The republic., 1851-02-20
The "southsrn Press" ON tho T.rin OF .4s.

The "Southern Pressr ON tho Tarifr OF '46.
'"We are now proceeding in career of excessive
expansion. Credit 10 extending in every direction.
Our mercantile debt TO Europe is augmenting. and
also to that country. United States stocks, State
stocks, corporate stocks OF railroad companies and
cities, are going to Europe or into European hands
by millions. Our domestic mercantile debt il ex.
panding all over the country. Our bank circula-
ton ID increasing rapidly. The banks of New
York alone have already circulation of nearly
forty millions-about fourth Of the total crcu-
lation OF all the banks Of the Union when the
pension of 1897 occurred. We are engaged in the
construction of more than six thousand miles of
railroad, which will coSt hundred millions of dol
lars, the subscriptions to which are chiefly debts
contracted, and millions on millions Of specu-
lation in property are going on as the result OF
these improvements. On the faith of speculations
yet to be realized, habits of domestic extravag
are formed throughout the country, giving an
enormous stimulus to domestic production and
foreign importation. The enormous supply of gold
from California and from Russia, the Increased
production of silver in Mexico and South America,
are all giving prodigious momentum to the dis
tempered movement OF the commercial world.
'Now, if no natural or political occurrence should
disturb this movement; II no crop should fail, no
war arise, policy should change; If trade should
proceed in its accustomed channels, the aggregate
OF credit under the impulse of avarice and Of hope
will become too great to be supported by any prac-
tical amount Of production success. Failures
willbegn, probably with some extensive operators,
whose fall will involve others. The alarm will be
given, panic will be produced, credits will be
refused, property must be sacrificed prices fall,
and we shall have the most tremendous revulson
the country has ever experienced"
We take the above from the Southern Press,
and we do so because we desire to ask to it the
particular attention of the supporters of that jour
nal, the ultra southern men, authors of our
present revenue system, and opposers of any
change therein.
We are here told that the country is con-
tracing an enormous foreign debt; that stocks
of every kind are going abroad by millions
and the writer might have said by tens and
hundreds of millions; but we are not told that
the reason why we are doing SO is, that we
have now to buy iron and cloth that before we
made, and should now be making, were it not
that the tariff Of 1876 has closed our mills and
furnaces, and palsied the arm Of industry
throughout the Union.
We are told that we are making six thou
sand miles of railroad, the subscriptions to
which are chiefly debts contracted" !" but we are
not told that the reason why the whole ener-
gies Of the country are given to the making of
roads is that our present system has closed all
the outlets for capital except the building Of
ships and the making Of roads. We have
ceased to build furnaces, TO open mines. or to
construct machinery for the spinning or weav
ing of cotton or wool, and have done SO because
Of the tariff of 1916. TN
The banks Of New York are said to be