Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1857-11-06
GOV. SEWARD's PROPHECY.
True 10 the Letter, and to the yery Yeari

True TO the Letter, and to the very Ysarl
rThe Nep York Tribune re-publishes
speech made BY the leading U. 8. Senstee
from New York-Hon. WM.H .SEwARD-
in opposition to the proposed allowance Of
Credit for Duties on Railroad Iron. It
was delivered, March 1st, 1855, and fore
tells this years financial history with most
fearful and signal accuracy. We beg all
who believe our hard times to be acciden-
tai, unaccountable, or unavoidable, to take
into consideration the following thoughts
from Gov. SEwARp's speech.
"Mr. President, we are told By the Hon.
Senator from North Carolins [Mr. Bad.
ger1 that we must adopt either the tariff
project before US or bis amendment, because
the railroad interest requires relief
"This brings me back to the precise
question which I discussed here few days
ago. / think, Sir, that the restoration Of
the business Of railroad building to .
healthy state requires US either to leave it
to work out its own cure, or else to adopt
remedy very different from what is here
proposed remedy which will stimulate
production Of the raw material and Of
fabrics by manufacture. Anything short
Of this will fail to give any tone to the
general financial system of the country,
now so much deranged. The troubles
with which We are contending arose from
excessive importations. The project be-
fore US tends to reduce duties, and so to
encourage and stimulate imports still more.
1t is fever Of which We are sick. You
propose to add fuel to the fame that Is
us.
"Ls, US look backward for inarxctions.
In 1884, by e:rcsssics importatioHs, ty on
enlargement Of credits, se had
brought on great fiscal embarrassmenis.
Property Of erery Kind ras deprecated;
srerybody scanted relief loans credit uas
oaralySsd. Tie Bank Of the Uaitea States
;nerted it'eIf and gavs relief; the crisis
'eeussd to hare been passed. Lmporsas:ons
we're Immediately resumed, credit lrasogain
,rpan5sd. Wasat rose to ,sro dollars per
jushel prices Of all descriptions Of proper
y ,cers inflated. The relief obtained ras
,nly temporary, The embarrassn,ents Of
1884 returned IN 1887, oayroratea senfala.
And then came that fearful conralsion rhich
.arried distress and ruin throughout this
road land-diaress and ruin from, ,chich
Sir, ,ce, IN 1854, just passed through tie
symptoms Of a crushing pres
ure, ,ohica is to come on IN 1857, or some
,ear not long thereafter. Let no, this DO
thought strange. 1t is near twenty years
ince the last revulsion. Commercial &c.
7ulsious come once in twenty years. The
circumstances of our condition now CORE.
pond exactly with our condition previous
10 the last reyu!sion. Government then
refused to stimulate production BY tariff
If protection, and, on the contrary, stimu.
a,ed Importation. l, wen; on to the bitter
md.
Government refuses to stimulate pro.
iuction now by tariff for protection, and
gives fresh impulse to importation. Tho
results must, unavoidably, be the same.
Those who think otherwise rely upon tho
fresh contributions to our currency which
Ire derived from the gold mines of Cali
iornia. grant that those contributions
may delay commercial revulsion for .
time, and may modify and break its force
when it shall have come. But they can
neither postpone it indefinitely, nor can
they break its force SO that it will leave
the country harmless. What will be tho
limits of the influence Of those contribu-
tions upon commercial reyulsions in nero
speculation. After the severe revulsion
of 1887, produced by excessive importa-
tions, Government returned to o system
of protection in 1912, and so restored the
prosperity of the country. We shall re.
turn to the same policy, for the same pur.
pose, in the present case. The only qucs-
tiou is, whether we shall adopt that policy
as q preventive, or wait until the distem.
per has become otherwise incurabls. I
am for applying protection now. Never.
,heless, stand alone. Congress is not
prepared to raise the duties upon imports.
All that remains for mo is, to do all that
can to prcven. the reduction Of those
luties."