Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-10-09
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL.
wfLMTNGToN, n. c., FRIDAY, OCT. o, 1857.
The Tarafr and The Independent treasury.

The Tariff and The Independent Treasury.
1t is but seldom in these latter days that we hear
much complaint made against the independent treasury
and still seldom that outcry is raised IN favor OF
the exploded doctrine of protective tariff by which to
egsate the means of all other classes OF the community
into the hands of the manufacturers OF certain favored
sections Indeed we have heard of late frequent express
sons of qualification arising out of the fact that the credit
of the Union was not at the mercy of speculative copo
atons nor its funds used to form the basis for further
imitation of 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 getting truly tired of
the idea of artificial regulation Of their trade
cy They are FESTIVE under the control exerted by
set of brokers and monetary institutions in Wall
Street, New York They feel the evil and unrepubcan
tendency of such things and they know that to the puff
fng and blowing, buling p" and bearing" operations
of speculative parties much of our financial arrangement
is DUE They see enough of that to be rather dsncned
to place still more despotic power their business
enterprises in the hands Of some new Nicholas Bdde.
The Democrats never set up the Independent Treasu
ry Great Regulator" the Fayetteville Obsery-
er seems to intimate. They knew that the withdrawal
of funds from the custody of banks, would
take away strong stmulant to undue expansion and
they insisted that withdrawal Had the banks been
the repositories Of the funds had these funds
too gone to swell the tide of speculation and eXtrava
gance the Lord only knows how high that tide would
have run where it would have stopped. The very
locking up of some Of the specie may not have been al
together harmful especially when see it now unlock
ed at the proper moment, Like water III reservoir,
abstracted from 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 twoud
have given still greater impetus to the speculative
movements which are the real cause of the present diff
cuhes The revulsion would have been corresponding
ly increased there would have been no fund to come
forth at the rate of million week at the proper time
and ten-foh ruin would have ensued For there is
this great and marked difference between the Banks and
the Treasury Both are affected by the pressure but in
different ways. The Banks are forced for sefprotec
ton to draw in most tightly, when the necessities of the
community loudly calling for assistance On the
other hand at such times-now-the money goes slowly
into the Treasury, but comes out 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 Independent Treasury
by withdrawing the funds of the government from the
control of Banks wthhods from these institutions one
stimulus and temptation to overexpansion, it cannot
withholda It's power is simply Incidental and not med
dlesome. 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 conserva-
tive in its character.
1t is said that the Government has tempted the pee
pie by low Tariffs to buy more foreign goods than they
could pay for, etc. etc, at least the Fayetteville o.
serucr says. To meet all this we need only point tc
the fact that bills London to-day be bought
greatly under par-that sterling exchange offered
New York at discount of six to seven per cent,
that exchanges with foreign countries have been in
favor during the whole Fall, showing that no
situated with respect to foreign countries the Obser
yer would have to think. Nay more than this, tn
great curtailmen of imports, compared with ou
exports has arisen under the reduced Tariff which wen
into operation on the LIST day of July, 1857. Gold
wanted here and gold will come and in large quantities
We do not say that extravaganza has not prevailed
1t would be folly to deny that extravaganza has prevail
ed but in what has that extravaganza mainly shown il
self? we say 1t has shown itself mainly IN those classe
of articles which the most highly taxed 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 exorbtant prices
1t nonsense to talk about protection, as long value
continue unnaturally inflated and the fact is shown
the very class of articles which have been mainly nsrr
mentan giving color to the charge ofexravagance thos
articles having been generally protected" enough in
conscience
To institute parallel between the state of things
this year of Lord 1851 and that existing in l83
is all nonsense, and fruitless panic mongering Their
is no parallel at ALL There is not one-tenth the res
cause for trouble now as there was then