CIRCULAR 
 
 OF 
 
 THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION 
 
 FOR PROMOTING 
 
 Industry in the United States, 
 
 TO 
 
 THEIR FELLOW-CITIZENS. 
 
 XEfV-YORK: 
 PRINTED BY J, SEYMOUR, 49 JOHN-STREET. 
 
 1820. 
 
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
In pursuance of public notice, a second Convention of the 
 Friends of National Industry was held in the city of New- 
 York, on Tuesdaj', the 8th of January, 1820. At this 
 meeting, accredited Delegates from the States of Massa- 
 chusetts, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jer- 
 sey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, appeared, and presented 
 reports and statements relatiug to the present prostrate si- 
 tuation of domestic manufactures, in their respective States, 
 which, from their nature and tendency, deeply impressed 
 the Convention with the importance of a free and liberal 
 interchange of opinion amongst the friends of National In- 
 dustry throughout the Union. Under this impression, the 
 Convention was induced to form a National Society for the 
 collection of facts and the diffusion of useful information in 
 relation to the subject which called them together, calcula- 
 ted to produce among the people of this nation such a si- 
 milarity of opinion and unity of action, as would secure 
 them that wealth and comfort which a kind Providence has 
 placed within their reach, but of which they are now de- 
 prived by a system of policy which threatens the destruc- 
 tion of the most important interests-of our country. The 
 following Resolutions were therefore presented, and passed 
 unanimously : 
 
 I. Resolved, That a general Convention of the Friends 
 of National Industry be held in the city of New-York on 
 the first Wednesday in June next. 
 
 II. Resolved, That it is expedient to establish a general 
 Society of the Friends of National Industry, under the title 
 
4 
 
 of The National Institution for promoting Industry 
 in the United Stapes. The Board of Officers of the 
 Institution to hold their meetings for the present in the city 
 of New- York, and to consist of a President, a Vice-Presi- 
 dent, a Treasurer, three Secretaries, and a Committee of 
 five members, to be chosen by this Convention, who shall 
 constitute such Board until the Institution is fully organ- 
 ized by the Convention of Delegates from the State Socie- 
 ties, to assemble in this city in June next. 
 
 III. Resolved, That it bs earnestly recommended to the 
 State Societies now established in Massachusetts, Rhode- 
 Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylva- 
 nia, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio, to elect Delegates to 
 the said Convention, not exceeding three from each State. 
 
 IV. Resolved, That this Convention consider it an ob- 
 ject of the highest importance, and it is their earnest wish 
 that all the other States of the Union should form the like 
 State Societies ; and that such Societies, when formed, 
 should elect a like number of Delegates to the said Conven- 
 tion, to be held in this city in June next. 
 
 V. Resolved, That the President of each State Society 
 shall be, ex officio, a Vice-President of the National In- 
 stitution, and that all other officers of the said Institution 
 shall be chosen by the next Convention. 
 
 VI. Resolved, That the present Board of the Institu- 
 tion be requested to publish a Circular Letter, announcing 
 the general objects of this Convention in relation to na- 
 tional industry, and also such of the proceedings of the 
 Convention as they may deem proper, with an Address to 
 the Nation. 
 
The following Officers were duly elected, and compose 
 the present Board of the Institution : 
 
 WILLIAM FEW, President 
 ISAAC PIERSON, Vice-President 
 PETER H. SCHENCK, Treasurer. 
 MATTHEW CAREY, of Pennsylvania, \ 
 DANIEL HOLSMAN, of New-Jersey, \ Secretaries. 
 JACOB T. WALDEN, of New-York, ) 
 JOHN E. HYDE, V 
 THADDEUS B. WAKEMAN, 
 HALSTED E. HAI1HT, \ Committee. 
 
 MATTHEW L. DAVIS, 
 JOHN GIVAN, 
 
 In conformity with the last of the foregoing resolutions, 
 the present Board of the Institution have proceeded to pre- 
 sent them to the public ; and they feel persuaded that they 
 will meet with the cordial approbation and support of every 
 friend to the United States of America. 
 
 The Board take this occasion to impress again upon the 
 respective State Societies the necessity of procuring most 
 exact returns from all the manufacturing establishments in 
 their districts, and of collecting the other interesting infor' 
 mation embraced in the recommendation of the Convention 
 of November last. 
 
