The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1857-10-13
Ero,a The Witmin gtOn journal.
THF TARIFF AND THE INDEPEN
DENT TREASURY

pIndrd doctrine of protective tariff Oy
which to Irgi,Iatp the means of all other
CLASSES of the community into the hands OF
the manufacturers of certain favored sec
tions Indeed. we have heard of frequent
expressions of qualification arising out OF
the fact that the credit of the Union was
not at the mercy of speculative corpora
tions. nor its funds used to form the basis
for a further initiation Of a currency and
credit system. to whose undue expansion
and the extravaganza thereby promoted
and provoked, all our present difficulties are
attributable.
The people of the country arc getting
truly tired of the idea of artificial regulation
of their trade or currency. They are res
tive under the control now exerted by set
of brokers and monetary institutions i'll
Wall Street, New York. They feel the
evil and unrcpuhlican tendency OF such
thing. and they know hat to the PuthIng
aud blowing, ..bulling" and bearing" "per-
atoms IF speculative parties, much OF our
financial arrangement is due. They see
enough of that to be rather disinclned to
place still more Gespotic power over their
business enterprises, in the hands Of some
new Nicholas Biddle.
The Democrats never set up the indie
pendent Treasury as a Great Regulator"
as the Fayetteville Observer seems to init
mate. They knew that the withdrawal of
government funds from the custody of
banks, would take away one strong stimu-
liant 20 undue expansion. and they insisted
on that withdrawal. Had the banks been
the repositories Of the government funds,
had these funds too, gone to swell the tide
of speculation and extravaganza, the Lord
only knows how high that tide would have
run or where it would have stopped. The
very locking up of some of the specie may
not have been altogether harmful, especial
" when we see it now unlocked at the pro-
per moment. Like water in a reservoir,
distracted from a too swollen food, it has
remained to pour forth its streams at the
hour of need. Suppose that one or two
years ago, this specie, the much talked of
surplus, had found its way into the banks
instead of the vaults of the Treasury, who
doubts but that it would have given a still
greater impetus to the speculative move
ments which are the real cause of the press
ent diflicultesl The revulsiOn would have
been corrcspondinglyi increased, there would
have been no fund to come forth at the
late of million a week at the proper time,
and ten fold ruin would have ensued.-
81 : 81, ] l.c.-
enco between the Banks and the Treasury
Both are affected by the pressure, but in
different ways. The Banks are forced for
self-protectiOn to draw in most tightly,
loudly calling for assistance. On the other
hand, at such times-now-the money goes
slowly into the Treasury, bnt comes ont
rapidly. The surplus accumulated in flush
times, passes away from the vaults of the
Treasury into the hands of the public.
We have already said that the Indepen-
dent Treasury, by Withdrawing the funds
of the government from the control of
Banks, withholds from these institutions
one stimulus and temptation to over-ex-
pansion, it cannot withhold all. Its power
is simply incidental, and not meddlesome.
1t also imposes check in another way
BY demanding the payment of duties in
specie it constantly imposes the necessity
of being able to meet the demands for that
purpose. This is most important and con-
scrvative in its character.
1t is said that the Government has tempt
cd the people by low Tariffs, to buy more
foreign goods than they could pay for, etc,
etc, at least 50 the Fayetteville Observer
says. To meet all this, we need only point
IN the fact that bills on London can to- day
be bought greatly under par-that sterling
exchange is offered in New York at a dis
count of six to seven per cent, and that ex-
changes with foreign countries have been
In our favor during the whole Fall, show
ing that we are not situated with respect to
foreign countries as the Observer would
have us to think. Nay more than this, the
great curtailment of our imports, as COM
pared with our exports has arisen under the
reduced Tariff which went into operation
on the LIST day of July, 1857. Gold is want
ed here and gold will come and in LARGO
quantities.
We do not say that extravaganza has
not prevailed. 1t would be folly to deny
that extravaganza has prevailed, but in
what has that extravaganza mainly shown
itself! We say it has shown itself mainly
III those classes of articles which are the
most highly taxed, or protected, if YOU
choose to use the latter term. In silks,
laces, French millinery, embroidery-gim-
cracks generally, which are heavily taxed,
and sold at exhorbitant prices. 1t is non
sense to talk about protection, as long as
values continue unnaturally inflated, and
the fact is shown by the very class of arti-
Giles which have been mainly Instrumental
in giving color to the charge of extrava-
gance' those articles having been generally
''protected' enough in all conscience.
To institute parallel between the state