The narrow limits we are obliged to prescribe to ourselves, prevent us from enlarging on the above list. A cursory view of it will satisfy the reader how undeviating an attention was paid to the subject and that no opportunity was ever lost, to counteract the hostile policy of foreign nations, when directed against the mercantile interest.

The coasting and East India trade were fully and completely secured to our merchants, the first by absolute prohibition, and the second by duties undeniably equivalent to a prohibition. And whatever was necessary to secure them their full proportion of other navigation has been done. The specious complaint of "sacrificing the interests of the many før the benefit of the few," with which the papers have been filled, and which has furnished such a fertile theme to orators in congress and newspaper writers, was never heard, even in a whisper, in the case of the merchants. No. It was reserved to defeat the just demands and expectations of the manufactu

When comparison is made between the magnani. Idem, vol iv. p. 459. mous spirit that presided over those laws and the Idem, p. 584. blighting spirit that dictated the twenty-seven and a half per cent. on cottons and woolens-twentytwo per cent. on pottery sixteen and a half per cent. on linens and silks, &c. &c. in order to enable

us to "buy goods where they could be had the cheapest" the contrast is as astonishing as it is lamenta ble. On the one side we see a dignified policy, honorable to the nation-and on the other a policy unworthy of a rising empire, which has produced

the most disastrous consequences.

A few lines more on the subject of the protection of commerce. The navy of the United States, which has been created chiefly for that purpose, has cost The last in 20 years above 56,000,000 of dollars.* war with Great Britain, which arose wholly from the duty of protecting commerce, cost, exclusive of the naval department, $52,000,000.†

We appeal, fellow citizens, to your candour, to your justice, whether there can be a reason why the It is painful to state, but candour calls on us to farmer should be protected by duties, wh ch, in state, that a portion of the merchants, who have most casess, are nearly equaly to prohibitionsthus enjoyed such a high degree of care and pro-and the merchant have the coasting and East India tection, bestowed at such enormous expense, have trade secured to him, the former by absolute prohitoo generally been averse to affording adequate bition, and the latter by duties equivalent to prohi protection to their fellow-citizens, engaged in ma-bition; while there is no one manufactured article nufactures; for which they suffer now in common whatever prohibited, and while the cotton and woolwith the manufacturers, by the consequent universal calamity of the times and impoverishment of the country.

The fostering care bestowed on commerce-the various statutes enacted in its favor-the expense incurred for that purpose-the complete protection it has experienced, form a most striking contrast with the situation of manufactures, and the sacrifice of those interested in them.

en manufacturers (to pass over others) are sacrificed to foreign rivals, by the utterly inadequate duty of twenty-seven and a half per cent.? This is a vital point-and demands the most serious reflection. The whole question at issue may be said to turn on it. We put it to the understanding of our fellow citizens throughout the union-and to the consciences of the members of congress. If any adequate reason can be assigned for this very unequal distribution of protection, let it be proclaimed, in order to silence complaint.

How stands the case with the manufacturer? Has he had his equal share of the care and attention of government? The paternal care of their own ma- That several extensive establishments have surnufactures, generally exercised by other govern-vived the general wreck-that they are still in proments, shuts him out of nearly all the foreign mar-fitable operation is no disproof of our allegations. kets of the world. And the impolicy of our system Their proprietors have generally had some peculiar leaves him at home at the mercy of rivals from every advantages in point of capital or long establishment, quarter of the globe, who, availing themselves of the that saved them from the fate of the others. But advantage of superior capital, and their own govern- supposing that the prohibition of the coasting trade mental protection, beat him out of his own market, had not been enacted-that it had generally fallen and reduce him to bankruptcy. into the hands of foreigners, but that twenty or thirThat the manufactures, particularly those of cot-ty of our merchants were able to support themselves ton and woolen fabrics, have not been protected by that portion of it which foreign rivalship left them, from foreign rivalship-that they have been victims would that be admitted for a moment to disprove the of an inadequate tariff,is palpable from the immense ruin of the hundreds of others that had fallen sacriquantities of rival foreign articles with which our fices?

markets have been inundated; from the ruin of so We are persuaded that very few of our citizens many respectable citizens who invested large capi-attach an adequate degree of importance to the intals in man:facturing establishments, and from the great proportion of those establishments that are wholly suspended in their operations; many of which have been sold for 20, 30 or 40 per cent. of the first cost.

