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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
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SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 MR. JOHN L STROHM, OF PEM'A, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE TARIFF. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U. S-, JUNE 25, 1846. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY J. & G. S. GIDEON. 
 1846. 
 
SPEECH. 
 
 The bill reported by the Committee of Ways and Means, proposing to reduce the duties on 
 imports, being under consideration in Committee of the Whole 
 
 MR. STROHM, of Pennsylvania, obtained the floor, and said : 
 
 Mr. CHAIRMAN : If I could have had the selection of my own time to 
 address this committee I should not have chosen, at this moment, to occu- 
 py your attention, inasmuch as the gentleman, (Mr. EWING,) who has just 
 taken his seat, is a colleague of mine; another colleague (Mr. BRODHEAD) 
 having also addressed the committee to-day, it might seem as though we 
 from Pennsylvania were disposed to engross too much of the time of the 
 committee. But as it is a subject of paramount interest to our constituents, 
 and as there is frequently some difficulty in obtaining the floor, I trust I 
 shall be pardoned for embracing the opportunity that is now afforded me, 
 although it may seem to be a little out of place. 
 
 Sir, the deep and absorbing interest which my immediate constituents, 
 as well as the whole people of the State of Pennsylvania, feel in the im- 
 portant subject that engages the attention of the committee, must be my 
 apology for obtruding any sentiments which I may entertain in reference to 
 it at this time. 
 
 In venturing to do so, it is not my intention to enter into the prolixity of 
 the details of this bill ; to dwell upon its bearing and effect, upon each 
 particular interest therein enumerated; that has been so often done by 
 hose who are much better qualified for the task than I am, that all those 
 who have had any desire to understand it, or have paid any attention to the 
 arguments that have been adduced from time to time by the friends of the 
 protective system, cannot fail to be fully informed in regard to it. Yet it 
 may be that before I conclude, I may advert to one or two items in this 
 bill, for the purpose of calling the attention of the committee more particu- 
 larly to them. My principal object is to take a general view of the protec- 
 tive system, as a whole, as applicable to the people of the United Slates, 
 its operation and utility in different sections of the country, and the bene- 
 ficent influence it exercises upon the interests of the whole community. 
 
 I am aware, Mr. Chairman, that men, when acting in a representative 
 capacity, however wise, and learned, and patriotic they may be, are still 
 but men liable to be governed and controlled by the same influences, and 
 actuated by the same motives, that individuals are; liable to be influenced 
 by their passions, by their feelings, by their interests, and not unfrequently, 
 I fear, by their prejudices, rather than by the maxims of sound wisdom 
 and true philosophy sustained as those may be by the salutary lessons of 
 practical experience. And if, in the few remarks which it is my intention 
 to submit to this committee, I shall fail to convince those who will deign 
 to lend me their attention for a few minutes, that the protective system is 
 .mutually beneficial to all and every part of the country, it must be attri- 
 
tilted to the strength and inveteracy of their prejudices, or of my inabilit 
 to do justice to the subject, rather than to any want of intrinsic merit in tli 
 subject itself. 
 
 Sir, the question now under consideration relates to the levying of di 
 ties upon foreign imports, connected with the means of raising revem: 
 and giving protection to American industry. In a country so widely e: 
 tended as that which it is our good fortune to inhabit, embracing so great 
 diversity of climate., and such an almost infinite variety of soil, and oth< 
 natural advantages, it can hardly be expected that any system of publ 
 policy, calculated to operate upon the interests of the whole country, hov 
 ever wisely it may be designed, or carefully and judiciously arranged, ca 
 be made subservient to the special interests of the people of each localit] 
 so as to develope all their resources, and foster and cherish each Individ ui 
 interest, incident to their location. But, as in the first formation of civilize 
 society, individuals had to yield a portion of that unrestrained liberty whic 
 they had previously enjoyed, for the purpose of establishing security an 
 protection to their persons arid their property; so in establishing and protec 
 ing the varied and diversified interests of this great community of nation: 
 (if I may be permitted to use the expression,) each must be content 1 
 suffer some little abridgement of privileges heretofore enjoyed, to endui 
 some slight inconvenience, to make some sacrifice for the purpose of procu 
 ing a greater and more universal good. 
 
