The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1871-04-13

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protect equally. on must cheat one side
or the other. One will fare as the biggest
pig In the litter does-Another rs the little
pigs do. 1t is struggle to get at the bresst,
and the weakest squeals. Under proteo
ton, the great swollen interests Of the coun-
try, already rich, already solid, already
mighty IN their power, these will be the
foremost and most successful whereas the
feeble, that need Protection, il any do, have
no champions, no political favor, and must
suffer.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
II were, therefore, TO be wished that com
meree were as free between all the nations
OF the world as it is between the several
counties OF England so would ell, BY mu
tual communication, obtain more enjoy
ments. Those counties do not ruin each
osher-neitheE would the nations.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
The cause of hannah liberty, the cause OF
national prosperity, the cause of the useful
arts the cause OF peace and goodwill be-
tween nation and nAsion-All these are i'm
Phed In the freedom of exchange. We talk
OF free labor; but what is free labor il we
are not permitted free exchange of the
fruits OF our labor? One man comes TO
another and says, "You shall work only
when and where / direct you" That is
naked slavery. 1t is Justly detested, and we
get rid of It as soon as we can, But under
our present commercial system, set of
men come 20 US and say, "Well, you have
got the products of your labor in q shape
proper for sending them TO market; now
you shall only sell them where we direct,
and for prices which we dictate +;
and If you want goods for them, you shall
take the goods of US, and at our prices. -
This lie the sum and substance of the Pro
tective system; the plain English, the long
and short, the proper Interpretation OF thu
laws which the Protectionists have caused
10 be enacted for us to live under. How
much better is that system than the one
which denies US leave to work when snd
where We please The same principle Of
despotism is the root of both they are both
shoots from the same baletul STOCK
DR.. CLAIMING.
We have no partislity to tariffs of any
kind, not even to those which are laid OIL
imports for the purpose of raising the rev
enue. We should rejoice if, by some great
improvement in finance, every custom. house
could be shut, from Maine TO LouisiAna.-
The interests of human labor require that
every fetter should be broken from the inter
course of nations, that the most distant
countries should exchange all their produce
whether of manual or intellectual laDor, as
freely As members of the same community
An unrestricted commerce we regard as the
most important means of diffusing through
the world knowledge, arts, comforts, civili-
cation, religion and liberty, and to this great
cause we would have our country devoted
We will add that we attach no importance
to what Is deemed the chief benefits of tariffs
that they save the necessity of direct tax
alton, aud draw from the people q large rev
enue without their knowledge. In the tirsi
place, we say that free people ought tC
know what they pay for freedom, and tC
pay it joyfully and that they should truly
scOrn to be cheated into the support OF
their government as into the support o.
their children. In the next place, large
revenue is no blessing. An overfowine
treasury will always be corrupting to the
governors and the governed. A revenu,
vigorously proportional to the wants of a
people is as much As can safely be trusted
to men in power. Only one valid argument
against substituting direct for indirect taxa.
ton is the difficulty of ascsrtaining with
precision the property OF citizen. Happy
would it be for us if tariffs could be done
away for with them would be abolished
fruitful causes of national jeAlousies of war,
Of perjury, of smuggling, innumerable fraud,
end crimes, and of harsssing restraints upon
that commerce which should be free as the
wind.
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.
Wide as is our country, and diversified as
are its it's interests, there is no discrimina-
ton made or allowed in the matter of do
messic imports or exports within our own
domains every man buys or sells as he
chooses and where be chooses; il Is his con.
shtutional right-hetter than shat. let me
say, 1t IS his natural right. Our teTriteria
limits are continually enlarging but tn
same rule holds, and must hold, though VI
should annex every other country TO our
own. Would American industry in thai
case be struck with paralysis? Nav; but if
this indlsputably works well for all class %
no matter how vast our acquisitions or ip
what direction they tend, why will il not
work equally well if we 20 with our free
exchanges beyond the boundaries of orr
republic Why may not each state, say.
each petty village, demand special protec
ton for its industry against every other state
or village in the land, as well as all of them
together against the productions of foreign
counties Protection, indeed
"Will you walk into my pAror said the spider
to the fly;
IT'S the prettiest little parlOr that you ever
did spyl"