Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, in rising to discuss the duty the Government owes to the Labor of the country, I do not wish to be understood as seeking to avoid the consideration of other duties that devolve upon this Congress, in connection with the restoration of the national authority over the lately rebellious States. These latter are of the highest mag nitude. None higher have ever devolved upon anybody of legislators: and none ofequal importance have rested upon an American on gress since the close of t csession of the body which placed the Government in ocration. The patience and patriotism, the wisdom and prudence, the skill and courage of those fathers of the Republic have been vindicated in the growth, glory, and strength of the nation. An equal mced of praise will be ours if, like them, we do our duty faithfully, wisely, and well. To this epd we want not haste. On the other hand, cautious watchfulness should precede every stc. We want not rashness. On the other hand: the most thorough selfossession should guaranty the soundness of every link of policy. We want not cowardice. On the other hand, a manly courage should impel us to see our dangers and should nerve as to meet and surmount them. On these points I have very few theories. I do not distract my self over the many perplexing suggestions which this great debate has elicited on every hand. To me it is comparatively unimportant which line of argument may ultimately be established. I content mysel with knowing that the rebellion has been triumphantly suppressed, that the flag of the Union has been vindicated, and that the nation is not to be severed. I know, further. that it is a duty we owe both to the dead and the living to require from those whom we have overcome on the bloody fields of battle some guarantees for the future. If we do not demand indemnity for the past we must l have security for the future. Those lately in rebellion are now clamorous to become again a part of the governing power of the nation; to help mold our policy; to hel enact our laws. 5 years since the scornfully abdicated the seats they held in these high places, and in sulted us who remained true to our allegiance with declarations of a purpose never again to share with us in a common Government. They left of their own will and against ours. They must return in accordance with our will and upon our terms. The victory won by our brave soldiers and sailors must bear its fruits, and the vanquished must relinquish all the causes of the war. They must not only aban don slavery, but the principle of slavery, and must secure the rights of free men to all the freedmen within their borders. This is the natural and inevitable result of the war, and from it there is no ese ape. They must repudiate the rebel debt, renounce the claimed right of secession, and be willing to accept as the true theory of our Constitution that which the war has settled in conformity with the purposes of its framers. They must cultivate a spirit of loyalty to the Union, and prove it by their works. To do less is btto mock the nations heroes who fought and ilied for us. This much I am prepared to require, and I know in doing so I will be carrying out the views of the constituency who sent me here and who in disaster and danger never wearied of showing how tenderly their hearts and how closely their fortunes were intertwined with the destinies of the Republic. THE NATIONAL DEBT this war has entailed upon us a debt of nearly 3000 million dollars, with an annually accruin interest of at least 150 mi lions. This is a sacred obligation. It is due chiefly to our own citizens, who, with a spontaneous liberalit beyond all example, opened their coffers at the invitation of their Government in its hours of arkness and distress. NO honest man will countenance the thought of repudiation in whole or in part. The debt must be paid to the last dollar. It will be so paid, and one more will thus be added to the loo list of unfulfilled prohecies which progkers iiring the war spread t roughout the an. But the payment of the interest, the payment of the ordinary expenses of the Government, and the creation of a fund for the gradual extinction of the debt, involves a system of taxation which, in all its ramifications, opens a wide field for the exercise of the highest qualities of statesmanship, the great purpose being to harmonize this duty with the development of the resources of the country, the encouragement of its labor, and the improvement of the condition of the people. nisraisurios or run rustic nunniiss and rss sse sssirr or rno rse rios. Some advantages lighten this task. The enormous extent of our soil, embracin every variety of climate and production, the fertility of the land, its wealth of timber and minerals, its abundant water power, its facilities of intercommunication by rail and river, and the substantial homogeneousness of the people are elements of great consequence; and their coexistence will enable us, by diffusing the public burdens among our vast and varied interests, to make them rest lightly on every one. One thing, however, is indispensable, namely, that we have the amount of labor necessary to reach these resources, combine them into products and form within ourselves the chain O production and consumption which. in its inevitable and constant round, casts its blessings upon all classes and pursuits. Europe is sending us the bone and muse le of her population. Emigration is adding almost inca culably to our wealth. Each season we receive not less than 100,000 hale and hearty emigrants, worth more to us, in my opinion. than the importation of $100,000,000 in gold. Each laborer, as he digs in the mines, or works in the mills, at the furnace. the plow, the loom, the anvil, adds to the nation s wealth by increasin the market I value of the article upon which fie is engaged or preparing for production from the soil. This labor at once becomes part of the nations capital, and enters into the computation of the nations revenue. The more constant its employment the more constant and important its results. If unex ert ed, it is lost