Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1865-07-12
Our Debt ...FranCe and England.

We hope that Congress will have tho wisdom nn(
tact to make France and England help pay oul
National debt, Let us re-adjust our impost duties
SO as to make it more profitable for the Lyon
weavers and the Manchester spinners TO pack al
their looms and come to America, that to manufac
ture where they are and squeeze through our nu
merous custom-houses. Our idea is this Diiils'
the burthen of the large interest on our Nationa
debt, abroad ms we'll as ut home by imposing i'm
port duties upon products that England and Franc,
have got TO buy Of us in spite of themselves-or
our cotton, tobacco, petroleum and breadstufs.-
There will be international justice as well as polt
ical economy in summonng the two malicious and
two-faced nations which armed clothed and fed the
rebellion, lent it money, and built, manned, sup
piled and reltted the piratcal steamers which swept
the commerce of the United States for four years
from all seas, TO help pay the debt which they help.
ed to create, They encouraged the rebellion, and
were only kept from intervention by fear of great
Government whose power they could see and did
| not care TO feel.
The summons we propose through the imposition
of import duties, they will have to obeythere is
no escape from it. England and France can't help
| themselves, They have got 10 have our four great
staples-and they have got to pay our prices for
them, We may be told that the Constitution of the
United States forbids export Duties but we only
use the words to convey our idea of what we pro-
pose. Excise duties of sufficient amount should be
levied these staples in the States where produced
They would then carry with them thetaxes in going
| abroad.
The rebels, in copying and improving upon the
the American Constitution, omitted the clause for.
bidding export duties evidently intending to make
England and France pay their war debt and the ex-
pense of establishing and maintaining their Confed-
| eracy, out of taxes on cotton and tobacco they
| would have TO buy from the Confederacy. The
policy of export duties upon what England and
France shall get from us, is SO maniesty Just that
we would propose I'M amendment to the Constitution
in this regard but for the fact that such amendment
can be obviated through our excise system. Oar
debt, if met in this way, will soon be wiped out.
The English have II greater load TO carry than we
have, both in the way Of principal and interest," and
only about half our population and certainly with
less than half of our energy and resources. If,
therefore England can drag along, as We know she
can and does, under her great burthen, America
can carry her load and play half the time
We propose, in word, to organize immigration
TO this country from Europe-to remove to this
country the cotton manufacturers of England, and
the silk and muslin manufacturers Of France-and
the iron and cutlery manufacturers of England,
Sweden and Germany - TO lift out of the mines
and bring to this country large portion OF the
mining population of Europe and set it down in
these once revolted States, literally crowded with
gold, silver "copper" ron coal lead tin, salt, petro-
leun,, zinc, gypsum and marble. Foreign aborers
and artisans know this is the greatest country in
the world, and they are eager to come and settle
here.