The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-10-28
Address of Senator Hoar to the
Merchant Club.
The Golden Club and American Tariff

| Mr. President and Gentlemen: / have come
tonight as learner, not as teacher. / find
| here my colleague, who is the highest authority
| on this special question of all living men, in
| public life III this country. find in your as
| soclatlon the names of men whose foresight
| enterprise and energy have borne foremost
| part III that victory of peace-not less renowned
| than war-the achievement of the manufacture
| ing independence of America.
| The question whether capital that you rep
| resent or control shall be driven to other en-
| pioyments or Shall cease to yield decent re-
turn is not without interest, but suppose the
men whom | see here would know how to get
Their living If they were compelled to invest
their manufacturing property in agriculture or
| commeiee or as carriers. -
| The supremely important matter IL this
| what policy is best for America? Under what
| system of law can she advance most rapidly In
| civilization and in national strengthen that
variety OF employment which is essential to
civilization and in national strength? What
! wages shall be paid? Shall the workman live
| IN cheerful and comfortable dwelling? Shall
he hope sometime to own house and garden?
Shall his wife attend church and social gather
ings, decently clad? Or shall father and mother
| OF a Saturday night seek to forget the weeks
misery and drudgery by leaving their dreary
| tenement for the comfort of gin palace as we
have seen them In Sheffield? Shall the little
| girl be at school or at play? or shall she drag
coal cars on al fours along the tramway of the
mines? All these questions are contained in
the simple inquiry what wages can you pay?
| 1t is not American capital, but American
wages, upon which an attack is made this year
| all along the line.
do not propose to enter tonight upon the
general disc lssion. wish to cali public atten-
tion to the strength and character of the polit-
cal combination with which we have our pres
| ent contest
There is no country in the world except our
own which would hear without indignant re-
monstrance of meetings held by citizens of
other countries to bring about changes In their
legslat ion; especially of appeals from abroad
calGniatea 70 exclte % one class Of its people
CRY if she should learn that there had been
meeting of our most distinguished men, num-
bering forty or fifty members of either House
OF Congress, at our seat of government, pre-
sided over by Mr.. Evarts or Mr.. Sherman, at
which the President of the United States by
his own special desire was represented by his
son, with the object Of persuading the English
farmer or the Irish iaborer that the present
arrangements which exist in England or Ire
land are unjust and tyrannical. Yet that is
precisely what Englishmen are doing to u.s.
do not think we need be much alarmed by
their efforts All we need is to see that our
people fully understand them. Our people
know something OF the English efforts which
are making to repeal our tariff. Their strength
and character have not been fully stated
had sent me from England few months
since, copy of the Rochdale Observer of July
18th, 1880, containing literal report of the
speeches at the annual dinner of the Golden
Club, held at Greenwich. This is one of the
most influential and powerful organizations in
England. OF the fourteen members of the
present British Cabinet, twelve are members
OF the Golden club and seven have presided at
its annual Dinner. Earl Spencer, the lord
president of the council, presided over the
meeting during great part of the evening un-
I'll he was called by special summons to at
Parliament and long list of names famous for
wealth and rank were among the guests The
prime minister was obliged to be absent, but
desired his son, himself a member of Parlia-
ment OF great promise, to represent him. This
country was represented by Mr.. Garrett, dis
tinguished Democrat of the Baltimore 4 Ohio
Railroad, and Mr.. Simon Sterne delegate and
believe, president of the New York Free
Trade Club.
should be glad to have the proceedings of
that meeting in the hands of every American
voter. The speeches are curious mixture of
confessions that England has blundered in
fiscal legislation; that she has dsregarded the
rights of other nations in foreign policy with
lectures to US on the proper management Of our
own affairs, and triumphant anticipation of
speedy success in their efforts to break down
our protecisve system.
Mr.. I. B. Potter, member of Parliament and
vice president of the club, serves this notice on
the American people.