 With this view they respectfully recommend that a Con- 
 vention be called in each State in the Union, to devise a 
 plan for establishing one or more Societies in every County 
 of such State, with committees of correspondence in each 
 town, composed of intelligent men, whose duty it shall be 
 to collect the information before referred to, and to commu- 
 nicate the same to the State Society, preparatory to the 
 meeting of the general Convention, in the ensuingmonth 
 of June. 
 
6 
 
 it was the original intention of the Board to publish all 
 the Reports from manufacturing districts in their posses- 
 sion, which had been laid before the Convention, but they 
 were found to be too voluminous ; and many of them, more- 
 over, were said to be incomplete ; they have, therefore, se- 
 lected a few which were drawn with the most precision, and 
 arranged them in an Appendix. From these it may fairly be 
 inferred, that almost every part of the country is alike the 
 victim of a policy that has already paralyzed the industry, 
 and, if persevered in, will blast the best hopes of the nation. 
 
 The views of the Convention were not confined to manu- 
 facturing industry, but embrace productive industry in gene- 
 ral* which, they are persuaded, is the only basis of wealth, 
 prosperity, and independence. Hence they do not now ad- 
 dress manufacturers alone, but invite their fellow-citizens of 
 every class, and in every State, to unite in Societies, and 
 contribute their aid in providing remedies for the intolerable 
 evils we suffer. 
 
 The Board beg leave to recommend to the respective 
 State Societies, to seek every opportunity to diffuse infor- 
 mation on the important subject for which they are asso- 
 ciated. To this end, they particularly recommend the ex- 
 tensive gratuitous circulation of the Addresses of the Phila- 
 delphia Society, which abound with historical facts and 
 calculations demonstrating the soundness of the principles 
 which we maintain. 
 
 To those Friends of National Industry, who have alrea- 
 dy formed associations, and volunteered their efforts, to re- 
 move the causes of our present distress, and to encourage 
 and support all those meritorious classes of citizens, whose 
 productive industry is the basis of wealth, no explanation is 
 necessary. But to all others, from the citizens who compose 
 our government — to the stranger who lands upon our shores, 
 an explanation is due, of the reasons which have impelled 
 
7 
 
 the Convention to resort to measures now adopted for re- 
 lief, in such a country as ours, and under such a form of go- 
 vernment as we enjoy, 
 
 We are constrained to express the opinion, that the prin- 
 cipal cause of the present distress of the country may be 
 traced to the refusal or neglect of our general government, 
 since the termination of the late war, to consider, or even to 
 hear, the reiterated memorials of our suffering citizens, im- 
 ploring those measures of protection, which, in the infancy 
 of our republic, were recommended by that able and ac- 
 complished statesman, Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary 
 of the Treasury, and Which have since been advocated with 
 great ability and zeal, by the committee of commerce and 
 manufactures in 1816, in their report to Congress. 
 
 In proof of this assertion, it has long since been publish- 
 ed to the world, as a fact which defies contradiction, that, 
 "of above forty petitions presented to the House of Repre- 
 " sentatives of the United States, in 1817, by different bodies 
 " of manufacturers in various parts of the United States, 
 " praying for relief, there was not one read in the House, and 
 " nearly one half of them were never reported on by the com- 
 " mittee cf commerce and manufactures. There was not one 
 " of them successful, although the ruin suffered by some, 
 " and impending over others, of the petitioners, had every 
 
 possible claim to prompt and effectual redress." 
 
 • ^- 
 
 The same, with some slight exception, may safely be said 
 of all the petitions presented to Congress since that period f 
 previous to the present session. On this treatment of con- 
 stituents, no comment is necessary. 
 
 The past year has been marked by the efforts of the 
 Friends of National Industry to secure a reasonable pro- 
 tection from the present session of Congress to the labours 
 of the country. 
 
s 
 
 Petitions have flowed in from various quarters, with 
 which the table of th^* committee on manufactures is literally 
 loaded, and we cannot yet believe that the memorials of so 
 numerous and respectable a portion of our population will 
 be again neglected. 
 
