The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-04-07
COLUMBIA, S. G..
Sunday Morning. April z. 1872.
AmeriCun Com mercc.

American Com merce.
The Union, of Fridays date, has an
article under the above heading, in
which, as is the custom with Radical
j,urnals, the decrease of our commerce
is attributed to the war. Says that vera.
cious sheet:
"The war of the rebellion proved O
heavy, almost o fatal, blow to American
commerce. Confederate privateers. is.
suing from English ports, nearly swep.
from the sea o commerce which was the
growth of century, which had received
the fostering care of the Government;
and, while it was the pride of our own
country, it was the successful rival OF
the great commercial nation OF the
world"
Every short-coming-every palpable
failure and the inefioienoy and hitherto
unheard of cost and expenditure of the
Government since it has fallen into
Radical hends-is thus attempted to be
explained and excused. There is nothing
that 30 effectually demolishes these base
less fabrications palmed off for argu-
ments, than few dry statistical figures,
which are furnished by the United
States census. 1t sounds very plausible,
and may satisfy superficial observers, to
account for our loss of commerce by the
war; but it does not happen to bo sus.
tanned by the facts.
On the 1st of July, 1861, we find the
total registered and enrolled American
tonnage to have been $780, 1913 tons.
July l., 1866, the same tonnage WINS
5,096, ISL showing decrease for the
four years of the war OF but 443. O32
tons. On the 1st Of July, 1870, after
five years Of peace, under Radical mis-
management, we find the tonnage to be
4,246,507 tons-a decrease OF 850,27
from that of July, 1865, and about dou-
BILE the decrease that occurred during
the war, when the terrible rebel cruisers,
almost half dozen in number, were
"sweeping American commerce from the
sea-" It is manifest, then, that we must
look for some other cause than the Con-
federate privateers to account for the
immense loss to our shipping interest,
two-thirds of which has occurred since
the Alabama, Florida, Georgia, &c.,
ceased to infest the seas. and during u
period of so-oalled peace, at least. It
will be found just when the Union and
the manufacturing monopolies of the
North, that form the backbone of the
Radical party aud shape its commercial
policy, are most 10th that it should be
discovered.
The enormous tariff on iron, which
operates to put money in the pockets of
the iron dealers of Pennsylvania. at the
expense of the rest of the country,
and particularly the South and West,
prevents us from buying iron cheap,
and thereby disablcs US from competing
in ship building with England, since
the change from wooden to iron ships.
The next best thing, of course, that we
could do to support our commerce, as
from the protective tariff VIC cannot
build our own ships, would be, to buy
them as cheaply as possible abroad.
This is tho object of the bill referred to
by the Union, entitled "a bill to pro-
vide for tho registration of foreign built
vessels owned by ci tizens Of America -
The tariff on iron prevents our building
ships anything like SO chcaply Us they
are built abroad, and then this refusal
to allow registration to foreign built
ships prevents us from buying them.
The consequence is, that being able
neither to build or buy, we have no
ships, and. of course, no commerce.
WAS ever anything palmer or any com
merciul regulations moro absurd and de-
structive than those which owe their
origin and nre sustained by Radical pro-
tectionists?
GRANT AND THE SOUTH. does
the New York Express comment that