The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-09-05
HON. ". D. KBLLEY'S SPEECH.
ABLE DEFENSE OF THE ADMINISTRATION
Islander. Against the President Refuted.
[Contlnued from yesterdays issue
THE DECLINE OF COMMERCE..


shall account for the decline of COM
merce? Mrs. Glass, in her cookbook,
lays down sound maxim, which is that it
is well to catch your salmon before you
cook it, and | have busted myself to-day
somewhat among books in libraries, pub
lie and private, and am disposed to catch
the salmon before begin to cook it, and |
propose to turn here to a few figures. Is
American commerce declining? What is
commerce But before | answer that
question, let me say that | recognize the
commercial supremacy of Great Britain.
Her ships are on every sea, her language is
heard on every island, and her flag is seen
in every port. She is the queen of the ocean
commercially. She don't like to encounter
the stars and stripes in strife, because the
flag Of England has paled before those stars
whenever they have come in contact. lap
plause.l But, commercially, her suprema-
cy is undsputed /; and my friend would
probably be a little surprised if were to
show him, as | mean to do before [ close,
that the United States are overtakng her
with great strides, and that men are before
me who will live to see the day when the
foreign trade Of the United States will ex-
coed that of Great Britain as greatly as
Great Britain does that of the United
States. [Applause.l | have only been
able to get tables Of the exports and im-
ports into Great Britain, embracing home,
colonial and foreign goods down to and for
1870. Let us compare them with those of
the United States and see which is declin-
ing, or which Is increasing most rapidly.
The total value of British importations for
1868 was e294, 460,214.
In 1870 it was e303 1863, 0S3, an increase
of per cent, or Il per cent. per annum.
The total value of imports into the Uni
ted States N 1868 were 1911 ,624, sos and
in 1870, $462, S77 ,5S7, an increase of "a
42-1O0 per cent, or II 2l-l00 per cent. per
annum.
Now it strikes me that II 21-1O0 are
slightly more than 1! per cent. and yet the
decline of American commerce shows that
that is the relation of the growth of Ame-
rcau commerce and British from the year
1868 to the year 1870 inclusive.
Total value of exports from Great Brit
ain in 1868, 227,77S,45i.
In 1870, G44, l34, 73G, an increase of
1900 per cent. or say slightly over 81 per
cent. per annum.
Total value of exports from the United
States in 1868, SAC, 1902 $3.50.
In 1870, $500 $40 1902. Increase / l 3-100
per cent, or slightly over 81 per cent per
annum, against 81 per cent. in Great Brit
ain.
Do you perceive, gentlemen, any decline
of commerce here? 1t does not strike Inc
that that is perceptible; but let US look at
the next year. could not get the British
statistics, but | got the American, and
without reading all the details, will tell
you that the increase ofexports was 49-l00
per cent, and the imports II 1l-l00 per
cent. during that year. In other words we
are steadily marching on to supremacy.
THE COMMERCE OF THE PACIFIC.
When the gentleman who called the
meeting to order told you that during my
twelve years Of Congressional life | had
been the friend Of the Pacific coast, he told
you what was the truth. But it was not
out of special favor to you or your region
Of country it was because the Pacific coast
was part Of the whole country. 1t was
because | had; years ago-more than
twenty-seven years ago-carried around
petitions asking Congress to make grant
of land for the construction of railroad
from the base of Lake Michigan to the
waters of Puget Sound, that the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts might be bound together
by iron roads and lines of settlement. Not
that / appreciated the beauty or value of
the land on the Pacific coast. They were
then reckoned of little value. There was
no city of San Francisco, sitting like a
Queen of Beauty and her daughters upon
her hills to greet the rising and bid adeu
to the setting sun.
The golden sands Of California were un-
recognized by the people of the world.
Old Spain, or Mexico through whom the
traditions of Old Spain fingered upon the
golden sands of the Pacific coast, haa not
discerned the untold wealth that has made
you the happy, the prosperous, the enter
prising people that you are. Our possess
sions upon the Pacific coast were Oregon,
which then embraced Oregon and WASH
ington Territory, and the war-cry of the
day was "54:40, or fight! ~ 1t was to es-
tablish our supremacy upon the Pacific
ocean that | strove with all my young en-
thusiasm, and why? Because, while e
of the Atlantic coast traded with the 250,-
100000 busy people Of Great Britain and
Western Europe, saw beyond the sleep
ing Pacific 400, 900 in one nation, and
statisticians told me there were over
100000 people there, in the possess
sion of arts of which we had no knowledge,
producing articles winch we neeued,
and which then, and even to this day, we
could not produce-whose ports were to be
opened to our commerce, and that the Pa
cific coast was the highway to the world Of
enterprise and wealth. of which the Ameri-
can people had scarcely dreamed and the
extent of which they could not imagine. |
am anxious to see our commerce so deyel-
oped that you shall have all the advantages
that may come to you and your descend
ants and to the millions that shall settle
with you in your own State, in the neigh.
boring States, upon these mountains and all
over the country, that they, with you and
your posterity, shall share the blessings,
the enterprise, the enthusiasm, the Joy o.
developing into Anglo-Saxon or Anglo
American freedom the sleeping nations o
the ancient East. [Applause.l
A COMMERCIAL CONUNDRUM.
To this end / have voted for every proper
and well-guarded subsidy for steamship
line from the Pacific Coast of the United
States to the Islands OF the Sea or the ports
of the East. have voted for every well
guarded subsidy bill that has proposed L
send our flag into the ports of Central are
South America, and | shall do SO, let alb
stractionsts talk as they may about sub
~ 7 10 10 +hnt