forever, both to the laborer and to the nation. Thus the interest of every part of the people is the interest of the whole; and the duty of the laborer to work has its counterpart in the duty of the nation to help him work. The 2 are interdependent. The man cannot maintain himself Without it. The State cannot be prosperous unless its “bone and sinew" be employed and prosperous. So we find the unanswerable argument for protection in the very necessities of our nature, which we dare not disre ard, and which we must respect if we wouldlive and thrive. INTERFERENCE OF FOREIGN INTERESTS. Interested parties seek to drive the American Congress from the discharge of this plain duty to its people; and, as formerly, the imulse now comes "trom over the Water.” I have just received, Mr. Speaker, from a constituent, this circular, which has been extensively distributed throughout the western States, I learn. It is so instructive upon this point that I insert it entire: [Confidentiah] Nnw YORK. March 19.1866. D2“! Sin: We the undersigned iron merchants in NewYorkrepresqntin. We believe the pntire foreign trade in railroad iron and also a portion of that of our own country. beg respectfully. but earnestly. to call your attention to the cffortsbeing made by the iron masterspf Pennsylvania. through their topresentative s in Congress, to procure an addition to the already excessiveduty onrails. With the cost of freight. insurance and incid eutaclharges added to the present duty. There is a discrimination of at least 70%. u )0!) the manufacturers price of rails in favornfthe inericaniron master. It strikes as this should be quite enoughtose cure him aprofit. But it doesappear strange that vnth adecline in gold. labor and the cost of living, an attempt should be made. aided by a political money influence.so powerful M to warrant a fair chanceof success.to a vance the “rice of rails. under the name of protection to home industry. to a price which would prevent the development of new enterprises and materially interfere with the repairs and reconstruction of the railroads oi“the South and West. It would appear as if the entire railroad. commercial and agricultural interestsof the country were to vewayto the advancement of the one interest in Pennsylvania. which has under the present tariffinercased its capacity for production so considerably and yet claims exislation to almost make its businessa monopoly. We commend this matter to your careful consioration and be; that you will use your influence with your Representative in Conaress and endeavor to give them ull information on this subject and ask them which will produce the most revenue to the Government. one mile of railroad or the duty on one ton of rails. BOORMAN JOHNSON k CO, EHON. (“LARK it: BRIDGES. i. it. JESUP.t (10. ES TINKl IR. I.O k 1. ABNEY. MORGAN 5:. CO. A: PERKJ.INMSA. RLHINV.INGSTON.5; and others. POST. ANSWERS To The CIRCULAR. The gentlemen who signed and sent out this circular frankly state that the represent the entire foreign trade in railroad iron. Noperson, then. need be mistaken as to the objects they propose. They desire to build up the foreign iron trade, out of which they live, and to break down the domestic iron trade, by which 1,000s of American working men earn their bread and maintain their families. They charge thata “political money 111110.ence” is at work to achieve protection to home i interests. It is upon the records of the nation l that the last victory of the forei ii trade, won in 1 1846, was with the aid of British gold, and l it is at least as probable that the same interests. are now using the same means as that those in the home trade are. I make no charge, for I have no facts, but it is mere impertinence in these foreign agents to attempt to cast an iml pntation in view of the ascertained expendiwe made by their own friends in the memoral F52 ugvgublecontest which resulted in the passage of the free trade tariff of 1840. They charge, further, that with the cost of freight, insurance, and incidental charges added to the present duty, there is a discrimination of at least 70%. upon the manufacturers price of rai s in favor of the American manufacturer. This can be easily refuted. The foreign rail bears no share of the indirect bur dens levied by Government, and pays only the import duty. The English and Welsh iron workers receive at this time an average of about 50 cents perday, making the net cost of a ton of rails nbout 20 dollars. The net cost of a ton of rails may be fairly computed at 40 days labor. Including the miner, mill men, mechanic, clerk, and manager, the aver age rate of w es paid to men en ged in this country is 2 dollars perday, maing the cost of the rails 80 dollars perton. 4/5ths of this are expended in living as soon as earned. On which the subjoined calculation, which has been verified and maybe accepted as substan tiall correct, showst ie amount of tax received by government, which, be it remembered. receives nothing of this upon the foreign rail: Tabla allowing the indigo! (qt: paid by labor on a tan a rat I Articln Taxed. Value. Tax Carb. oil. 50 7 Hardware. queenswarc. 2 00 40 Patent medicines, doctorinu. rho. l 25 15 Muslin:. 2 50 12 Hosiery. &c. 80 10 Checks.&c. 50 2.6 Calico and gingham. 3 75 18.3 Cloths cussinettes and flunncl 3 75 17 Manufactured clothing. 2 00 12 Boots and shoes. 4 00 24 Beef. pork and other meats. 1000 3 Taxes, stamps.820. 1 00 15 Whisky. 1 irallon. 4 00 $2 00 Beer. 1 gallon. 40 3 Smoking tobacco. 1 lb. 60 35 Chewing tobacco, 1 lb. 1 00 40 Cigars. 75 Sundries. 2 64 15 $5000 $5 83 Article. not Tamed. Rent. 4 00 Flour. 1 MIL. 5 00 Butter and chc 1 00 a.20 Vegetables.eggs.drc. 5 00 Not "Ind 15Z) Taxed. 5000 To sum up this table and tell the whole story at a.glance, remembering that it requires one ton and 40 300 ths of pig metal and 7 bushels and 7200ths of coal to make a ton of bar iron: Table allowinathetotal directpnd indirect tazu on a (onof null. Rate. Tar. PiR HOD. oal. 47 ltiiils. 1.00 3.00 3 60 Add 12%.to make grosston. 90 Totnldiroct tax. 8 40 Indirect tax paid by laborers. 