The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1871-02-16
FREE TRADE.vs. TARIFF.
SPEECH OF
HON. u. &. JONES,

In State Senate Of Ohio, January 25.
1871. The Senate having under con
sideration the Joint Resolution of Mr..
Baesel, instructing Congress to modify
the tariff laws, so as to establish tar.
III Tor revenue alone, apprOximeting
free trade.
Mr.. Jones said:
Mr.. PRESIDENT | will not tre espass
long upon the time Of the Senate, yet |
desire to reply to some of the remarks
OF the Senator from Morrow (Mr
ProfD upon the resolution before us.
He opens his remarks by saying that
tariff is no new subject, and yet the
tenor OF his entire speech is to the ef.
feet that it is novelty among the civ.
ilized nations of the earth-a kind of
Yankee invention, which ought to be
labeled patent app led for,' He
speaks Of it as scheme devised in the
interest of Eastern manufactures and
monopolists, with intent to injnre
wrong, and defraud the laboring mas
ses, especially those of the great west.
He treats it as something dangerous to
the Republic and to civil liberty:
His remarks are beneath argument,
and are in short but TRADE OF abuse
against the National Congress : a
srumbling about what is, and fault
finding about what is not.
While ] agree with the Senator from
Erie that it is not our business to in,
struct Congress in its business, vet
do not know but little discussion of
this subject may be Of some benefit
in bringing US to better understand
ing Of the views Of each other.
1t is true that tariff is no new sub
ject 1t is as old as commerce. 1t
was at the birth of, and protected in
infancy the manufactures ,of England
live hundred years ago, and in the ear.
ller days OF our republc--when poll.
tics was not trade-the wisest, best
statesmen of those proud days advoca-
ted and voted for tariff for protection
as well as revenue.
II the Senator would spare the time
to turn to history he would abandon the
ground that this is the only nation
that legisletes for protection of its in>
dustries. He could easily learn that
every civilized people, every CONNER
cial nation, does now, and has from its
earliest history, imposed duties on ar.
ticles imported by other natioua He
could learn that instead of a protec-
tive tariff being unconstitutional that
it was favored by such men as Jeffer.
son, jackson, Clay, and Webster.
The gentleman speaks Of other ma
tions as examples. Let US look ut the
history Of England-one nation to
which he refers: In 1881 thirteen. four
teenths of all her exports was raw
wool, while nearly oil her woolep goods
were imported. What did she do
Edward the Third saw that the people
of England were paying large profits to
the manufacturing towns on the Cont.
nent, and he further saw that in the
event of war the people of England
could not clothe themselves. He de.
termiled to make England independ
ent of the Continent-to produce q
revolution in trade and commerce -
He felt, if he had never heard, that
peace has her triumphs no less re-
nowned than war; He established
woolen factories and invited weavers,
dyers and fullers to come to England.
They came from Flanders, from the
ianscatic Republic. He furnished
money to buy machinery; he,promised
these infant factories protection: he
placed a duty on imported wooden goods
NOT "for revenue, closely approxima
ting free trade" but a sensible duty
for protection. This Of course raised
the price of woolen goods. and short.
sighted Engllshmen, like modern free
traders, said ut is not fair; let us buy
where we can buy the cheapest" But
Edward was statesman, and saw the
end from the beginning. The manu-.
iacturcs on the Continent could make
cloths much cheaper than could tho in
FAINT factories in Britain, and they at.
tempted to undersell AMI break down
the factories of Britain. Then the pol.
icy became more stringent and the
sale Of imported woolen goods was pro
hibited under penalty of forfeiture -
| What revenue in thisi Then the peo
pie murmured still louder. Later On
act of parliament prohibited "the wear.
ing of wooden goods made beyond the
seas,' and iuterdicted the expectation
of English wool under the death PEN
atty :. This,was donc to make.the cloth
dearer on the Continent and to break
down. their factories. But they went
farther. They enacted statute pro-
hibiting the expectation of sheep, lambs
or rams, the exporter fjr first offense
to forfeit all his goods forever, and to
suffer one years imprisonment second
offense was to be adjudged felony, Of
which the penalty was death.
| Under this kind Of fostering the
woolen manufactures Of England grew
rapidly, and yet the prices remained
high, while the wool kept at home
WAS very Cucdp. lHo pcOpio feiuocu
to buy the wooden goods. Then came
tho act compelling parties to bury de.
ceased friends in wooden cloth, as a
prerequisite to Christian burial.
A few years had passed when Eng
land found herself master Of the situa>
tion. She permitted raw wool to be
imported under duty, but prohibited
the expectation Of wool or sheep
She had observed the dependence Of the
manufacturing towns Of the Continent
upon her for wool, as well as their de-
pendence upon her for market for
manufactured goods. She withheld
the raw material and refused to be q
market for foreign products, while de-
termining to clothe herself with her
own handiwork, and as a grand result
England smiled in her triumph as she
saw her own manufactures rising in
granduro while those Of the Continent
fell into gradual but sure decay. She
| so,r bo. oov,la orouinO rich md now