New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-02-13


allows ali opinion hearing IA IT, 'ooo1' and believe, thai .
by doing the cause Of inh end TI,a1 Anon ~ Ts
@ b,J The pleasure AgDon last fa IL Numbers
nc. .1 T one e sTsly 1s9 views pr,n quite Young
% women have aIways been welcomed to s meetings..
while yet sought membership there Is eanse hnk
sends ToG oesea election which beg adj request
that YOU viii abofs BY accepting membership remember that
AZ IJgnon you expressed desire that country should adopt
Pre- de FSe and me not 9 & AXE OF hnspG %, ir , .na
American who might wish to know them aud should be GLAD to
Mr. John Stuart Mil
BLAcKHEAu PARK, KENT, Jan. 90 1871.
DEAR SIR: have had the pleasure Of receiving your
letter OF Oct. H. transmitting the diploma by which the
New-York Liberal Club do the honor OF signifying
my election an honorary member OF their body
What you tell respecting the origin and purposes or
the Liberal Club reflects great credit Oh its founders
There cannot be higher or more important aim than
that OF asserting and maintaining individuality of
thought and character together with its necessary com
plement, the fullest latitude OF mutual criticism Such
associations are of making head against the
greatest danger OF settled state Of society," the danger
Of intellectual stagnaon, and help toward raising up
qualified to speak to the public with decisive effect
on those political and social questions which are con
tinually presenting fresh demands on the collective
thought and intellectual dsccrnment OF the nation.
You intimate that tmigh be acceptable IT, in acknow
edging your communication, | 10 take the oppor
tunity expressing my opinion the desrabilty OF
Free Trade policy for America. cannot suppose mat
those who have thought deserving OF the distinguished
honor conferred upon can have anything TO learn
respecting my opinion question Of this nature But
should he doing Justice 10 my sense OF that honor
or TO the interest feel in the objects and In the pros
perty of the Club were not to comply with the wish
expressed bv YOU I'm its behalf. hold every form OF
what is called Protection tO he an employment OF the
powers OF government 10 tax the many with the lnttn
lion OF promoting the pecualy gains VI "a eS' ay
the intention because even that desired object Is very
often not attained and never to The extent mat Is e1
pectcd. But whatever gain there is u made by ne leW
and them alone; for the aborng people employed IN tbs
protected branches OF industry are not benenled
Wages do not range higher in the protected than In
other employment they depend on the general rate OF
mand for particular kinds Of labor IS artihcially IN,
creased the consequence Is merely liAt EDof T. m
from other occupations 50 that employment y gwen III
higher TemuneIation The gain by Protection, when
there is gain, Is the employers alone. such ee1sa-
ton worthy of Great Britain, under her unrefornied
Constitution when the power OF legislation in the
hands Of limited class Oi great landowners ana
wealthy manufacturers; but n democratic nation llke
te Inted safes II is siual instance ~ dupery; and
have higher opinion Of the intelligence Of the Ameri-
many than Ia believe that handful oi lnanliac-
turers will be able retain nv allacy and sophstry
that power OF levying toll every other persons
ings which the powerful ar.sOcray OF England with al
their political asccndenc3 ana social pi'"'is' nave not
Tho Misrepresentation and confusion Of thought which
exist on this suiect-a misappTehrnsiOn and confusion
quite genuine, allow in the Proeconist mind-arise
from "A very small number of oveTsghts natural enough
PERHAPS those who have never thought on the subject
]. When people see manufacturers Dult ana nahuS SCI
work produce 1T home what hld previously Decn
imported from abroad they imagine that all TINS - 1resh
industry and fresh employment over ana ahoVe mat
which existed before and that whatever increased pro
ducton takes place in those particular trades, j. 80
much additional wealth created IN the c0nntr{.