5 S3 Ind incl for" paid bymanufacturer. Tax on income.stamps.licenses, oil steel.brass castings.machinery ullti ro[lllll8, bricks. gum and leather bolting. freights and the innu merableother itciusgonnerlied Withthe manufactureand sale of iron. Will add at least. 2 00 0101 Import duties on 2, 24opounds rails. Excess of revenuetax over tsriff. 2 This calculation has been, I have said. made with care, and I believe it to be mainly correct. How different. then, is the relation of the flir sign and domestic manufacturers from that stated by the gentlemen who represent the foreign trade of the country. See. besides, the incidental benefit derived from the reseuce in this country, rather than in Great Ellritain, of manufacturing establishments. The Cauihria Iron Works at Johns town, Pennsylvania, paid their employees, in 1804, the enormous sum of $1, 399, 899 82; and in 1865, the still larger sum of $1, 635, 380 24. The population maintained by this establishment consumes annually, 2,000 head of beef cattle. 3,000 head of sheep, the product of not less than 4,000 hogs, and “20,000barrels of wheat flour from the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and other parts of the great Northwest. Aii iron works, to produce from the ore 10,000 tons perannum, employs the labor of 1, 300 men, which supports a population of 6, 500 of all ages and 0th sexss, who, by the ascertained rate of political economists, consume 50 dollars perhead in agricultural prod ucts. lhe rail mills of the country in 1866 reduced 353, 017 tons. If we make the liberal eduction of 123, 016 tons for rails rerolled, and throw all the labor employed in rerolling out of the calculation, we have 230,000 tons as the amount of production, sustaining a population of 150,000, who consume annually in farm products alone. $7, 475,000. This is the special branch of the iron business which the foreign trade in railroad iron” desire congress to sacrifice for their benefit, on the pretext, also, that a few hundred miles of railroad, to be constructed this year or the next. may be spared from borrowing 1,000 dollars or so more permile than might be required if they succeed in their design of destroying it. But the circular seeks to create a jealousy by alleging that it is the manufacturers of Pennsylvania who are making this effort. Why single out the Keystone State for special mention? In 1865, the total rodnction of railroad iron in the U.S.tates was 353, 017 tons, of which 189, 123 or more than one half, were made in other States; and of the 30 7 mills in the U.S., about 2/3rds are in other States than Pennsylvania, as appears from the folloiving table: Sum a No. of milll. Massachusetts. gMaryland. WestVirginia. Ohio. Kentucky. Indiana Illinois Michigan. Tennesse" Pennsylvania contains but a portion of the great bitumine us coal fields of the Union. She has less than Illinois or Ohio, and not more than several others of the States; and NewYork, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia have each of them more and some of them for better. iron ore than Pennsylvania. Maryland, NewJersey, NCarolina. Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, and probably Ala bama, have excellent ores, and either coal or wood on the spot, or easily accessible fornll future requirements. The same fact is stated of Utah and Montana, and isprobably true of other Territories. In the face of the truth, then, that 11 States besides Pennsylvania are already manufacturing railroad iron, and at least 6 others, beside the Territories, have within them the leading materials in abundance for its manufacture. the assumption of the cir cular that this is solely a Pennsylvania interest, ns against the rest of the country, is simply absurd. How strong] the true interests of some of the western and southern States are linked to this iron question may be further indicated. Some of them have resources in iron superior to Pennsylvania or to all those at the command of GreatBritain. Some of the largest iron works in western Pennsylvania transport the ore from which their product is made from northern Michigan and southern Missouri. A rail mill in Pittsburg gets its ore from Lake Superior. Oneof the largest mills in the State as I have been told by its proprietors, is only awaiting transportation facilities to follow the example. At least 2 of those in Ohio procure their ores from the same source. Every dollars worth of ore raised from the mines of Michigan, Missouri, or Tennessee, is a dollar (natural), and 80 or 90%. of every 7 dolls: thus created is distributed to those who delve in the mines, or work in the mills, and through them to the farmers who feed them, and the mechanics or laborers in 100 other branches of industry who contribute to their necessities or comforts. Every dollar so cre ated, and its multiples resultin from the labor of perfecting the raw materia, is an addition to the wealth of the nation. Buy your iron from abroad and you not only lose that protit. which would otherwise have been produced. but. " very dollar you pay. save only the small%age of tariff and the acents commisisionl is carried off to be expended in a foreign 11m. What has been said of railroad iron applies with equalforce to all kinds of iron manufacture, whether cast. rolled, or hammered; and i l W.peciallyto those liner kinds upon which the ureatest amount of labor is expended, and, nllltll, by reason of the comparative cheap, uess of huropeau labor, the forcizn maker has, at all times and under all rates of duties, been able to send to American markets and the principle which I wish to enforce is not confined to iron, but to American manufactures in all their branches, every one of which is enti tied to as much care from the Government as is required for its safe, steady, and successful deve opment. BENEFITS OF PROTECTION The benefits which flow from protection are not. confined to Pennsylvania, and will be as wide spread as our boundaries. Iron and coal are found in great abundance in many of the western States, and nlread a large quantity of iron is manufactured in WWestVirginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and other States; and the day is not distaut. when the