 With these facts before us, and with a full view of the 
 consequences, we feel it incumbent on us to recommend a 
 systematic activity amongst ourselves, which shall pervade 
 the country, and the adoption of measures at the same time 
 calculated to embody and consolidate our strength. 
 
 It is an acknowledged principle, that the industry of a 
 country is its wealth. The interests of productive labour, 
 in every point of view, are paramount to all others, and will 
 be festered by every good citizen. All questions of local 
 politics should be merged in the great work in which we 
 are engaged, and the whole country should unite in one 
 voice, and solemnly 
 
 RESOLVE, That in future no man shall have our suf- 
 frages, who is not the decided patron of the industry of his 
 own country, in preference to that of other nations. 
 
 In further illustration of the views of the Convention, and 
 of this Board, we ask your attention to the subjoined Ad- 
 
 dress. 
 
 WILLIAM FEW, President, 
 
 JACOB T. WALDEN, Secretary. 
 
FEL LOW- CI TIZEJVS, 
 
 The time has come, when the internal interests of our 
 country have a high and peculiar claim upon your wisdom 
 and patriotism). 
 
 It is the paramount duty of a free people, the inhabitants 
 of a land like this, profusely abounding with the riches of 
 nature, to avail themselves of a period of national tranquillity 
 for the improvement of the advantages, which, under Provi- 
 dence, they enjoy. 
 
 Our country, in common with others, has been agitated by 
 a storm which troubled the world ; but, the violence of the 
 tempest has gone by, and we now enjoy that settled repose, in 
 which we can deliberately repair the injuries of the past, and 
 devise means for security, against the evils of the future. 
 
 The subject to which we now invite the attention of our 
 fellow-citizens, is one, which, as it regards their national and 
 individual interests, and the welfare of those who shall come 
 after them, is of the greatest magnitude ; and, in a season so 
 propitious to the enterprise, we solicit their co-operation with 
 the boldest confidence and the highest hopes. 
 
 It will not be denied, that the prosperity, the power, and 
 the respectability of a community depend greatly upon the 
 industry of its individual members ; and from a firm per- 
 suasion of this truth, and the force and propriety of its appli- 
 cation to the present exigencies of this country, the Conven- 
 tion, which now addresses you, has devised the plan in the 
 accompanying Resolutions, for the establishment of a Na- 
 tional Institution for the promotion of Industry in the 
 United States. 
 
 Before entering upon the consideration of our main subject, 
 we would disclaim the influence of any other motives, thar« 
 
 B 
 
JO 
 
 those which we publicly avow. We believe that the object! 
 of our association are eminently calculated to promote the 
 prosperity and happiness of the people. That the purity of 
 our religious and moral institutions, and the strength and 
 permanency of our political compact, can, by no one means, 
 be rendered so secure, as by fostering in our own land prin- 
 c pies and habits of honest industry. If there are any who 
 doubt the correctness of our premises — who deny the salutary 
 influence of the measures which we are advocating, let them 
 advert to the habits of the framers of our Constitution and the 
 firm supporters of our Republic ; let them contrast the state of 
 society throughout the world, where industry at home forms 
 the character of the man, and his independence the character 
 of the nation, with that, which results from the unequal dis- 
 tribution of wealth and power — the fruits of precarious com- 
 mercial speculations. 
 
 Before we advert to the political economy, which for ages 
 has shielded the indusiry of other nations from a ruinous 
 competition, we beg leave to correct an impression in the 
 public mind, which, we perceive with pain and solicitude, is 
 rapidly increasing amongst us, and undermining the inde- 
 pendence of private opinion. There are those, who maintain 
 an influence in our public councils, who erroneously consider, 
 that whatever is done by the constituted authority of our 
 country for the advancement of national industry, and the 
 promotion of the manufacturing interests, is a favour — a 
 boon — from the government; as if there existed two distinct 
 interests in community — the one identified with the rulers, 
 the other with the people. 
 
 It is, indeed, to be regretted, that a sentiment- so slavish, 
 so unworthy of freemen, should be propagated in a free 
 country, though adequate reasons are not wanting to account 
 for it. 
 
 We can perceive, nor will we acknowledge but one cardie 
 nal interest in community ; and as members of a representa- 
 tive Republic, we confidently hope, that that policy which is 
 best calculated to invigorate national industry, and equalize 
 the physical and mental efforts of every individual, will be 
 pursued as most expedient for the public good. 
 
