, 1866-02-28

eulded. Both III Greece and Rome, to which
The gentleman classlcally refers, there was q
great contempt for commerce and manual Ia
Dor. Plato pronounced the. trade Of shop
keeper to bo 3. degradation, and Aristotle,
strong advocate Of slavery, declared that no
citizen should exercise any mechanical ART
Cicero WAS OF the same opinion, and Augustus
condemned Senator to death who debased
bis rank by taking part In d manufacture.
In every are and nation, remarks 'Haalan,
until times comparatively recent, personal
seryitude appears to have been the lot OF
kind and as thls. Institution existed In all
its rigor during the middle ages, 1t will serve
10 account for the low state Of agriculture
and The mechanic arts. Mr. Ward should ex-
tend bis historical RESEARCHES sufficiently far
to Ascertain the real causes. rather than the
subordinate causea Of the slow progress Of
society. He will find, too, that 1t was tho
freedom Of commerce, rather than protective
tafifIs. which built up Venice and Genoa.
Mr. Ward next drnws glowing picture OF
The power of Spain under Charles v. md
Philip IT., and while d dasca1tfng on the dc.
cline fthe empire, he tailato Eiye ths eanse;
Church. Loyalty and superstition went
hand in l,nnd, and, under the leadership of
Charles snd Philip, military spirit arose
such as the world never saw. Her cOnqneSta
extended to both hemisphcres, md snch ex-
pensire WET as she carried On could not hut
exhaust her resources. but tal9 was not the
nate moment Philip H., under the prompt
fngs Of bigotry. Issued IN order for the ex-
teFmlpation of the Mo1lscoes, as they were
termed, which WAS rc1entleasly executed.
They comprised not less than one million of
the population. OF one expedition sent to
AiHea, out of o,oo souls, now less than
10O, 900 peri5hcd from snow aud famine. These
were the men who wcro skilled In agriculture
and the mechanic arts, who cultivated thu
rich soils Of Valencia and Granada, and worked
the looms Of Toledo and Seville. The indus
trious population thus driven out has never
been replaced: The Spanish Erandce was too
proud 10 work. The aepopulatcd districts
g1er, and 80 remain to this day.
If this historical parallel throws any light
on protection, Mr.: Ward ls welcome 70 It.
We now pass with him to Scotland. That
country to the north prescnta an inbospltable'
coast; the centre Is occupied BY the High
inaccessible; while on the English border isa
strip OF good land which, from the time OF the
scandinavians down TO the Union, was 20 ex-
posed 10 rayages that no property was secure,
no towns could De bnilt, no manufactures
could thrive. The reason, therefore, Of their
. importing from Flanders the weapons with
which they fought u obvious. We fall to sec
; We next pass to England. By her geo
graphical position, surrounded By the ocean,
With climate favorable to the development
+ Of human energy, with vast deposits
Of coal to employ Tor motiEe
ssGe, sh don IL Of pPes eossdys ena niSo Tie
class has been butt up. tout OF which spring
; Golden and Bright and Mill,) wboee labors
have made her the first commercial and m0nu-
: 1acturine nation Of the earth, T. :pite Of pro-
lection. Those bonds with which her indus
:. try was shackled hare been rent asundez, do
To-day, It may be boldly asserted, that her
laboring classes arc Is we'll fed, and clothed,
md sheltered a. any people on tho earth
a1though the protectionists Afppantly talk
about paupcr Labor and starvation prices-
All Of her great men, who have studied the
were strongly with rs In our fatc sstrnsgle,
have arrived at the same cbnclusiont that
unrestricted trade 1s best for society, aud that
this Law is OF universal application;
Frnm this foreign excursion wc accompany
Mr.. Ward back to our own shores.s
He refers to Washington ~ 0 Protectionfst,
and cites the first tariff as q recognition OF
| the principle: IF that thrift was protective,
in what term shah we characterize the Moril1
| tariff? Here are come Of the duties: Dis
titled spirits, 10 cents per gallon Madeira
wine, 1S cents Per gallon Other wines, 10
per 100 lbs; upon all other articles, iuclu1-
ing manufactures Of wool. cotton, and linen,
| per cent. ad palorn,. These are the Wash
ingtonIan ideas Of protection practically e1-
III. Ward processes to be great friend OF
laws for the state, and Is presumed to bc In.