Tie oversight is in not considering that the ad-
ditional LABOR ana Ial,a 10 Tvn rom S lotber em
pl0yments in which they would have added AZ much Ia
the wealth Of the country, and not only rs much pm
more, since they would not have needed subsidy out OF
every consumers pocket to make their employment re-
rnuneratiyc Trat the apparent increase OF employment
oi i ection rs "a mere nsfrr from one bust
& citai in the limited states ar I'm any danger of not
finding employment or that the time is a. hand when
they will be Obliged TO submit to any dminuton OF wages
. There is a widely difuscd notion that by Of
protecting duties on foreign commodities, nation taxes
not itself but the foreign producers Because foreign
nations really be made 10 suffer by being deprived
of beneficial trade, X is imagined that what me
foreigners lose ones own country must gain. But this
is a complete misunderstanding OF the nature and opera
ton OF Protection Duties on such foreign commodities
do not come into competition with home productions
90 fan partly foreigners. unless the ccc is frustrated
by similar policy in the foreign country such duties
distribution But such is not the case with any
duties 80 far they have protective operation
For their protective operation consists IN causing some
fling to be- made in place, which In state Of free
dom would be made in another and whatever does TINS
diminshes The total produce OF the w0rd Do Ior III
state Of freedom, everything naturally nds 10 Dc pro
duced in the places ana IN .hg wa Dy %ch he eosI III
CURED In labor ana capital obtains tne aigest @
II this working Of the ordinary motives of production
nterfered with and producers are RDea at oner dI %
pies expense, 10 produce an article Mhfre they Mouu
not otherwise find IL FOR their Interest 10 90 So there S
would have been shared III sOlne polVLoh vi othI w
tween the importing and the exporting countries.
America in this way damage oreigners, but she can
not them, for she cannot avoid largely sharing uelr
loss. ,--- -
cans that if they let in the competition of what they
call the paupcr labor OF Europe. they will reduce their
The way that the labor which produces the cNpOrable
articles OF Europe, and especially OF England Is not
manual labor Of the country. But it h of course, true
that the general wages OF labor in america are above
fI.a .rlt-F vol nd lHEn
effect Of Protection l. for one should never WISH 10 see
Protection abolished But snot because OF frotectoh
that WAGES America high; IL Is because there Is
abundance OF land for every lborer and every aborer
liberty TO acquire IT, As long this abundance OF
land relatively population continues wages will not
decline. Those high not special burden upon
the or the Pennsy yania iron
master but have equally 10 he paid IN agriculture, ana
in those numerous branches OF manufacturing and other
Industry he building trades for e1anpc) winch every
ronntry necessarily carries on for itself II these
ployments which form the bulk of the industry OF thus
country, pay the high American wages, and Yield
branches OF manufacture which cannot do tins unless tho
people OF the United states consent 10 pay the SUD
sdy in the form Of large extra price, the former class
of empoymens yield greater return 70 tle ElDOf anu
capital OF America tian the latter ana ts ot he inter
Ell of American production the whole that the labor
and capital Of the country should be diverted rom the
eplOyInents which require Ia be subsidized 10 those
which can maintain themselves without.
4. An argument III favor OF Protection winch carries
weight with many Americans who are not deceived ny
the economic falaces OF ProecOnlsm Is thai II Is an
evil to have the population OF country 100 e6oG
a considerable admiXture OF large towns lackho"iedge
there niue force III lnls
earlier period OF American development. But the time
has surely gone by when tine growth or to"ns III the
United States required any artificial announcement
Even in those parts Of the Union In which btte Or no
protected industry is carried on, towns spring INTO exist
ence and into greatness with rapidly more marvellous
than even the extension Of the cultivated area of your ter
rt0ry The necessity Of ceners both FOR internal ana
foreign trade the multitude Of occupations which, from
the nature OF things, not exposed to the competition
Of distant Places and the many klnds ana qualities
of manufacture which kept at home by the
natural protection OF cost OF carriage insure 10 the
United States town population amply SUFFICIENT fOf
country in which 10 ban agricultural alOrer does not
Inean-as il has hitherto meant iii EDgiand-tO he an
uneducaed barbarian. | believe the most enlightened
Americans are generally OF opinion that, al present,