 Since the first organization of this Government, the moneys necessary I 
 defray the ordinary expenditure thereof have been derived principally froi 
 the duties on imports; so firmly has this become established as the settle 
 policy of the country, that none would now think of abandoning it. Bi 
 ^whilst the constitutional power as well as the expediency of raising revenu 
 by imposing duties on foreign importations is admitted, an attempt is no 1 
 made to withdraw the fostering care of government from the protections 
 our infant manufactures, by refusing to make any discrimination in favor < 
 those interests in the imposition of duties on foreign imports. 
 
 A system of horizontal duties, imposing an equal amount upon all art 
 cles in proportion to their value, was for a time advocated and insisted o 
 as the only constitutional mode of raising revenue. That seems howeve 
 to be nearly abandoned, and we hear but little said about it now. Detr 
 mental as such a course of policy must have been to many branches of 01 
 domestic industry, it was sustained by an appearance of sincerity, that corr 
 manded some respect, even from those who understood the fallacy of th 
 argument, and foresaw the destructiveness of its tendency; but it we 
 reserved for the present Administration to propose and advocate a tariff ( 
 duties, in which the principles of discrimination is not only fully recoj; 
 nised, but freely exercised; not however, as has heretofore uniformly bee 
 the case where discrimination was exercised at all, for the purpose of aflbrc 
 ing protection to American industry, to ameliorate the condition of th 
 American laborer, to give a stimulus and an impulse to the ingenuity an 
 enterpiize of our own citizens; but with a studied effort, and a perseveranc 
 worthy of a better cause, discrimination in almost every instance in the bi 
 now under consideration is calculated to operate against the interests of 01 
 own countrymen, and has a tendency to depress the American laborer, an 
 reduce him to a level with the tax-ground victims of European monarch 
 
5 
 
 and tyranny, who are compelled to labor incessantly for the purpose of 
 procuring a bare sufficiency of coarse food to sustain their almost famishing 
 families. 
 
 The denial of the constitutional right to make discrimination in favor of 
 the American manufacturers, in levying duties upon foreign imports, might 
 be tolerated as the unmitigated error of a perverted judgment, as a policy 
 calculated to favor the interests of some sections of the country, as a policy 
 that has always been contended for by one class of our politicians; but to 
 exercise the power of discrimination for the purpose of oppression, to pro- 
 duce embarrassment and distress amongst those whose lot it is to "earn their 
 bread in the sweat of their brow;" for Government to use the power which 
 a confiding people have entrusted into its hands, for the purpose of injuring" 
 those whom it is in duty bound to protect, is approaching a depth of (I had 
 almost said infamy, Mr. Chairman, but I shall refrain from using a term that 
 might be considered harsh;) but such an exercise of the powers of govern- 
 ment, to say the least of it, is approaching a depth of ingratitude that no 
 generous mind would be willing to encounter, and which the present Ad- 
 ministration will have the honor of being the first to fathom , if it persists 
 in the measures that have been recommended. 
 
 I have said, sir, that in the adjustment of any system of duties on im- 
 ports, whether upon the principle of protection to our domestic manufac- 
 tures, for revenue only, or for destruction to the interests of the country ? as 
 in the present bill, inequalities will always be experienced, and sacrifices 
 must be made; and the bill now on your table -is by no means free from, 
 those objections. It becomes our duty, then, to ascertain which of those 
 systems makes the nearest approach to perfection, and is productive of the 
 least inconvenience to those whose interests are to be thereby affected; or, 
 in other words, which will produce "the greatest good to the greatest num- 
 ber ." That I believe is the fashionable and democratic mode of expressing 
 the sentiment. 
 
 Let us first examine the probable effects of this bill, in case it should be 
 passed into a law, which I trust it never will. But, for sake of the argu- 
 ment, let us suppose it. possible that such a bill could receive the sanction of 
 a majority of this House, and a majority in the other branch of the Legis- 
 lature, for then, I take it, there would be no doubt but it would receive the 
 signature of the Executive; there is no hope of its progress being arrested 
 there. Suppose then itshould become a law, what would be its effect? Sir, 
 first, in the train of evils which inevitably would follow, we should have 
 the prostration of our domestic manufactures thousands of those who are 
 engaged in that branch of business would be thrown out of employ want 
 of employment on the part of the husband, would soon lead to a want of 
 comfort in the family; and, finally , not only the comforts and conveniences, 
 but the necessaries of life would be found to be lacking. Sad experience 
 \voiild then teach the poor laborer that although, under this much lauded 
 free-trade system, he wpuld be exempt from the payment, on some articles, 
 of from an hundred to^an hundred and fifty or two hundred per cent, duty, 
 according to the theory of Sir Robert Walker, the prices on the aggregate 
 would be little, if any , diminished, whilst the difficulty of obtaining the 
 wherewithal to purchase would be increased in a fourfold mtio; and his con- 
 dition; altogether } would be much worse than it was before. 
 
