloth, we should raise more wool. II We
build fewer factories, we should export more to-
bacco. If we build fewer furnaces, we should
md oil mas
we must do, or largely diminish our consumption
Of cloth and iron because if we do not make we
must buy them which can be done only by pro-
ducing commodities which their producers are
willing to receive in exchange for them. Ii these
things have happened, there may be found therein
some compensation for diminished production Of
cloth and iron; but If they have not happened,
then is there no compensation for the vast de-
struction we have witnessed and are daily wit.
Messing
Have they happened Have we more wheat
to export On the contrary, we have less from
year to year. Have we more cotton, rice, tobacco,
corn or pork to sell The answer is found in the
fact, that the quantity for export diminishes from
year 10 year. The demand for ships diminishes
and the demand for labor diminishes and instead
of this country becoming from year TO year more
and more the asylum for the down trodden people
of Europe, it becomes from year to year less SO;
and with the diminution Of immigration there is
diminution of the number OF persons with whom
we maintain perfect freedom of trade, untram
melled by the interference OF custom house Off
GERS. Under the Tariff OF 1912, immigration tire.
bied; and with each immigrant we established
perfect freedom OF trade Under the Tariff of 1886
immigration has become stationary, with ten.
dency to decline, and the number of arrivals in
the iast sca year Is not greater than it three
years before. Perfect free trade has ceased TO
extend itself. We trade now with a million of
Europeans, still resident in Europe who bat for
the Enactment OF the Tariff of 1916 would now
b.. Americans.
Here is a mass OF facts that should be accounted
Tor, and they correspond exactly with those
which were exhibited to view as the com promise
tariff became operative as you will see by the
perusal OF the following pages, in which the
movement under the various systems of the last
twenty years is fully examined. They constitute
my contribution toward the transactions of the
Free Trade League, and | desire now 10 in.
vlte your attention to them with view 10 the
discussion and settlement of the question, whetb.
er the road toward perfect freedom of trade lies
through perfect protection, or through the total
abandonment OF the protective system. One or
the other must be true. Incidental protection is
a fraud, and the sooner it is abandoned the better
it will be for the nation If protection is right It
should be adopted, as being the way by which
we may speedily, safely, and proftably reach per.
f ct freedom of trade. If it is not right, it should
be at once and entirely abandoned.
The facts here given are as believe, accurate.
- ony vi uem are otnerWsei IL is because OF the
exceeding difficulty OF obtaining inform alton in
relation to some Of the subjects brought under
consideration-H any errors exist, shall be glad
to have them Indicated, together with any error
OF deduction that you may discover. invite you
to full exposition of them. Ny desire is to lind
the truth, and that alone and if you can account
for the facts in such manner as to prove me in or
ror 1t shall be as frankly admitted as will be the
case, I'm persuaded, with yourself when you
shall have satisfied yourself that the result of the
four years experience of the policy of 1886 has
been to diminish every where throughout the
country the value of labor and capital and 70 de.
teriorste the condition Of the people. have free
Y examined yourviews, as published by yourself
Be as free with NINE