dustry of the manufacturing class of the community, and that it is prodigiously underrated. To form a correct estimate of it, requires to enter into minute calculation, which have rarely been made. It never could have been supposed, without such calculaOf these facts the proofs are within the know- tion, that the cotton fabrics, produced by 100,000 ledge of the great mass of our citizens. They ad-manufacturers in 1815, amounted to more than onemit neither doubt nor denial. half of the whole value of the domestic exports, of Thus, while the manufacturer appears to enjoy every description, of that year; which is neverthethe advantages of a free government, he is, we re-less the fact, as will appear in the course of this adpeat, incontestibly in a worse situation, so far as dress.

respects the acquisition of property, and protection

of industry, two principal objects of good govern In order to aid you, fellow citizens, in comparing ment, than the subjects of the monarchs of Europe, the produce of manufacturing and agricultural inwhose situation he must regard with envy. The Eng-dustry, we submit a table of the exports of the Unitlish, the French, the Russian, the Prussian, the Aus-ed States for the year 1815, extracted from the retriau, and the Danish manufacturers are generally turns of the secretary of the treasury. We have secured in the home market. annexed in the second column, a statement of the

There is but one way to account for the care bestowed on the commercial, and the neglect of the manufacturing, interest. The former has been at ali times well represented in congress, and the latter never. It is, as we have observed on a former occasion, nearly as much unrepresented in that body as

Weekly Register, and Seybert's statistics, p. 706. +luem, p. 716.

*Hemp, as already stated, pays about 23 per cent.-cheese 50-cotton 25-and all other agricultural productions 16. It is obvious, that those duties are far more effectual than 50 per cent. would be on pottery, glass bottles, or linen-the two first of which are subjectio 22, and the latter to 164 per cent. We might go on with enumeration and comparison, but deem it unnecessary.

population of the several states, according to the
ensus of 1810; and in the third column, an estimate
of what was the probable population in 1815, assum-
ing, according to Dr. Seybert, an annual increase of
3
per cent. or 15 per cent. for the whole period."
Table of the domestic exports and population of the United States.

Supposed poStates & territories. Domestic ex-Population by pulation 1815, ports, 1815. census of 1810advance 3 per cent. per ann.

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Delaware

Maryland

4.78

Of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Loui

Whereas, the surplus of the labor of 100,000 cot250,579 ton manufacturers in that year beyond the price of 88,470 the raw material and the wages, was 1,200,000, or 301,233 $12 per head.

1,102,906 By a statement submitted to congress by the com282,396mittee of commerce and manufactures, Feb. 13, 931,604 1816, it appears that there were in the preceding 83,575 year, about 100,000 persons employed in the Unit437,627 ed States in the cotton manufacture, viz,-10,000 974,622 1,120,815 men, 66,000 women and female children, and 265,371 24,000 boys.*

700,745

101,203

214,460

805,856
246,629

217,895

Rhode Island

357,684 76,931

Connecticut

383,135 8,230,278

261,942
959,049

Virginia

6,632,579

I. The difference between the price of the raw materials, if exported, $8,100,000,-and that of the manufactured articles,-24,300,000,-that is, $16,200,000, was clealy saved to the country.

2.30
II. The amount of the goods manufactured
7.46 $24,300,000 was more than half-and the amoun
3.83 thus saved to the country, $16,200,000, was more
than one-third of the value of the entire exports of
5.95 the United States for that year, which were only
$45,974,403.

1.25 III. A certain market was provided for the great 9.33 staple of the southern states, the cultivation of 5.91 which, were the manufacture duly protected, might 1.58 be extended to double or treble its present amount. 71.15 IV. The value of lands and the interest of the agriculturists in the vicinity of those establishments, 5.95 were greatly advanced, by the supplies of provi sions required for the support of the manufactu 14.28 The amount of the goods produced by the labor of these 100,000 manufacturers, viz. $24,300,000,

13.77

13.95

rers.

was

I. Nearly equal to the whole ofthe domestic exports of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro4.78 lina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the District of Columbia, containing above 3,000,000 inhabitants; (For conclusion see first page of the next number.) *Weekly Register, vol. ix. page 477,

NEW SERIES. NO. 22-VOL. IV.} BALTIMORE, JULY 24, 1819. [No. 22—Vol. XVI. WHOLE NO. 412

THE PAST-THE PRESENT-FOR THE FUTURE.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY H. NILES, AT $5 PER ANNUM, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE,

Treaty with Spain-A considerable anxiety seems tic fabrics, and cause ruinous sacrifices on those to be felt, because no intelligence that can be re-that are sold. Med upon has yet reached us respecting the ratifi- Our manufacturers, moreover, in the event of an cation of our treaty with Spain, for a cession of the overstocked domestic market, have no foreign one Floridas. We ought to recollect it is inconsistent in which to dispose of their superfluous goods. with Spanish dignity to act promptly on any thing; Whereas our markets are open for the superfluous and a strong, secret, intermeddling opposition to goods of all the manufacturers in the world!! Nethe treaty, was to have been expected." ver was there such disparity of advantage.