6 
 
 In the next place , we should have the loss of millions of capital now in- 
 vested in manufactures. That description of property would be greatly de- 
 preciated, much of it rendered entirely useless, and many public spirited,, 
 industrious, and enterprising men, who have invested their all, even their 
 credit, in the establishment of those highly useful improvements, and though 
 somewhat involved, are now in a fair way to pay their debts and make some 
 provision for educating and maintaining their families, would be reduced to 
 bankruptcy, their business ruined, and their prospects blighted forever. 
 Well, sir, how fares the agriculturist the farmer ; under this new order of 
 things? About to introduce a system so injurious to the other great classes 
 of the community the manufacturer, the mechanic, and the laborer per- 
 haps it will commend itself by the superior advantages which it extends ta 
 this numerous and respectable class of the community the agriculturists. 
 This, indeed, is the main argument on which the friends of this bill seem 
 to rely. They tell you that the tariff of '42 gives to the manufacturer more 
 protection than he is entitled to, while it operates to the disadvantage of the 
 farmer, and they wish to repeal it for the purpose of equalizing the burdens. 
 And in undertaking to investigate this part of the subject, we are met upon, 
 the threshold by the exulting cry of a repeal of the corn laws! A free 
 market for our surplus produce! And this, sir, is reiterated with such 
 a triumphant air, that we are almost compelled to believe that there is 
 really something in it. A moment's reflection, however, reminds us, that 
 the British market, if opened at all, will be open to all the world as 
 well as to us; and, as a. portion of the finest wheat growing countries 
 on the globe is more convenient to England than we are, the American 
 farmer will find, that by the time he gets his wiieat or his flour to Eng- 
 land, the inhabitant of the coasts of the Black sea and the Baltic will 
 have been there before him; the merchants of Dantzic, Odessa, and Ham- 
 burg, will have anticipated him; and, under the superior advantages of 
 cheapness of labor and convenience to market, will have supplied the 
 demand before he arrives, at prices too that he could not afford to sell 
 for; and he will then discover that, as my friend from Vermont (Mr. COL- 
 LAMER) stated yesterday, " there is something else than the duty that regu- 
 lates the price of a commodity" it is the demand for the article that gov- 
 erns the price; and when the demand is supplied, he will find no sale for 
 his produce, duty or no duty. But I will not expatiate on this part of the 
 subject; this has been fully explained by some of those who have pre- 
 ceded me. 
 
 But, Mr. Chairman, suppose we admit that the price of grain will be 
 somewhat enhanced, the benefit thus accruing to the farmer will, in the 
 eyes of the impartial legislator, be more than overbalanced by the imposition 
 of greater burdens upon the laborer; having first cut off his employment ^ 
 you next increase his expenses by raising the price of his bread. But 1 con- 
 tend that the farmer is not benefitted by such a condition of things. And 
 why? Because, by destroying the manufacturer, you deprive the farmer of 
 his best, indeed his only market, for much of the production of his farm. 
 The American farmer does not live by wheat and corn only. He wants a 
 market for his barley, his oats, his hay, his wool, his poultry, his potatoes, 
 his fruit, his vegetables, his butter, his wood, bark, hides, and an hundred 
 Other things that might be enumerated, if time would permit, and for which _, 
 
unless he finds a market in his own immediate vicinity a home market he 
 can realize little or nothing at all. Nay, more; in the employment he finds 
 for his team, in the neighborhood of a furnace, a forge, or a factory, at times 
 when he has but little for his cattle to do at home, he is frequently enabled 
 to earn more money in one week than all the duty he pays, under your 
 high protective tariff, will amount to in a year. 
 
 Who, then, is to be benefitted by this new system of policy? I have 
 shown that neither the farmer, the manufacturer, the mechanic, or the la- 
 borer, will derive any advantage from it; but, on the contrary, each and all 
 of them will be very materially and seriously injured by the adoption of it. 
 Who, then, I ask again, is to be benefitted by it ? Allow me to tell you, 
 sir. The importing merchants, many of whom are foreigners, and have 
 no sympathy with our citizens, except for the purpose of obtaining their 
 money; no affection for your Government, except to court its favors, with 
 the view of promoting their own selfish views. The men who, if I mis- 
 take not, have their hired emissaries at the seat of your Government; aye, 
 within the walls of your Capitol; exhibiting their gaudy and Hi msy .fabrics; 
 and, by misrepresentation and deception, endeavoring to mislead the judg- 
 ment of those upon whom the decision of this great question devolves. 
 