fertile Northwest, so productive of the cereals, will become the great manufac turing center of the Union. The earlier settlement of Pennsylvania, and the local advantages she enjoyed, have given her a start. which. I hope, will enableher to maintain a healthy cometition there many years for the trade of the Vest and South; but as population increases and the wants of the country are developed capital will seek promising locations and find new mines of ore and coal in the search for the minimum cost of production. Michigan ore will then be turned into bars, rods, and nails on Michigan soil, and the rairies of the West will be dotted with the chimney stacks of furnaces and forges, and ring with the cheerful sound of many handed labor. The same causes will secure for the West a division of the manufacture of textile fabrics, which are now nearly monopoliZed by the eastern States, and the blessings of diversified production will thus be gradually extended over every portion of the country, until, with enlarged ca ital econom ically employed, improved machinery, diminished risks and costs of transportation, the minimum cost of production will be reached, and the nation be secure in its commercial supremacy. This is within our grasp, and it is for the legislators of this day to say whether we shall reach this position and enjoy the advantages to be reaped from it, or whether we are to continne to play a part subordinate to a people to whom there is no reason why we shonl pay tribute; who are the enemies of our institutions and these oifers at our principles; who were our enemies in the day of our weakness, and are our inferiors in every element of greatness except in the aggregation of capital which has enabed them to crush fcebler nations, which has enabled the Tn at times to corrupt the legislation of stronger, and before whom I insist it is our duty to maintain a determined and inflex iblrfront. THE STEEL QUESTION. of the manufacture of steel in this country ts of itself an argument. It is but a few years since it was commenced here. In 1864 there were 37 establishments, of which 14 were in Pennsylvania. 9 in NewYork, 5 in Massachusetts, live in NewJersey, 2 in Connecticut, one in Michigan, and one in Illinois. The manufacture is one of great value, as its products cover the whole range of mechanics tools and agricultural implements, as well as the implements of war. Its manufacture requires the highest class of skilled labor, and the inner rs in the experiment were obliged to pay large wages and The history even bounties to tempt skilled European workmen to incur the expense of coming here, and to pay them during the time thus occupied, each of which items was an addition to the disadvantages uuder which the attempt was made. although experience has proved that we have in this country, and especially in Essex county, NewYork, ore from which steel is manufactured of a quality.equal to the best foreign made article. The tariff duticshave been less favorable than was required. Prior to the passage of the Mor rill tariff of 1901. the duty was oul 12%., less than half the amount then charged on iron. In that act ithas been aboutdoubled, but it is graded according to appraised value. Ibat valued at 7 cents perpound or less pays 2 and a quarter cents perpound; valued at.7 and not over 11 cents perpound, 3 cents perpound; valued at over 11 cents perpound, 3 and a half cents perpound and 10%. adealm em. During the year 1864, of the importations of steel at the port of Philadelphia, 2, 071,000 pounds were valued at less than 7 cents; 1, 093, 507 pounds were valued at over 7 and less than 11 cents; and 22, 084 pounds were valued at over 11 cents. During the year ending June 30, 1864, at NewYork, 14, 308, 828 pounds were imported valued at. less than 7 cents; 11, 057, 947 pounds valued at over 7 and less than 11 cents; and 2, 008, 003 pounds over 11 cents. During the same period the internalrevenue assessor of the 22nd district, Pennsylvania, which I represent, collected this excise tax from manufactures of steel: Tar. On steelvalued at 7 centsor less. none. 0n steelvaluedatover7and notoverllcents, 618.147 $3, 69322 On steelvalued at over 11cents, 10, 614, 313.1. 0.90380 74.59702 These figures show: 1. That the American manufacturer pays excise tax upon the full market value. 2. The foreign manufacturer pays on a foreign valuation, imports to his own agent on invoiceswhich are not sale prices, and as a matter of fact manages to get 1/2 of the entire importation of steel through the customhouse at the lowest rate of duty, and the result is, the amount of excise tax paid by the home manufacturer is about. equal to the entire duty paid on the imported article, as appears from this detailed statement of the steel manufactu rers: “ The followinrr is intended to showtho revenueof Governmentupon each ton of rolled or hammered caststeel madein the U.S. under the law as it now stands, name l: Exr" ise p“er to“nonrolled vorhammeredstccl. 81500 o bloomsused in mallttngstle cl“ 3 60 bariron ". 360 on cost of crucibles consumed “1. 3 “ “ 00 10tonse oal. 60 custironjnolds. castingsfor repairs, firo brick. oil, &c. usedin making onetonof stcel is. 60 The cost of stampson letters.checks.bills lading, &c. 60 The indirect tax on labor on same basis as that estimatedby D. J. Mot rel], Esq. at the Cambriu Iron Works, on average value of cast steel, 81!