LETTERS &c. CHARLESTON, January 16, 1830. Dear Sir: I rejoice that you persevere in advocating the cause of Truth, Free Trade, and Liberal Principles. May your efforts to refute error and stem the tide of prejudice, be crowned with success. How long, my good sir, are we to submit to be made subservient to the contracted and mercenary views of weavers and cotton spinners, and toil to please the champions of the "American System," falsely so termed. Who were the men that composed the armies of Washington and the gallant Hero of New Orleans? Not manufacturers, but the hardy sons of the forest, and the brave yeomanry of the United States. And who have contributed, by a well-directed and daring spirit of adventure, to elevate this Republic to the rank it holds among the nations of the world? Surely not manufacturers, but our enterprizing merchants and mariners. What baleful talisman keeps us bound to this ruinous Tariff system? It cannot be long before reason, like the radiant light of the sun, will break through the clouds of prejudice and ignorance which unfortunately exist in the Tariff States, and illumine the road which leads to the best interests of the People. Commerce, free and unfettered commerce, can alone give us power and prosperity, aided by agriculture. The framers and supporters of this partial, unjust, and oppressive law, would convert our barns into warehouses for manufactured goods, our ploughs into spindles, and our ships into looms; and having compelled our honest tars to quit the ocean, they will at length, I should suppose, presume to usurp the dominion of it, and, in the language of Canute, command the sea to retire. The bountiful God of Nature has made the ocean to serve as the common highway of nations, to enable them to exchange, on terms of reciprocity, the products of the soil, and the various articles of merchandise, for the use and comfort of mankind, and to cultivate peace, friendship, and good will with all, " entangling alliances with none." Are we to be the victims of a spirit of infatuation, and, by the mad policy of visionary men, to be deprived of all these advantages, and be barred out from the rights we inherit from our forefathers? Reason and justice forbid it. I venture to predict, that if this odious Tariff be persisted in for two years, that our sailors will be either driven into foreign service, or become smugglers, many of our ships, in every port, will be laid by to rot, our revenue be diminished one half, and, to end all our calamities, a dissolution of the States. But, (to use a nautical phrase,) I do not yet despair of the ship. We must trust to the returning good sense and energies of the people, to revive the good principles which prevailed under the Washington Administration, and by dismissing from their service the enemies to Free Trade, once more re-establish those kind feelings which formerly so happily existed between the North and the South. I shall hail the day with joy, when the disciples of List, Carey, and Niles shall renounce their erroneous theory. I sincerely hope that the good people of your native State, (particularly the honest Germans and their descendants,) will not be misled by the idle clamor of the home market and non-exportation of the precious metals. These subjects, which have been so ably treated on by that admirable writer, Jean Baptiste Say, must be familiar to you. He remarks, "By the exclusion of specific manufactures of foreign fabric, a government establishes a monopoly in favor of the home producers of those articles, and in prejudice of the home consumers; that is to say, those classes of the nation which produce them, being entitled to their exclusive sale, can raise their prices above the natural rates, while the home consumers, being unable to purchase elsewhere, are compelled to pay for them unnaturally dear. If the articles be not wholly prohibited, but merely saddled with an impost duty, the home producers can then increase their price by the whole amount of the duty, and the consumer will have to pay the difference." In another place, this excellent writer observes: "If one country afford to another what the latter wants in exchange, what more would she have? Or, in what respect would gold be preferable? for what else can be wanted, than as the means of subsequently purchasing the objects of desire?" If the friends of the Tariff would only consent to be guided by this doctrine, all would he right, and our country would be happy and united. Wishing you success in a just cause, &c. HERMANN. CHARLESTON, February 28, 1830. Dear Sir: The cause of Free Trade ought not to escape the serious consideration of every intelligent man, whether he be in or out of the National Legislature. The enemies of the Tariff are rapidly increasing in every section of the United States, and I rejoice to hear that a revisal of it occupies some part of the precious time of Congress. I am but an humble citizen, in private life, and devoted to the cultivation of the soil; but were I a member of that honorable body, I should conceive it to be a paramount duty to use my utmost efforts to assist in effecting a repeal of it, and thereby yield to the voice of my fellow-citizens, which, from every part of the Union, calls loudly for justice! I am personally acquainted with many sensible and worthy men, who, on the passage of the Tariff Law of 1828, were among its warmest friends, but are now convinced of their error. "Truth is powerful, and must prevail." They are indeed truly great who can, by a noble triumph over their feelings, subdue their prejudices; and for this I honor and respect them. We are all liable to err, and are told by an eminent writer, that there is no doctrine so false, but it may be intermixed with some truth. Laws are enacted for the preservation of our political rights and moral welfare; but whatever legislative measure militates against the best interests of the people, must weaken the ties of morality. I am by no means inimical to domestic manufactures; but a law which has for its object the protection of manufactures, to the injury of agriculture and commerce, must be productive of perjury and smuggling, and injure that very class it was intended to serve. How unworthy is this avaricious and contracted policy of the Government of an enlightened people. Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, auri sacra fames!" Manufactories, while judiciously conducted, and based on capital, with enterprize and mechanical ingenuity, will prosper without the officious aid of Government; let their growth be the work of time, reared by the hand of industry, fostered and matured by the good wishes and support of the people of this great Republic, but not prematurely forced on by legislative power. We are informed by a speech of a Senator in Congress, from Massachusetts, that the United States have at this time upwards of two hundred millions of acres for sale; this is more than sufficient to maintain thirty millions of people, exclusive of the vast bodies of land owned by companies and wealthy individuals. Agriculture has a charm for the rich, as well as the poor, which will, for a century to come, oppose obstacles to the advancement of manufactures, to any great extent, in America. It is not reasonable to presume that a poor emigrant arriving from Europe, who understands the use of the plough and the axe, would prefer the confinement of a manufactory to the cheerful, healthy, and independent life of a husbandman. What man can be found, who would not exchange a life of drudgery and comparative servility, for that of a freeholder? We know that land can be obtained in the Southern and Western States at the most trifling expense; and if half the efforts had been made to encourage emigrants to settle on the public lands, which have been made use of for promoting manufactures, the nation would be infinitely more united and happy; and if the same amount of money which has been sent from the United States for the inhabitants of Ireland and Greece, had been bestowed in affording to the persecuted of those countries an asylum in America, and establishing them under the humane patronage of the Government, as cultivators of the soil, the cause of humanity, and the interest of the nation, would be more promoted than by any other mode which could be devised. What more cogent objection can be produced to the increase and extension of manufactures, than the fact which has been stated, "that the United States have in the market more than two hundred millions of acres surveyed and ready for sale?" And must this immense region remain a wilderness for want of laborers! Great Britain and Ireland, (according to the best authority,) with a population of twenty-two millions, comprise only eighty-five millions of acres; and from necessity, more than choice, are devoted to manufactures. The population of the United States consists of thirteen millions, and the Territory of Arkansas is alone nearly equal in extent to Great Britain; and yet we are so infatuated as to be ambitious of rivalling her in manufactures. Heaven knows there is nothing enviable in the condition of any manufacturing nation of Europe. It is truly absurd to be jealous of the prosperity of Britain, France, or any other country; on the contrary, we have cause for exultation, that Providence has enabled us to cultivate a friendly |