 Sir, if, in the exuberance of our philanthropy, we extend our sympathy 
 beyond the rolling billows of the broad Atlantic, and seek to ameliorate the 
 condition of the liege subjects of her Britannic Majesty, Queen Victoria*, at the 
 expense of our own citizens, we shall find some excuse for the extraordinary 
 character of this bill. Yet, even then, a slight examination will convince 
 us that our charity is misapplied, and that those who most need it will be 
 the last to receive the benefit of it. The poor operatives in England have, 
 by a long series of oppression, been reduced to the lowest depth of misery 
 which human nature can endure. They are entirely at the mercy of the 
 rich capitalists, who allow them just such wages as will enable them to 
 sustain their families in a mode of living far inferior to any thing that peo- 
 ple in this country are accustomed to barely to keep them out of the parish 
 workhouse, and prevent them from becoming a charge on the parish. And 
 so dense is the population, so numerous that class of people there, that al- 
 most any number of workmen can be obtained, by giving them regular and 
 constant employment, without any material increase of wages; and nine- 
 tenths of the actual benefit which you are about to confer on the English > 
 as a nation, by the passage of this bill, (and it is no trifling boon,) instead 
 of enuring to the advantage of the poor, will be conferred on those whose 
 wealth is already immense, and whose capital is employed to our injury; 
 and thus you are oppressing the honest laborers in your own country, to 
 augment the overgrown fortunes of the English aristocracy. Such an ex- 
 ercise of philanthropy will, I fancy ; meet but little response in American 
 bosoms, and redound but slightly to the honor and the fame of the projec- 
 tors and abettors of this suicidal anti American policy. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, having thus glanced at the pernicious and injurious ter>. 
 dency of the bill now before us, I shall proceed, briefly, to point out some- 
 of the benefits and advantages of the protective system. Next to providing 1 
 security for the persons and property of its citizens, and guaranteeing to each 
 individual that liberty, both civil and religious, which was purchased by the 
 valor, and the treasure, and the blood of our ancestors, and bequeathed to vis 
 
as an inalienable birthright, it is the duty of Government to foster and cherish, 
 by every means in its power, those great leading interests that are calculated 
 to render us entirely independent of other nations, and particularly such as 
 are essential to the national defence. 
 
 The sentiment, that peace is the time in which to prepare for war, has 
 been so frequently adverted to here, and the correctness of that sentiment is 
 so universally admitted, that it requires no justification at my hands. But 
 though all admit the truth and force of the sentiment, a great diversity of 
 opinion may obtain in regard to the proper application of it. A nation, in 
 order to prosecute a war with vigor and effect, will be under the necessity of 
 bringing into requisition a great many things besides the active physical 
 force that marches into the battle-field, or the fortifications that are erected 
 to defend particular situations, and check the onward march of a hostile foe. 
 Money is said to be the sinews of war, and without a copious supply of this 
 necessary ingredient, no civilized nation can wage war long. Yet no one 
 will recommend the hoarding of vast treasures in time of peace, to be kept 
 in readiness for the emergency of war. It is contrary to the genius of our 
 Government to collect money from its citizens, by either direct or indirect 
 taxation, for the purpose of accumulating large sums of money that are to 
 lie idle and useless in the Treasury until the exigency of war should call it 
 into active circulation. The corrupting influence of such a treasure would 
 be more dangerous to the morals, and prejudicial to the interests, of the 
 country, than even war itself. Hence it is not the policy of this country to 
 prepare for war by laying up large amounts of money in time of peace. 
 
 In the next place, troops are indispensably necessary in the prosecution of 
 a war, yet no one will admit the propriety of maintaining a large standing 
 army in time of peace. War between civilized nations is an event of such 
 rare occurrence in our day, that it would be consummate folly to incur the 
 expense of keeping up a large army, when there is no earthly prospect of 
 their services being required. The intervals of peace are so extended, that 
 your soldiers might become old, infirm, superannuated, and helpless, with- 
 out being called upon to face the enemy in battle array. 
 