Illinois raises annually, e5,ooo, 900 bushels
Of wheat, 130, ,000, 900 bushels of corn, o,010,
! 900 bushels Of oats, 900 coo bnsheas of rye,
1,u0o oo0 bushels Of barley, SOC, ,on hogs and
1900, ,0o cattle.
), Here Is an amount Of human food sufficient
to sustain say 10,U00, 900 men. Now, by q
system Of legislation which Mr. Ward upho1ds
ID his elaborate speech; the Illinois farmer
must exchange these products atlthe prices Of
1850, while the manufactured articles, which
he receives In exchange, are 90 50 and 100 per
cent higher than before the Morrill, tariff was
all the Northwest. Viii Mr.. Ward descend
from his high horse, and explain to the farm
crs Of Illinois, how It Is that they are bene-
tilted bT tho Morrill, tariff? Is he prepared
10 60 into the country and say to them,
"aLaudon your farms, make 10 further I'M
enough for home consumption; send your sons
and daughters INTO a cotton factory, VIC
have got tariff by which they can earn
twice as much az they can on farm, 81" :"
This Is all serene and lovely, bnt there is q
great natural Law to this effect, that
However .ag hgh you may ,aisc al, water e
Ssll u seek its level IS % soon Is tho pressure T IS
Withdrawn, aud the law Of trade is equally In.
cxorable. Mr.. Ward may exu]t over . 1866
with lis high prices, lis prosperity and lis
vigor," but shrewder men and more sagac!ous
Gnaneiers than be see little clond no bigger
Than the hand at this time, which may burst
mud \ +r,,rftnr1 1fa 1,1th nj
ehrinkage has not arrived, but 1t must come.
We will not ut this lime adTert to the crashes
which hare at different times swept oyer the
land; but hereafter, If you will allow us the
use Of your columns, we will trace them to
other causes than tue tariff.
aProtoction," says Mr. Ward, "is not pro-
hfb'tion, and strange rs It may Ronnd, and
stoutIy as It may be denied by Free Traders,
periods Of protection hive been periods oi
Ereatcst tnportations." T1is ye1idcs the line
VI Se wound p ;p great becausc il il SO rma'
To which wig added, -.
sAnd would be greater II 'twere none at an
It Is scarcely necessary to rcfhte such. q
statement; The country, by reason Of the
war, both North and South, is bare Of cloths,
and must be supplied even at existing rates.
"Nor does protection necessarily increase
prices" Any price current shows that 1t
does. :
"Apply the torch to every workshop II
We propose, to do no such thing but say to
the manufacturer, you must be content 10 re-
ea've no greater profits than accrue to the
iarmcr.
"Docs Enropc love us So we'll that She
would make our cloths, ETC., at less price
pei us to girc!" Does the Eastern n,anuiac-
turcr love rs 70 well That he Is content to fore
20 portion Of his profits? We presume that
selEinte1cst actuates both, and are rather IN.
c1ined TO believe that every Lake street meE-
chant acts upon this principle.
In the West we need protection most
This Is the Deaeon'a idea, but we don't sec 1t.
"The coalnelds' Of Illinois are unsurpass-
cdr and yet anthracite sells at 81 in Chi
cago, aud the Lake :. Superior iron
<res move TO Cleveland: and Pitts
| out Mr. Wards assertion.
| "H protection does not increase natural
wealth and power, why Ibid Government
abandon free trade !"
I'VE viii answer him. The: Prqssctionists
found themselves 1n an accidental majority
| Gy reason OF the withdrawal Of the South,
md copcoctcd the thing known as the Moral
tarin. No free trader at Morse's Exchange
Ina opposed revenue thrift. as 8 convenient
mode of raising part OF the taxation It ha:
the advantage over direct taxation u thai
I il enables the poor man to avoid the import
on many: articles which tle-rich VIII col
tinue to consume. Amy branch OF Industry
country should be content with the inclden.
tni PROTECTION thus afforded But protection
Is nitagonistic to revenue. Protection In
niles exclusion of foreign goods revenue i'm
p1ies their admission, and in conclusion, We
reply that "Protection does not increase
wealth." Wealth is tho result Of human labor
md no legislation can add to Or 70 detfae'
l $,$ %lso fnf4 fnHE