Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-07-18

duty.
But, | prefer TO take wider view,
and 10 look at the effect Of this free trade
in coal upon larger portions of our coun-
try than a single State. The consumption,
in that part of our country east of the
Allegheny ridge, of the bituminous coal
of the British Provinces, would were il
free of duty, be very large. would mere
remark, that this coal cannot properly be
regarded as coming into competition with
anthracite. 1t is highly bituminous. | have
heard, perhaps not correctly, that the vola-
tile parts in some Of il are sixty per cent
To illustrate the dissimilarity between this
and anthracite--whilst the one is wholly
worthless for making gas, the other is so
inferior to it for steamships, that the Gu
nard line, notwithstanding it touches at
Halifax, supplies itself with anthracite.
We desire to supply the lower British
Provinces with wheat, flour, corn, rice,
pork, and many kinds of merchandise.
But, in order 10 do so, the charges Of
transportation must he very small. How
can they be made so2 | answer, by our
conserving to receive from those Provin-
ces that great amount of tonnage, which
they will be able to furnish us, providing we
allow them to send us coal, as well as such
other coarse commodities, as fish, plaster,
and grindstones. Their cargo to us will,
in that case, pay, or nearly pay, freight,
both ways, inasmuch as their cargo to us
will be full, and our return cargo to them
light and inasmuch as one of the laws,
which govern the carrying Of property, is
that it is carried cheapest in that direction,
in which there is the least to carry. In
deed, in this case, the return cargo would
be SO light, as, probably, to be no more
than would be needed for ballast.
| close under this head with the remark,
that if the Treaty should have the effect to
cheaper wheat and coal, such effect
would be no argument against it. As we
care more for the whole human brother
hood than for part of it; and as we are
more concerned to have fuel and food ac-
cessible to the poor than to have them
bring great prices to their owners, so the
lower the prices of coal and wheat, the
more we are to rejoice. / said, under the
head before this, that the law Of free trade
in natural productions, cannot be inno-
Gently violated. / add, that it cannot in
any wide and just view Of the case, be
probably violated. For every such view
must include not the wheat-growers and
the coal-owners only, but all other classes
also; and who is there, that, in the light
of the wants and interests of the great
whole, does not see cheap bread and cheap
coal to be among the greatest of. human
blessings
There are complaints from your State,
that the Treaty includes lumber in the list
Of free articles. But, surely, this should
not be complained Of Even if it is so,
that the free competition of Provincial
lumber would create loss anywhere, such
loss would fall, rather on tlB comparative
handful of persons, who own the lumber
lands of Maine, than on the mass of her
people. The trees of these owners might
not advance as fast in price, as they had
done. But the working of them into
lumber would, probably, be as amply re-
Enumerated as ever. But, again, when
great benefcent national measure is pro-
posed, Maine should not, and Maine will
not, shrivel herself up into merely selfish
view oil mat measure.
Even if the Treaty were so liberal and
so just, as to provide, that ships, built in
the Provinces, may receive our registers,
and have every right of ships built in our
own country, Maine; although our great
ship-builder, and having, in such case,
new and powerful competitor, should,
nevertheless, not object TO the Treaty.
Even if she may possibly lose somewhat
by the provisions of the Treaty, in regard
to lumber and even if the Treaty had
gone so far, as to bring her new com
petitor in ship-building, Maine nevcrthe-
less should remember that, on account of
her geographical position, she is TO be an
especial gamer from its general provisions.
The millions of new customers, that the
Treaty gives her, are at her door; and, in
this respect, she can serve them cheaper
than the other States can. The proposed
free trade, together with the freedom of
the ST. Lawrence, would add immensely
to the business Of the Montreal and Port
land Rairoad-immensely TO the business
Of State, which is emphatically State
of navigators.
L confess, tnat II ~ would not en-
danger the adoption of the Treaty, |
should be glad to see provision in
it for the free exchange Of registers.
The poor objection, that it would afford
us ships at cheaper rate than we can
build them, would be overruled by the
consideration, that the American people
are pre-eminently commercial people,
and that, in their eye, therefore, such an
objection would constitute the most win
ming argument in favor Of the Treaty.
The American people prefer cheap ships
to dear ones, even though all the cheap
ships were built in foreign lands, and all
the dear ones i'm their own land. They
care more to have ship nayigated
by Americans than TO know where il
IL. Er1.Ia, Ih,ir