%" inclusive of income tax 2300 $5000 “From which it appears that the direct and indirect tax paid by the American manufacturerupon l t I I every pound of caststeel produced by him. Amount to 2 and a half cents. how, for the sakeaf comparison, take the {illicial returns of sitcl imported into NewYprk, Philadel phia and Baltimore. giving the quantity undercru h oftho several classifications and it will beseen that the whole quantity of imported stccl amounted to 15. fhi.0l;tIolliiwd hi.ch at the prt sent rate of duty will amount to $70.03!)38 or 2 and 7right hundredth: cents por pound duty. beintr about one 4th of a cent perpound more duty than the Ainerienu manufacturer pays in the shapeof excise on his production." As a consequence the steel trade of America is in great peril, and unless aided by friendly legislation it must perish under the double competition of powerful British corporations or combined capital employing low priced labor, and of fraudulent evastous of our customhouse duties. The ComWays&Means propose to exempt this manufacture from all direct internal tax; theindirecttax willofcourse remain. This is a step in the right direction, and will to a considerable extent afford relief; but this important branch wrll require an increase of duty upon the foreign article to enable it to withstand the etfort now being made to crush it out, and to recover the entire trade to the foreign manufacturer. It is certain that this new and important manufacture is entitled by sympathy, by interest, and in justice, to positive and sufficient protection. rm: cuss tarsus r. Like steel, the glass interest is an important or c in my district, and whatis true of all other by uch es of manufacture is true of it. The cost of production has more than doubled since 1860. I take these figures from one of the heaviest flint glass manufacturers in the U.S.: Coalin 1860. Lead. lbs, of cts. 316, 27183 Ashes 14, 930lbs, 51cm. 11, 82115 Niter. 33.514lbs. 9 eta. !01655 149,000bu. 4i cts. 6.840(1) 842.263ft. 59 50. 8.55658 67.42214. Q1$59066this is exclusive of the internalrevenue tax which nearly equals the tariff on the importe article. These figures show the circumstances under which existing competition is maintained. Respecting soda ash, included in the above table, it may be well to state that it was exten sively manufactured in 1852 1853, and 1854 in this country, and was sold as low as $2 60 per 100 pounds. It supplied in agreat measure the American market, and drove out the foreign article. The foreign makers then combined put down the price in this market to solow a figure as to break down the American manufacture, and at this moment none is made in this country. The price has been raised to 4 and a half to 5 cents or ound in gold in England, and it costs the tnerican manufacturer, in many instances, 12 cents per pound in currency delivered at the factory. he result of the failure properly to protect it is, that the American maker has been broken dawn and the cost of the article has been more than doubled to the glass manufacturer who requires it in his business, thereby necessarily increasing the cost of glass to all consumers. During the war, the remiurn on gold acted as an increase of duty, at as the premium has declined, of course that temporary advantage has declined with it, and will shortly pass away entirely. As a consequence it is not surprising that the imports are ra idly increasing. For some weeks past they have averaged about 8 million dollars perweek; and last week they exceeded 12 millions. The eXports are about half the former sum. This is a state of facts wellcalculated to alarm and startle us. The surplus productions of foreign manufacturers are thrown into our ports at low prices. disturbing our values and ruining our manufacturers. 1 recently proposed a temporary increase of duties of 50%. until the tariff bill can he prepared and passed, for the purpose of checking this excess of importation, but the House a peared to prefer awaitiu the new bill for which the country is langulis iing. Some persons object to an increase of duties because a return to specie payments will effect a reduction in the rates of labor and the value of materials. This expectation can be realized only measurably. hope it will not to the extent desred by many. I should be unwilling to see labor reduced to its former minimum. nder our system it is not the pol icy of the Government to repress the laborer as in Europe; and we must legislate in the consciousness that the laborers of the country are a power in it. Their interests must be respected; and they are entitled to such legislation as will tend to keep open to them the avenues to thrift, wealth, and power. They who expect to build up a system which is aimed at the dignity and prosperity of the laborers of the nation, and wxhich necessarily involves their depression to the level of the European standard, should know, what they will soon be taught, that the inspiratiop of their system is from abroad, is not conenial to our institutions, and should find no odgment on the statute books of the great Republic. was worn. isrnnicsr. There is another interest of great importance to which I have not alluded, and which deserves candid and just consideration. It is the wool interest, in which eastern, middle, and western States are like concerned. As a branch of industry it is among the most valuable to the nation, both as to its agricultural and its manufacturing capabilities. The product is an absolute necessary of life, for which there can be no adequate substitute. It is capable of the largest variety of domestic and personal uses. dts production and its manufacture employ large numbers of persons, and the profits rowing out of it are distributed among ditlerent classes and pursuits. Its agency in increasing personal and national wealth js direct and valuable, and in every aspect it deserves to be fostered and protected by the Government. During the ten ears ending in 1860 the aggregate value of the imports ofwoolen goods into the country was $282, 682, 830. During the same time, we imported $30, 428, 157 worth of wool, being an increase of nearly 200%. over the imports between 1840 and 1850. Our climate and soil enable us to produce wool of eve description equal to any country in the world; and it is for the conot the nation to say whether, by wise motion, we shall encourage so irotitable and important a production, and whether we shall caim for ourselves the blessings and benefits which will result from the increased manufacture of flannels, cassimeres, shawls, delaines, and the like from American wool. As for myself, I prefer the interest of the American farmer, the American wool grower, the American manufacturer, the American dealer to the like classes elsewhere; and I am anxious to add to our already numerous sources of wealth that which, in a peculiar manner, up eals