New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-02-21
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF NIB. KELLEY.

comments Will uoC NC lHllolci. IL SoAioo
from an auspicious quarter. Mr.. Kelley
has been long known as one Of the most
efficient advocates Of American industry.
He has devoted himself especially to the
advocacy of the iron and coal interests OF
the great State Of which he Isl representa-
tive, and we may suppose that his advo-
cacy OF more liberal commercial poIScy
is based upon his conviction that fenn-
sylvania wants broader market Tor her
material and wares of iron, coal ana
woolens, than can be found within the
Union, as at present constituted. he,
however. shows that howsoeveG great
NAV be his devotion to the interests OF
his State, he has held in higher estima-
ton his regard to the principles protessed
by him, as will be seen subsequently.
We will take the liberty to make a short
preface about the West India trade IN adj
vance even of the period when MIR. Rel
lev connects it so concMsively with the
earlies& policy of our government. 1t
is well known that Columbus did
not 'go a sailing" for mere love
of nautical adventure, or tor solu-
ton of an astronomical problem
alone. He set out to fied shorter pas
sage to the Eastern coast OF ASIA. The
world had always known the value OF the
rich production Of that mysterious region
known as Orluus and the Ind, and the ap-
peals made to the governments OF Portu-
gal and Spain were based upon the ad-
ditions to the royal revenues, and the
commercial power OF those nations.
Queen Isabella may have been moved by
religious motive in giving ultimate AID
to the expedition; but the arguments used
by Columbus were based on the material
advantages to result to the government
from the undertaking. 1t is now known
that Columbus died in the belief that ne
had found the Eastern coast OF Asa, and
in ignorance of the fact that he had dis
covered a new and intervening continent.
But from the earliest history of commerce
the Mortimer have sought to exchange
their commodities against the products OF
the tropics, and have even sent bnc-
cancers and privateers to capture
these products wherever they might
! be found. Thus England and Spain
| fought for the control of the West
| Indies and the coast of Central
| America, until England secured the mas
| tery Of the Gulf and Caribbean Sea. The
| CAPTAINS and mariners who aided the ele-
,nents to destroy the Armada were Drake
and Frobisher and Raleigh, whose skill
had been acquired in the freebooter and
slave-trading commerce of the South seas.
England had preserved her control Of this
commerce up to the revolution OF her
American colonies, SO that when Amerl-
can ipdependence was acknowledged she
| excluded our shipping from her West IN
dia ports. = There is no doubt but that the
necessity Of some retaliatory enactments
was one cause why the maritime interests
Of the United Colonies insisted upon a
more pefect union" which should give
to Congress the control OF the commercial
relations among the States and with for
eign powers 1t is at this point that Mr.
Kelley takes up the policy OF General
Washington as impressing upon our Min
lister to England that the privilege OF
carving our own productions in our own
vessels to their West India islands and
bringing in return the productions OF
those islands to our ports and markets, Is
regarded here as of the greatest import
ance'
Presidents Adams, Jefferson, Madison,
Monroe and J. @. Adams endeavored to
carry out this policy, bat without success.
At the end Of more than forty years Presl-
dent jackson succeeded in securing an
adequate treaty.
Mr.. Kelley explains that or fathers were
anx;or7s to obtain free and unrestricted
trade with the tropics, because they at
forGed materials Of commercial exchange
and would always stand in need OF the
productions of our fields and workshops.
The European powers who had do1ni-
neered over the Archipelago so persist
entlv," attached the same value to this
intercourse, and herein the difficulty.
Added to this opposition are the export
duties laid by the governments OF those
islands upon their own products, and the
import duties which they impose upon
ours The import duties imposed by the
United States upon West Indian products
are, indirectly, taxes upon our industry
The speech contains tabular estimate O
our trade with foreign nations, and show:
that about one-ffth of our entire foreign
trade is with Spanish America, and 1t IL
known to be only about one-tifth CT th'
foreign trade Of those countries witt
other nations.
With this evidence Of the importance
attached by the government OF the I'M
ted States TO free or reciprocal trade VIII
the tropics. the question arises Why, dur
ing the thirty odd years since the admins
tration Of jackson, SO little progress ha
been made in our commercial expansion
in the desired direction? This question
Mr.. Kelley answers in stating his owl
course of opinion. The fact is, that abou
the same period with the close Of Jack