Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-02-21
NUMBER "a.
To the Hon. R. N. 7. Husrrn.

lowing Is an extract, was agreed to:
Unless the United States, in Congress assem-
bled, shall be vested with powers competent to the
protection of commerce, they can never command
reciprocal advantages in trade; and, without these,
| our foreign commerce must decline, and eventually
be annihiated. Hence II is necessary that the
states should be explicit and fix on some efiectual
mode by which foreign commerce, not founded on
principles OF equity, may be restrained.
That the United States may be enabled to Sc
cure such terms they have resolved" &c., &c. HI
The resolutions asked that the States should
give to Congress the power Of prohiJitiag the
subjects Of any foreign State, kingdom or empire,
unless authorized by treaty, from importing into
the United States any goods, wares, or merchan
disc, which are not the produce or manufac-
ture Of the dominions Of the sovereign whose sub
jects they are"
gress, upon motion Of Mr.. Monroe, proposed All
amendment to the ninth article the confederation
providing, among other things, that Congress
should have the sole and exclusive right and power
---- " of regulating the trade Of the States, as
well with foreign nations as with each other; and
Of laying such imposts and duties upon imports and
exports as may be necessary for this purpose" and
in letter addressed to the several States showing
the principles on which the alteration was pro-
posed, 1t was said:
"The common principle upon which friendly
commercial intercourse is conducted between indc-
pendent nations is that of reciprocal ADVANTAGES.
and II this be not obtained it becomes the duty of
the losing party to make such further regulatioas
consistently with the faith of treaties, as will rene.
dy the evil, and secure its interests"
make these quotations to prove that one of the
chief objects Of the adoption of the federal consti
tuition was to confer upon Congress the power to
protect our interests in our commerce with foreign
nations, and to adopt /" such further regulations
as will secure to us "rcciprocal advantages"
BY reference to the proceedings of the Virginia
House of Delegates, 2lst January 1886, it will be
seen that Edmond Randolph, James Madison and
Others, were appointed to meet commissioners from
the other States, :" to take into consideration the
trade Of the United States to examine the relative
situation and trade of the said States to consider
now far an uniform system in their commercial re-
latons may be necessary to their common interest
and their permanent harmony; and to report to
the several States such an act relative to this great
object as when unanimously ratified by them, will
enable the United States in Congress assembled ef.
fectually to provide for the same"
These commissioners met Others from some of
the other States, at Annapolis, on the Ilth of Sep
tember, 1885, and their recommendation led to the
adoption Of the federal constitution
II will thus be seen that the chief purpose wns
to form government with power to adopt such a
system OF commerce as may be necessary to our
' common tnterest and to the "perna1,,ent Loy
mong' among the States-and by byso Is to
these axtracts VIC zoe tiintI. purpose " Bsihg
eign nations" was to enable Congress to make
" such firther regulations" as are competent to
the protection of commerce." and will command
reciprocal advantages in trade"
Such being the purpose of the federal constitu-
tion ask whether the regulations made by Con-
gress are such as to protect our commerce, and Sc
cure to Us reciprocal advantages" or whether
they be such as to promote our Common intereu"
and "perBianent harmony" among the Statcsy
Ifit Is true, as | allege il is that the great Is
sue now. before the world Is fnancial-tbat u h
whether the monarchies of the Old World and their
system of taxation, represented by their funded
debt or the republcansm OF the New World andA
our system Of fprogress as represented by our rai-
roads is the best basis of credit and that under our
system Of commerce, as wrcgulated by Congress,
Il is in the power Of the Bank of England, at any
time to cause runous contraction Of our curren-
cy, by compelling the export Of speci and II
low rate of ad valorem duties gives to the Bank OF
Eugland increased Facilities forexportngou specie
thenn Is the imperative duty Of Congress TO so
tect" our Common. interest"
There are fjw recognised and admitted prin-
ciples Of political economy about which there can
be no difference OF opinion; and there are some
facts, so well established as TO require no further
proof or illustration. Thus it is admitted that the
chief source OF wealth and prosperity OF nation IS
It's productive industry Hence itfollows, that it
is the duty Of Congress, charged as II is with the
control Of or foreign commerce, to so regulate
our commerce as to bring into action and stimulate
our homo industry BY this / do not mean that
Congress should enact prohbitory tariff, and
thus exclude competition with foreign labor, but
do insist that the chief end Of the Federal Consti-
tuition was to so regulate our intercourse with for.
eiRn nations as to protect our common interests,
in MI questions connected with our foreign COM
merce, and that this power was given to Congress,
with especial reference t0 our credit" If so, it
follows that Il Is the duty Of Congress to protect
our "credit" against the contingencies arising
from our intercourse with foreign nat ons. And
hence insist that, as the export OF our sp Gle ne
cessarily produces contraction OF our currency
and AZ that contraction dminishes the value Of
property, Il follows that Il is the duty OF Congress
TO protect our common interests by preventing
as far as practicable this export Of specie; and
hence IL follows, that If We trace the export OF
specie 10 measures adopted by the Bank Of Eng
land, then the measures Of protection TO be adopt
ed BY Congress should be such as 70 protect US
against those (which the Bank OF England causes
the export of specie.
This brings us to the inquiry Of how and by what
means the Bank Of England is enabled TO cause the
export Of our specie. ....
The funding system is of comparatively recent
origin, and It's power and influence imperfectly un-
derstood by the people Of this country. The elder
Peel said, "a public debt is public blessing, and
this saying has become British proverb. His
argument was-"The debt adds on one side to the
existing capital amount Of f700,000,000 or
fs00, ,0o0, 900, while, on no side, il ever dimin-
ishes the wealth or capital of individuals.
The debt thoreore, positively increases the nation
al wealth by its amount but If in statistical table,
you deduct the amount Of the wealth, Of the in
come Of the country, Ia very doubtful application
of the princple,) still, as the minus and the plus
are equal, IL will follow that the debt is not a
burden E
Such was the argument Of the elder Peel. do
not admit its TRUTH for twill be that the case
as stated, assumes that the whole debt Is owned m
England, and that, inasmych as the sum paid BY
the government IL paid 10 the people OF England,