tU&fovi) Itujuiret flirt Hirouiclt
BY DAVID OVER.
....... „ w . rv,n 'he ft "My Mewt.
IILC LAW WAGES
sy EECXI.
J £VNTf,MPTIBLE G.CVE.
THE I'KOOF.
The universal indignation and disgust
manifested by the worlringtnen of all par
ties, when called on to snpport James Bu
chanan, has alarmed the Loco Foco leaders,
-a "town hy the following paltry
game of deception, attempted to be played
in lied ford county:
THE "10 CENT" SLA.NDTSR •
SI,OOO KEWAKD.
IVill be paid immediately bv tin* .undersigned
Democratic County Committee t f Bedford
County, to any person or jiersotis who wifi show,
y clear and satisfactory proof, such AS Would
received in a Court of justice, that j'amks
'.trciiAXas, iu any speech, letter, public or pri
:lV" neper written or printed document or.softial
<P£erS*SfO. ever advocated or favored the
vvvjctrinV tliat the standard of American tragi's ">f
l.itor shoiVM fixed at ten ccuts per dav.
Tiiis charge has been often and recklessly nm -e (
by the enemies of the Democratic Party." It has
ticcn as orten met and answered, but neither argu
ment nor sell-resjiect have been sullicieiit to
stop the mouth of vile slamler.
The charge cooift with an ill grace from a
large portion tsr opponents, who ore strug
gling to free more than three millions of negroes
and scatter them among us, to compete with the
working an 1 laboring population of the conn
try. It is tnade at au unfortunate time for onr
adversaries Every person knows that the
wages of labor never comruatidod a higher price j
nor . greater and surer reward toan at ibis time, j
ami every jwrson knows that this result has
b en brought about by the doctiines and policy
ni' the Democratic party under the leail of J x.'
iiteiiaXAX, and the other great Statesman who
have, for years, assisted in guiding the " ship of
State."
tVe trust th;tf our adversaries will immediately i
> claim the reward, or exhibit such a regard for I
truth in the future, as will prevent the repeti
tion of this iufauiout and unfounded charge.
JOHN CESSNA.
\VM. P SCHELL,
J. IV. TATE,
\V. M. HALL,
G. 11. SPANG,
P. I). BEEGLE,
S. STA fLEK,
County Com.nill\
Bedford, July IS, 1536.
We give tbe above as a specimen of the
contemptible tricks aud quibbles resorted to
by the Loco Foeos, to deceive aud mislead
the public in regard to Mr. Buchanan's low
wages speech. It will be noticed that this
Bedford Committee offers a reward for th e
ptoof of that which nobody charges Mr.
Buchanan with. They offer a §IOOO re
ward for proof that he has advocated or
favored the doctrine that the staudaid of
wages should be fixed at tea cents a day. ,
Now, it so happens, and these Bedford j
folks weii know it, that the charge made j
against Mr. Buchanan, and the proof of |
which is at hand, is that he made a speech i
in favor of reducing the standard of the
price of iabor in this country to that of tbe j
hard-money currency of Europe. This was '
his speech, which, if carried out, would have
reduced the wages of labor in this country
to about ten cents a day. The Bedford
quibble is therefore siuiply a knavish trick
to deceive, aud a very silly and stupid one
at that, for two Ex-Speakers of the Penn
sylvania House of Representatives to attempt
to play. They must have a poor opinion of
the intelligence of the people of Bedford
county, or they would not attempt so clumsy
a gaum to deceive and humbug them.
The card published by the Bedford lea
ders is a virtual admission that Mr. Buch
anan did advocate the redaction of the
wages of American laborers, and though he
did not fix the price at ten cents a day, that
only could be tbe honest interpretation of
his speech. That lie ru ide sac A a speech wc
have already shown, but the proof bears re
publication. Llcre it is:—
Extracts from the Speech of Air. Buchan
an, in'ihe. U. S. Semite, January 'JrhEf
184 U.
"Let mc now recur to the proposition
with which 1 commenced: and 1 repeat that
I do not pretend mathematical aeenrencv,
in the illustration which I shall present. —
. The United States carry on a trade with
Germany and France; the former a hard
money country, aud the latter approaching
•-! so nearly as to have no bank notes in cir
.•tsjatfon uuder the denomination ot five
hundred fraii'-s, or nearly one hundred
dollars. On the contrary, the I'. States is
emphatically a paper money couutry, hav
ing eight hundred banks of issue; all
them emitting notes "fa dcnomtiW't ' ■
i !. . <i * „ vjftCU) one,
low a* fcve (!<4lars, aa*i most ot .
two and three dollar notes. tbeac
arof gold aud stiver mJ „ oiu ,.
