New-York tribune., 1870-11-30
THE FREE TRADERS FEED.

ing Free-Traders that he wishes to see our
Government restored TO its "early simplicity"
which Che says) cannot be "while high duties
"and high taxes form an essential part OF the
"National policy Yet Mr.. A. cannot be igno-
rant that Z" high duties and high taxes" are IN
evitable consequences of great Civil War and
a vast National Debt-that they can only be
thrown of by Reputation. If MIR. Adams had
chosen to serve the country for nothing as
Minister to England, Gas he was abundantly
able to do,) and if Others, who were in her EN-
ployment during those eventful four years, had
done likewise we might have had lower duties
and lower taxes; but they chose to take the
pay which they fairly earned, and we had to
borrow most of the money. We now owe that
money, and are required to pay One Hundred
and Fifty Millions of Dollars per annum for
interest on the Debt, and for pensions to our
crippled soldiers; and this renders low duties
and low taxes impossible. We ought to have
reached the fourth stage in the steep descent
! from old John Adams before finding a dema-
| gogue reckless enough to assail the National
policy on this ground.
| Mr.. Oakley Hall could MT eat the $40 dinner
on short notice, and was annoyed by the re-
| Election that "three-ffths of what the reform
GERS will eat and drink taxes the pocket
Through the appetite for the purpose Of profit
sing some special monopoly" That is bad for
Oakley; but we believe the DelmonicOs' wines
are all imported, so that all the duties paid on
them go into the Treasury, and do not pay tribute
to any manufactory of logwood Port or Jersey
Champagne. Oakley, having transformed him
self from Henry Clay Protectionist into
| Tammany Hall Democrat, wants all dead issues
| THAT is, all the principles he has abjuredl
buried very deep" and be knows "nO more de-
"testable corpse than the high Protective
"Tariff one" Oakley will yet learn that he
may desert a party or a principle without
making corpse OF it.
Mr. John Quincy Adams [another recent
apOstate from the party which saved the
Union from destruction by his present cOnfed-
erates] urges the Free-Traders to shake
hands over superannuated animOsities," and
to "waive the technicalities of party to grasp
" the principles of liberty Mr.. j. Q. AS re-
cent defeat proves that the luminosity" to
his recent career is not superannuated," but
lively as flea, and that the intelligent peO-
pie of Massachusetts feel quite sure that "the
principles of liberty" are not identified with
" the techncalities of his party" And they
are right.
: Mr.. Geo. Ticknor Curtis writes that
at curious study to observe the changes Of opin
ion that have taken place this subject OF Protection
within the last thirty years"
which is as if a man should stand upon his
head and remark that it was "curious ;
that of late everything was turned upside
down. Mr.. Curtis used to live in Boston and
be Whig he has of late lived in NewYork
and consorted with the Democrats: so he is
constrained to believe that what were formerly
good reasons for Protection are now no reasons
at all. We have an immense Debt, an elastic
and somewhat inflated Currency, and high
wages wherefore Mr.. Curtis thinks we have
no need of Protection We venture to say
that no one of any party who has not turned
a political sOmersault sees this matter in the
same light with Mr.. Curtis. He thinks the
Protective policy, when he was PrOtectonist,
had great attraction and thoughtful young
men, who sufficiently disinterested in their politics
to wish to benefit and elevate the Laboring Glasses"
He will find that it has the same attraction
now, even for many who have grown old
without making merchandise Of the better
impulses of their youth.
| Mr.. Lucus Robinson thinks "the fallacy
| "that Government can make its people pros
| "perOus by taxing them has had its day"
Not we presume, in the rural district where
Mr.. Robinson has just been beaten for Con-
| gress by large majority, but in Mackerelville
and at the Five Points. But it never had any
day in those enlightened lOcalities-the argu-
ments of Washington, Hamilton Jefferson,
| Madison, the two ChntOns, &C., &C., for Pro-
lection not having been influential with their
denizens. Mr. Robinson may yet find that it
is wiser to postpone boasting from the begin
ming to the close of struggle.
Mr.. b. F. Meyers of Bedford, Pa, (whO has
been returned to the next Congress by ma
jority of II, obtained by polling 400 fraudu
lent votes), writes that he made his canvass
on the issue of Revenue vs. Protective Tariff
Good for Meyers! Until the House gives the
seat to the man who received majority of
the legal votes, we shall have one Pennsylvania
Democrat on its floor who will not feel obliged
to run to cover whenever q Tariff issue di-
vides the House. Where shall we find anOtherf
Mr.. Robert b. Minturn took the credit of
the Free Trade revival of which he boasted to
his League" The cause was absolutely
dead" the public was "hopelessly indiffer-
ent;" the Debt and the necessity for raising
q large Revenue were felt to render Protective
Duties "an unavoidable necessity" till the
League set to work. But that has done the
job-exposed the "fallacies" of the inter
" "ested" Protectionists, and "the ignorant
conclusions of their followers r-broken up
the Republican party, elected large Free
Trade majority to the next House and yet
Mr. Mintnrn is sure neither of the intelligence
nor the virtue of his Congressman, of whom
be gives this unfattering account:
"Of cOurse Immediate success cannot be hoped for IL
ls true that IN the list Of Memlxrn OF Cnnrresa Wa hnve