The paper system in the United States is rapidly approaching its dissolution, so far as it existed through dishonest or badly managed banking institutions. We shall carefully note and record the Transactions that belong to it; and the REGISTER, on this account, may be almost as much referred to hereafter, as for its details of the "events of the war.”.

["National Interests," No. 11—concluded.]

The preceding tables afford an ample field for reflection to the legislator, the statesman, the agriculturist and the merchant. We deceive ourselves if they do not remove the deep prejudices on the subject of manufactures, to which is owing our present distress-and all the wide-spread ruin that pervades the land.

We do not avail ourselves of the obvious advantage we might derive from the circumstance that a large portion of the exports were manufactured,, and in a highly finished state, and were of course, II. Considerably more than the whole of the do-at prices far beyond what they bore, when they mestic exports of New Hampshire, Vermont, Mas-came from the hands of the agriculturist. In some sachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, cases, the value was doubled or trebled. All this Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Ten-advance of price ought to be deducted from the tonessee and Louisiana, containing above 5,000,000 tal amount, as reported by the custom house, in inhabitants.

The money retained in the country by the labor of these 100,000 manufacturers, viz. 16,200,000,

was

order to carry on the comparison fairly and do the argument justice. But we waive this advantage, great as it obviously is, and admit the whole as in its rude state.

The situation of the four western states, claims Above one-third of the whole domestic ex-particular attention. Unfortunately there are no ports of the United States, data on which to form an estimate of their exports individually; such an estimate would be valuable, as it would more thoroughly evince the ruinous policy this country has pursued, by its effects on Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. But in the deficiency of correct data, we must rely on the best estimate that we can make.

II. Nearly equal to the domestic exports of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisiana, containing above 5,000,000 inhabitants;

III. About equal to the domestic exports of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South Carolina and Georgia, containing above 2,700,000 inhabitants.

From the extraordinary fertility of the soil in Louisiana, and the great value of its staples, we believe it will not be extravagant to suppose that It may on a cursory view appear that we have of the above sum of 5,055,868 dollars, exported gone into too much detail with these statements. from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisiana, But we trust that the magnitude of the errors pre- there was above a million and a half raised in the valent on those topics; and more particularly the last state. This reduces the surplus of the other deleterious consequences these errors have pro- three states, devoted chiefly to agriculture, and duced, on the prosperity of our country, as well as containing above a million of people, to three dolthe probability of their continuing to produce a co-lars and a half per head! And from the immense pious harvest, will fully justify us in all those de-distance from which a large portion of it is drawn, tails. and the consequent heavy expenses, it is not extra

Those immense advantages, produced by 10,000 vagant to suppose that it did not produce to the men, 66,000 women and feroale children, and 24,000 cultivator above seventy-five per cent. of this vaboys, if duly appreciated by congress, would have fue probably in many cases not above sixty per led to a system widely different from the one pur-cent. sued in the tariff. Such a source of wealth ought to have been cherished with the utmost care and attention, which would have been amply repaid by the most beneficial results. We trust the error and its consequences are now well understood, and have produced a thorough conviction of the necessity of a total change of system.

We submit, fellow citizens, a fair comparison of the proceeds of the labors of 100,000 persons einployed in the culture of cotton, as well as of the same number employed in the manufacture of that article, in order more fully to establish the importance of the latter.

It may, and probably will, be demanded, if the Cotton is now about 16 cents per pound at the advantages of this manufacture be so great, why manufactories;-about fourteen in the seaports of have so many of those engaged in it been ruined? the states where it is raised, and cannot net the The answer is obvious. The inundation of foreign planter more than thirteen, deducting the merarticles, a large portion of which were sold at ven-chant's profits. That cotton will rise above this due, far below the first cost, has so far glutted our price is possible-but not probable. The prices markets, as greatly to limit the sale of the domes-in England, which must greatly regulate our marVOL. XVI. -24.

