The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-11-02

The country is full Of substance, the
crops of the present year have been more
abundant, it is thought, than in any former
year. Business generally is slowly but
surely improving. There are two things
however, which stand prominently in the
way, and retard the progress of more pros
porous times-the tariff and the naviga.
ton laws The late internccine war de.
stroyed our commerce aud swept our YES
sells from the face Of the ocean. Previous
to the war our commercial tonnage was
equal to that of England, and our carrying
trade was immense, giving employment to
vast number Of sailors, nearly all of whom
were compelled to seek employment else
where, while our vessels we're either de.
stroyed or sold. The navigation laws re-
strain our citizens from buying and will
not admit foreign bottoms to registration.
The tariff on many articles which enter
into boat building, such as copper, cord
age, iron, &c. are so high that our boat
builders cannot enter into successful COM
petition with the most favored commercial
countries. We can neither buy nor build,
aud our carrying trade is chiefly in the
hands Of foreigners, who are reaping a
rich harvest in transporting our produce
to foreign ports. Ship building has been
almost destroyed, and cur ship carpenters
have been driven to other countries OF
other pursuits to find employment, aud our
sailors likewise. Hon. Horatio Seymour
has recently written letter on this sub
ject, in which he finds the trouble in bad
laws which the Republican party has re-
fused to repeal, aud especially in the law
forbidding our citizens to buy foreign built
ships. 1t would be better than buying
ships if our laws we're so modified as to
enable our skilled mechanics to build them.
Twenty years ago there was no nation that
could excel US ia building fast-sailing clip
pers, and our ship carpenters were the
most skilled mechanics in the world. Mr..
Seymour illustrates his subject by facts
and figures
SIN the year ending July 81, 1877, the ex-
ports from our country amounted in value to
S60l 200, 600. They viii exceed this in the
year ending July, 1878. Of this vast sum,
exceeding 81 200, 000, 600, nearly the whole
was made up of farm products. The great
profit Of carrying these exports across the
ocean was given by our policy to strangers.
American merchants were cut offby our laws.
But for low canal tolls, and the competition
Of more than 5000 canal boats, the European
demand would have been used to put up
charges, and many millions of bushels of
grain would have been kept out of market
and every form of industry would have been
harmed. The cost of carrying a bushel of
wheat by water from Chicago to New York,
formerly twenty-five cents, has been less than
seven cents this season, and railroad charges
for grain transportation have been similarly
reduced. But for bad laws the ocean COM
merce of the country would revive, and every
kind of industry would prosper. To get rid
of these, the people should send Democrats
to Congress. s'There is no other question
involved in this election concludes NJ. Sey-
mour, (which so deeply concens us all as the
correction of our navigation laws. 1t viii be
found in the end that the communism which
turks in laws which force men to buy of GER
tain classes, and TO pay more for what they
want than they can be bought for elsewhere,
and which also divide mems estates under
cover of taxation, which indirectly go to ia
vored individuals, is more hurtful aud dan
gerous than the communism which says what
1t means, and which destroys itselfby an open
declaration of its purposes