Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1860-03-23

" they have been careless in money matters Both from
habit and taste they prefer the broad land, the bright
SUM- the pure air the unfcttercd movement. In iAet
they not business men in the sense that Will enable
them to conduct manufactures with success And 1t IS
these people who have dspOred themselves in the coun'
try from geueratonto generation for two hundred years.
whom it proposed to convert in day from all their old
habits tastes and emplOyments, into earnest anxious
calculating saving steady manufacturers, cabiued crib
bed confined within four walls shut out from the bright
and pure air and shut in the heat and stencil aud
murky atmosphere Of a mandatory. Rome was not
built in a DAY.
But the great remedy is direct foreign trade. We are
to import everything from abroad. We import now d.
recy from Europe small quantity of salt and crOckery,
sill less OF English cloths and Irish linen, the whole duty
which does not pay the custom-house expenses We
to import S24 100000 of merchandise With
capital without credit in Europe without foreign
connections without merchants with no exports but to-
bacco, uukuoNng and unknown, we are to launch out
on this broad ocean Of foreign commerce, and return
with S24 600 of merchandise Do rational men be-
eye that S24O000OO of merchandise, or the half or the
fourth of it. can be purchased in Europe without money?
And if that is too absurd to be believed by anybody but
luuatc ask again where is the money to be obtain
ed Our exports of tobacco Europe all told, amount
only 100000 That therefore, will not furnish it.
Do they believe that merchants without capital can OBJ
tain credit in Europe That certainly cannot be be
Heved unless European merchants and manufacturers
are fools Do they believe that merchants who are un-
known aud have no connections with houses in Europe
whatever NAV be their credit at home can purchase
abroad That is suppose that business men in Europe
are children in credulity and confidence.
But if we had the merchants in sufficient numbers to
90 such an amount Of business if their capital
pie their credit in Europe undoubed their acquaintance
and connections formed there yet practical obstacles
which must be removed, before successful commerce
could be established in Virginia First large portion
ofthe goods which we buy at the North only not
imported, but they are not made in Europe. The goods
with which the aborng classes of Europe clothed
are not the goods which purchase It will therefore
be necessary that European manufacturers shall COM
mence the manufacture Of style of merchandise for
our market. Second It is a law of trade-and the laws
of trade no more than the laws OF nature can be viola
ted with impuny-tha the import trade be sustain
ed by the export trade And as we have already SAID
we have nothing TO export but tobacco 1t is true we
might scud a large quantity of flour to England. The
wheat comes here and the mills grind it are here and
The mers are anxious TO do it. But the General Assem-
by values its Inspection laws more than it does com.
merce and the manufacture and export of the flour
England are therefore transferred to our friends Of the
North And thus whilst they make a fruitess attempt
TO break down the North, by running their mer
chants, they build her up by inurng their own
6ctrers And in the meantime they fatter themselves
that they VII build up direct foreign commerce. whilst
they destroy or divert from its Legitimate channel the
material without which direct foreign trade is mpos.i-
BILE Third. The limited demand for merchandise which
there mus; be Of necessity in Virginia in comparison with
New York, and the uncertainty or impossbility of
obtaining freight for the vessels which bring that
merchandise to our ports. render the cost of i'm
portatou greater to our merchants than TO theirs
Aud this is abuudantly proved by the fact that
the goods purchased in Europe by our merchants
are imported through New ork. Fourth-The large
amount of goods sent TO New York by manufacturers
aud others, TO be sold for what they will bring goods
which they have manufactured in excess of the orders
thew have received enables merchants frequently TO buy
Goods In New York for five per cent less than they could
obtain the same goods for from the manufacturer in Flu
rore by giving him an order for them. We say then,
for these reasous-and others might be gven-t is GER
irIy impossible while our export trade continues on It's
present footing for Virginia merchants importing their
goods direct from EuIopef such thing possible
to compete in an open market with the merchants OF
New York And it would require not one per cent on
sales bu, ten OF more aud that all merchants and
all purchasers out of the State sustain that competi-
ton. The bi therefore, now before the Senate must
fail 70 meet the intentions and expectations of its advo-
Gates
We trust the day viii come when We shall have mauuiac-
lures and direct commerce 90 supply demands. But
If 10 does come u wall be under system Of legislation
very diF, rent from that which is now proposed The
views and policy OF orr legislation must be radically
changed. Commerce and manufactures must be viewed
as legitimate pursuits 70 be fostered and encouraged not
as beasts of burden TO be loaded and driven to their ut
mos. capacity OF endurance that agriculture may be re-
H,ved Our own capital must be wooed TO return, and
other capital mus, be attracted.
We must modify our u,ury laws; we must modify our
system OF banking; We must modify our laws in relation
TO commercial paper We must modify our inspection
laws We must modify system and policy Of taxation
and we must first and chief complete water line to
TO the Ohio river When these things have been zone
aud not I'm then, will manufactures and direct foreign
commerce flourish and grow with healtbfl yigor aud
render us independent of the North He who said Let
there be Light and there light took six days to ere
ate the world