Culture of cotton.

kets, are more likely to fall than to rise, from the, labor is so frequently assigned as an argument improvement of the culture in the East Indies-the against our fostering manufactures. But surely if ardor with which it is pursued-and the low price our labor be so dear and valuable, we ought not to of labor there: and in fact it would not be extraordi- squander it away thus prodigally. nary, if, from the abundance of the East India sup- Can it, therefore, be a subject of wonder, that phies, the British market were at no distant day we are an impoverished nation-that we are drainvirtually closed to our cotton, as it has been actu-ed of our specie—that our water powers have been ally by order of council to our flour. by a bounteous heaven lavished upon us in vain— that so many of our manufacturers are beggared and Ten slaves, five of them capable of working in the bankrupted-that our workmen are wasting their fields, the other five women and children, will pro- time in idleness--and that those artists and manuduce of cotton annually, about lbs. 6,500 facturers, who, unfortunately for themselves, have At this rate 100,000 would produce 85,000,000 been allured to our coasts, by our excellent form Which, at 13 cents per lb. amount to $11,050,000 of government, have either returned to Europe, gone to Nova Scotia, or Canada, or are obliged to We now proceed to state the situation of an ex-resort to servile employments to support existtensive cotton manufactory in the neighborhood of ence? Boston which is in actual operation.

Manufacture of cotton.

It contains men

Women and children

14 We now submit to your consideration, fellow 286 citizens, an important table of the imports of cotton into the British dominions, for seventeen years. The first fifteen are taken from Dr. Seybert's StatisTrade and Commerce.t

300

And produces with power looms and other machine-tistics and the remaining two from the Journal of

ry, at the rate per annum of

sq. yds. of cloth, 1,250,000

Which, at 25 cents per yard, is
Deduct 450,000 lbs. of cotton, at 16 cents

$312,500
72,000

$240,500

Annual-saving to the nation by the labor
of 14 men and 286 women and children
For the correctness of this statement, fellow citi-
zens, we pledge ourselves to the world, We defy
contradiction.

Let us now calculate the result of the labors of 100,000 men, women and children, in the same proportions, and at the same kind of employment:

As 300 240,500 100,000 : $80,166,666 That is to say, the clear profit of the labor of 100,000 persons, employed in the cotton manufac ture, would amount to above 80,000,000 of dollars animally, after paying for the raw material.

The reasons why the result of this calculation so far exceeds the proceeds of the labor of the 100,000 manufacturers in page 352, is that the machinery of the establishment near Boston has been brought. to the last degree of perfection-and the power looms, which afford immense facilities to the operations, were very rare in 1815.

No. of bags! 561,173 326,141 261,205 249,536 287,631 270,189 369,432 478,395
Other sorts 92,186 64,789 64,563 73,219 74,800 52,840 49,235 47,208 50,878

665,450)

1810.

Brazil
East India
American

389,605

1815.

1816.

1817.

1818.

1802. 1803.
8,535 10,296 2,561
1804.
74,720 76,297 48,588 51,242 51,034 18,981 50,442
107,494 106,831 104,103 124,279 124,939 171,267 37,672
1806. 1807.

1808.

1,983 7,787 11,409 12,512 35,764

103,511|

TABLE, &C-CONTINUED.
No. of bags 281,383 238,898 241,610 252,620) 261,738 282,667 168,138 440,382||
90,634 45,474 86,358 75,116 77,978 81,010 67,512

TABLE OF THE IMPORTATION OF COTTON INTO GREAT BRITAIN.

It cannot escape the attention of even a cursory observer, that all our calculations of the results of the cotton manufacture are predicated on low priced fabrics-and that the profits on the high priced are far greater. A large proportion of those imported from Great Britain are of the finer description. This greatly enhances the profits of the manufacture. It results from hence, that far less than 100,000 Manchester cotton manufacturers, principally women and children, would be able to pay for the whole of the exports of this nation, containing above 9,000,000 of people. There are probably at this hour, from 30 to 40,000 persons, skilled in this branch, idle in the United States, who could produce according to the preced-nishes matter for most serious and sober reflection. ing caculations, cotton fabrics to the amount of 25 to 30,000,000 of dollars annually. What a lamenta- It seals the death warrant of the hopes which he ble waste of industry! lately cherished of an increasing market and high Who can ponder on these facts without astonish-prices in England-and, independent of all care ment at the impolicy of our system, which, under or concern for his fellow citizens engaged in the the auspices of Adam Smith, has sacrificed the la-cotton manufacture, establishes the necessity of bor of ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or sixty of our securing a steady market for his raw materials at citizens for that of one foreign manufacturer? If The following analysis deserves peculiar the absurdity were capable of being heightened, it would be by the circumstance that the dearness of

To the intelligent cotton planter,

home.

attention.

*Page 92.

†Feb. 1819, page 113