.rS.' tbv ten, and even fiitccn :
i'Oi/ars of pAper. This produces i vast but j
ever changing expansion of the currency;!
and a cousequcpt increase of the prices of i
all articles, the vglgi? of which is not regn- I
tatcd by tbe Xurqigu demand, above tbe
prices of Miiitlax article's in Germany and
Iranee. At particular stages of our ex
pansions, we might, with justice, apply the
principle, which I have stated, to our trade
with these countries, aud Assert that, from
'he great redundancy of our currency, ar
ticles arc 'nauufactured in Franec aud Ger
many for oue-balf of their actual cost in
this country. Let me present an example.
-In Germany; where the currency A purely
"ictalie, ami tin- cost of everything is REDUC
ED r<, A li trd money standard, a piece of Uroaii
-1 i"tli e.ut lie manufactured for fifty dollars;'' the
'unit!i.e ture of which, in our country liom r.h'e
expansion of piper currency would cost one
•' t doili 's. T;v forc'jri Prencfi and
•aeruiin .otifactnr ■ import* ibis *••?*. iiiu> I
A Weekly Paper, Devoted to Literature, Politica, the Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, &e., &c Terms: Two Dollars per annum.
our country and sells it for a hundred. Does
not every person perceive that the redundancy
of our currency is equal to a premium of one
hundred per cent, in lavor of the manufacturer.
"No tariff of protection, unless it amounted
to prohibition, could counteract these advanta
ges in favor of foreign manufactures. I would
to Heaven that I could arouse the attention of
every manufacturer of tlte nation to this impor
tant subject.
"The foreign manufacturer will not re
ceive onr bank notes in payment, lie will
take nothing home except gold and silver
' or bills of exchange which are equivalent.
He does not expand this money here, where
he wonld be compelled to support his family, !
and to purchase his labor and materials at
the same rate of prices which he receives
for his manufactures. On the contrary, he
goes home, purchases, his labor, his wool,
and all other articles which enter into his!
manufacture, at half their cost in this coun
try. and again returns to inundate us with
foreign wolens, and to ruin our domestic
manufactures. I might cite rnar.y other ex
amples; but this, I trust, will be sufficient;
to draw public attention to tho subject.—
This depreciation of our currency is, there
fere, equivalent to a direct protection gran
ted to the foreign over the domestic rnanu
.facturer. It is impossible that our manu
fiicturers should hi able to sustain such an
unequal competition.
air, : 'I solemnly believe that if we could
but reduce this inflated paper bubble to any
thing like reasonable dimensions, New
Euglat,d would become the most prosperous
manufac turing country that the sun ever
shone upon. Why eannot we manufacture
goods, and especially eottoo goods, which
will go into successful competition with Bri
tish manufacturers in foreign market*?—
Have we njr the necessary capital/ Have
we not the industry? Have-wo not the ma
chinery? And above all, are not our en
ergy, aud enterprise proverbial throughout
the world? Land is also cheaper here thau
in any other country on the face of the earth.