 To say nothing of the danger to the republic from the constant presence 
 of a large armed force, the mass of whom would be accustomed to yield im- 
 plicit obedience to their superiors, and in time rendered willing slaves to im- 
 perative commanders, and, finally, might become subservient instruments 
 in the hands of designing men to subvert those liberties they were designed 
 to protect. To say nothing of those considerations, which sagacious states- 
 men ought not to overlook, the expense alone of maintaining a large stand- 
 ing army would be an insuperable objection to this mode of providing for 
 war in time of peace. 
 
 How, then, ought this maxim of providing for war in time of peace to be 
 complied with? 
 
 Sir, by pursuing a course of policy in time of peace that will fully de- 
 velope all the sources of the country, and at the same time promote the 
 prosperity and well-being of its citizens. Encourage and protect your do- 
 mestic manufactures, so that in case war should become inevitable, and our 
 communication with other countries be interrupted or entirely cut off, your 
 citizens can be furnished with every thing that they have been accustomed 
 to enjoy, by the enterprize and industry of their own countrymen. It ia 
 
9 
 
 not only the soldier, who buckles on his armor and perils his life in the bat- 
 tle-field, that suffers during a time of war; the privations which he suffers, 
 the dangers which he encounters, the hardships he undergoes, the fatigue 
 he endures . and the sacrifices he makes, are infinitely greater than those of 
 any other, I admit; but every man, aye, and every woman, too, however ex- 
 alted their station, or humble their condition, will experience its desolating 
 effects. Some in the derangement of their business, others in the depriva- 
 tion of luxuries long accustomed to; some in the onerous burdens which it 
 imposes, others in the enhancement of the prices of the necessaries of life. 
 All, all, are affected by it, and, not unfrequently, each fancies himself the 
 greatest sufferer. Under a government like ours, where public opinion ex- 
 ercises so potent an influence in the councils of the nation, it becomes pecu- 
 liarly necessary to consult the interests and provide for the comforts of the 
 whole people ; and if they find those interests disregarded or neglected by 
 those who have the administration of the Government in their hands, they 
 will not fail, by the just exercise of those rights which are guaranteed to 
 them by our Constitution and laws, to displace those now in power, and fill 
 their places with those who will execute the trust with greater fidelity. Our 
 country, more than that of any other in the world, has all the elements of 
 true independence within itself; and if Government will only pursue a proper 
 policy, so as to improve all our advantages, and keep us a contented and 
 united people, we may bid defiance to the united efforts of all the pow- 
 ers of the world combined against us. By making your people prosperous 
 and happy in time of peace, you place them in a proper condition to endure 
 the burdens which a state of hostilities necessarily inflicts. By enabling the 
 States to pay their indebtedness to foreign countries, you will re-establisli 
 your credit in those countries, and then you can command money whenever 
 you want it; and this is the only way in which you ought to make provision 
 in time of peace for money to carry on a war that is, by placing your 
 citizens in such circumstances as will enable them to contribute liberally and 
 punctually in the shape of taxes, when necessary, and by establishing the 
 credit of the National Government, so that you can obtain the* aid of other 
 nations by the negotiation of loans. 
 
 There is, sir, another mode of carrying out this maxim, of providing for 
 war in time of peace, which I will advert to in a few words, though it 
 has been referred to by other gentlemen; it is this, the resources of the Gov- 
 ernment ought, in time of peace, to be employed in the construction of im- 
 provements that would be beneficial to its citizens, during the continuance 
 of that happy condition which it ought to be the pride and ambition of all 
 rulers to secure for this country. This could be done by facilitating the 
 means of intercourse, and strengthening and extending the commercial rela- 
 tions between different and remote sections of the country. Thus binding 
 them together by the strong ligaments of mutual interest, social harmony, 
 and sympathetic feeling, and securing them from the baleful influence of 
 selfishness, envy, and jealousy of each other's power and prosperity. The 
 improvements which I allude to, are McAdamized roads, railroads, canals, 
 improvement of rivers and harbors, bridges over large streams, convenient 
 mail routes, and such like things. Any improvement, the utility of which 
 will be worth to the people in time of peace the interest upon the cost, and 
 be subservient to the national defence in time of war. In expending the 
 
