New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-01-31

THE GREAT DISCUSSION.

A very good sign of the times is that the news
paper organs of the Republican party are ALREADY
disputing the great question of free trade or pre-
lection. The Republican party in the process o,
its formation absorbed a large portion OF the oio
Democratic party, and thus there were introduced
into the new organization elements, tho antagonisn
of which was bound to manifest itself whenever
the immediate purposes of the party should be
achieved. No difference of opinion could be wide
than that between the dominating New England
element of the Republican party, and the Demo
cratic recruits from New York and the West OF
he tariff question and all other questions relating
to financial policy. During the long contest Oh
the slavery question: and on the issues arising ou
of the recent war, this difference was smootheC
over or held in allegiance. The revival of tinancia
questions, in a more important form than thos'
questions ever before assumed has naturally LEI
to a revival of the old differences and tn,
old antagonisms. Already the Democratic allie
of the Republican party have pronounced in NJ
unequivocal terms against the enormous exaction
and still more enormous pretensions of the New
England monopoists, and against the whole theory
of protection which is assumed by the New Eng
land radicals to be the settled policy of the coun
try. All over the North the discussion ensts the
efforts Of the public journals, and, as we have
said, the debate is not confined to the Republican
press on the one hand and the Democratic press
on the other hand,I but among the Republican
papers themselves are to be found some of the
ablest supporters of free trade doctrines, and
some of the most determined enemies of the New
England oligarchy. In New York the Tribune
and the Post, both leading Republican organs,
have, for some time past, been carrying on a
heated discussion on this very point. In Chicago
the protective views of the Republican are stouty
combated by the Tribune which is Republican
organ.
But it is still more gratifying, and still further
indication of the progress Of sound doctrine even
under the most adverse circumstances, that the
opposition to the tariff system is not confined to
the Democratic allies of the Republican party.
On the contrary, the New York Times and the
New York Commercial, both traditional organs of
the old Wing party, are strongly committed to
free-trade opinions. On the other hand the Ex-
press, an old Wing accession to the Democracy, is
Just as thoroughly hostile to New England domin-
alton and to that protective system by means of
which New England hopes to maintain a material
Is well as n oral supremacy in the country.
The New York Herald, which journal has an
knack of going wrong on the slight
st provocation, attempts to dispose of the ques-
ion in its usual absurd and illogical style. 1t
ays, speaking of the discussion now going on in
he columns of its contemporaries: 90 These Rip
IAN Wrinkle journalists do not seem to understand
hat the free trade idea is thing of the past"
low if there is anything essentially thing of the
resent and of the future it is the free trade idea
there is anything essentially thing of the past
is the protective idea. The fact that there are
till to be found intelligent who adhere to the
allacies of protection only shows the' tenacity
nth which error maintains her hold on the
uman mind, That the monopolists and all,
rhether intelligent or ignorant, who expect to
row rich and powerful by leyying tribute on the
Industry of others, are in favor of maintaining
he protective system is, of course, nothing aston
shing. The Herald says that the idea of free
rade has been put aside by the war; just as if the
ecessties created by the war, involving as they
10 the ability to endure a high rate of taxation,
id not logically lead to the adoption of the system
which will enable US to bear such rate oftaxaton
HE fact is that there never has been time when
he country stood so much as now in need of the
nygorating and stimulating influences of free
rade. In illustration of its proposition that free
rdQe is an ODSOlete luea, Lne Herald treats US to
he following refreshing bit of logic:
This country is bound to become the greatest
country in the world. This fact
will be established, if by nothing else, by the very
existence of the immense water power in the
southern States, especially in Virginia and the
;arolinas, where the cotton fields at the door
# the manufactures. Every bale of cotton raised
ere will before long be manufactured into fabrics
4 this country. 1t will not take many years to ac
ompsh this, and then the proverbial manufac-
lring power of England will vanish very quickly
i'd with that power all her greatness as a com
ercial nation must decline.
Well, if this country is bound in the nature of
ings to become the greatest manufacturing
,untry in the world, what is the necessity for
objective tariff? Such a tariff, levied for the
,neft of manufacturers, presupposes that the
'untry is not bound to become manufacturing
'untry, or rather that it is bound to be just the
verse, but for the intervention of the protective
stem. In the Herald's view of the case, pro.
ction, which at best is onerous, unjust and op-
'essive, would be nothing better than barefa
bbery, r...