of the value which a "free trade" would bestow on the value of their soil, and by a reliance on those evidences of a public debt which were in the hands of most of them. So extravagantly did many estimate the temptation which equal liberty and vacant lands would hold out to emigrants from the Old World, as to entertain the opinion that Europe was about to empty itself into America. "The bonds of men," (says Mr. Ramsay of South Carolina,)" whose competence to pay their debts was unquestionable, could not be negotiated at a less discount than thirty, forty, and even fifty per cent. Real property was scarcely vendible, and sales of any article for ready money could be made, only at a ruinous loss. The prospects of extricating the country from these embarrassments were by no means flattering; while everything else fluctuated, some of the causes which produced this calamitous state of things were permanent. The hope and fear still remained, that the debtor party would obtain the victory at the elections; and instead of making the effort to obtain relief by industry and economy, many rested all their hopes on legislative interference. The mass of national labor and national wealth was consequently diminished. Property, when brought to execution, sold at so low a price as frequently ruined the debtor, withont paying the creditor. "A disposition to resist the laws became common; assemblies were called oftener and earlier than the constitution and laws required. Laws were passed by which property of every kind was made a legal tender in the payment of debts, though payable according to contract in gold and silver. Other laws installed debts, so that of sums already due, only one-third, and afterwards one-fifth, was annually recoverable in the courts of law." "Silver and gold," says Belknap, in his history of New-Hampshire," which had circulated largely in the latter years of the war, were returning by the usual course of trade to those countries whence large quantities of necessary and unnecessary commodities had been imported." Such was the state of things under the confederation, and while the people were thus writhing under so many complicated evils, it is not to be wondered at thnt every species of ill-advised remedy should be brought forward. Accordingly, we find that large emissions of paper money made legal tenders, and suspen sions of the operations of courts of justice for the collection of debts were all resorted to, but they only served to embarrass and create more and new difficulties. In Massachusetts the suffering and distress was greater than in any other State. Riotous assemblages of the people were common, and the proceedings of the courts of justice, according to ChiefJustice Marshall, were impeded, until it finally ended in open insurrection under Shays, a Revolutionary officer, which was crushed by the energy of Governor Bodouin and his council, and the decision of Generals Lincoln and Sheppard. At this agonizing period, the minds of all thinking men felt the total inefficiency of the confederation, and with one accord hailed the Constitution as the only remedy. Accordingly, in 1789, that invaluable blessing was given to our distressed and distracted country, and its magical effects soon proved the consummate skill and wisdom of its framers; for no sooner was it adopted than confidence was restored, the industry of the whole people was soon put in requisition, and a new career was opened to our citizens. Scarcely, however, had time been given to shape any course arising from the renewed vigor imparted to the people, by the national character which had been given to the government, when the breaking out of the French Revolution at once gave it a new impulse. Before proceeding rapidly to trace the course thus given to American capital and labor, there is one fact to record here, which is of the first importance, and that is, that no sooner had the first Congress assembled under the Constitution, than they commenced to execute the power given to them to legislate for the general welfare, by passing an act which has this decisive preamble: "Whereas, it is necessary for the support of government and the encouragement and protection of manufactures, that duties be laid on foreign goods and merchandise," &c., &c. Filled as was this first Congress by the sages of the Revolution, the men who had planned the glorious Constitution, then first about to direct their action under it; men who had, in the catinet and the field, evinced a high and holy devotion to the great cause of human liberty, of which but few of the would-be patriots of the present day can form a just estimate, this decisive and explicit avowal not only of their power, but of their solemn act, to protect American inter ests-this indubitably settles beyond all cavil or dispute, the great duty imposed upon members of Congress to sustain the Constitution in that provision of it which was here recognized and acted upon. But as if those great men were determined to show what was their view of the causes which led to consolidating the confederacy into one government with ample powers to secure the general welfare, very soon after the passing the revenue act above referred to, a law was enacted granting a bounty to vessels engaged in the fishing trade. Let us now return to the effects of the breaking out of the French Revolution. That extraordinary event, and the wars to which it gave rise, embodied such immense armies, and took from the peaceful cultivation of the soil, all over continental Europe, such a vast