to the generous pride and the honorablb ambition of every true hearted American citizen. Petitions by 1,000s of signers are before Congress beseeching us to be fair to this most meritorious class and thus just to all; and I trust we will not rise until we help to put their business upon such a foundation as will give them hope of ultimate triumph in their effort to expand the sweep and dee en the current of American industry and proaction. roucv or rno rrcrioiw. Sir, I know the strength of the prejudices which have been created against the policy of protection; but they will not bear the light of truth. As a policy it has always been an enriching one to the whole people. The country has never been as prosperous as when the Government acted upon it and the periods of weakness and collapse have always been those in which misrule exposed us to the mise ries of free trade fallacies, which alHicted alike the producer, the manufacturer, the trader, and the Government. 1 say the Government has never been rich xcept under the policy of rotcction. It has never been strong interns ly except when it recognized as its 1st duty that it owes to its own. Take for proof this table: Imports. reLHHLL.Averageduty. These figures show that in 1864, when the average duties were 43%., we had over 1/2 more revenue than in 1860 when the average was but 15 %.; and that attending this was the important advantage that in the latter period we imported but little over one halfthe amount in the former; protection thus operating to prevent the evils of, excessive importation, to develop our own i labor, and to maintain the credit and financial strength of the national Government. nxrsuisxer or nxotsirn. What is our experience in this respect is the l experience of other Governments, iind cs e cially of that of England, whose requiaikaile 5 record on this question is worthy of study. In 1846 England formally abandoned the policy 2 of protection, and insisted that if under itsl previous legislation they prospered it was not, owing to protectimi. but in spite of it. Let us see what as resulted from the change. In 1820 Englands exports of cotton piece goods amounted to 218, 370, 630 yards; in 1840 i to 700, 631, 907 yards, beingan incicasein 20 Ill years of 5129261367 yards, equal to 234%. In 1860 her exports of cotton piece goods amounted to 2, 765, 337, 818 yards, being an increase in 20 years of 1, 974, 705, 821 yards. equal to 249%. The increase of the free trade period over the severely protective one in the exports of cotton was only 15 %.; but if the respective capabilities of expansion are justly considered. it ought to have" been 100%. at least. The increase of American manufactures from 1840 to 1850 was 330%.; and from 1850 to 1860 80%. But the greatest and most important of all her products show more than this. Her proCillCilOll of pig iron in 1823 was 452, 066 tons; in 1840, 1, 306.400 tons an increase under the protective system of 209 9%. In 1867 the production was 3, 657, 447 tons an increase of only 162%. The duty upon pig iron for the 1st 3 years of the 1st of these periods was 173. 6d. perton, and ten shillings for the 1st 6 years of the last, and free of duty for 11 years, or from 1846to 1867. The latter period had the supposed advantage, and yet ell 47%. short of equaling the protected period) in ratio of progress. Again: the exports of sil manufactures of the 20 years, from 1820 to 1840, increased 113 %. in value, while their increase from 1840 to 1860 reached no more than 100%. The exports of flax manufactures fared worse; they rose in quantity of yards 144%. from 1820 to 1840, and only reach 55%. in 1860 above their amount in 1848. In woolcus, solon cucouragedb sumptuary laws, and protecte by fines, for eitures, and even imprisonment, and after these were mit igated to a general average of 50%. duty on all imports, England has lost her supremacy, not indeed by any change in her commercial policy, but by the superiority of the fabrics of) the Continent. In 1815 she ex1 articles. ported 889, 338 pieces of cloth; in 1860 but 570, 671. Her home grown wool has for a long period deteriorated in quality, and she is now to a great extent dependent upon foreign wool and foreign looms for the finer fabrics required for home consumption, as is shown by the constantly declining proportion of the foreign wools imported. ctwcen the years 1820 and 1840 the increase of her imports of wool was 197%.; in the next period the increase fell O to 137%. Her exports of worsted s increased in the former period 69%, in the latter but 52%. In those of mixed stuffs and flannels there has been some compensation in an increased value amounting to 140%. as against 33%. In her cutlery, also, she is retiogradinv, a fact which is by her own authors attributed to the deine ralization in her manufacture of those In her endeavor to command the markets of all the savage and semi civilized regions of the globe, her manufacturers find their account in making goods rather for sale than use; especially in those tools and implements of which every workman is a competent judge. German and American articles are at a pliemiuin even in her home market. he purpose of this detailed array of the results of this respective periods of Englands manufacturing history for the 20 years next precediii" and next following the date of her change from protection to free trade is to show that the boasted triumph of the latter policy is as false in fact as it is in theory. The advocates of the modern theory appeal to facts and figures, which have a plausible appearance, but the meaning and value of those facts and figures flatly contradict the inferences so confidently drawn from them. The rate of progress in British industry and foreign trade in the years which have gone by since the policy of protection was abandoned has not exceeded, but has actually fallen behind, the rate of progress of anyequal period of years previous to the change. be simple truth is, that for more than 5 cen turies British polic defended her productive enterprises, as wel as her commerce, against all competition by whatever severity ofimport duties and discriminative rates which seemed necessary, and having by this means fought her way into such perection and power as she is capable of, and having nothing more to gain y the policy which made her what she is, she abandons it and decries its policy, utilit, and necessity, and uses every agency which she can command to dissuade the nations whom she would hold in industrial vassalage from adopting in their own defense the very system that has made her fortunes. Her business is manufacturing; her proess depends upon it; she must extend it, an her manufactures for foreign use include opinions aswell as commodities; she must have foreign markets, and these she cannot have if foreign nations will do their own work and defend their domestic industry as determinedly as they defend their territory against foreign invasion. 