 As has already been observed, we believe, that the public 
 welfare may be essentially promoted by the protection and 
 encouragement of domestic industry; but there are certain 
 apparently conflicting maxims of political economy, which are 
 triumphantly arraigned against us ; and which, as they ema- 
 
11 
 
 nated from high authority, we shall not pass by without 
 examination. 
 
 The learned author of the " Wealth of Nations," has said, 
 that, " If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity 
 cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better buy of them 
 with some part of the produce of our own industry, employed 
 in a way in which we have some advantage." 
 
 From this abstract position, there have been attempts to 
 prove to the American people, that government shouid adopt 
 no measures which should have the effect of controlling the 
 present competition betwixt the foreign artist and the manu- 
 facturer of our own country. 
 
 If the maxim we have quoted, admitted but of one inter- 
 pretation, as the opinion of a profound man, it would, unques- 
 tionably, be an argument, if not of great weight, at least de- 
 serving serious consideration ; but to show the fallacy and 
 incorrectness of the interpretation, we have only to contrast it 
 with the general spirit and opinion of ihe author. If we be- 
 lieve him to be consistent with himself, we must infer, from the 
 passage to which we have alluded, that the author intended to 
 recommend an exchange of the industry of the people of one 
 country for the industry of those of another, and not the money 
 price of any particular article of commerce — the product of 
 that industry ; for he observes, in another place, " the re- 
 venue of every society — the real wealth and the value of 
 its annual productions must depend upon the quantity of pro- 
 ductive industry that is set in motion.'' Tnis is clear and un- 
 ambiguous, and exactly comports with the view s we entertain. 
 The avowed objects of our association is to devise expedients 
 for increasing the mass of domestic industry, whereby we may 
 augment the real and productive wealth of the country. That 
 Dr. Smith had reference to manufacturing industry as well as 
 to the other great branches of employment, appears obvious 
 from what he says, in speaking of t*e modern states of Europe. 
 He observes, " the foreign commerce of some of their cities 
 has introduced all their fine manufactures, or such as were fit 
 for distant sale ; and manufactures and foreign commerce to- 
 gether have given birth to the principal improvements of agri- 
 culture." Now we think, by examining in connexion, the 
 quotations cited from the learned author, that it appears ex- 
 ceedingly erroneous and absurd to suppose we are to receive, 
 as his opinion, the literal expression in the first paragraph, if 
 abstractly considered, 
 
12 
 
 "We believe, that, in every country, domestic industry and 
 national prosperity, stand in the relation of cause and effect : 
 and that upon the continued and vigorous exercise of the one, 
 depends the increase and perpetuity of the other. Nor, do we 
 believe the maxim, to which we have alluded, forms any ex- 
 ception to this general principle. The effects of that predi- 
 lection for foreign manufactures which we oppose, may be 
 illustrated by the following case. We will suppose the wool 
 of England to be exchanged for the cloth of France. England 
 and France are contiguous nations ; and it is easy to con- 
 ceive, that the expense would he but small, for exporting the 
 raw material and importing the article manufactured.^ The 
 soil and climate of England are favourable to the growth of 
 wool, and the low price of provision and the active habits of 
 the French are not less favourable to them as manufacturers. 
 Let us imagine the industry of the two nations to be thus mu- 
 tually employed, and, their intercourse conducted upon the 
 ordinary system of exchange; and what would be the pro- 
 bable influence upon the prosperity or interests of the two na- 
 tions, and what would be the compensation for their industry f 
 England would receive from France, the price of the raw mate- 
 rial, which was the production of her soil, making deductions 
 for freights, commissions, and charges; while France, by manu- 
 facturing it, would receive a vast augmentation to her national 
 industry, besides the difference (which would be a premium 
 on labour) betwixt the manufactured article and the raw ma- 
 terial ; a difference, which, by accurate calculation, is known to 
 be ratluer more than three to one. 
 