proportion of those whose labor had been devoted to it, that the staff of life was soon so much diminished as to require a resort to its importation from abroad. A large portion of Europe could no longer feed its population; hence the cultivation of the fertile fields of the United States, and the transmission of the farinaceous productions to the great theatre of European warfare, became the most profitable employment in which the American people could be engaged. Nor was this the only result that followed the mighty struggle which for so many years deluged Europe in blood, and produced the most vindictive maritime warfare of which history bears any record. The great maritime supremacy of England soon annihilated the commercial marine of the continental nations embodied in these wars, and for a series of years the whole carrying trade of the world fell into our hands. These new circumstances in the commercial world soon produced their effects, and turned the attention of our people rather to supply Europe with food than to furnish themselves with clothing. They were content to enrich themselves by agriculture and commerce, and to receive all articles of manufacture from Europe in return for the supplies furnished by them to the belligerents, and the freights they received in transmitting them across the Atlantic, as well as those received from delivering in the mother countries the rich treasures of their East and West India colonies. But this was an unnatural state of things which could not always last, nor while it continued could it fail to excite the jealousy of the belligerents; accordingly, two thousand two hundred American vessels were captured between the breaking out of the French Revolution and the year 1812. Fifteen hundred of these vessels were condemned, and thus were our citizens wrongfully deprived of one hundred millions of dollars at a moderate calculation. The aggressions of the British in impressing our seamen and unlawfully seizing and condemning our vessels, for the breach of paper blockades, led to the declaration of the war of 1812. A mighty and sudden change was now to take place in the objects to which American effort was to be directed-and necessity, that inevitable law to which all must submit, soon produced the most miraculous results. Deprived of the accustomed supplies of all articles for clothing and domestic use, shut out from a large portion of our own proper and legitimate commerce, the energies of the American people were soon turned to the spindle and the loom. Our mines became opened and explored, the sound of the hammer and the hum of industry, which for years had been silent, now imparted their cheerful stimulus in every direction, and marvelous was the progress that was made. The true spirit of 1776 had revived; our navy bore itself gallantly on the ocean, and on the great inland seas, dividing the hostile territories; and our armies proved, notwithstanding some early mismanagement, that our valor had not degenerated, and the plains of Chippewa, the battles of Plattsburg, Northpoint, and New-Orleans, taught the hardy veterans of Europe that it was no child's play to deal with the descendants of their former conquerors. But alas! what were the lessons taught us by the second war for our independence, and how have they been regarded? What sufferings were not our brave soldiers called upon to experience, for the want of comfortable clothing? Such was the situation of the commissariat department, that a state of suffering almost equivalent to that of our revolutionary armies, was often submitted to in the early part of the war. Indeed, all through the struggle there was a great deficiency of comfortable clothing for the troops, and as to the prices paid by the community, they imposed a heavier tax in amount to the consumer during the three years of the war than has been paid in all the supposed taxation for the sustainment of American industry. There had been some effort made in 1816, by the establishment of minimum duties, to protect the manufactures of cotton and wool, but that effort had proved wholly ineffectual. Still it elicit ed discussion and a warm debate; and it is a fact never to be forgotten that some of the most able advocates of the true protective policy at that time, were from the southern portion of the Union, and among the most distinguished was the Hon. Jolin C. Calhoun, then a member of the House Representatives. of We ask particular attention to this debate and a few of the remarks of Mr. Calhoun on that occasion, because they establish one very important fact, namely, that the question of protection, was not then mooted, but was considered as fixed and permanent. Mr. Calhoun said, "The debate heretofore on this subject, had been on the degree of protection which ought to be afforded to our cotton and woolen manufactures, all professing to be friendly to the infant establishments, and to be willing to extend to them adequate encouragement. The present motion (to strike out the minimums) assumes a new aspect. It is introduced professedly on the ground, that manufactures ought not to receive any encouragement; and will in the end leave our cotton establishments exposed to the competition of the cotton goods of the East Indies, which it is acknowledged on all sides, they are not capable of meeting with success. Till the debate assumed this new form, he had determined to be silent, participating as he largely did in that general anxiety which is felt, after so long and laborious a session, to return to the bosom