81 feel that this club is entering on a contest
worthy of its steel. We have done the best we can
on the continent. My eyes are turned westward
The Cobd-n Club is goRg fight our friends In the
United States, who are Of the same race and char
acter as ourselves. We are going to enter into
C ntest with them. We have thrown off the gloves
Some of our friends in the Eastern States saw DO
net to publish ANYTHING which VIII expose the manu-
facturers TO charge selfshness.' But we as free
traders had a du-y to perform
Mr.. Baxter, another member of Parliament,
gave little report of the work of the club dur
ing the year. They had circuat at home
aud abroad 1860 copies of nineteen works.
Large numbers of Mr.. Mongredens pamphlet,
the Western Farmer of America were in gra-
tuitous circulation in the United States, itch
would, he hoped, "open the eyes of many a
toiling and overtaxed agriculturalist in the
Mississippi valley to the injurious and oppres-
sive nature of the American tariff"
Mr.. Baxter goes on:
LET me say in passing that the surplus revenue
of the United States this year will be no less sum
tnan twenty-seven millions steriing and that fact
Atlantic friends to reduce their onerous and exces
sive importation duties; and one to us, to follow
thelr example If We wish to have ecu Ally -four
ishing exchequer, avoid financial embarrassment
and reduce our excessive expenditure both at home
and in India"
Mr.. Baxter then goes on to complain of the
odious system of English land laws, with their
prlmogeniture and long settlements.
But the principal speech of the evening was
made by the chairman, Earl Spencer. Earl
Spencer is personally, am told, worthy and
amiabe nobleman. But he is conspicuous
representative of class to whom, think, the
American farmer will be little likely to look
for instruction or example. The population of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire
land is a little over thirty,one millions. The
peerage, abont six hundred in number, own a
little more than fifth part of the land. One
fourth OF the whole territory is held by 1900
persons who get an average to each person of
1900 acres. The agricultural laborers who
TILL the fields get in most prosperous times 2s.
4d., or about hfty-one cents, per day. The ag-
ricultural population of England is rapidly d.
minishing. In his treatise on the landed inter-
est OF England, published in 1880, under the
direction of the Royal Agricultural society Of
England, Mr.. Card says
Fifty years ago the working population of En-
gland were engaged in agriculture. At the present
time there is l-ss than tenth.-p 81. There has
been decrease in the country population of En-
gland In every county except five"
MIR. Card gives also dreary picture of the
prospect OF the tenant farmer who occupies a
middle place between the land owner and the
laborer, pressed as he is by demand for higher
rent on one side and demand for higher wages
on the other. He says:
"He may. like any other capitalist, withdraw from
an Improbable business TO some other country
where good land is plentiful and cheap"
He sums uD the prospect of English agricul-
ture as follows:
Nothing like the present depression among
farmers has been since the repeal of the corn
laws. There have not before been SO many farms
thrown on the market, and never till now in our
time have been seen in England farms tenantless
and uncultivated. 1t Is no comfort to the British
farmer to Do told that there is similar depresson in
the agricultural districts of France aud Germany
nor is 1t any satisfaction to him to hear of fhe rapd
growth of agricultural wealth in the Western States
across the Atlantic, the competition OF which has
prevented that rise In price which has hitherto been
some compensation to him for unfayorabie har-
vests"
Mr.. Card attributes the origin of this state
OF things to bad seasons, but despairs of any
ecnvery under the pressure of American COM
petition.
Earl Spencer is one of the wealthiest of the
class whose "dead hand" has kept the millions
OF his countrymen who till the soil of those
fertile gardens, England and ireland, in the
condition which Mr.. Caird describes He
makes in bus speech some rather singular ad-
missions for person who asks the American
people to listen to lecture from his club on
their ability to manage their own affairs.
ut happened" he says "that last autumn 1
was studying question the question of agricultural
res'ion, wi h which expected to have a good
deal 10 do as member of the royal commission,
appointed by he late government on This subject"
should think he might have expected to
nave something TO do with the question of ag-
ricoltural depress on. I wonder il the noble
earl would deem it as proper for you to raise