Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1885-02-10

WIN Il. Gibbons, President OF the
Pussy & mes Company, of this city,
delivered a lecture In the old South
Meeting House, in Boston, Msssacbu-
sets, en- Z iday evening, ON Our Re-
pressive Tariff, how it has swept
our fiIg from the sea, and has para
lyzed business IN everything relating to
American shipping" Mr.. Gibbons be-
heves in the abrogation of protective
duties on imports, and thinks our
country would find in free-trade pan
acea for all the obstacles which check
the extension Of our commerce and de-
press the lAborsr. Of our country. II
Mr.. Gibbons had shown that the people
OF Eogland, " aoDe other nation, were
better of thsu the people of this coun-
try, Wa might assume that his couclu-
sions were correct but an he has not
done so, We think he M well As other
ffee-traders, ate greatly mistaken In
their views, His assumptions are That
by q reduction OF duties we may build
ships for less money, procure %npplies
at q reduced rate and sai; then at less
cost.
We would thus be Trough in direct
competition witty the ship builders
and owners Of Europe, and we might
get portio1f of the freight nov carried
by them, BIT it would necessarily be at
reduoe<rAte, as they have much less
than icy can do.
O92competition Is not feared by En-
GIN free traders. They do not care
anything about our competition in the
shipping business, if they can find a
market for their surplus dry goods, iron,
steel, etc, in our country. This is the
end aimed at by them. If they should
be successful in sending their manu-
factured goods into our country, We
would like Mr.. Gibbons TO tell us wha
would become of our own factories
furnaces and FORCES, and the men EN-
ployed therein. 1t Is plain that tn,
power Of the people to consume would
not be greatly increased, and the CAPT
tai now invested in manufacturing, ant
the men employed thereby, would hav,
10 seek other channels, that would b.
more prof table. 1t our people wer
less prosperous than the people o
Europe, then we might say Mr.. Glib
Oons' argument Is plausible, bat 30 Ion
as Europeans are so anxiously seekin
outlets for their manufactured articles
we do not desire to permit them to com
in direct competition with our people
Mr.. Gibbons admits that such compe
tition will lead TO reduced values, whic
means reduced wages, and this is tn
conclusion of all free trade theorists.
We do not believe a more powerful
device to ruin our manufacturers ant
impoverish our people could be discov
cred, and hence we have little patienc
with free trade vagaries. By thei
adoption our coast trade would pas
into the hands Of the English, or wage
N our country would have to be place
as low as the rate paid in that country
1t is true there might be some chang
made in our navigation laws, particu
larly those relating to fitting out an
manning vessels, but such changes
not mean the sbrogation of taxing in
ports, or the destruction OF the entil
protective system, against which NJ
Gibbons seems to have particular di
liking. As Great Britain subsidiz'
many Of her steamship lines, the ne,
lecture Of Mr.. Gibbons should be d
voted to show how our country can su
cessfully overc )me the advantages col
ferred by that system.