The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1861-03-09
The @ailp 9nmrmal.
The Various Tariffs.
CoNCLUD ED.
TARIFF OF 1928,

{ Four years had rolled around since the
adoption Of the last Tariff bill, and it be-
came necessary, in the opinion of politicians
to re rive the question to furnish capital in
4 the ensuing Presidential canvass, Just as in
latter years the negro question had been
+ called up by party platforms and party
+ speakers.
The measure of this year originated in 6
! convention of manufactures in PeHnsyl-
4 vania, State which has always, more than
/ any other, been exercised on this subject
! 1t was first brought up to benefit particular
| interests but to add strength to its advO
! Gates other interests were admitted until il
/ became a question of general amendment
/ and revision. 1t was one of the most i'm
/ portant acts ever consammated by Congress
| iuasmuch as the notification troubles which
first threatened to destroy our Union dated
/ from this time. The state of the country
! had been completely changed since the colo
nies of Great Britain had become free and
sovereign States, held together by the fed
! eral government. AS colonies the South
! had been the richest and most fourishing
part of the land ; as States their wealth had
decreased and that of the North increased in
/ even greater proportion. Cities and towns
/ had sprung up here while there few had
| come into existence, and many had greatly
| decreased in population. Manufactures
! flourished in the North; none in the South.
This result the inhabitants of the South
attributed to the tariff bills which had been
enacted, claiming that the American system
which afforded protection, so called, was an
act of oppression rather-an act which i'm
poverished them to enrich other members of
the confederacy.
About this time an entire change took
place in the sentiments of some sections in
relation to the question. New England had
hitherto favored free trade, in this agreeing
with the South; but now she crossed to the
other side, alleging, that acting in accord
ance with the protective systems encour-
aged by the bills of 1916 and 1924, which
had become the established policy Of the
government, they had adapted their indus
try to it, and consequently a change would
prove ruinous to them. Accordingly, we
now find Mr.. Webster advocating the pro-
tective system which he had so strongly
opposed few years since.
The question now began to assume sec
tional aspect, in the former years of the
government it had been otherwise then the
South was ready to agree to protection,
and ably advocated it through her greatest
statesmen. She had favored as lately as
1916 protective in reference to a revenue
tariff. In 1916 the sections stood thus -
For protection, the Middle and Western
States opposed New England and all the
Southern States except Louisiana. After
1924 New England favored protection,
leaving only the South opposed to it. Thus
we see the question became sectional, lead
ing to the troubles of 1882.
TARIFF OF 1892.
Future generations will look back on the
struggles of 1892 and 1861 with great in
terest In the former year the Southern
States commenced movement which,
though for time stopped by the President
of the nation, was not crushed out. The
inhabitants of South Carolina considered
themselves aggrieved by the acts of Con-
gress, and sought redress by notification.
The action of Jackson is well understood
by every American, and it is only to be re-
GREETED that the blow then given to the
movement was not a final one But, as
much as we deplore it, the fact remains,
that the resisting or secession spirit was
only checked, not subdued. Like the fire
in the heart of the volcano, it had slumber-
ed to burst forth with brilliant light and
destructive force in this year of our Lord
1861.
The session of Congress held in 1882 was
one of the most stormy on record. The
measures brought up for its consideration
were among the greatest on which Congress
has ever been called to decide. The most
important among these were the renewal of
! the National Bank charter and the contin-
| uance of the protective system. These two
| great questions were brought up on the same
day (the 9th of January, the latter beiug
submitted by Henry Clay, who delivered a
three days speech on the subject. 1t would
be interesting and instructive to quote from
! this speech, but our space prevents, and we
hurry on.
He referred to the speech from which we
have already extracted, again showing in
/ what deplorable state the nation had been
( previous to the year 1924, but now it was
as prosperous as it was then depressed-a
fact which he ascribed to the working of
the Tariff bill Of that year. The great points
of his speech were as follows:-
I l. That the policy which we have been
considering onght to continue to be regard.
ed as the genuine American system.
?. That the free trade system which is
proposed as its substitute ought really to be
considered as the British colonial system.
5. That the American system is beneficial
TO all parts of the Union, and absolutely
necessary to much the larger portion.
1. That the price of the great staple cot
ton, and of all our chief products of agri-
culture, has been sustained and upheld and
a decline averted by the protective system
5. That if the foreign demand for cotton
has been at all diminished by the operation
b of that system, the diminution has beer
moro than compensated in the addItiona
demand at home.
6. That the constant tendency of the sys
tenn, by creating competition among our
selves and between American and European
industry, reciprocally acting unon eacl
other, is to reduce the prices of manufactur
ing objects.
7. That in point of fact objects within
the scope of the policy of protection hav,
greatly fallen in price.
s. That if in a season of peace these ben
ehts are experienced, in a season of war
when the foreign supply might be cut of
they would be much more extensively felt
es9. And, finally, that the substitution 0
the British colonial system for the Ameri