10 
 
 resources of the Government in this way, you secure a two-fold advantage t 
 First. Your money is invested in improvements that confer immense and al- 
 most incalculable advantages upon your citizens , and at the same time yields a 
 revenue adequate to the annual repairs, and thus keeps itself always in proper 
 condition. Secondly. In the facilities which those improvements afford to 
 the Government in time of war, in the transportation of troops, ordnance ? 
 provisions, military stores, and camp equipage, from one point to another, 
 you will save more in many instances than the original cost of the work, 
 independent of the consideration, that by the aid of those facilities of inter- 
 communication one thousand men will be able to defend your seaboard 
 more effectually than three times the number could have done forty years 
 ago. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, how are all those desirable objects to be attained? 
 Sir, by rejecting the bill on your table, arid leaving the tariff of '42 stand as 
 it is ; and that is the only way in which this can be effected. 
 
 This is, fortunately for my argument, no new theory, no untried vision- 
 ary scheme. The experience of the past exhibits a prosperity under our 
 protective system unexampled in the history of the world. What has been 
 the situation of the country, when the duties were so low as to afford inad- 
 equate protection to our domestic manufactures? What was the condition 
 of the country five years ago, before the passage of the tariff of 1842^ 
 which is now sought to be repealed ? Who does not recollect it ? There is 
 not a man within the sound of my voice, who has paid any attention to 
 what was going on around him, that don't remember the gloom that per- 
 vaded the whole community at that time. Was not the country suffering 
 and laboring under all the disadvantages and difficulties that I have been 
 endeavoring to describe, and which were so eloquently portrayed by my 
 friend from Kentucky, (Dr. YOUNG.) a few days ago? Your furnaces^ 
 forges, bloomeries, and factories, were then standing still ; and the thou- 
 sands of active and industrious operatives, that are now so happily and sedu- 
 lously engaged in attending to those establishments, were then destitute of 
 employment. Business was paralyzed ; produce, not only low in*price 7 
 but in many places almost unsaleable at any price. The value of real es- 
 tate depreciated, and pecuniary embarrassment, distrust and wretchedness, 
 pervading the whole community; and not only individuals, but States re- 
 duced to the verge of hopeless bankruptcy. Contrast the condition of the 
 country then, with that which it exhibits now, and see whether you don't 
 find the confirmation of what I have stated . 
 
 Soon after the passage of the tariff bill of 1842, business began to revive. 
 The sound of the anvil and the shuttle again reverberates through what had 
 been tenantless and desolate habitations. The hum of business, the clang- 
 or of industry, and the clanking of machinery was every where heard, like 
 the carolling of the feathered songsters welcoming the genial return of spring- 
 after a severe and dreary winter ; enlivening and animating the whole face 
 of nature, and diffusing contentment and happiness throughout the whole 
 extent of your wide spread territory. Buildings sprang up, as if by magic - 
 the wilderness was literally made to blossom as the rose. Minerals that had 
 lain dormant in the bowels of the earth since the time of the creation, were 
 hoisted from the dark caverns in which nature had deposited them, taken 
 to your laboratories,, and converted into gold, or, what is better, into bread 
 
11 
 
 Not by the fancied process of the dreaming alchymist, but by the more 
 certain and effectual development of art, of science, and of protected industry. 
 
 But our brethren of the South imagine that the blessings thus conferred 
 on our prosperous country are purchased at their expense. Sir, I appre- 
 hend that they have not taken a correct and impartial view of this interest- 
 ing subject. They are laboring under some strange delusion, some capti- 
 vating erroneous theory, that prevents them from taking that calm, philo- 
 sophic, and enlightened view of this subject, which they so uniformly ex- 
 ercise upon every other. Let them investigate it fully and fairly let them 
 bring to the aid qf their judgment the recollections of the past, and exam- 
 ine the condition "of the present, and they cannot avoid the conclusion, for 
 it is sustained by incontrovertible facts, that every article which they pur- 
 chase, and which has been protected for a number of years, comes to them 
 cheaper now than it did before the protective system was adopted. But 
 even if this were not the case, we might appeal to their patriotism, and ask 
 whether they are not willing to endure some inconvenience, for the purpose 
 of establishing the true independence of their country upon a sure and 
 permanent basis. 
 