We possess every advantage which Provi
dence cau bestow upon us, for the manu
facture of cottou; but they are all eouuter
aeted by the foily of man. The raw mate
rial costs us less than it does the Kuglish,
because this is an article, the price of which
depends upou foreign markets, and is not
regulated by our own inflated currency.—
We, therefore, save the freight of the cot
ton across tbe the Atlantic, and that of the
manufactured article on its return here.—
What is the reason that with all these ad
vintages, and with the protective duties
which our laws afford to the domestic manu
facturer of cotton, toe canriot obtain exclu
sive possession of the home market and
successfully contend Jor the markets of the
! world/
"It is simply because we manufacture at
the n<>mimit prices of our own inflated cur
rency, and are compelled to sell at the real
prices of other nations. Red"ce our nom
iiial to the real standard of prices through
out the world, and you cover our country
with blessings and benefits. I wish to Hea
ven I could speak iu a voice loud enough to
be heard throughout New England: because,
if the attention of tbe manufacturers could
once be directed to tbe subject, their own
intelligence and uative sagacity would teach
them how injuriously they are aftected by
our inflated banking and credit system, and
would enable ibetn to apply the proper cor
rective.
What is the reason that our manrfactuc
rers have been able to sustain any sort of
compeii ion, even in tbe home market, with
those of British origiu? It is bteause Kug
| laud herself is, to a great extent, a paper
money country, though in this respect, no 1
to be compared with our own. From this
verv cause, prices in England are much
higher than tb ey are upon the Continent.—
The expense of living is there double what
tit costs in Fiance. Hence all the English
who desire to nurse their fortunes by living
cheaply, emigrate from their own country to
France, or some other portion of the conti
nent. The comparative low prices of
France and Germany have afforded such a
stimulus to their manufacturers, that they
are now rapidly extending themselves, aud
would obtaip possesion, in no small degree,
even of tbe V-*g lisl I "> UIC market, if it were
not for. +fle ' r protcetiDg duties. Whilst
manufacture* are now languishing,
K vse of the ointment are springing into
a healthy and vigorous existence. It was
but the other day that I saw an extract
from an Euglish paper, which stated tbaj
whilst the cutlery manufactured in Geruiauy
vyas equal in quality with the British, it was
reduced in price, that the latter would have
to abandon the manufacture altogcteer."
Some time since we submitted the Con.
gresssioual Globe to a number of geutietueu
in this Citv, asked theiu to compare the
(foregoing extracts, and to say whether they
arc not literally correct, as published in tbe
Globe. Iu reply we received the following!
the italicized paragraph relating to those
extracts, being so italicized by us.
PHILADELPHIA, J*ly 10, 1856.
Dear Sir: VVe have jusl received you r
note, with the accompanying copies of the
Daily Xem.Penmyltxmmn, and sundry ex
tracts from the Appendix to the Congress
ional Globe for 1839-40, commencing on
page 139, and purporting to be portions of
•>...! !•'i#tl>- dimif Bu-
chanan in the United States Senate, on the
22d day of January, 1840, with a request
that we should compare the extracts pub
lished in the jYeus, his with speeeh as it ap
pears in the Globe, and then gay whether
such extracts are correct or not?
Without any disposition to become par
tics to a newspaper controversy, but as a
matter of justice to you personally, we have
'incompliance with yohr request, carefully
compared the extracts which appeared in
the jVetMrof the 9th iust., with the copy of
Mr. Buchanan's speeeh, published on page
129, et seq., of the Congressional Globe,
for 1839-40, and pronounce the same to
be litte rally and strictly correct in every
particular, with the exception of two or
three immaterial omissions of words, the
insertion in ODO place of "and" for "or,"
and in another, of the words "p-ices ef la
bor," which you have marked as an interpo
lation, and which in nowise changes the
sense of ihe extraet:"
We have also, at your request, compared
the extract of Air. Buchanan's speech, in
tena'eil Jor insertion in to morrow'# JVMW,
with t.'ie copy oj saiil speech published in
the. Globe, and find the same tn be liter
ally correct.