600 years ago, in 1331, England commenced her system of protection in the form of absolute protection of the export of her own wool, then the best and most nbun dant in Europe, and of the import of cloth, of which till then Flanders had the monopoly in European commerce; and she continued the system, under many modifications adapted to e exigencies of her manufacturing history, at every c innge increasing the efficiency of her tarill, until it culminated in 1819 in an aver age protection of 50%. on all articles competing with her staple products except manufactures of leather, printed cottons, and earthenware, which carried 75%.; bar iron, 57 and 3 quarters%.; plain white cottons, 67%.; and silk manufactures, embroidery, and leather glows, in which France had the mastery so decidedly that they were met by total prohi bition. This policy of centuries was never relaxed. though the atrocious severity of its pen alties was gradually abated, until all its obyccts were fully accomplished; and only after the edifice of her industrial system was finished from foundation to cap stone she took down the scaffolding on which it was built and called it lumber and rubbish. In 1824 cottons woven in Asia, Persia. China, and the East Indies were still llOllllJlLOd. In 1730, when the cot ton manu acture was commenced in England, the oriental fabrics could be afforded for 1/3rd the price of the British product. In 1769 Arkwright invented his spinning machinery, soon afterward improved so that one hand in England could do the work of 3000 in Asia, yet no relaxation was indulged until the price of cotton yarn was reduced from 38. shillin s in 1786 to 3 shillings in 1832 peroundg. Silk goods were charged with 2ve to 40%. by their tar iff of 1834, and woolens from 15 to 20. From 1819 to 1826the duty upon foreign bar iron was 6 103., or $32 5operton; but itwas in that year reduced to 1 108., or $7 50. Wh 1 Simply because protection had done its war. Iron was produced at Cardiffthe year before at 10 perton, while in Sweden and Russia it cost 13 138., 111 Belgium 16 148., and in France 24 10.9. For ten vears before this reduction in the rate of duty England imported of foreign iron an amount equal to ten and a half%. of her exports; in the succeeding ten years ten and a uarter%., so that her tariff was a dead ctter long before its repeal. Her policy in all its stages and apparent changes is a copy of her procedure in relation to iron; never abated, never varied, but to accomplish its object the better, and finally abandoned only when it had fully achieved its utmost possible service in a complete success The istor of French commercial policy is but the fe low of the British in the earlier stages of industrial development, butsomething wiser and better in its latest phase. The protective system, introduced by Colbert in 1000, maintained the finances of the kingdom and the progress of her manufactures against the vast expenditure of the 55 latter years of the reign of Louis XIV, (1043 to l715 72 years.) and of a much later criod we have the history in the words of. B. Say. He says: “For 30 years (1801to 1834)nearly every law passedon customhousematters has beenintended either to establish or to consolidate the system of protection and prohibition." The result. as stated by the same author. was that France in 1826 contained the most beau tiful manufactures of silk and woolen goods in the world, and he distinctly attributes this success, notwithstanding his free trade principles, to the Ipolicy of Colbert. But after the example of ngland, France also could afford to remit duties when prohibition and protection had accomplished all their uses. In the treaty of commerce made in 1860, commonly called the Cobden treaty, and proclaimed as a triumph of the free trade policy by all its advocatesin England and among ourselves, silk was made free in the ports of France; and the finer kinds of glass, orcelain, cmbroideries and other fabrics in which she excels all other nations, were also exposed to a competition in her home markets, as iron and the coarser cottons are in England; because no successful rivalry in price or product can possibly be of fected. Just as free, and for the same reason, as ice at Boston. ivory in Africa, and sealskins among the Esquimaux. But let the declaration be remarked, and challenged. too, by whomsoever will venture the question, in all things and every item of those commodities wherein her domestic industry could be endangered by GreatBritain, the duties agreed a on are as highly protect ive, as in our Morritariff. For instance, on the coarser cottons of England, that treaty imposes 2 cents or square yard, and on the finest, but one fonrt of one cent; on pig, broken and old iron, from $4 89 to $6 35, but On iron manufactures, as follows: railroad $13 08; sheet iron. $25 41 to $31 46; heavy wrought manufactures, $17 58; small ware, $29 32; anchors. chains, cables, $19 54; and wrought tubes. large. $27)40: small. S48 8.3, perton; while cloeks and watches are let in at 5%., and clock movements at 9 cents perpound. just because they cannot come in at that rate or at any rate. Now for the results. The treaty went into operation in 1861. In that year the total exports to France were $517, 427, 413, and the imports from France 17, 82G, G46nearly cqua. In 1804 the