Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1852-01-13

After some delay tits document. the most
itnpasart Of all tie Reports connected with
the beginning Of a Congressional session and
the Annual Message ci tie President. IS Eow
before she House q Representatives and the
public. Gopublish it entire in this MORN
ing's Amerircn II is a statistical document
ia its main ellaracieries, ard contains IL fig
urcs and in words many important facts.
IL will be seen that our exports. fer the
last fiscal rear. Of brcadstuffs aud provisions.
,ice and tobacco, exhibit decrease us com
paced With those cf tic previous year. In
cotton alone Of al our agricultural staples.
our exports Tor the last year slew an increase
mot IN quantity ever those Of some pre-
vious years. but in yalae. on account OF en-
lanced prices Il Is to DO noted, however.
that the value of the exports Of this staple is
set down not from the amount Of actual sales,
but from the repeated value. as estimated by
the reporters, against which bills were drawn
The difference between the value thrs drawn
against and the realized amount OF actual
sales Is ono Of the NEST frcqucu. causes de-
marding TIE expectation # specie to make
good the discrepancy.
To the twenty .I4iie millions Of specie ex-
ported during the last fiscal year We are told
by Mr. Secretary corwia that some twenty
seven and half millions are to be added for
the first FIVE mouths Of the current fiscal year,
If We would have an idea Of the increasing
ratio Of this export The suggestion Of the
grave and Difficult. question how. ~ the face
Of declining prices Of cotton. with no evidences
Of an Increasing demand abroad for breadstu'is
and provisions. rice or tobacco. how We are
to pay for tue large impoftat;ons wLich con-
tinue to pour i, upon US from Europe is a
suggestion tl.t comes il place not more nat
uraiiy than foreiliy. We have noted the
constantly augmentng expectation OF gold;
it is bccomming che Of our map staples; and
as there will always be demand for that, it
would seem that We must look to that as the
only means Of making up the ha'races that
arise against us wien our other staples .ull il
piiec or fail to gain access to market.
Thus the basis Of our currency Tia. which
should furnish the vital element Of circuia
tion lis drawn away TO meet the fuctuating
exigencies Of trade and to remedy the evils
Of excessive impoitations 1t is not permit
ted that the shoulders shoui sastna the
burden. nor that tie bands should upheld It;
we cannot meet the requirements Of our OBJ
legations by the labor Of the sinews or tlc
s.alwart strength Of the frame but the blood
must be drawn from the body. All! with that
must De made to furnish, the means Of liqui
dation. But VIC need not speak in figures
Ii geld is commodity like Asnr, rice tobac.
co or cotton --vciy wei. 1t may then go to
make up balances. as such commodities do.
and all would he 10 the way o. trade and no
harm done. The officially is, however. tina.
gold has certain special functions Of currency
to perform both in iisel! ard ia its repre-
sentative, paper money. This simple Tact
places il ~ peculiar position. and not only
makes it something more than commodity.
bur also results frequently in bringing the two
characteristics Of gold, that q a commodity
and that Q. currency into serious and dan
gcrcus aonfet.
We need hot dwell however. upon this -
Every thing here said Is familiar enough both
by theory and by experience--eAeept thai
the experience IS too far back 10 be at this
time yerg feelingly remembered. From 1887
to la42 the subject was rather FAITHFULLY IA
mliar The exhaustion Of specie. drawn
away to pay for balances Of indebtedness in
Europe, had ut that time lett the country
without the basis which its system Of currcn-
cy required and the ccllals" was as general
as i. was terrible. Thf'gnld mines Of Cali
ior.ia are relied Upon now to avert such
another catastral,he.; but as the provcIb has
it, it is deep we'll mat has no h,....,m III ~. {
expectations Of geld, teo, we see, arc icc,cas-
Ing IL ratio far beyond the increase Of, pro
dnction in California According to present
indications the exports Of gold for the cur
rent fiscal ycar will at its clasc almost ii not
altogether doublc those Of the last Year; the
production Of gold in California promises no
such increase.
Much Of the gold that goes to Europe goes
for the parpose of purchasing iron not that
we have not iron mines Of or Own, rich and
pr duetiye, all over the country. But iron
makes very coed ballast for ships coming
with dry goods from Great Fritain, and as
the system OF protection TO domestic Industry
is net regarded by Congress as orthodox, al
though It has been recognized in principle
from the beginning Of tie Government it
follows that the superior capital and cheaper
labor Of Great Britaia enable them to throw
tdeir iron intu cur ports at prices which give
Them more or less the command OF our mar
ket. The Old fallacy may be here repeated
that il Is no hardship hat we can buy iron
cheap even il it does come from ahroad--buy
where Won can buy cheapest and so on. IL
is forgotten al this time. while these maSims
are uttered that cheapness is a relative term.
aud that il you have noilsing waerewiih to
buy, the cheapness of thing you want Is but
a mockery. The son of Erin who wished To
cxait the old country b SAYING that six
renee IN Ireland would buy great deal more
than siSpencc il tie United tatcs. admit
tod tina, there was much greater difficulty
there than here in getting the sixpencc
From the tables Of Mr.. Secretary Ccrwia
It will be seen that during the operation Of
the tsriT of 1872 that is from lSi2 to lsa6
tho domestic production Of iron increased
from 23o, 600 tons to 7G5 geo tons. while the
inportati5ns Of the article diminished reach
ing the low point Of 90, 625 tons. Since the
tariff Of 1916 has been 10 operation the do
nestle production, Instead Of increasing viii,