of our families; but on a subject of such vital importance, touching, as it does, the security and permanent prosperity of our country, he hoped the House would indulge him in a few observations." It is not for the mere purpose of quoting Mr. Calhoun, that these, his remarks, are introduced; but the whole minimum system is now abolished, and resort is had to the very vicious system of ad valorem duties. Mr. Calhoun's remarks are directed to that measure and its effects; and as they so thoroughly agree with our own views, we propose somewhat further to state them, and then by facts which have transpired since the speech was made, to prove it to be incontrovertible. Mr. Calhoun goes on to state, that "neither agriculture, manufactures, nor commerce, taken separately, is the cause of national wealth; it flows from the three combined, and cannot exist without each. Without commerce, industry would have no stimulus; without manufactures, it would be without the means of production; and without agriculture, neither of the others can subsist-when separated entirely and permanently, they perish. When our manufactures are grown to a certain perfection, as they soon will under the fostering care of the government, they will no longer experience those evils, (the ruin of the finances and the currency.) The farmer will find a ready market for his surplus produce, and what is of almost equal consequence, a certain and cheap supply of all his wants. His prosperity will diffuse itself to every class of the community; and instead of that languor and individual distress, incident to a state of war and suspended commerce, the wealth and vigor of the community will not be materially impaired. The arm of government will be nerved, and the taxes in the hour of danger, when essential to the independence of the nation, may be greatly increased. Loans, so uncertain and hazardous, may be less relied on. Thus situate, the storm may beat without, but within, all will be quiet and safe. Where shall we now find full employment for our prodigious amount of tonnage? where, markets for the numerous and abundant products of our country? This great body of capital, which for the moment has found sufficient employment, exhausted by the war and the measures preceding it, must find a new direction; it will not be idle, what channel can it take but that of manufactures-this, if things continue as they are, will be its direction. It will introduce a new era in our affairs, in many respects highly advantageous. He (Mr. Calhoun) had often heard it said in and out of Congress, that this effect alone would indemnify the country for all its losses. So high was this tone of feeling when the want of these establishments was practically felt, that he remembered, during the war, when some question was agitated respecting the introduction of foreign goods, that many then opposed it on the grounds of injur ing our manufactures; he (Mr. Calhoun) had then said that war alone furnished sufficient stimulus, and perhaps too much, as it would make their growth un naturally rapid; but that on the return of peace, it would then be time to show our affection for them. He, at that time, did not expect an apathy and aversion to the extent that is now seen; but it will no doubt be said, if they are so far established, and if the situation of the country is so favorable to their growth, where is the necessity of affording them protection? It is to put them beyond the reach of contingency. Should the present owners be ruined, and the workmen dispersed and turned to other pursuits, the country would sustain a great loss-such would no doubt be the fact to a considerable extent if they are not protected. For his part, he could see no such tendency, (a tendency to destroy the moral and physical power of the people,) but the exact contrary, as they furnished new stimulus, and the means of subsistence to the laboring classes of the people." So far as this able speech (in these extracts) states facts, it is invaluable, for it is of most undoubted authority. Now what facts does it state? Why, in the first place, that until Mr. Randolph made his motion to strike out the minimum, on which occasion the speech was made, all professed to be friendly to the manufacturing establishments; and to be willing to extend to them adequate encouragementproving that at that time no idea had been started, that to protect manufactures by duties was unconstitutional. A further and another fact was stated,that they were highly popular during the war, when their want was practically felt. These are too very important facts. So far as the speech reasons, its arguments are unanswerable; and so far it was prophetic. It has been, and now is completely fulfilled. It is but thirty short years since it was made; and though a great part of that time, (say from '16 to 24, eight years, and from '35 to 42, seven years, making in all fifteen years, or one half of the elapsed period,) manufactures had little or no protection; yet did the capital take the direction foreseen by Mr. Calhoun, and they did greatly increase, did greatly add to the natural wealth, and did greatly, by competition, lessen the price, until the farmer and the country are furnished with abundant and cheap supplies. They have greatly increased the market for agricultural productions of all kinds; and fully protected, they would go on still further to increase the national wealth,still further to increase the agricultural prosperity, and still further to verify the truth asserted by Mr. Calhoun, that