New-York daily tribune., 1858-02-05

feet as j. wss, changed the couIse"' -. ii.t oi
caused MT import in tie four years that roNe' :"
a. Geo eco The precious metals. In lss, thers vas
enacted tn irst tariff tending directly 70 1ns
rion Of a. ation throughout the country al'. -
f.c:s exhibit themselves IN An a. ooo roo a
polt of the precious metdls-8vsragiDe F''Vo'+
Sear-uctwiihstandingt the dsshArg", IN t"hb I'i II
cf the whole Of the national debt :hHt hao - -,
in EuroIe amounting 10 many mi ,'h-' Iu'.Tfs
gether ihe discharge Of debt ana tqe bssn in
the balance Of trade in thet peri- must hAS' o.-n -.
our favor 10 the extent q nearly SJoOo,Vu, vi an
eraee Of about $4,000 COO year. As .op-Sq'cu'''
prosperty existed TO Gn extent never b'tofe M"
he Iower TO purchase foreign comnodites 5 hS''u5
grown with such rapidity a TO render !. nee ~;
greatly 10 einrge the free hs,; AMI men J; va 80
e, Zee, tea ana May other raw comhoN'le' r.
en iyated from the payment oi any mp ~
did efficient protection lead 20 freedom OF commerce
abroad and az home such a. bad never before IL .S;
The fr-t Jew wears of the compromise tsrh oi iSo
pr, fitted largely by the prosperity caused oy 'ne acv
1873 end the reducthns under Il were then 30 sWhh
that il operation but slightly felt In thoS' yea7'
too there war contracted enormous foreign DEBT
stopping the export of specie, and producing an eA'er~
import averaging more than so,oOVVp year rlVs
perty s,,H,d 20 exit but It was OF The same deSctP
lion that has marked the last !. v years, during Whcl
the value of all property ha- depended entirely upon
the power To contract debts abroad-thus placing the
nation completely under the control OF its distant
creditors.
In The snoceeline vesrs. the compromise became
more fully operative Furnaces and factories were
closed with constantly increasing necessity Tor look
ing abroad for ,he performance OF all exchanges ana
CORES pondug necessity for remittng money to pay
the balance due the purchases OF previous years
Nevertheless the annual specie export averaged tte
more than = 000 0O0; but ii TO this be added con-
sumption OF only $1,000 600 year, we have reduc-
on of 400 tU0 co tn. consequences Of which were
seen in an almost total suspension OF domestic com
merce TIE whole country was in a state OF rum.
Labolci- weIe everywhere ont OF employment, AMI
being stll consumers while producing nothing the
power of aca umuatiOn ceH-ed, almost, To eNls''
Debtors being everywhere at the mercy oi creditors,
sales oi real estate chiefly accomplished by help
of the Sheriff whose perqusltes were then larger
than they had been at any time from the cate oi Inc
Constitution.
The change in the value of labor consequentupon
the stoppage of the circulation that followed this
trivial export of the precious metals cannot, Mr. Pres
dent be placed al less than $500 rO 600 year. Wa
ecs were low even where employment could be- OBJ
tanned, but large portion of the labOr-power ot the
country wa. totally wasted, aud the demand Tor men
tai power diminished even more rapidly than that Tor
hy-ica eXeron. In the prices OF and, houses, ma
ch'uerv uf oil kinds aud other similar property the
reduction counted by thousands of millions OF dollars,
and vet the difference between the two periods ending
in 1893 and 1872 in regard TO the monetary movement
only that between an excess import OF - o"V,VUV
and an excess export of 80 800 600, or total 0t So
800 COO wear. No one who studies these facts can
| fail to be struck with the wonderful poYr over the
fortunes and conditions Of men, eGerted by the metals
provided by the Creator, for inrlherng the "'rh OF
association among mankind. With the small e. sss OF
import in the first period, there was steaty tendency
toward equality OF condition among the poor and the
rich the debtor and the creditor; whereas WITH the
-ligt excess Of export in the second one, there was
a daily increasing tendency toward inequallty-the
poor laborer and the debtor passing stea1ly more
under tie control of the rich employer and the weahy
| creditor.
there is none Mr.. President equazlng IN its ten
depcy a. that known by the name OF money aud yet
ecCnCms!S would have the world believe that the
agreeable feeling which everywhere attends know
II. Z. in - nj
any reference TO the question OF the favorable or uuia
voaSle balance of trade being beneath the dignity Of
men who fancy they following in the footeteps of
Hume and Smith. II would, however, be "a difficult
TO find a single prosperous cOmmuny that is aOt from
year TO year, making itseli bftcr customer 10 the
g0ldpr0dHciRg countries, IA 1t would De to hnd one
that is not becoming better customer to those which
produce silk cotton To be an improving customer,
there must be in its favor yincreasng balance
of trade TO be settled by payment in the com modify
for whose production the country is fitted, whether
| that be cloth or tobacco, silver OF gold.
The condition of the nation the date of the pas
sage of the act of 1892 was Mr.. President humiang
in the extreme. The Treasury--unable to obtain at
home the means required for administering the GOV
eminent on the most economical scale-had fail
I'd in all its efforts 10 negotiate loan at six per cent,
in the oteign markets in which it had but
recently paid of at par debt bearing an interest of
only three per cent Many Of the States, and some
of the oldest Of hem had been forced To suspend
the payment of interest their debts The banks TO
great extent, being in state OF suspension, those
whIch professed to redeem their notes, found their
business greatly restricted by the Increasing demand
for coin To 60 abroad The use of either gold or silver
currency had almost altogether ceased The Fed
eral Government but recently 80 rch, was driven 10
the of convertible paper money in all it, ransac-
tons with the people OF the merchants, large por
| tion had become bankrupt Factories and furnaces
being closed hundreds of thousands of persons were
| totally unemployed Commerce had scarcely an eX-
istence-those who coud bot sell their own labor being
| unable to purchase that of others.
Nevertheless deep as was the abyss into which the
ia1 la.p rluu ~
the adoption OF system tending To the creation OF
favorable balance Of trade that scarcely had the Act
of August, 1872, become law, when the Government
found that It could have all s wantsssuppl.ed at
home Mlls factories and furnaces, long closed, were
again opened; labor came again into demand, and be-
fore the close If it, third year prosperity amost uni
veisal reicned. States recommended the payment oi
interest on their debit. Railroads and canals again
paid dividends. Real estate had doubled in value,
| and mortgages had been everywhere ightened; and
yet the total net import Of specie in the first four
years but sl1 cOU 900, or ,2JOO 900 per annum
In the last occurred the insh famine, creating
great demand for food the consequence Of which Was
an import Of no less than 500 600 600 of god-making
total import, in five years, Of S}9,OOOVO. Deduct
ing from this but a. 900 600 per annwn for consunp
tion il leaves annual increase for the purposes Of
circulation of less than 100000; and yet the differ
ence in the prices of labor and land in lS as COM
pared with 1912 would be lowly estimated, if placed
at only - .Ot1 GOO 600.
| With is47 however there came another change Of
poliey-the nation being again called upon TO try the
system under which it had been prostrated in 1910 r.
The doctrines of Hume and NTH in reference TO the
| balance of trade, were again adopted as those by
which a government was TO be directed in ts move
meB,s Protection being then repudated the conse-
quences were speedily seen in the fact that, within
three years factories and furnace. again closed
| labor was seeking demand, and gold was flowing out
even rapidly than 1t had come in under the tariff
ofls2 The excess export ofthsse three years amount
ed to SliC00,00O and TO this be added $4,000
600 for consum ton follows tb the reduction