exports were 23.825, 392 and the imports had risen to $225, 640, 733. Iicre there is no gain even in gross amount to the free trade o era. tors as against the protective part in the usi uess. But when we come to look at the kind of exorts which England sends to France we find that 11.839, 517 worth of raw silk, raw cotton, and raw wool made up quite the half of these cXports in 1864; how much more of her colonial produce entered into the total may be inferred from the fact that only 8, 200, 700 of British producc was embraced in the total, leaving ful 15 and a half millions or within a trifle of 2/3rds of the whole, of which England was only the carrier, and received only the profits of Vgi s of commerce, and nothing of tiiose of manufacturing industry; carrying. among other raw materials, raw silk to the value of 3, 545, 010, and takingback in exchange 5.080, 814 worth of silk manufactures. Verily this much trumpeted triumph of England over the protective system of hrance, and the glorification of Mr. Cobden therefor, looks now as if England was only deceived, and her champion and agent had been outwitted by Louis Napoleon. But other noteworthv results have followed and are still to come. The Liv erpool European Times, of the 23d of December lust, speaking of the manifold benefits of the Cobden treaty to France, says: “Some time since the Enslish locomotive was a sort of ideal: whereas at the present day French locomotives are brought to such a degreeof erfcetion asto be ordered from France for Enklis railroads. In like manner the English machinery for extractingcoal from mineswusjustly regardedas the best in the world. Yet not long can a machine was orderedfromaFrench housein the Dept of the Nord for an English mine." Here we see that French protection, equal in amount but 3 fold equa in effect to that of the Morrill taritf bill, has had the effect to cheapen in price and improve in character the very iron and machinery in which England thought herself safe from all rivalry. on own uxrltanmcl. In our country the periods of protection have been thoseof prosperity. In 1842 the country was suffering in every part until revived by the beneficent act of that year. This continued until the act of 1846 checked our growth, while that of 1857 would have absolutely destroyed as but for the rapid increase of“our population and the indomitable energy of the people. The calamitiesof the war forced us to the enactment of the tariff of 1861, which was the wisest and best we have ever had, not excepting that of1842. The Morrill tariff will be line wn in history as the great agency by which the country was enabled to pass successfully through the war, and to grow in material prosperity. The high price of gold made its duties almost prohibitory, and we were thrown upon our own resources, which expanded ineredibly at the call, and nerved the trade of the country to bear with ease the unequaled strain upon it. run uoanru. TARIFF. I may be asked whether we are not now under the Morrill tariff. I answer, we are in theory, but not in fact. All that the manufacturing interests of the country ask, and I speak confidently for my own constituents, is to be placed whore that tariff placed them in 1861. Butit should not be forgotten that since that time the cost of foreign manufacture has not materially chanced, but the cost of domes tic manufacture has edoubled, and in some cases triplicated. The excise taxreoches almostcvery thin g which enters into manufacture. To place the 2 competitors where they were in 1861, our tariff duties should be increased so as to equal the increased cost of labor and the excise tax. This done, the condition of the will improve in every part, and no one wcoilulnfterge the blow except the foreigner who hates us and his agent here who is undermining us. urn unisrosrsenz “1sts. The opinion prevails that a return to specie payments Will remove all these evils. at it will not relieve the country of its taxes. It can only motlif the cost of some raw materials, and probab y of labor. Hence its effect can be but partial. I desire the return to specie payments, and would greet it with my whole heart, but in my opinion the true line of policy is in the direction I have indicated. By increasing the rate of duties to the oint suggested our excessive importation will) be restrained, the balance of trade will be thrown in our favor, our coin will be kept at home to fill the chan nels of business and become once more the circulating medium among the people. With present legislation this is hopeless. During the last 4 years our exports of coin have exceeded the imports $177, 778, 163, as follows: Imported. Exported. Excess. 310, With this tendency to enormous importation of goods and the increasing necessity of gold exportations to pay for them checked. it is not unreasonable to hope that the product of our gold mines retained in the country a few years will enable us to glide into specie payments naturally and without shock to any of the great business interests of the country. It will be much easier to resume specie payments on the $740,000.000 of papermoney now afloat, on this plan, than to contract the currency to half its present volume and allow the present rate of foreign importation ($12,000,000 perweek) to continue. All experience demonstrates the necessity of self protection among nations. The American legislator who is blind to this truth must be ignorant of the business history of his own country as well as that of the civilized world. No nation can prosperwithout regarding its special capabilities, without develoing them, without using the advantages which God has given it. With us this is a peculiarly imperative dut, because our labor is not only our financia need, but it is our political sovereign. Our Government rests upon its laborers; our strength comes from them; our hope is in them. As they sink the nation sinks; as they rise the nation rises in all the components of greatness and pOWer. Let us be just to these willing giants who support the fabric of freedom, and the jewel of liberty will remain for. ever, blessing our childrens children. nasronxrion.