Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

occasional rioting rudely repressed by
violence and bloodshed, was rife through
out the country. But in the Legislature
its voice was little needed, for it was not
the people, but a class. which was then
represented in parliament.
sit is not surprising that while the
attention of both people and govern
ment was engrossed by the demand for,
and the resistance to, large political re-
forms, the advocates for an improved
fiscal system met with few listeners.
Amid the din and chatter of political con-
flicts, the doctrines of free trade we've
urged in vain by those who had studied
the subject.
"And~ although the principles PROFOUND
by a small band of enlightened inquirers
were supported in parliament by such
men as Canning, Huskisson, Robinson.
and Wallace, no measure involving their
adoption was passed till the session of
1923. In January of that year Mr.. Hus-
kisson was appointed president of the
board of trade. That eminent statesman,
whose untimely death in 1880 was an
immense loss to the cause of free trade,
made the first breach in our navigation
laws by a bill, which he carried through
the House in July, 1923, enacting that all
duties and drawbacks should be levied
and allowed equally on goods, whether
in British or foreign vessels. This was
the thin end of the wedge, and a very
thin end it was.
In the following year he struck a heav-
Ter blow at the protective system. Up to
that time all foreign silk manufactures
had been totally prohibited. 1t was not
a question of heavy import duties; they
were not admitted into the united king
dom at all. The force of protection could
no farther go. 1t was the despOtism of
monopoly, tempered only by the snug
gler. Joseph Hume on one occasion
amused the House of Commons by flour
ishing his silk bandanna handkerchief be-
fore them, eXclairsing, Here is a foreign
ware that is totally prohibited. Nearly
every one of you has a similar Illicit arti-
Gle in his pocket. So much for your pro,
hibition.'"
"How did THIS Mighty favored manufac
ture thrive: Its chief seat was then. no
as now Coventry and Macclesield. bu'
Spitalfelds, London; and that districr
was, nevertheless, m of the poorest. tn,
most frequently distressed, and the mos
turbulent in the metropolis 1t was quit,
a common occurrence for thousands o
Spitalfields weavers, when their trade
was depressed, as it frequently was il
spite of protection, to parade the street
in bands, DANGEROUSLY demanding aims
Rioting was with them a favorite amU>e
ment. At one time, fancying themselve
injured by the fashion that had set in o
using printed c%alicoes for female dresses
gangs of these silk-weavers went ahoU
throwing corrosive liquids on cotton
dresses. and even brutally tearing thel
from the wearers' backs. At anOthe
time, under the impression that number
of Irishmen had recently arrived in Lon
don for the purpose of working at under
prices. they assembled in crowds, an,
proceeded to Brick Lane. Whitechape.
{ where they attacked a house in whic
lrishmen were supposed to be marlboro
and demolished it, at the expense of on
!; death and many wounded. Such wer
, the freaks of these spoiled children O
l protection.
/, Mr.. Huskissou, on the 9TH of Marcel
1924, proposed and the measure was cal
, ried) that the prohibition on the imports
, ton of silk manufactures should ceas
| on the 9TH of July, 1926, that the dutie
on raw silk should be largely reduced
) and those on thrown silk lessened ON
= half, In his speech he introduced tn
following argument, on which he lai
; great stress: The prohibitory duties
t he said. which have been maintaine
= with respect to the silk trade have ha
t the eflect-to the shame of England b
it spoken-of leaving US far behind on
neighbors in this branch of industry
: We llNR NiNiit07tt AAANN ~ N'Nt ~
: numbing effect which is always sure I
be felt when 10 genius is called into &C
ton, and when we are rendered inditfel
ent to eXertion by the indolent securit
of a prohibitory system Everybod
= knows how largely our silk manufac
!, lures have expanded since the alteration.
4 "Nodoubt that other fiscal changes of
similar tendency would have been subse
: quently introduced by ministry of whic
Canning and IIuskisson were intluentii
members, but the pressure of events rel
: dered it impossible. The years ls25 an
2 1926 are painfully memorable for the o.
currence of one of the severest CONNIE
cial panics by which this country n;
. ever been visited. 1t sprang from ii
) same old cause, reaction, that has alway
r led to the same result. The inflated pro;
i perity and reckless speculations of Isl