 We perceive that by this course of exchange Great Britain 
 would receive six millions sterling, the computed value of her 
 domestic wool ; and France twenty millions sterling for her 
 domestic labour ; the woollen manufactures of Great Britain* 
 according to the best authorities, being worth twenty-six mil- 
 lions sterling a year from wool of native growth. We will 
 admit the maximum of advantage which would result from 
 the exchange of the industry of the two nations, and concede 
 the point, that an individual of England might perhaps wear 
 a cheaper coat, estimated at a money price, than he can now ; 
 but would the gratification of such cupidity be characteristic 
 of national prosperity? Would not the operation of a system 
 which should transfer twenty millions sterling a year from the 
 productive industry of Great Britain to a foreign nation, en- 
 rich that nation in the same proportion that it diminished the 
 resources of the other? Would it not multiply paupers upon 
 
13 
 
 society, in the same ratio that those vast means, when undimin- 
 ished and at home, contributed to the support of the industri- 
 ous poor? 
 
 As there is not that equality of national industry which is 
 requisite to an equitable interchange, it is wisdom and policy 
 for a government to place the monopoly of the home-market 
 in the power of their own subjects. It strengthens the bonds 
 of union which connect rulers with their people; it increases 
 the responsibility and solicitude of the one, the confidence and 
 the gratitude of the other, and the disinterested patriotism of 
 both ; nor will this be thought an unimportant consideration 
 as connected with the principles of our association, if we re- 
 flect that the dearest interests of our republic, are dependent 
 on the mutual confidence of rulers and subjects. 
 
 But we must leave the elementary principles of political 
 economy, and proceed to the consideration of those of prac- 
 tical and political truth. We take great pleasure in intro- 
 ducing this part of our subject in the language of our im- 
 mortal Hamilton. He says, " the regulation of several 
 countries with which we have the most extensive inter- 
 course, throw serious obstructions in the way of the prin- 
 cipal staples in the United States. In such a position of things, 
 the United States cannot exchange with Europe on equal terms : 
 and the want of reciprocity, woidd render them the victim of a 
 system which induces them to confine their views to agriculture 
 and refrain from manufactures." It must be recollected that 
 this accomplished statesman was at the head of our financial de- 
 partment during the administration of Gen. Washington.* At 
 that period, the world, as at present, was at peace ; and the same 
 motives for instituting means to encourage vigorous industry, 
 were presented to the mind of that great man, which now stimu- 
 late the exertions and enliven the hopes of this institution. His 
 wisdom in war had won our Independence ; and on his pru- 
 dence and sagacity, the nation ^relied to maintain it. Under 
 his auspices, the Secretary of the Treasury wrote his report 
 on manufactures ; which, being addressed to the reason, rather 
 than to the uncongenial habits of a people who had just 
 emerged from a colonial dependence, made slow progress on 
 their convictions ; and before they were confirmed in the truth 
 
 * The opinion of Washington on the subject in question is expressed in his 
 speech to the Senate and House of Representatives on the 8th of January, 1790. 
 He says, M The advancement of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, by all 
 proper means, will not, I trust, need recommendation. But I cannot forbear inti- 
 mating to you the expediency of giving effectual encouragement as well to the 
 introduction of new tnd useful inventions from abroad, as to the exertions of 
 skill and genius in producing them at hoine.' > 
 
