Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1861-04-12

She, too has gained her power wealth and prestige
from levying tribute But tit is the tribute of COM
merce levied, without war Or expense on willing
subjects. Her power is purely commercial.
Although not strictly pertinent to this branch of
the subject, let me ask whence are the sinews of
this great power derived? answer, from the South
the great producer of exporting material for if
we do not export, we have nothing with which to
pay for imports and can have, therefore, 70 foreign
commerce
1t only remains to apply these tests to Middle
Confederacy. think at least two fatal objections
to the scheme can be found, to say nothing about
the feebleness of such greatness. take it for
granted that people so civilized and so devoted to
the arts of peace as those who would compose the
Middle Confederacy, will never consent to acquire
greatness and power by military prowess.
Can Middle Confederacy ever become great and
powerful by commerce. If so, where are her sin
ews of commerce? Can, or do the States which
would form the Middle Confederacy make one SOL
tary staple for export that the foreign world would
be compelled to buy? / answer not one. The on
ly product raised by those States which enters to
any reliable extent into present foreign COM
merce is Tobacco, and that would scarcely more
than make respectable commerce for single State
Besides, Tobacco is not necessary and can be- and
is, produced with as much cheapness and certainty
in the very heart OF, and all over the consuming
ds srcts of Europe, with the exception of England
as in this country.
Then whence will she derive the sinews of COM
9TH I,,r H.;
the price of labor to the European standard, not
only in the Middle Confederacy, but all over the
Northern States, ard manufacturing goods cheap
enough to come in competition with the European
manufacturers in the markets of the world. Then
how would free institutions and universal suffrage
be sustained under this system. state it as pro-
postion-almost selfevident--that democratic in
situations and universal suffrage would be inevta-
bly, destroyed and overturned by the low standard
of European labor England and France could not
exist democratic RepL blics for FIVE years, under
their present system of labor.
l come now to the second objection which | shall
state briefly. 1t is purely question of revenue and
relates to the ability of the Middle Confederacy to
sustain herself We have seen that she cannot have
much commerce and therefore, not much revenue
from customs at least. She can only have it by d-
rect taxation. She would have very short line of
seaboard (another great obstacle to her becoming
commercial nation) but very long interior bound
ary, consisting only of imaginary lines. Her land
lines would be long, and the opportunities for
smuggling consequently so great, that it would re-
quirea heavy expense to protect her revenue. Now
suppose neighboring nation, having a common
land boundary with the Middle Confederacy, of
500 or 1000 miles could raise its revenue by much
lower duties than she could, to abolish all
duties on imports and levy duties on exports or
resort to direct taxaton-it would require as much
expense TO protect ber revenue as the whole of it
would be North. Depend upon it, Middle Con-
tederacy would be weak and Insignificant power
in more respects than have mentioned.