YOUTS, very respecfully,
IIE;RY K. STRONG, JAMES COOPER,
CH.IS. B. PENROSE, 11. C. PRIWFC,
SAML. E. EAQLETON, H. D MOORE,
WM. BOWERS, J. A. SIMPSON>
Having thns given 'Mr. Buchanan's owu
snioo ik and polished language, let us see
what is. the meaning of it in plain English,
when lie says, "reduce our nominal stand_
ard of prices throughout tlie whole world,
and jou cover the country with blessings
benefits." Now, what did Mr. Bu
chac.anv mean by this language, if he ni<ran t
anything but that our standard of prices
should, be reduced to that of the bard mon
ey cuiTcncy of Europe? And what is tlt
European standard then, to which he desi
red oir own to be reduoed? According to
the best authorities on that Subject, the
standard of price* for la bo*' in Europe, Is
as follows:
WAjOES in Frakck. -Calais common labor
ri 7 4 per day, with board, and "without
dwelling, Boulogne, 3d, per day, do. Uo.y
Namles, Bd. per day, without Board and
without dwelling; Marseilles, 4d. to 7d- per
day with board and without dwelling. The
food in some districts "consists in rye bread
soup made of millet, cakes made of Indian
corn, now and then some salt provisions ami
vegetables, rarely if ever butcher's meat"
In others, "wheaten bread, soup made with
vegetables, and a little grease or lard twice
a day, potatoes, or other vegetables, but
seldom batcher's meat."
Sweden. —"The daily wages of a skilled
agriculturist are 7d. or Bd.; while the un
skilled obtain bo more than 3d. or 4J. and
board themselves. Agriculturists in the
southern provinces live upon salt fish and
potatoes: in the northern provinces, porridge
and rye bread for their food."
Bavaria. —"Laborers are paid at the rate
of Bd. per day, in the country," without
board.
Belgium.—"A skilled artisan may earn,
in Summer, Is. 2d. to Is. 5.; in Winter,
from lUd. to Is. 2d.; unskilled, half as much
without board: live upon rye bread, potatoes
aud mi k." Agricultural laborers have
less.
Germany.—Dantzig laborers, 4|J. to 7d.
per day, without board; Mulhburg, 7d. per
day, do.; Ilolsteiti, 7d. per day, without
beard.
Netherlands. —South Holland laborers,
3d. to 4J. per day, with board; North Hol
land, 20ti. per day, without beard; Ant
werp, od. per day, do.; West Flanders, 9Gs.
to 104s. per year, with board.
Italy.—Trieste laborers, 12d. per day.
without board.; do. 6d per day, with board;
lstria,Sd. to lOd. per day, without board;
do. 4d. to sd. per day; with board; Lotu
bardy, 4d. to Bd. per day, do; Genoa, sd. to
Sd. per day do; and without lodgings; Tus
-1 cany, 6d. per day, without either.
Saxony.—"lu 1837 a man employed at
his own loom working very diligently from
Monday* morning to Saturday tnght, from 5
o'clock in the morning until dusk, aud even
at times with a laiup, his wife assisting him
in finishing and taking him the work, could
not possibly earn more than 20 groscbeu
(about 60 cents) per week. Nor could one
who had three children aged 12 years and
upwards, all working at the loom as well as
himself, with his wife employed doing up the
work, earu in the whole more than $1 wcek-
J J-
These are facts which speak for them
selves, and show what Mr. Buchanan meant.
They show the farmer and all other working
tnep the condition of the working classes in ,
in Kurope, and upon what limited means
they subsist.
BEDFORD. PA., FRIDAY, AUGUST 15 1856.
We know very well that an attempt was
made to deny that such a speech was ever
delivered by Mr. Buchanan. But the fore
going extracts from his speech published in
the Congressional Globe, put tbat fact at
rest. The attempt was, however, made in
1840 to deny it, and it may, therefore, not
be out of place here U give a brief history
of tfie speech. It wai delivered on the 22d
of January, 1840, and on the 23d of the
same month, John DsK'S of Massachusetts,
replied thereto, from whose speech we make
'he following extract.* -
"Bat, sir, 1 fear 1 have dwelt too long
on these matters, and will hasten to notice
that for which I chiefly arose. Much has
beeu said of labor, and what is it? I may
say, without offence, it is a commodity tQj
be bought and sold like merchandise in the
market, A man 'has his skill and service to
sell to whoever will buy them, aud his anx
ious desire is to obtain the most liberal re
muneration. The Senator says the value
of it is regulated by bank paper. Not so>
Mr. President, not so, but chiefly by the
amount in market, and the demand which
exists for it; currency may, however, at
times, have its influence. If the supply is |
great, and the demand small, then wages |
are necessarily low. When business is
flourishing, the demand is urgent, and wa-
rise: when it ia depressed, the de
mand diminishes, and waJJjRS fall. Hcnce s
too, in countries densely populated, the
supply is necessarily greater, in proportion
to the business, than i.i countries thinly peo
pled. Thus we see why wages in a great
country, new, and full of resources, like
I ours, are in quick demand, whOe in China,
| where there is a vast surplus population,
the market is overstocked, and tbev are
' low. Hence, too, it i, that iu such condi
| tkwft of society, we always fiud the great-
I est poverty, suffering, stud degradation.—
Bank paper is obvioussy not the *cJo cause,
or chief cause wbioh fixes the value of
wages.