14 
 
 and solidity of its maxims, the flame of war was again kindled 
 and spread throughout all Europe. It inverted in its opera- 
 tion, the order of industry and commercial intercourse in everv 
 country — the carrying trade of the world, was, from necessity, 
 thrown into the hands of the Americans ; and from its magni- 
 tude, and its bearing on native products, employed the whole 
 ©apital and industry of the country. As far as an artificial 
 prosperity was a substitute for wealth of a more legitimate 
 source, it had the effect to impose, upon the minds of many, 
 opinions hostile to the encouragement of manufactures at home. 
 Mistaking effect for cause, public opinion on this subject was 
 predisposed to error; and it was not until the war of 1812 had 
 ceased, and the peace of Europe restored in 1815, that those 
 great principles of political economy, inculcated by the foun- 
 der of our independence and his illustrious associate, were 
 perceived and recognised as embracing the highest interests 
 of the nation. The reasons we have given, furnish the only 
 apology for the inattention and ingratitude of an enterprising 
 and inquiring people, to benefactors ; whose prophetic wisdom 
 might have warded off, in some degree, the ruinous conse- 
 quences, which now press so heavily upon them. — But, when 
 we advert to the fact, that the report to which we have allud- 
 <. ed was written, and its policy urged upon our country, at a 
 time when our population was little more than three millions ; 
 does not the present population — (which is little less than ten 
 millions) — our remote and internal agriculture — the balance of 
 trade which constantly lies against us — the flight of our spe- 
 cie — the confusion of our paper medium — the low state of our 
 commercial credit — and the depreciation of real estate, evince 
 the necessity of adopting, to the full extent, the principles 
 which that report embraces ? Are we not, at the present mo- 
 ment, a victim to that policy against which we are so forcibly 
 warned in the passage quoted ? And what will redeem us from 
 the poverty and distress which a pertinacious and erroneous 
 opinion is accumulating upon us, but to abandon the policy 
 which has " been tried and found wanting," and by every 
 practicable means, give encouragement to national industry. 
 And how is this object to be effected ? By fostering agricul- 
 ture and manufactures at home, and maintaining a commer- 
 cial intercourse with the world. To protect these great 
 sources of national industry, and to enable them to sustain the 
 weight of foreign competition, we require no partial taxation — 
 no exclusive privileges which shall not be consistent with the 
 public good ; but, with the full persuasion that these legiti- 
 
15 
 
 mate sources of industry and wealth, are so inseparably con- 
 nected, that the encouragement of the one gives success to the 
 ethers, and that upon the vigorous operations of the whole, 
 depend the prosperity and the fortune of our Republic ; we de- 
 precate the policy which would rend them asunder. 
 
 The Virginia Agricultural Society of Fredericksburgh 
 gravely inform us, that " national industry is best pro- 
 moted by leaving every member of society free, to apply his 
 labour and his knowledge, according to his own choice — ex- 
 empt from all restraints but such as the public good requires, 
 and burthened with no tax but such as shall be both impartial, 
 and, as moderate as the exigencies of the state will permit/' 
 In this opinion we most cordially concur. Let the general 
 principle be regarded, and its application extended to the ma- 
 nufacturer, and we ask no more. But, while we have seen 
 protection granted to our fisheries, to our coasting trade, cot- 
 ton growers, and to the highly favoured staple of Virginia, 
 what has been the guardianship of our manufactures? Have 
 they been shielded from the monopoly of overgrown capitals, 
 and from the artificial regulations and bounties of foreign na- 
 tions ? In short, has the manufacturer been encouraged to ap- 
 ply his " labour and his knowledge according to his own 
 choice," by the assurance that they would meet with impar- 
 tial protection and reward ? or has he not rather been check- 
 ed by restraint, and burthened with impediments, which " the 
 public good" did not require f " Again," say they, " according 
 to the natural progress of society in every country, favourably 
 situated for agriculture, the class of manufacturers is the last 
 to spring up ; but it will necessarily do so, as soon as the na- 
 tural or artificial wants of the people, create a demand for 
 their labours." This assertion we deny; we recognise no 
 such progress in civilized society. We believe that in agri- 
 culture, manufactures, and commerce, there is a mutual de- 
 pendence and a mutual progress^, and, that this is a natural 
 relation between them, which is as perfect and as important at 
 the moment of their existence, as it is, at the latest period of 
 their maturity. We shall not consume time to prove, what 
 has been confirmed to the whole world by the counsel of expe- 
 rience. We are willing that the wisdom of the community 
 we address, should decide, whether the policy, for which we 
 contend, is chequered with the adverse interests which our 
 opponents ascribed to it, or whether, it indeed embraces the 
 most fruitful means of individual and national prosperity. 
 
 We will proceed to examine another paragraph of the peti- 
 
16 
 
 tion of the Virginia Agricultural Society — which is a deduc- 
 tion from the foregoing quotations. They observe, " That, 
 either to exclude foreign manufactures or to tax them very 
 heavily, under the notion of improving those of domestic fa- 
 bric, lessens the profits of agriculture and diminishes the pub- 
 lic revenue, either, by augmenting the number of smugglers, or 
 by enabling the domestic manufacturer to pocket that sum, 
 which, otherwise would go into the public treasury under the 
 form of an impost duty, and, at the same time, secures to him 
 the power of practising upon the community the double impo- 
 sition, of deteriorating his goods and selling them at a higher 
 price; because, that competition which constitutes the onlv se- 
 curity for skill, industry, and moderate prices, is either entirely 
 removed, or, so limited as not to be felt." 
 
