New-York daily tribune., 1858-02-24
yo YHz PRESIDENT or TKR UNITED
STATES.
LETTER Xxx.

Of the coil are facts Mr.. PREF dent that snnoS "
.ied We are, however, assured that then eA'''
consequent upon the deficiency of cer,al'
ssIed capital; that time alone is require" ''
Ae necessary supply, and that then no' 80
sbesp and manufactures will % ee'3o''9'''' " "'''
bsyeyer be- been the direction 10 ""ion VIC n@''
msysS in the lss: few years nave w "t' VI
ve,rosrsdedf Has the Pnce 81 money 'ahTn shce
,sAsg Has Il not on the contrary, greatly rsenl IL
..,,., no,e easily obtanable for mining or for mana
t..n,.. than IL was ten years since Has not, the
.so,,ary the capitsl that then engaged aluo-
s,.reJy disappearedi Are farmers less dependent
On The disiaLt market than they were in 1861 Have
sAey not on the contrary, become greatly more de-
pcadentf IT, then, for the lat twelve years, our
movement has been re.rograde, is j. probable, Mr..
President that further continuance IN the line Of pol
ssy 10 which that effect 5 due will change the move
nlest 10 forward one Scarcely so, IL would seem
Capital abouDds and the price paid for the ose %
The instrument called money, ia low in ali those com
rountes in which employnents have been d versihed;
those, III which ehe consumer and the prodoeer have
taken their places by each others side those N which
fhe tax Of transportation is sne; those Ia which agI-
culture is becoming science; those, in which the
yield Of the land steadily Increases tbose whose raw
materials steadily nse IN pTlce those, conseqeLty
whose growing wealth enables them TO increase ;heif
supplies Of precious metals, as IL the oase wlt1 .he
countries Of Central and Westsrn EurOpe-.hose
which follow in the lead Of France.
Capital is scarce and interest il high, In all those
countries which az dependent upon nearly exclusive
agriculture those, whose mari cts are Distant those
which subject 20 heavy tax for transportatlo1,
those whose agriculture consists in rOobng the earh
asd selog the soi those, the yield OF whore sni de-
sresses; those, whose raw materials full iu prlce;
those consequently, whose poverty OTbds increase 10
the supply OF II precious metals in the case WITH
ireland, India, Portugal Turkey, and all other cOun
tries which follow IN the lead Of England.
Capital being scarce among these latter, they are
constantly assured that under exiting circumstances
absurd for them TO attempt 70 convert their com
and their wool into cloth, their coal and ore into
iron. IL is, however, manufactures that cause the
growth of capitefictatng, as they do, the develop
rnent Of the powers OF The MAN, and tnus enabling
hun 10 combine with his fellow-nen for ccoDOpzns
the power resulting from the consumption OF caJtui
10 the form Of food.
Every act of combined action Mr. President has
for its object, and ts effect saving OF human effort
which, itself is capital Sometimes, few individuals
combine 10 drain piece of land; at Others to dig
well 10 construct a mill, TO open mne-all %
which require capital; that is 10 say, the investment
Of a certain amount Of labor, upon the principle
Scientifically that the farmer pows his land ana sows
his seed-caculatiDg upon having it returned with
interest for its use. When CrusOe made his rope
ladder, he did for the al it better for
him at 10 expend few hours or in OF her words
little capta al than 10 waste throughout the year
hour day in climbing the rock under which he mad
taken up his abode. al the la6or thus ecoHOmi,ed
"Whst," SAYS recent French economst-" What |
IL the object what the result sought to be obtained by
every advanc Of capital, for whatsoever purpose
1t is everywhere and always that of suppreseinS by
mans Of certain quantity o labor performed,
ssrtaia portion Of current iabor and annual Tpense
ihGt ouid OtherTise reGppar per70dfcdy, and oT an
aSdefnc period Of time 1t is to exonerate, at the
cost Of momentary sacrifice, tie VhOl future o. pro-
dscifon.
Every Intervention ofeaptal has the effec. Of d.
rainishiDg daily labor, resulting from the constantly
recurring. difficulty OF an operations: thus, We have
here village situated at the distance of mile from
anver-each Of its people, when he has occasion for
wafer being required 10 walk that distance No cap
lal is expended but there periodical demand tor
labor, carried to its highest point. The inhabitants
Al length conceive the idea of making some eartben
vessels, having done which, they 20 once day-re-
tuning with the days supply OF water Cepi,Hl now
making its appearaIce in the once performed labor
making the vessels, the daily expenditure OF human
effort is diminished i'll the proportion that the one walk
TO the river, bears TO the five or six that would otGer-
wke have been required. |
Next, some one constructs q cask ana wagon
attaching 10 the latter ass or an OK, and carrying
water about the village. Here is new expenditure
of capital, but IN return there is economy IN the daily
iabor-proyed by the fact that the people now b1y
their water N place of going to get it. At length,
however squeduct is built, requiring enormous
expenditure of capital but the daily efio, that had
been needed for obtaining supply OF water IS from
this time Of an endcaptal having, so to speak, alto
gether superseded labor.
The proof that all these successive interventions
of capital have been economies of force, time and
money is that all these expenditures have been re-
tarped in the value of the water obtained; and that
while casks, wagons and buildings have been paid for
and maintained, the price Of water has steadily
fallen" and, as the autnor night well have added,
the consumption has 80 much increased that single
family now consumes more than would al first have
supplied the village.
In writing this passage, NJ. de Fontenay had no ref
erence whatsoever TO tlre question of pro.ec-oE-o.
the claims of commerce the side, OF those o.
trade the other; but II is the charactetst.c OF
propositions that true, that they at al times Gad
everywhere, prove themselves true. The grea. OBJ
Ject Of man, Mr. President being that OF acquiring
power nature the be does So the less is tho
value of the commodities he requires the greater q
has owD and tn lerger becomes his consumption. To
attain power, there must be combination OF effort.
The obstacle TO association being found III the neces
sfy Tor transportation, the more 1t can he removed
the greater is not only the present powe- OF man, but
the greater his capacity for new and more important
efforts The spring being distant, he calls t. hs aid,
regular succession various natural iocces-p -SSnS
from the mere hand TO the jug, the caSi, ana the
wagon, with constant decline In the cost and value OF
water. When, however, he constructs an aqueduct,
and rs thus enabled 10 avail himself OF the poser OF
graVnsnon, value ceases-Sater becoming cheap as
air.
The Indian path being bad, he determines, once for
az, TO make road the effect OF which is soon eX-
hoiied In the fact, that he is enabled agaR for
az, 70 make turnpike aud yet, much his pow
rrs thereby augmented, that We find him agan, once
lor all, investing millions Of present labor in construct
hg cana-then regarded as the nc plus ultra o! iu-
Provement Here, again, however, Mr. President, We
nnd 70 De only the hrst step that costsh economy
S apoi enecteo oy the canal proving great, that
bat trivial portion is required for the construction of
railroad that transports himself aud his merchandise
NJ cost 80 small as 10 treble the reward of labor.
The school-house being distant, his children are
Obliged either TO dispense altogether with education
or 70 waste most of their time the road thereto
Seeing himself surrounded by the materials of which
houses are composed he proposes to bis neghbors that
tney toai oHce tor ALL give their labor to the con-
structon OF a house-thereby enabling themselves TO
economic the labor Of placing their children the