Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1865-09-23
PROTECTION.
A Few Exhaustive Fncfs-Intercst-
ing letter from Henry G. Cary. -

before the outbreak Of the secession, 1 had \
long conversation with an eminent eco1o-
mist, IN the course of which be was Bid
that in default !of The Establishment Of al
commercial policy looking to the creation
of domestic market for the produce of our
farms, we had nothing but utter ruin to |
look tor in the future. ~ regret to hear it,"
was llisreply. rfor we have now become so
strong fthnt.weic cannot again permit you to \
have protection. 1t cannot and will not be
DONE" So far hc was perfectly right, more
than dozen years of British free trade hay- |
ing thenso far cnlteJled tbeInatisn at largo,
While Strengthening British traders and tteir
| southern allies, as TO render it nearly ii not
quite impossible that any change in the di-
rcction IF d national system could ever again
be obtained Twice before, in 1928 and
| 1s42, had such changes been effected, bring
ing with them universal prosperity; and yet,
| in neither case had they been permitted to
| l,e maintained for so much as even half o
dozen of years, Now, in 1859, we had been
for more than d decade in possession of the
California Mines and during all that time
had been pouring nearly their whole pro.
| into the laps of the two great manutactur-
ing nations of Europe. France and England,
| whose annual sales to us of food in the
| forms of cloth and iron were counting by
| hundreds of millions Of dollars, while their
annual purchase from us of wheat flour,
! corn, pork, hams, bacon and timber wero
| then but little more than ten millions. This
was but fifteeE cents per head of q popula-
ton that was thus being rapidly enriched,
while our laborers and mechanics were be-
ing reduced to ,beggary, and our farmers
forced TO using their corn FOR fuel, because
unable to obtain for it even as much US q
single dime per bushel. Those of your
neighbors who may take the trouble to
study these fucts will have but little trouble
in understanding how 1t was that our south
ern friends became So greatly strengthened
as to induce tleln so blindly TO rush upon
secession.
Most fortunate was it for the nation Mt
large they should have risked the perpetra-
tion of that act of folly, followed us it was
by the abdcAtion of so many southern Scna.
tors rs enabled the north to seize the reins
and enter once again upon the direction. Of
the machine of government. Forthwith,
protection hcchmc once again the law of the
land, and to the national system then cstab-
lishetl 1t is due that we have now again APP
preached to something like n real indepen-
dence We have paid heavily, both in pro-
pcrty and life, for the freedom thus Obtain
ed; and yet, great rs has been the apparent
sacrifice at the north, and the real one ut the
|
had ever been before; while the numbers of
our people, and thegeneral prosperity, aroin-
, creasing at rate such as Until now has not
, been known. In the whole range Of history
there is no example of national freedom
having been so cheaply purchased.
To the system then established we have
, been indebted for the power successfully Ito
make the war that is just now closcd-a
war Of proportions s0 gigantic as to have
astonished the world ut large. 10 it, if il
shall continue to be maintained, we shall
, be indebte for power TO maku among the
!, nations the plnce of which the numbers ot
our people, their universal intelligence, and
\ the wonderful amount of our national re
= sources so we'll entitle U.S. Shall 1t be mnin
. tained2 Shall protection be made 50 elficien,
!, rs to free our farmers from dependence upor
. those distant markets in which for the two
: past years, as u consequence of their owr
t productive harvests, food has been h drug
|. and bread has been supplied at prices lower
!, than have been known within the memory
% Of living man9 Can our farmers now n,
u last bc brought to see that protection nom
e inaly granted 10 the minor OF coal, th(
Y smeltcr Of orc, apo tho weaver of cloth, j,
r really protection to the producers of fopt
= and of wool To those questions there
, could as think, be but one reply, and thai
a in tho affirmative, could they but be in
S duced to study carefully the history Of tht
past half century which propose now tC
" give, as follows -... . "a.
=. Fifty years since, the second war will
!! Great Britain came to q close, leaving ou
/. people well provided with mills and furna
/. ces, all Of which were actively engaged il
- making demand for labor md for raw una
. ,sri.ls Of orery hiWl. money was tneI
3 abundant and the public debt was trivial il
J, amount
d Two years luter We entered upon tht
British free tiade system, and at once nj
was changed. Mills and furnaces were clos
cd, labor ceased to be in demand, and our
1. poorhouses were everywhere filled. None.
II becoming scarce and interest high, land dc
!, clined to u third of its previous price. -
u Banks stopped payment The sheriff every
l. where found full demand for nl his time
:, and mortgages entered everywhere into pos
session. The rich were made richer, bu
=, the farmer and the mechanic, and all bu
y the very rich were ruined. Trivial as wer
y then the expenses Of the government, th
:. treasury could not meet them. Such wa
;. the state of things that induced Geners.
:. jackson to ask the question, "Where ha
~ the American farmer market for his sur
!" plus produccfnsi The answer thereto, n
y given by himself, is so applicable to I'll
90 present that give it here as proper 10 b
,f run'l, daily and weekly, by every farmer nm
At plnntcr throughout the whole range of thea
., United StutcssuuE .-HI7 '.3-'I TO- Hdi !
,s Except FOR cotton lie hns neither
- foreign nor u home market. Does not thi
clearly prove, when there is no market eitl
b or at homo or abroad, that there Is too muc
/. labor employed in agriculture, and that til
=, channels of labor should DO multiplied
IA Common sense ut once points out the rG
Of mcdy. Draw from agriculture the superb
to bundant labor, employ it in mechanism ant
is manufactures, thereby creating hom
market for your Jreadstuils, and distribut
q ing labor to most prohtable account, an
IL benefits to tho country will result TAX
re from agriculture in tho United States 81
le hundred thousand men, women, and child
r. ren, and you Mt once give home markt
to for more breadstuils than all Europe no,
70 furnishes u.s. In short, sir, we have bee
= too long subject to tho policy of the Britis
10 merchants 1t is time we should become
70 little more .Americanized, and, instead ,
. feeding the paupers and laborers of Europe