"But, sir, let lis ptctfte this subject a lit
tle further, as it nfcapable of further illus
tration.
"There are thrqe groat classes of labor
ers: dftiose who produce from the earth are
agriculturalists; thpse who convert the pro
ducts of the earth into useful forms, are
manufacturers; and those who are engaged
in transporting and exchanging the products
ci the other classes, are commercial. The
great divisions of luaDkirffi are fonnded on
uo law but that of civilized social exist
ence. In our country, at least, each and
every person inay pursue any or all kiad g
of business, But experience tenches us
\ the necessity of those division®, -for wool,
■ cotton and flax are of little value tillturn-
I ed into cloth, but the farmer would find it
difficult to run a to make cloths, or to
■ build and sail a ship to take his pioduce to
market. From this division, too, come to
our markets. \\ e niust have food and.
clothing, and we must obtain them by an
exchange of the products of labor, but we
cannot exchange a horse or a watch for a
joint of meat, or for a pair of sboe; such
property must first be broken into parts, and
this is the peculiar office aud almost the use
of money. It measures the value of prop
erty, and brings it into a form suited to our'
convenience. This is the relation which
;it bears to business, and no other; and
while I admit its great impot tance, I deny
that it lies at tle foundation, and is the
great regulator of tho affaifs of men, as
seems liere to be supposed. The friends of
this bill, I know, assume that we have an
inflation, and that money rules, guides, and
regulates business; when, in truth, the in
quiries ought to be first, how much is ne
cessary as a circulating medium, that we
may know whether there is an excess; and
second, does paper necessarily create an ex
pansion, or unnecessary enlargement of the
currency, that wa may judge whether it
ought to be abandoued. These
which are assumed, are precisely what
ought to be proved. Tho Senators assume,
as evident truth, what is not apparent. —
They affirm that paper becomes redundant,
excessive and iuflated. But they do not
attempt to establish the fact by auy proof;
sinec the first, of January, 1838, our circu
lation has not exceeded one hundred mil
lions; it may, at some periods, have reach
ed one hundred millions; it may, at some
periods, have reached one hundred and
twenty, inclusive of metal and paper. Is
th's excessive? Has it reached point
abovs the urgent necessities of business'
for two years past? If it has, how much is
enough? fjome days ago I put this inquiry
distinctly to the it remains, and
will remaiu unanswered. If it cau be prov
ed that we have too much, it is not difficult
to ascertain, with sufficient exactness, what
amount is necessary. I desire Senators to
uitke known the process by which they ar
rive at their conclusions iu so vitally an iui
"perpint matter. They seem to take it for
granted that there is no evil but expansion
to fear, while nothing is more certain than
that too stnail a circulating medium wotks
out as great, if not greater injuries, than
one too large.
"We have heard much declamation about
bloated credit, gambling and speculation,
but if the existence of all these were estab
lished at this moment by unquestionable
proof, it would have little tendency to es
tablish the fact of excessive circulation, fo r
they have no necessary connection, but each
may exist independent of the other.