 Now we believe, that it is not only the interest, but that it 
 is emphatically the duty, of this government, to exclude such 
 articles of foreign manufacture as our own raw materials, 
 and -our industry, can conveniently furnish for our use; and, 
 if we ma} 7 confide in the maxim, that M the capital of every 
 country is the industry of its inhabitants," it is an inevitable 
 inference, that the productive wealth of the country is dimi- 
 nished in a direct ratio to the active industry excluded from 
 our manufactures by the foreign competition which our present 
 revenue system permits. 
 
 It is our interest to adopt those maxims of policy which 
 will be most likely to render the revenue of the nation subser- 
 vient to the honest and ,profitable employment of its people. 
 But what is, in fact, the tendency of our present system of 
 revenue, — is it to secure this great object of individual happi- 
 ness and public wealth ; or, is it not rather calculated to en- 
 ervate the energies of the people, and melt away the capital 
 of the country ? 
 
 When we contemplate the vast portion of physical strength 
 which, for want of manufactures, is now lost to our country 
 by the idleness of poor women and children, and the destitute 
 aged and infirm ; the riches and the auxiliary power with which 
 the God of nature has furnished us in the treasures of the 
 earth, the product of our fields, and the magnificent streams 
 which flow through them ; the mental force which necessity 
 would quicken into action, for the construction of adequate 
 machinery, and the invention of useful and profitable articles 
 of merchandise; — we are astonished that a discrepance of 
 opinion should exist in our country, at this late period, on a 
 subject so intimately connected with its future grandeur and 
 
17 
 
 glory. On this branch of our subject we shall offer no apo^ 
 logy for again calling your attention to the wisdom of the 
 lamented Hamilton. He says, " the employment of machines 
 forms an item of great importance in the general mass of na- 
 tional industry. It shall be taken for granted, and the truth of 
 the position referred to observation, that manufacturing pur- 
 suits are susceptible, in a greater degree, of the application 
 of machinery, than those of agriculture. — If so, all the dif- 
 ference is lost to a community which, instead of manufactur- 
 ing for itself, procures the fabrics requisite to its supply from 
 other countries. The substitution of foreign for domestic 
 manufactures, is a transfer to foreign nations of the advan- 
 tages accruing from the employment of machinery in the 
 modes in which it is capable of being employed with most 
 Utility, and to the greatest extent. 
 
 With regard to the imaginary conflicting interests of agricul- 
 ture and manufactures, we would remark, that we cannot con- 
 ceive, as some have pretended, that a monopoly for supplying 
 the home market with those articles which are necessary for our 
 own citizens, will, in any degree, diminish the profits of 
 agriculture. The raw materials, and the provisions raised 
 by our agriculturists, are, at home or abroad, applied to the 
 wants of the manufacturer; and, as every nation gives a 
 preference to the production of its own soil, the labours of our 
 agriculturists would meet with a ready reward from our own 
 manufactures. Nor would either be subjected to the danger 
 of an unjust monopoly by the other ; but possessing the alter- 
 native of selling the product of his industry either in a domes- 
 tic or foreign market, he would avail himself of the one most 
 conducive to his interest. Again, there is nothing more dis- 
 couraging and prejudicial to the industrious cultivators of the 
 soil, than frequent fluctuatvui of prices, and occasional stag- 
 nation in the demands for the product of his labour; and, 
 will not that policy which shall afford protection to every de- 
 partment of industry in our own country, which shall require 
 the continued and successful operations of the one to give 
 employment and support to the other, be best calculated to 
 secure that steady and uniform current of business which con- 
 fers credit and character on individuals and nations ? That 
 effectual protection of domestic industry would, in the first 
 instance, diminish, in some degree, the public revenue, there 
 is little doubt; but that it would amply compensate for the 
 deficiency by the wealth it would ultimately create, is a truth 
 which defies contradiction. Besides, it would give to govern- 
 
in 
 
 went the additional advantage of drawing a revenue from the 
 consumers who are able to pay, instead of extorting it from a 
 portion of our fellow-citizens whose pockets are already nearly 
 empty. 
 
