Mr. WADE. I move to amend the bill on page 65, section nine ; line 6nine, by striking out “ 16”, and inserting “23;” so as to make the clause read: On linseed or flaxseed, 23 centsperbushel of 52 pounds weight. As is well known to the Senate we have received from Ohio and the adjoining States a great many petitions on this subject, perhaps as many as upon almost any other subject bearing on this bill. It seems to be a universal complaint among our agriculturists and oil manufacturers in the West that they are not sufficiently protected under the provisions of the present law. This is a great and growing interest in the West, and enables them to diversify very much the system of their labor in raising wheat and corn. It gives them another valuable commodity, which, perhaps, under proper protection, would be much more profit able than to be so entirely confined to the 2 great staples of the West which I have named. I suppose the object of the committee is, and I know it is the wish of the Senate, wherever they can do it without detriment to the public interest, to protect all interests, and as near alike as they can; but if any interest is pecu liarly meritorious, the agricultural interest of the country ought certainly to receive its much consideration in this respect as any other, because when we come to enact a tariff that class of our community, although the most numerous and certainly as valuable as any other, have but very few opportunities to be protected. Now, this article comes in competition with the same article imported from India, a country where labor is exceedingly cheap. Our farmers are compelled to contend with the miserably aid labor of British India, from whence I. be most of the importation of flaxseed comes, and perhaps from some other places; and, therefore, f hope that it will be the desire of the Senate to endeavor to protect this kind of growing labor in our own country. Let me say here that in our endeavor to raise revenue from customs on imported commodities I fear we are losing sight of another source of revenue to the country, which, with a little encouragement, will be infinitely more profit able. If you will foster these interests so that labor will become profitable in our own country, and permit us, if you please, to monopolize that profitable labor, instead of encouraging it abroad, you will build up interests and wealth here from which you can receive a much greater meed of revenue than you can get simply from impo. know gentlemen have spoken in very glowing terms of the prosperity which a country receives from commerce alone, as though commerce was the principal thing to be sought after. Why, sir, unless you encourage all kinds of labor you can have nothing to ground your commerce upon. What kind of a commerce would a people have that had no manufactures and but little agriculture? Could you get rich upon commerce alone? I have heard of 2 Yankees that got rich in prison by swapping jack knives, floand it would be just about as reasonable to suppose that as to suppose you could build up a great interest by commerce alone. Commerce is well enough, and it is necessary to carry off the surplus production of any country of great commodities. If a superfluity of them is produced by the encouragement of laborin any country, commerce is incident to it and takes place as a matter of course. It comes after, but it never goes before, and never can. Commerce itself is the most barren of all labor in the world; it never produces anything; and although it is convenient to have commerce, especially for the car rying of those commodities that are useful and beneficial to a nation, but which because of its climate and soil are not produced in its boundaries, and although the intercourse of nations upon those subjects is natural and right, yet no nation ever should adopt a policy that will encourage commerce to the detriment of its own productions of the commodities of commerce. Let commerce spring up from the encouragement of commodities produced by the labor of the citizen, and then it is legitimate; then it is right; then I have no objection to it; but when you thrust it in to the detriment of our own industry and our own productions you have begun at i. wrong end. The wealth of a nation must consist alone in the products of her labor, and that nation that does the most profitable labor will be the riehest nation. I am not going into an extended argument on this subject; but I ask in this connection that this particular product, which is perfectly congenial to our soil and climate, which can be produced here as well as in India, shall receive adequate protection. Give us an encouragement that will stimulate that labor, and let it all be done here; and as we grow rich upon the products of that laber, tax it and yet 3 times more than you can get from e importations from abroad. That is my doctrine. That I believe is the true system of of political economy. I know from the almost universal complaint among the producers of flaxseed that do not, or they think they do not, receive that meed of encouragement which the nation can afford to them without loss, and in my judgment to great profit, even if you look barely at the sources of revenue alone. If we crush this commodity and make it into oil and grow rich upon it, tax that production at home. That is legitimate; that is proper; them you do not impoverish anybody. But when you adopt a policy that makes the production of it entirely dependent upon foreign labor and importations from abroad you get a small revenue, but you impoverish the nation because you do not encourage that kind of labor. I do not wish to extend these remarks. What my colleague said in the course of the speech that he made on this subject yesterday was perfectly conclusive to my mind that this amendment ought to prevail; and I hope it will for the encouragement of those engaged in this production, not alone in the State of Ohio, for they do not seem to be in any more need of this protection there than they do in the adjoining States where this great and growing article has become one of great importance, and I think should receive the encouragement of Congress.