"Will the Senator maintain the proposi
tion that that paper cannot and has not
circulated without inflation or excessive
credits in trade generally? I go further,
and ask him if excess is anything more than
an occasional occurrence, growing out of
markets quickened into activity hy events
rather casual than permanent! Is there
any excess of paper in the casual course of
business from sound Banks, who redeem
and are able to redeem their paper at sight,
dollar for dollar, in metal? It is not easy
to see how excess ever exists under such cir
cumstances. I can go to day into any bank
in Boston or New York, and uraw out a
dollar with the same amount of paper, and
that dollar is as good, and will buy as
much, in France or Germany, a3 any dol
lar there. The piper, then, is clearly
worth as much as the silver, for it buys it,
If the paper of Lariks is maintained at this i
value, and so redeemed at ail times, it is
not easy to comprehend how it is inflated,
or that more Is in circulation than is need
ed for use. The idea of inflation presup
poses some unsoundness. All money, me
tallic as well as paper, does and will fluctu
ate in value; and if this be inflation, then
gold and silver is no more exempt from it
than paper. It is by no means easy to de,-
. terutine which fluctuates often-times, mon
ey or property. Cotton is forty dollars a
bale today, to morrow it is thirty-five, and
next day forty-five; it does not follow that
the cotton alope has fluctuated, or that it
has fluctuated at all; for gold and silver
tnav be so abundant • *<J depress the value
of property, or so scarce as to raise it. It
is every day's occurrence to find gold aud
silver fluctuate in value, commanding at
one iime a premium, and then none; nay
um&r some circumstances, falling below
good paper. No matter what we have for
currency, there will be fluctuations in its
value greatly affecting trade, as a circula
ting medium of uniform amount cannot be
maintained any more than you can limit
business to an exact amount.
"This all proves what seems not to be
well understood, or Senators would Teason
differently—that there is but one way to
determine how much circulation is necessa
ry. It is Impossible to ascertain how much
money may be necessary for each member
of the Senate for the current year; and it
is equally impossible to anticipate the wants
of the gi;eat public. The question is left,
therefore, to be settl-d by the laws of trade;
as all other matters of business. We learn
how much flour and com are required an
nually, by the demand for them. J'st so
we learn how much money is requued to
carry forward business, l,y the ability of
men to buy it. So mneh is necessary, be
the amount great or small, and in a grow
ing country it would be just as wise to limit
the amount of produee as the amount of
monetary capital. Surely nothing can he
more absurd than to attempt to determine
the amount without reference to the exigen
cies to the countrv; to say that Sf),000,000
or any other arbitrary amount, is enough.—
There is no advantage to be gained by low
eiing the value of property, unless the same
amount of labor, or the same amount of
property, enables us to obtain more of the
necessaries of life. This fact should there
fore, bo first clearly established, for the
process is necessarily attended with great
sacrifices. The Senator from Pennsylva
nia seems to understand that reducing the
circulation will reduce property and wages
in the same ratio. If it does, iu what is
our condition bettered, even if we could
reconcile debtors to it, who would be ruin
ed? He scours to believe that our relations
in foreign trade will be improved, but I
shall show him his ciror, and that he ought
to arrive at exactly the opposite conclu
sion, for his theQry, if carried into execu
tion, would inflict upon the laborer, as well
as the owner of property, the most injuri
ous and oppressive consequences. lie sol
emnly affirms, and I give him all credit for
sincerity, that he believes a reduction in
wages aod property would be beneficial.—
Let us sec.
"Suppose that wages and property will be
reduced ono half by the bill—that is, if
wages ara now a dollar a day, they will be
half a dollar; and if beef and mutton are
now eight cents a pound, tiny will be four,
and so of all the productions of the Uni
ted States, aud of all property create
here. Upon this state of fact", as things
are, the laborer would Lave, at the expira
tion of twenty day's labor, twenty dollars
to provide supplies for the family. As they
will be, he will have ten dollars. Now,sir,
be it remembered tbat we can buy and soil
in foreign markets by their standard of cur
rency, and that lowering wages and proper-'
ty here is to have no effect th A rc, according
to the reasoning ot the Senator, as their
currency must regulate the price of their
wages and products; bnt cotton is to sell,
and goods are to be bought, as if no change
had taken place. Goods, therefore, will j
conic into this country no cheaper. If,
then, the laborer goes into the market with
his money, as bis wages are- he will have
twenty dollars to expend for tea, coffee, su
gar, and the thousand necessaries which
come from foreign countries, but if he goes
into it as they will be—ten dollars, under
the operation of the new theory—it is plain
therefore, that with the same amount of la
bor, he cau purchase but lialf as much for
eign merchandize; in other words, it will in
effect be double in price, while it is appar
reDtly the same.
