Mr. WILLEY. Mr. President, WestVirginia abounds in this mineral as well as minerals of almost every other character. Some of my constituents have their capital invested in the manufacture of salt, and I suppose a great many more of them not so engaged are consumers of the article. I quite concur with the Senfrom Connecticut that the burdens of Government should rest as lightly as possible on the necessaries of life; but at the same time it appears to me that the necessaries of life, because they are such, more especially need protection; that is to say, I think it would be bad policy to allow ourselves to become wholly dependent upon foreign Powers, upon importation, for any of the necessaries of life; and therefore it involves the propriety, as I think, of affording to the manufacturers of salt, which is one of the necessaries of life, such protection as shall enable them entirely to compete with the foreign article. What would be the result of allowing our manufactories of salt to go down? One result certainly would follow, and that is: that instead of reducing the price of this necessary of life, when there was no competitor in the market, the foreign producer or importer would most certainly increase the price. When there was no competition, of course the price of the article would necessarily be increased. Again, sir, and more especially in time of war between us and any of those countries from which we derive this article, if the manufactories of salt at home should go down for want of protection, we should be in a very disagreeable situation. The point, therefore, that I desire to make is this: that because salt is a necessary of life, it therefore more especially requires protection to such an extent as will enable our manufactories of salt in this country fairly to compete with the foreign article. It seems to be conceded that our manufactories, at home do need protection to some extent in order to enable them to do this. It is essential, therefore, to keep in operation our domestic manufactories in order that we may not be dependent upon the foreign article for this necessary of life. There is another necessity that would necessarily ensue from a reasonable protection of the article at home, and that is it would attract capital and labor to the manufacture of this article; manufactories of it would be multiplied; the amount of the article produced would be greatly increased; the relation between the supply and the demand would be made different from what it now is. The supply would be greater than the demand, and that would bring down this necessary of life in its price, in its estimated value; and in that way this necessary of life would be furnished to the people at cheaper rates than it now 1S. even This, sir, is no new idea. We have had it exemplified in almost all articles of NewEng land manufacture. In the rough article of cot tons, for instance, we can make them cheaper at home now than the foreign article can be introduced into our country without any tariff at all, duty free; and how has this resulted? It has resulted from the protection which we have afforded to our own manufactures here at home. The same result to some extent would occur in the manufacture of salt. Protection would attract capital to that business, increase the production, and decrease the price of this necessary of life. I hope, inasmuch as the committee have settled upon the duty as it now is in the bill, that it will be allowed to teinaln. "