New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-08-27
RsGELOW ON TARIFFS.

recently presented The Tariff Question con-
sdered in regard to the Policy of England and
the Interests of the United States" in a
volume which ought to command more atten-
ton than it is likely in these times to attract
1t ia not intended for popular circulation, being
issued in large quartO form and at price
+ $50 which will necessarily restrict the number
of its purchasers; but it contains large
amount Of recent and important Statistics OF
Population. Industry, Commerce, Manufactures
and Production generally, which students
thinkers, authors, and journalists will hardly
find elsewhere so compactly aud conveniently
presented. The history OF British Manufactures
and Labor.Saving Inventions, and Of the legis.
laton whereby the latter have been stimulated
and the former extended, is very concise and
suggestive. being made up in good part of
apt citations from acts of Parliament and the
speeches of such leaders of opinion as Huskis
son, Peel, Gladstone, &c, with Illustrative
tables Of Imports, Exports and Prices. Mr..
! Bigelow Clearly shows, almost without effort,
that the currently credited revolution Of
British policy with regard TO Free-Trade
aud Protection has been superficial only;
that whereas it was once deemed neces-
sary to foster the reforms OF British
Manufactures by high duties and pro-
hlbitions imposed on their foreign rivals, the
same end in their maturity and perfection, is
wisely sought through the cheapeEing Of raw
materials, Food inclusive, and the extension Of
And lot tha lnaa rod &c
leaving trade to regulate itself, is not always
Wind Gated by results, even where it is consiss-
eutly followed, the present state Of the British
Cotton Trade might be forcibly cited to estab.
lsh. million pounds sterling seasonably aud
wisely expended by Great Britain or her
Cotton Spnners in distributing seeds, plows,
goes and gins, and encouraging the Cotton
culture on the coasts of Africa, IN South
: America, on the Mediterranean, and in the
4 West Indies, would have saved her ten times
3 the amount in the present price Of the staple,
. and in the paralysis of industry and derange.
ment o. trade thence resulting. TIE hucksters
rule OF buying as cheap and selling dear as
) possible, disregarding every consideration but
that OF Immediate profit Is no. the acme Of
wisdom when applied to the policy of q great
nation
As Mr.. Birelows work is mainly composed
of statistics which the free-treder viii find a.
valuable as the protectiOuist many Of them &C.
cpssbe 10 no other form, we trust his treatise
will command general hearing. The doc.
triRaiyes OF Political Economy are 80 cOnce ted
d.,a mad tlat M .nnd
OF Nazareth, that we have little hope of their
ever opening work that does rot accord in
the main with their precODceptons; but there
must be class OF younger minds open 10 con-
victiOn, and to them we heartily corame nd ths
volume. That the great Reviews and other
leading organs Of British prcpaeandsm will
ever mention it, We have scarcely hope. 1t
viii tax their ingenuity 10 make 1t even seem
absurd while its suayity and moderation viii
place in striking contrast the dogrnatism and ar
rogance Of their own school, not OF all to tie az
vantage of the latter. But Mr.. Henry {. Carey
has devoted fifteen or twenty years TO the same
complex and difficult problem, bringing TO it,
calculation vig0r Of intellect, keenuess Of
acumen, a breadth of observation and a free
dom from prejudice rarely eqoaled; and, though
some if not all Of his works have been trans
lated into several European languages AID
widely as well az heartily commended By Con
tinenta thinkers of highest repatc, We cannot
recOllect that one of them has ever been even
noticed in British Review, while We are
cure none Of them was ever deliberately con-
sidered and controversial. So It viii be, we
presume, with Mr.. Bigelow's work; aud the
lree-traders Of this country Will as stubbOrny
ignore its arguments if not Its very existence.
Yet its compilations are so full and suggestive
that even they cannot but realize It's useful
ncts as book of reference, however they
may slight It's nductioDS.
We speak OF this work dispassionately, for
We feel that the practical importance vi cor
rect views on tho Tariff Question has been
greatly modified by the events OF the last tyO
years. A Tariff so high as to afford incidental
protection to Home Manufactures bas become
National necessity on purely Reyenue grounds;
say aud think what you Will Of its industria
influences, there Is no escape from it. Every.
thing that will bear tax must be taxed; ald
the experience Of mankind has established the
comparative facility with which taxation il this
shape is borne. In vain has tie theorist dem.
oDStrated, to biz own satisfaction, the superior
equity aud inferior pressure Of direct to lndl.
rect taxation; no Congress, no Parliament was
ever yet assembled which dare seriously con-
template the expedsncy of acting upon that
assumption. Nine.teuths Of tue community