"But the Senator did not stop here, for
he alleged that, while the laborer would be
in a better condition, tho exporter of pro
j luce—that is, cotton, &c., would derive a
j renter profit, the measure of winch would
be the amount of ieduetion of wages ami of
1 property, and he would thus be able to pro
duce so much cheaper. To make myself un
derstood, I will proceed with the same sup
position that wages and property are to be
reduced one half. T'K-U his theory is, that
the cotton planter, for example, would pro
duce his crop at half the present cost, by
tbe saving tn labor and the support of it \
1 and consequently derive double profit.—
i That he would produce cheaper is undeuia-!
I Lly true; ami if he should sell for the same J
| price he now does, and bring home specie, J
!he would realize double profits, provided
j his hirers-are supported wholly on the
products of the 1 nited States. This, how
ever, is net the course of trade or of busi
es-. lint from whence would the profits
come? Not from foreign countries, for no
change is to occur there, hot from the pock- I
ets of every consumer of foreign goods in
this country, for tbe change is wholly in the
wages anil produce of our own country.—
The idea is, that, if wages and property
sink together one half, the relative positions
of the laborer and the owner of property are
the same, for the laborer can purchase as
much with one half the money and the same
amount of property will purchase as much
as labor before. But the laborer will, at
the end of any given period, have bur half
as much money, and the same amount of
property will bo worth but half as much;
consequently all the surjtfus gains of the
farmer,mechanic, manufacturer and labor- j
er, will bo but half what they now are in
nominal amount. If property in foreign
countries should descend in the ratio,
the most that could be said of our condi
tion 1, that it is no worse, for it i. obvious
lv 110 better. But if we desoend while they
remain stationary, and a profit is thence
gained to the exporter,' nothing is plainer
than that such profit is drawn froai the con
sumer of foreign merchandise, as it will take
twice as much of our labor or produce to
buy it as is now required. If the theory
establishes the fact that the exporter is to
reap double profits for cotton, it establishes
beyond controversy, the fact, also, that that
profit will he a tax upon every man that
consumes a foreign article, and that it will
be drawn wholly from their pockets. The
| Senator has led himself into an error by
1 supposing that foreign productions are to
come to us cheaper, while our exports are
to keep un where they arc. lie thinks the
importer sells in a market inflated by paper,
and realizes an extraordinary profit. But
he must perceive thai the low and depressed
ed state of the working classes in Kurope is
proof enough that no excessive profit is ob
tained here upon goods —none that can bear
essential reduction—and that while raw
cotton maintains its price, foreign goods
must also maintain theirs. In the great
competition of trade, this idea of exccssivo
profit to the importer is fallacious, and as,
the notion of a reduction is founded on it,
that is also fallacious.
"To follow out the case, 1 have supposed.
The ineouic of every man except the expor
ter. i< to be reduced oDC-half iu the value
of wages and properly, while all foreign
merchandise will cost the same, which will
obviously, in effc-t, doaote the price, as it
will take twice the amount' of labor, or
twice the amount of the products of labor,
to purchase it.
"I do not ascribe this power to the bill,
but it is enough for mo that friends do.
What response will the farmers, mechanics,
manufacturers and laborers make to such a
flagitious proposition? Cac they be recon
ciled to such a measure of opposition—ouc
YOL. 29, NO 3.3.
that eztotts from them the fruits f their
industry, to professedly enrich the planter,
who now enjoys a prosperity unwjnalled in
the rest of the country! No, sir, such plans
of sectional aggrandizement, and such a dis
regard of the interests of the greatest and
most powerful class of people in the conn
try, can only excite their disgust and indi--
nation. Thus, sir, I have traced the bone,
fits of this hill, if it have any, as la' rpret
ed by ita friends, to the rich and powerful.