neither agriculture, manufactures, nor commerce, taken separately, is the cause of national wealth; but, as he justly says, it flows from the three combined, and cannot exist without each. This article has extended to a greater length than was proposed; and must therefore be drawn to a conclusionelse might it be shown what was the sad experience of the country from 1816 to 1824, and from 1835 to 1842. Yet this is scarcely necessary, as it must be within the recollection of most readers, that, until the passage of the tariff of 1824, the general industry of the country was greatly paralyzed; that under the pretective policy, it went on increasing in every industrial department, until the compromise act again reduced the duties, when the same injurious effects were produced, and continued until they were arrested in a most decided and satisfactory manner, by the tariff of 1842. We need not advert to the fate of that wise and beneficent measure-it has been sacrificed to the Moloch of party-and we are again placed more or less at the mercy of our powerful rival. We have, it is true. acquired a strength which will enable us to fight bravely in the unequal contest, until the indignation of an insulted people, shall withdraw their power from the unfaithful stewards in whose hands it now rests; and we think recent events have fully shown, that this will be done, as soon as the constitutional period will permit. Without the useful arts no nation can prosper; and the open and avowed policy of the present administration is, to abandon them to a destructive competition with the population of Europe. THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND FANCIES. THOSE long, awkward, and embarrassing pauses in conversation, which occur so frequently at evening parties composed of both sexes, are produced by causes as amusing as the effects they give rise to are painful. The greater portion of the company remain silent for the very good reason that they have nothing to say; others are vain enough to imagine they have some reputation for intelligence, and are afraid to speak lest it should be endangered; while a few shrewdly suspect themselves of being fools, and are afraid to open their lips for fear it should be discovered. The bashful reader will agree with me that these pauses are hard to be borne, particularly where they are continued through many minutes, and the stillness is so intense that he can hear himself breathe, distinguish the ticking of his watch, or catch through the closed shutters the confused hum of the many-toned noises of the street. The persons who suffer most from ennui and mental disquietude, are those who are in possession of that so-considered panacea for all ills-opulence. The fault is in their making it their sole resource. The intellect has its cravings, and the heart has its cravings-cravings which cannot be satisfied with mere eating and drinking. A man is not all body. He is commonly supposed to have a soul or mind, which soul or mind demands to enjoy other luxuries than those furnished to the animal frame-the luxuries of thought, of exertion, of beneficial activity. When an unfortunate finds himself descending the inclined plane of adverse fortune, he ought, with all practicable speed, to cut all his acquaintance-as he may thereby save himself the mortification of being cut by them. I have observed that the approach of the nuptial day makes the principals thereto, whether maiden or swain, serious, sedate, and pensive; but whether it is caused by excess of happiness-by their joy being so great as to cause a trembling fear for its continuance-or whether, with them, grave speculation peers with earnest face into the misty future, or their "frail thoughts" dally unceasingly with "faint surmise," I am not experienced enough to determine. In their domestic relations, women are most deceitful before marriage-men after it. Before wedlock women seek to fascinate by the display of fictitious charms and the assumption of false appearances; after it men endeavor to retain the affection of their wives by concealing the fact that they are unworthy of them. Forgetfulness is the mind's sepulchre, wherein is entombed its dead emotions. It is too great an effort of magnanimity for some men to acquiesce altogether in a sense of inferiority, and they avoid such a sacrifice of self-love by impugning the merit they cannot rival. To illustrate this remark, it may be observed that the purest love of country, and the most incessant exertion of his energies for the promotion of its interests, will not ensure for the patriot statesman an exemption from contemporary denunciation and invective. Let a dog in the stillest hour of the night open his throat and bark vociferously, and but a few moments will elapse before another, and another, and another canine voice will join to swell the clamor, until the whole neighborhood resounds with the din. So in the impeachment of men eminent for their public virtues and services, a single voice utters its cry, and immediately the welkin is made to ring with its allegations, caught up and echoed by the many, who love too well the sound of their own voices to inquire into their truth or falsity. BOOKS. Well indeed may Wordsworth call books "a substantial world." Without them the past would be as a blank, the present as a pageant that passes by and is forgotten. They chronicle the aggregate experience of the world-what it has done, and felt, and suffered. They connect one age with another, they establish a sympathy between the present and the |