New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-02-27
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STA TES.
LETTER XXI.

his products a. he pesses-exchanglng, equaIy
freely abroad and at home How is it possible, that
our people have been ever be, more prosperous
under Protective system, than under what IL called
Free Trade one T. These, Mr.. President, are i'm
portant Notwithstanding replies to which, we must
now turn 10 of the pages OF our Colonial MS
| tory.
In one respect the Colonial system OF England has
differed from all others that have e1isted-the moving
principle Of it, founders, well a. OF all those who
since have followed in it's direction, having been that
of prohibiting every attempt, on the part of the col
onist at attaining that diversity of empoyments which
is required for securing competition for the purchase
of their own rude products, for the sale of finished
| commodities required in exchange-and thus MAN.
tanning at its highest point the tax OF transportation
Without such diversity, the power OF ASSOCIATION ana
combination could have no existence. Wthoutt the
coonss were bound remain, for ever mere instru-
ments in the hands of the traders and ransporer OF
the mother country. That such really the CD
iects sought to be accomplished is shownln the to-
lowing massage from the work of an influential writer
of the last century to which desire now Mr.. Presi'
| dent, to invite your attention:
in our oasb So sy i To Keep SS
Eve over our colonies tem from setting any
any attempts should be esushed in the beginning"
they WOODEN mandatory and their numbers
rW laH UPON masHdenre' for clothing them.eses
production. may enable them 70 furnish thepselvs with al
ns to themselves 80 we hsSe the the
featuring Of them II encouragement be given for raising hemp
rc.s1teS IheTss ,' ne p'Gg,' any 's ~u .
looms without registering office. kept for that pu
pose" That .l sitting mill, and engines t25 s dia1ns
S,os, be prohibited from Seaeag eithe linen oon pi"
nHg combiHg q roo cOing at any "a.faete Of ron
saa sf o% ais a1 Ri aa Il. a% aSy
hnd Th. Limitation viii not seTdss the planters any Liberty
promising and raising those iousa ~, ., ~ 49,
and 1t will appear that not one tolm their
.sSI1s to sS sa a G 1S o, CO..
their a@ae' all Of which Of the merchandise and manu-
ctive BY the plantations beside the mortgages The ptaster
estate. and ne hgS intere,, e' Hag u.s. "aA Gerry e'"''S
Turning now, Mr.. President, to the statute-book,
you will find continued serles OF laws, esch and
every of which had for its object that Of carrying
out the system above neutrality-suspicious. OF NAH
ufactures on one hand and bouIes the import OF
raw materials the other, having been resortcd to,
preventing the colonists from making those changes
in their rude products that were required for hitting
them for consumption among themselves. The one
great object of the system that of maintaining
In its most bulky form the commodity requiring to be
transported while contracting as far H. possible, the
machinery by which the work Ut transportation and
conversion to be Extraordinarily enriching the
trader and transporter at cost OF both consumer and
producer. The more perfectly it could be carried out
the greater would be the difference between the prices
Of materials and finished COMMUNICATIVE
greater would be the tendency toward exhaustion OF
the soil and ruin of its cultivaonthe more would
the people become dispersed-the heavier would be-
the tax of transportation and the more entirely
would it be thrown upon the colonists who thus
to be impoverished for the benefit OF those by whom
the laws were made.
To the grinding taxation of system which thus
looked to the establishment OF q monopoly Of the
power TO purctd,e the rude products Of the EARTH and
TO sell the commodities into which they became con-
yerted and not to pary tax on tea M. President,
are We indebted for the Declaration of Independence
nj 4 bax hat al To mr. ren
ing that declaration effective by protecting our
farmers and planters against the system, was largely
due the calling of the Convention which gave US our
Constitutions very brief experience having sutced
to satisfy the various States, and Vlrgita most
peciay that concert Of action for resistance to It
essential to the advance OF the Union In wealth and
power To the knowledge Of its action acquired in,
derived from colonial times, it due that each
and every Of our Presidents, from Washington TO
jackson held that it was not only the night, but the
DUTY of Congress 10 direct the power with which it
was clothed as to promote the approximation Of the
producer and the consumer and thus TO DIMINISH the
enormous taxes Of trade and transportation by means
Of which the farmers and planters nave been so much
impoyershed to produce competition tor the purchase
of raw produce and for the sale OF finished commod
ties and thus secure to the agricultural interest that
freedom of commerce which Is denied 70 him who must
make his exchanges at the single mill, and In this
manner TO carry into practical effect that independ-
ence whose existence had been declared IN 100.
Such Mr.. President, were the general tendencies OF
the country during the half century when followed
other recorded in the history of modern Europe for
coli ercal disturbance; one IN which piracy on the
aforementioned BY French DEGREES ana British
Orders in Council-embargoes, non-ntercourse acts
and wars with both France and England, combined
for the production of financial arrangement; and YET
that one in our history which stands distinguished oy
the fact that poor then were, our oahhs were
never, in time otpesce, driven " ~,
were either the people, or the government anVen 10
,be dsgraceful necessity of resortng to the use OF IT.
redeemabe paper, as the only means OF maintaining
the SECRETARY circulation ,,
Five and twenty years have since elapsed, anu our
;ng nearly all that period the doctrines OF our kevolu
tionary fathers as regarded commercial policy have
been repudated--the essential duty OF inc cenIta
government having been held to be- that oil proVdlns
for Itself careless OF the effect OF It's measures upon
m. condition Of the people. so tar ss was required
for their taxation tariffs might, as We nave oeen %.
.ur.d be tolerated; but lar Us required iof ihen
protection, they could notLies ,h su d.v H' Oe'A
In what however, Mr.. President, does our present
sae,om of trade consist Is the planter Tree to e1
eb.noe his cotton abroad or at home, a. MS pleas
ure Is there that growing eompeIi sai TT p.o
ducts which tends to raise their prices ihat there
c.ysinly il not-nearly all our mls being closed and
he being reduced dependence on distant markets.
such he has not known since inc I'asoas lines 9
$50 Are our farmers free 10 exchange their food
broad or st home for iron with which TO make their
roads, Is there growing competition lot the pur-
cbase of food and the sale OF ironi Certainly not
orr furnaces and rolling mills being closed the men
Tho wrought them turned Admit, and the Necessity
or Gong 10 the distant markets with wheat and corn
hsny greater than It mas been since 1872. Are
onr vorkinemen free 20 sell their labor when and
where they please Do they find increase OF compe-
tton for the purchase Of The single commodity they
have TO senl A,suredly not-there being ten who
have labor for sale every who is seeking TO pur
chase il Look where you may, Mr.. Presidsnt, you
viii ind diminutiop Of competition for he purchase
of labor and the rude products Of The ard-,he com
medi,.es have - reIhe etorer he farmer ana