 Permit me now, sir, to say a few words in reply to some of the arguments 
 of gentlemen on the opposite side of this question. They charge us with 
 inconsistency, and efforts are made to invalidate our arguments, because we 
 advocate a cause that gentlemen suppose would operate against our own in- 
 terest ; as if gentlemen acting in the high and honorable capacity of legis- 
 lators, could not rise above the grovelling motives of sordid interest and sel- 
 fish views. Do those gentlemen wish us to estimate their patriotism and 
 their disinterestedness by the same measure which they mete unto us? We 
 do not claim greater perfection than usually falls to the lot of frail human- 
 ity, and make no professions of sacrifices inconsistent with a reasonable re- 
 gard to our own interests. Gentlemen, however, labor under a great mis- 
 apprehension, when they set down as manufacturers, and the advocates of 
 the exclusive manufacturing interest, all those who are in favor of the pro- 
 tective system; this mistake in the premises leads to still greater errors in, 
 the conclusions; and hence they are unable to see how it is that the manu- 
 facturers, as they call them, are such strenuous advocates of a policy which 
 they allege is calculated to diminish their own profits. Sir, many of those 
 who are the most unflinching advocates of the protective policy , are not par- 
 ticularly identified with the manufacturers, except so far as the prosperity of 
 those establishments conduce to the general prosperity of the whole country. 
 
 The district which has given me the honor of holding a seat upon this 
 floor, is emphatically an agricultural district, and raises more agricultural 
 productions than any other in the State wherein it is located ; and is, per- 
 haps, not inferior to any of the same extent in the United States. It is our 
 interest, then, that the manufactured articles should be reduced to the low- 
 est price for which they can be made in this country. We have no desire 
 to see the manufacturers realizing a profit of thirty, or twenty-five, or even 
 fifteen per cent., whilst we, as agriculturists, cannot by the cultivation of 
 our lands realize more than four or iive per cent, on the capital invested; 
 and very often not that much. Nor do we believe that the manufacturing- 
 business is so profitable as those who advocate this bill assert it to be. If 
 we could be persuaded that those calculations of the anti-protectionists are 
 
12 
 
 correct, we should not hesitate to sell our lands, and embark in those high- 
 ly profitable pursuits. 
 
 The calculations which produce the results on which gentlemen place so 
 much reliance here, are founded upon erroneous data. Many of the man- 
 ufacturing establishments, that are now doing a fair, perhaps a profitable 
 business, have been purchased during some of those revulsions which your 
 unstable, fluctuating policy has so frequently produced, at great sacrifices; 
 in many instances for less than one-fourth of the original value. I know, 
 sir, an instance in the county in which I reside, where a factory was erected 
 by a company, which, together with the machinery and the buildings ne- 
 cessary for the workmen, cost some fifty or sixty thousand dollars, perhaps 
 more. In a few years the company failed, and the whole investment was 
 almost a total loss. It was purchased, at a very reduced price, by an iridi- 
 Tidual, who, after carrying it on for a number of years, also failed, leaving 
 his creditors to pay for his experience in this enviably profitable business of 
 manufacturing. Within the last three years this same property was sold for 
 some $7,000, if my recollection serves me right; and the last purchaser has 
 since been offered $3,000 profit, making more than forty per cent, on his 
 investment, and refused to take it. Is it fair, then, to argue, that, because 
 this man refused an advantageous offer, under peculiar circumstances, that 
 Kiay not occur again in an age to come; is it fair, I ask again, to infer from 
 that, that the business is highly profitable, when those who preceded him 
 have failed entirely, and when from sixty to eighty thousand dollars have 
 been sunk and sacrificed in this very establishment? This is the way, sir, 
 in which these enormous profits are calculated, when the people in the vi- 
 cinity of those establishments, who have had an opportunity of forming ac- 
 curate judgments on those interesting cases, know them to be false and de- 
 lusive in the extreme. 
 
 Sir, those strong cases make bad precedents; and, if any one would take 
 the trouble to search for them, cases equally strong, and perhaps equally de- 
 lusive, might be found in agricultural pursuits. I have been told of a far- 
 mer who went to the western prairies and took up a hundred acres of land, 
 at the Government price, a dollar and a quarter per acre. He went to work, 
 had the whole broken up with the plough, and seeded with wheat; and the 
 crop thus produced, not only paid for all the labor and expense, but enabled 
 him to pay for his land, and had a considerable sum left; while at the same 
 time his land was worth three times as much as when he commenced. Here, 
 then, was a profit of 300 per cent, in the depressed and over-taxed pursuit 
 of agriculture; and yet we are asked by gentlemen from the West to relieve 
 them from the onerous burdens inflicted on them by this black tariff. I have 
 only adverted to this to show that isolated cases, under peculiar circum- 
 stances, form very fallacious precedents upon which to found general prin- 
 ciples. The calculations which gentlemen rely upon to sustain their argu- 
 ments are frequently made by persons not fully acquainted with all the facts 
 connected with the case, and in this way results are obtained that have no 
 foundation in facts. 
 
