The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-06-23


lowed to compete free from tax or duty W tn
the products of our own farmers; and thus
protected by the government the western
farmers are enabled to bear their portion of
'"e burdens OF supporting the government.
1 am IN favor OF protecting American labor
anu Industry; but, these gentlemen from
IenhSylf are so grasping in this matter
tnaI Notwithstanding all the stimulus that
has been gwen 10 their interests by the war
and by protective tariff, they are not willing
to yield TO the great national ship-building
and ship-owning interests this small nittance
that it asks and that it must have in order to
live. When the provisions of the drawback sec
tion of this bill were Incorporated into the
tarlll bill in the last Congress and passed the
senate, these gentlemen from Pennsylvania
came forward and demanded that it should
be struck out. 1t was stricken out of that
bill because Of their opposition, and that is
the reason why we are now obliged to bring
It in by special bill. Ii is because we can
not get in the general legislation the protec-
ton we need.
NOW, wish to say word in reference to
another Pennsylvania interest which came
here when we had reciprocity treaty which
allowed us to bring coal from Nova Scotia
free of duty. But a small quantity of that
coal the statistics proved ever found a mar
ket west of New York, while but very small
quantity OF the btumnous coal of Pennsyl-
vanla ever went east OF New York. Yet sir,
these gentlemen came here and insisted that
coal should have high rate of duty put upon
it, when it afforded no protection to them.
because this Nova Scotia coal found its mar
ket principally east of New York and all the
bituminous coal of Pennsylvania south of
New York; so that they did not come into
competition.
Now, Mr.. Speaker, let me resume the
course Of my argument and recall attention
to the table which introduced little while
ago. careful examination of that table
will show that although we built nearly as
much tonnage in some years during the war
as before, it was mostly OF a class suited to
the internal navigation oi the country,
schooners, sloops, canal boats, and steamers,
while the tonnage of the class suited to our
sea coast and foreign commerce, ships, barks,
and brss, built in that period, was compar-
atively small. Now, sir, in order to restore
our commerce we have to do something more
than to lift from it the burdens which the
war left imposed upon it. This interest has
been crushed. 1t must be revived. Before
the war it had no protection, enjoyed no ex-
emptlon, and yet it grew add fiourished. Re-
vlve it, build it up, place it on something like
an equal footing with its foreign competitors,
and it will again grow and flourish, increas-
ing the wealth and power of the nation.
We are told by some that we should repeal
ouI navigation laws, and buy instead OF build
ing our ships. The nation that builds ships
owns them. If England builds our ships she
will own them as she now owns nearly all the
ocean steamers that do our carrying trade.
But why should we buy ships when we have
such facilities for building them that we can,
as experience has proved, compete success
fully with Great Britain and every other for
eign nation in the carrying trade of the world.
Are gentlemen willing to say to the American
- ou must pay an import duty
on all the raw materials that enter into the
construction OF your ships, and build them
with taxed labor, while the same materials,
after having been wrought up into ship in
foleign country, with foreign labor, may be
, Omitted duty Free" DO gentlemen seriously
propose this discrimination against American
labor and American capital? Great Britain
allows her citizens to purchase and register
foreign built vessels; but she adopted that
policy only after she had made her naviga-
tion interest strong by protecting il and re-
lieving it of every burden of taxation. While
she admits the free importation and registry
OF foreign ships, she admits tree of duty every
article which enters into the construction of
her own ships. Give the American ship
builder ten years of such protection as the
English shipbuilder has enjoyed, and you NAV
then admit foreign ships to American regis
try free, and he will not only protect himself
but will drive the foreign shipbuilder out of
his own market.
wish to say word in reply to the gentle
man from Ohio, Mr.. Garfield who asked if
the introduction OF steam navigation did not
account for the falling off OF our tonnage;
this falling off being in consequence of the
greater capacity in speed of steamers over
sailing vessels. Does not the gentleman
know that the whole ocean steam navigation
is in the hands of foreigners? We have not
single line of steamships running in or out OF
an American port to or from any foreign
port.
Mr.. Randall-How does the gentleman
propose to correct that?
Mr.. Lynch-By the passage of this bill as
one OF the measures, and hope shall have
the gentleman's vote in its favor.
l am informed by gentleman near me
that there is a line Of steamers running out
of Baltimore. Those steamers were built
abroad and sail not under the stars and stripes
but under the unon-jack @
Mr.. Hooper, of Observation-Disclosures is a
line from California to Japan.
Mr. Lynch-The gentleman says that
there is line from California to China and
Japan. That may be the case.. 1 think
q
subsidy; bat the gentleman very well
knows that there was an attempted line
from Boston to Liverpool, and that those
vessels after two or three trips have come un-
der the auctioneer's hammer because they
could not be sustained, being high-priced
ships, with high-priced labor and hgh-priced
provisions, while to their English competitors
those articles have been free.
Sir, a few days since there stood at the bar
OF this House the embassy of one of the
Oldest. and most populous nations of the
world. The chief spokesman of that emhas-
sy claimed for the people of that nation
the virtues OF temperance, frugality, and in
dustry, and high cultivation and scientific
attainments, and boasted that it could COM
mand the services of eighty million fighting
men. And yet, sir, that great nation, great
in its internal resources, in the extent OF
its territory, and in population, is ssarcrly a
recognized Power among the nations of the
world, while that nation from which we de- :
rive our origin, that little sea-girt isle which
makes but dot on the map OF the world,
with commerce whitening every sea, has
planted her flag in every quarter OF the globe
and laid the world under contribution to her
aggrandizement. The commercial greatness
of England is the result of no lucky accident
but OF sagaclous craftsmanship and wise leg
isation. The historian attributes it to the
navigation laws passed by Cromwelps PaIlia-
ment more than two centuries ago. May the
future historian, in commenting upon the
commercial greatness trust the commercial
supremacy, Of the United States two centu-
res hence, trace the source of that great
ness, in part at least, back to the wise legis-
lation OF this Fortieth Congress, which has
been likened, by its enemies, to that long
arliameut OF Cromwell.
Mr.. Driggs-When the gentleman states
that the commerce of Maine asks for this
drawback upon materials used in ship-build-
ing, how does he reconcile that statement
with the statement of the gentleman whose
letter had read at the Clerks desk few
moments ago?
Mr.. Lynch will say to the gentleman
from Michigan Mr.. Driggs that the letter
he had read was not from a ship-builder but
ship owner, who does not want shp-build-
ing materials exempt from duty, because
then ship-builders will build cheap ships to
come in competition with the ships he owns.
Ii l am not mistaken he has sailed his ves-
sells under foreign flag, and has branch of
his house at Liverpool.
Mr.. Driggs-That gentleman says that a
convention of ship-builde1s resolved that if
these drawbacks are allowed it would de-
crease the value Of all the shipping interest
of this country.