I have, if J mistake not, demonstrated that
they are to be made richer by a tax upon
! their less fortunate, but more industrious
and more necessitous fellow citizens—a tax
that tbey can and never wHf submit
to, so long as tlteir power can be felt
through the ballot-box.
'•Hut, sir, this is not all. WhHb we arc
thus to have intolerable burdens loaded np
on us, to add to the weight of oar em!> .r
--rassments, and to increase our sufferings,
and while the debtor portion of the public
are to be crushed ami ground to dust be.
twecn the pj>er and nrtber iniilstones of
this process, the man of money is not only
to escape unharmed, but to have his property
doubled. He who holds ccsh, or its equi
valent in notes, bonds or stocks, will he
aide to buy double the amount of properly
| with it, and will therefore have its value
doubled on hts hands, for while wage: and
property are to go down, money bto c up
iu the same ratio.
If the friends of the bill have given it a
true construction, it is a 1411 of privileges to
the rich, but a scourge to all others. What
is the debtor portion of the public* Is it
so insignificent as to be disregarded? Sir,
I will venture to assert that the amount of
,existing indebtedness, in any commercial
country, is neatly, if not quite, equal to
t ho value of all property in that cohntrv,
whether it be rich or poor, prosperous or un.
prosperous, mid you cannot change, to the
extent gentlemen have supposed the relation
of debtor and creditor, or tins diminish the
resources of tls# debtors without a crash, a
waste atid desolation, snch as has never been
experienced. Suppose a man has purchased
SIO,OOO worth of property, at present prieea
; and given lis bond for it; yon reduce its
value one-half, and it is worth §.">,000.
How is it possible that, without resources,
thus reduced, most debtors can ever pay.
But, sir, yon cannot maintain a state of
things such as has been supposed. You
may embarrass, and distress us as you have
done, but this bill will, in the end, work out
no such advantages asaie anticipated for
the planters. The theory contains in itelf
a principle that will defeat the end in View.
JO on, sir, if you please,and so legislate c s
tojbritig the cotton planters the extraordi
nary profits anticipated, at the expense ef
the other branches of industry: how long
will it be before that pursuit will bo over
hauled with competitors, till the market
will he inundated with cotton, and its j<rice
fall just in the ratio you have stimulated
its production 7 I>own it will, down it must,
>v the laws of trade, come to a level .with
the fall of other productions. And what
will be gained by the whole process? Noth
ing: absolutely nothing; except that it will
takevuore of our lalmr and more of our
productions to hay foreign merchandise;
will turn literally into a loss, This
f is capable, I think, of demonstration, if it
i does not already sufficiently appear: but 1
| have uo time to enlarge, interesting ar.u
I all important as the subject is.
What motive can we have, sir, to reduce
wages and the value of property? When
did the sun ever shine upon a laboring peo
ple so blessed as those of ouo country have
been' Where have they ever been abie,by
industry, to-feed, clothe, aud educate them
selves so well. The history c? the world
praises nothing more certainly—nothing
with clearer demonstration, than that whei
wages are lowest there Lathe greatest pov
erty and suffering; there the condition of
the laborer is most forlorn and wretched:
there is the least moral and intellectual
culture; and there our race is sunk into the
depths of polittcal degreda:ion, ineapabie
of raising itself to that lofty elevation, at
tained by a free, enlightened people, capa
ble ef governing their own affairs, it ti fids
to the opposite of everything dearest to us,
for the deseeut will carry with t not oiiiy
wages, but all the high qualities wI.U-h fit.
us to be what we are—free and h t - : e- u '
Huoh is the remedy for the : v.
afflicts our country; and while its • U ati
shadow fourth its evils far beyond any
"Conception of mine, if tbc bill be carried
into effect, as has been proposed hen lmust
confess tlut 1 see iu it nothing to soothe or
relieve the puttie—nothing to restore con
fidence, which is the great au d doeirabln
cud—uothiag to avert future pari'cs-noth
ing to Stop this -crumble after lue gold and
silver going on between us and o-her coun
tries —nothing tb#has healing power en >ugh-
revive and maintain prorperity