 The honorable gentlemen from North Carolina, (Mr. BIGGS,) who ad- 
 dressed the committee on yesterday, told us that " moderate and permanent 
 protection is all that manufacturers ought to ask, and that is what a revenue 
 .tariff gives." I agree, sir, that moderate and permanent protection is ail 
 
13 
 
 that manufacturers ought to ask, but he and I difYer in opinion in regard to 
 what kind of a tariff will best effect the object which we both have in view, 
 1 believe that the present tariff affords such protection as gives proper en- 
 couragement to manufacturers; without affording them more than a reasona- 
 ble profit. Calculations of profit, made by men not themselves engaged in 
 the business, and who have no practical knowledge of the difficulties which 
 had to be encountered, are at once adopted as being undeniably true, and 
 relied on as arguments in favor of reducing the tariff. This, sir, is a great 
 mistake; the immense profits supposed to be realized by the manufacturers 
 are only to be found in the erroneous calculations made by misguided theo- 
 . rists. The manufacturers, on an average, realize no greater profit than is 
 generally enjoyed by others of our citizens who are engaged in other 
 branches of business. The tariff, as it is, affords a reasonable protection, 
 and ensures to the manufacturer a moderate remuneration, and no more. 
 Do gentlemen expect to establish permanent protection by a revenue 
 tariff? The amount of revenue is regulated by the wants of the Trea- 
 sury, and is subject to diminution or increase, according as the action 
 of the Government is piofuse or economical; and, consequently, there is no 
 stability about it. We now find ourselves in a state of war, and the expenses 
 of Government during the ensuing year must necessarily be increased; and, 
 therefore, the tariff must be changed to meet those additional expenses. 
 Next year, if peace should be restored, as I hope it may be, we must have 
 another change to accommodate the tariff to the wants of the Treasury. It 
 is expected by many that the war will soon be brought to a close; the Exe- 
 cutive, I understand, has expressed a belief that peace would be concluded 
 before the expiration of sixty days; I shall be pleased to see it; but if peace 
 were declared to-morrow, we shall have incurred a great^ expense in the 
 prosecution of the war, and will find it necessary to provide for those ex- 
 penses. No, sir, an ever-changing, uncertain, shifting revenue tariff, will 
 be more pernicious to the manufacturing interest than any other. Men who 
 were about to abandon their usual pursuits and enter into new, and , to them, 
 untried branches of business, if possessed of an ordinary degree of pru- 
 dence, would like to make some calculations as regards their prospects of 
 success. But with your unsettled, vacillating policy, what data had they to 
 depend on? None whatever. A policy that so vitally affects the interests 
 of the whole community should not be changed hastily or inconsiderately. 
 The people have a right to expect, and will demand at your hands, that a 
 policy that has worked so well, and been productive of so much good, shall 
 be left undisturbed. "Let well enough alone," is the old maxim, and will 
 hold good for Government as well as for individuals. 
 
 Gentlemen possess a very strong sympathy for the operatives in our facto- 
 ries, whom they seem to consider as objects of their profound compassion, 
 the innocent victims of avarice and oppression. But let them go to the spot 
 where those fancied oppressions are exercised; let them visit and examine 
 those men at their homes, and look into their condition, and witness the neat- 
 ness and comfort of their dwellings, and the order that prevails around them, 
 and they will discover that a more intelligent, more cheerful, better fed, 
 better clothed, and more contented class of men is not to be found in this 
 country. 
 
14 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the State represented by myself and colleagues on this 
 floor, is, perhaps, more deeply interested in this question than any other, for 
 though our manufactures are fewer in proportion to the whole population 
 than some others, yet those manufactures are very important, and more de- 
 pendant on protection than most others. Several of her representatives have 
 already spoken, others are desirous of addressing the committee, and, I hope, 
 may have the opportunity of doing so. Having briefly stated my views, I 
 shall no longer occupy the attention of the committee. 
 

GAYLAMOUNT 
 
 PAMPHLET BINDER 
 
 <^ 
 
 Manufactured by 
 
 GAYLORD BROS. Inc. 
 
 Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 Stockton, Calif. 
 
 YC 05895 
 
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