The New York herald., 1864-08-18
ought to investigate this matter, and lock up
Ben Wood in Fort Lafayette II he be an agent
Of the rebels.

tue aiieged ascendancy OF the seven cotton
States in shaping and controlling the policy Of
our national government Everything ia
shaped to benefit the cotton States" was the
cry of the New England fanatics. "The whole
government is in the hands of the South, and
every measure of legislation is held subordi-
nate to Southern interests" That there was a
small basis Of fact for these assertions L. not to
be denied, and that basis had this extent, no
more-The seven cotton States demanded that
the constitution of the United States should be
upheld, and that no legislation hostile to their
property interests in the institution of slavery
should be Undertaken by Congress. They also
further demanded, in one single instance-ths
Fugitive Slave law-that Congress should make
some legislative provision to enforce one of the
rights guaranteed to them by the constitution
against the reasonable and unconstitutional
opposition thereto Of these same New England
fanatics. This was about all the peculiar legis-
lation" the South demanded, and in return for
receiving it, they-a wholly agricultural and
producing people-acquiesced without murmur
in all the legislation demanded by the complex
commercial, agricultural and manufacturing
interests of the remainder Of the Union.
Well, the Union was vt last broken up, the
South being no longer able to bear peacefully
the constant irritation and dangers resulting
from the aggressive character of New Eng
lands anti-slavery fanaticism. The fourteen
Senators from the seven cotton States not only
lost their ascendancy in our national affairs,
but stepped out OF the Union altogether. And
now what do we find to be the result? just
this:-That the twelve Senators of the six New
England States have adopted tie role which
they so vekementy denounced in what they
were pleased to call the "Black Gulf Squad
rom" and that our whole national policy is to-
day snbservient to the interests aud dictates,
the bigotries and narrow, puritancal prejudices,
of the twelve Senators who, forming the "Black
Republcaa Squadron" are sent from the New
England States to Washington. Our present
actual masters are more sordid, graspng and
cruc! than were the alleged Southern managers
Of the past They legislate with view exclu-
sively to New England interests, and their OBJ
ject would seem to be to throw all .ne burdens
of taxation and revenue upon the other portions
Of the loyal States, while compelling US all, by
high protective and prohbitory imp rtation
duties, to purchase New Eng and manufactures,
however inferior to those we could obtain much
cheaper abroad at just such prices as may suit
the pockets-we will not say cousciences, for
they appear to have none-of New England's
manufacturing aristocracy.
The main burdens Of our internal revenue
Nv tba latio of lac r.,ta
upon two articles-whiskey and tobacco-in
which the New England States have but the
slightest interest, while our custom house du-
ties were advanced to figures making regular
importation all but certainly Improbable, and
OF necessity driving the trade, heretofore Gen.
tired at New York, to be mainly transacted
thereafter by active parties Of smugglers along
the Canadian border So much is tais the case
that the Secretary Of the Treasury is now devils
ing means to check this very smuggling, which
has reached, even while yet in its infancy,
enormous roportions-Secratary Fessenden
apparently forgetting Sir Robert Pee's r,axim,
as the result OF English experience, that "it is
utterly impossible to check any smuggling
which, If successful, will pay profit OF over
thirty per cent" In our case, however, the
profits Of running certain articles into the
United States from Canada will be many hun
dred per cent; nor can this be stopped in any
manner, unless we build along the Canadian
frontier such wall as divides the Chinese from
the old Tartar empire. Even this would hardly
suffice; for with such profit as New England
greed has left open to the smugglers, it would
be remunerative speculation to start a hun
dred large balloons in this species of traffic.
In the last session Of the Senate, let it not be
forgotten, the chairman of every important
committee was q New Englander the presid
ng officer wa, New Englander. and all the
legislation ground out was either to benefit
New England bigotries and hates The trade
of New York city was to be destroyed by I'm
posing duties which would force foreign mer-
chandise up to Canada, and thence, by snug
Cling, into the Ur ed States; while New Eng
land was to avoid the heavy burden Of taxation,
in great measure, by placing the heaviest excise
duties OF our internal revenue upon two articles
in ~A!ch her interests are insignificant. Her six
States, with an aggregate population of three
million one hundred and thirty-five thousand
three hundred and one according to the census
Of 1850, are represented by twelve Senators,
holding the chairmanships Of all the most inn
portant committees Of the Senate Of the Union;
while New York, with population of three
million eight hundred and eightyseven thou
aand fire hundred ind forty-two, according to
the same census, has but two members in the
Senate; and these two, upon every occasion
in which they attempted to defend the Interests
OF New York and the Central States, were
roughly overridden and voted down by the
"Black Republican Squadron" from New Eng
land
Thus II is that history repeats itself. The
Puritans fed to this country under pretence Of