The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1884-07-24
BLAlNl'S ACCEPTANCE.
Letter OF Hon. James C. Blaine Accepting
the Republican Nomination for the rresi-
dency.

/ AUGUSTA, ME-, July ID, 1884.
Ihe hon. John D. HENDERSON and Others of ule
Committee, Etc, Etc:
| GENTLEMES-In nc cepting the nomination
Tor the Presidency rendered me by the Repub-
| lican National ConN o ltion, beg to express a
deep sense OF the honor which is conferred
and of the duty which is imposed / venture
| 10 accompany the acceptance with some OBJ
seryations upon the questions involved in the
! contest-qucsiions whose settlement may af-
feet the future Of the Nation favoraIly or un-
fayorahly for long series of years.
. In enumerating the issues upon which the
Republican party appears for popular sup
i port the Convention has heon sinsularly ex-
| plicit and fectous 1t has properly given
the ta1ing position to tire industrial interests
/ OF the country us affected by the tariff on i'm
4 ports. On that question the two political par
/ tles are radically in toIiiict Almost the first
act ol the Republicans, when they came into
! power IN 1861, was the establishment Of prin-
/ ciple Of protection to American labor and to
| American capital. This principle the Repub-
| lcan paity has ever since steadily main
1 talned, while on the other hand the Demo-
cratic party in Congress has for fifty years
| Ie sistently warfed upon it,. Twice within
| that period our opponents have DESTROYED
tariffs ARRANGE for protection and since the
close OF the civil war, whenever they have
controlled the House of Representatives
4 hostile legislation has been attemptcd-never
more eonspieuously than in their principal
measure at the late session Of Congress.
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
revenue laws are in their very nature sub
| Ject 70 frequent revision in order that they
| may be adapted to changes and notifications
| OF trade. The Republican party is not con
{enaing ior the pefmaneney Of amy particu-
lar statute The issue between the two par
| les does not have reference to a specific law
| IL IS lar broader and far deeper 1t involves
| a principle OF wide application and benehcent
influence, against theory which we believe
| 70 De insound in conception and inevitably
| hurtful in practice. In the many tariff re-
| visions which have been Lecessary for the
nm
| atter Iecome nCces; airy, the Republican party
mas maintained, and Will maintain, the policy
OF protection to American industry, while
our opponents insist upon a revision which
| practlca ~ destroys that policy. The issue
IL thus distinct well defined and unavoidable.
| Ine pending election may determine the fate
! q protection for generation The over
throw OF the policy means Il large and per-
manent reduction in wages Of the American.
laOorer, besides involving the loss of vast
amounts Of American capital invested in
manufacturing enterprises. The value OF the
| present revenue system TO the people of the
| United States is not II matter oil theory. and
shall submit no argument 10 sustain it,
only invite attention to certain facts of OIL
clal record which seem TO constitute demon
stratiOn.
IN the census of 1850 an effort was made, for
the first time in our history, to oh ain yalua-
uon OF alt the properly in the Unite State =
Inc attempt was m large degree unsuccess-
| ful Partly from lack OF time, partly from
prgilI ace among many who Thought the in
lulries toreshadOWcd a new scheme of taxa
Ton the returns were incomplete and unsat-
lstactory. Little more was done than to con-
| silutle the local Valua ion used in the States
Tor purpo es of assessment, and that, as every
one KNOWS differs widely from a completes
e%hlDit Oh all the property
In the census OF 1850 however the work
was done with great thoroughness-he dis.
tinctlon between "as esscdr value and true
Naiue oeinE eaTciully Observed. Tho grand
result was that the true value" of all tbs
| property in the States and Territories fnclud-
ing slaves amounted to fourteen thousand
millions Of dollars tSl4.0O0, ,0UO, ,0J0 This n ~
| Eresate was the nat result ot the labor and
savings OF all the people In the area Of the
un1ied states from the timc the first British
| colonist landed in 1907 down 10 the year loliO
II represented the fruit of the toll of $50
years.
After 1850 the business Of the country was
encoui aged and developed by protective tar
III. At the end of twenty years the total pro
| perty of the United States, as returned hy the
census lf lSS0umounted TO the enormous afryrn.
gate of f0rty-four thousand millions of dollars
| tS4i,C0lO O0,OO0. The great result was attained
notwiths anding the fact that countless mill
ions mad in the interval been wasted in the
progress of u bloody war. 1t thus apnears
that while our population between 1860 aud 1850
increased sixty per cent, the aggregate prop
crty OF the country increased 2l4 per cent -
showing vastly enhanced wealth per capitn.
am ing the @ )ple. Thirty thousand millions
oi dollars tS3Ot 90 had been adde dur
ing the twenty years TO the permanent wealth
OF the Nation.
These results are regarded by the older Ma
tons of the world rs phenomenal. That our
country should surmount the peril and the
cost OF gigantic war, and for an entire period
OF twenty years make an average gain to its
wealth of $685. 100000 per month"; surpasses thp
experience OF all other Nations, ancient or
modern. Even the opponents of the present
revenue system do not pretend that In the
VINO history Of civilization any parallel can
be found to the material progress of the
United States sincethe accession of the Repub.
licln party to power.
The period between 1860 and to-day has not
been one of mate rial prosperity only. AT no
time in the history OF the United States has
there been such progress in the moral and
DnlI0NElrODte oh ft,tlaf
institutions, schools, semnaries and colleges
nave been founded and endowed far more
generously than nt any previous time i'm our
history. Greater ana more varied relief has
been extended TO human suffering and tho en-
tire progress of The country in wealth has
Deen accompanied and gnited by broad
ehing and elevation of our National character
is people.
Ouy opponents find fault that our revenue
system produces Il surplus. But they should
not forget tlat the law has given a specife
purpose to which all nf the surplus is profta-
bly, and honorably applied-the reduction OF
the public debt and the consequent relief of
the burden of taxation. No dollar has been
waSted, and the only extravaganza with
which the party stands charged is the genor-
Gus pensioning of soldiers, sailors and their
families-an extrayagance which embodies
the hiEhes form OF justice in the recognition
and payment of a sacred debt. When red uc-
ton OF tayation is to be made, the Republi-
can party can be trusted TO accoiDpl sh IL in
such form as will most effectively aid the in
uuslrles OF the Nation.
OUR FOREIGN COMMERCE.
A frequent accusatIon by our opponents Is
That the foreign commerce Of the country
has steadily de aYed un er the influence Of
the p. Ote tive tariff. In this way they seek 70
array the importing interest against the re-
publican party. 1t is common and yet ltldi-
cal error TO oonfound the commerce of the
country with its carrying trade IAN error O !
ten committed nnocen'ly and sometimes de.
signedly-but an error so gross that ii does
not distinguish between tie ship and the car
go. Foreign commerce repi 3ents the ey-
ports and imports regardless of the nationals
ity Of the esse thar may carry the commodi-
ties of exchange Our carrying traIe has
from obvious causes suffered many dscour-
agements since 1850, but our foreign com
merce has In the sane period stea1ily and pro-
dietUusly nereased-increl lsed indeed at a
rate and to an amount which absolutely
t.wa'fs all previous deveiopment of our ira ie
beyond the sea. From 1860 to the present
time the foreign commerce of the Un ted
States tdiyi1ed with approximate equality be-
tween exports and imports reached the as
founding aggregate of tive welty-four thou ID
millions of dollars tS240 1,000,0O0l. The Ia
ance in this vast commerce incl ned in our ia
vor but i would have been much larger IL
our trade with the countr es of America else.
" h re reier Ied to- had been more wisely All