 Whatever view of this subject we take, we find it equally 
 difficult to reconcile our opinion with the sentiments advanced 
 in the petition to which we have referred. We cannot con- 
 sent to give the advantage in competition to foreigners, and a 
 preference to their labour, rather than to our own ; for fear 
 that villains will become smugglers, and domestic manufacturers 
 defrauders of the public revenue. We believe that the hopes 
 and confidence of a country should repose upon its strength, 
 not upon its weakness. A government which does not stand 
 upon an independent basis may receive our support, but it 
 never can be entitled to our confidence. 
 
 Again, it is contended, that the encouragement of domes- 
 tic manufactures will have a tendency to confer a monopoly 
 on one class of citizens prejudicial to the interest of others ; 
 that it will open a door to dishonest gain by placing the 
 consumer in the power of the manufacturer, whereby he may 
 demand an exorbitant price for his goods. But would not the 
 competition among our own artists to obtain a preference in 
 our own markets effectually counteract or prevent that mono- 
 poly, and in the mean time rapidly improve the texture of 
 their goods ? We are decidedly of opinion that it would ; 
 and, therefore, the regulations which we require are calculat- 
 ed to enlarge the sphere of competition among our manufac- 
 turers by conferring on their efforts the whole patronage of the 
 home market. We would make it the interest of every indi- 
 vidual engaged in manufacturing to make his goods as invit- 
 ing as possible to the purchaser, so that an inattention to their 
 execution or texture would be his loss, not his gain. The 
 evil apprehended, therefore, we conceive to be but imaginary. 
 A rival industry will always exist both at home and abroad, 
 and it generally produces the most salutary effects ; neverthe- 
 less, the wisdom of a government which is vigilant over the 
 rights of all classes of the community, would be able and ready 
 to check, by adequate regulations, any undue advantage 
 which could possibly occur. 
 
 Under such regulations, the moment general industry fills 
 the home market to the extent of the demand, and the maxi- 
 mum of the country's wants is found, all hazard of indivi- 
 dual monopoly ceases, and goods are sold for their lowest 
 value, 
 
19 
 
 In confirmation of this truth we would again call yoiu 
 attention to the official report of General Hamilton. He ob- 
 serves, " though it were true, that the immediate and certain 
 effect of regulations controlling the competition of foreign 
 with domestic fabrics was an increase of price,, it is univer- 
 sally true that the contrary is the ultimate -effect with, every 
 successful manufacture. When a domestic manufacture has 
 attained to perfection, and has engaged in the prosecution of 
 it a competent number of persons, it invariably becomes 
 cheaper. Being free from the heavy charges which attend the 
 importation of foreign commodities, it can be afforded, and 
 accordingly seldom or never fails to be sold, cheaper, in pro- 
 cess of time, than was the foreign article for which it is a sub- 
 stitute. The internal competition which takes place soon does 
 away every thing like monopoly ; and by degrees reduces the 
 price of the article to the minimum of a reasonable profit on the 
 capital employed. This accords with the reason of the thing, 
 and with experience." Hence the following conclusion : " it 
 is the interest of community, with a view to eventual and 
 permanent economy, to encourage the growth of manufac- 
 tures. In a national view, a temporary enhancement of 
 price must always be well compensated by a permanent re- 
 duction of it." 
 
 We have attempted to show the expediency of encouraging 
 domestic manufactures, from the firm conviction that it is a 
 measure fraught with the best interests of our country ; but, 
 whatever may be the views of government, with regard to an 
 increase of manufactures, it can never honestly deny their 
 existing claim. They were called for by the wants of the 
 people in a time of war, when our dependence was sorely 
 felt, and the fortunes of many of our best citizens were staked 
 upon the faith of government, with full confidence, that the 
 patriotism, which on an emergency would hazard its all for 
 the benefit of a common cause, wo«id, in time of peace, be 
 repaid by a corresponding support. But, with disappointed 
 expectations, when those citizens have called on government 
 to foster and encourage their infant institutions, which were 
 thus created for her wants, it has not been enough that her 
 patronage was denied ; it has actually been bestowed on our 
 former enemy, who, with redoubled enmity to our cause, is» 
 now our exulting competitor. 
 
 We shall conclude these remarks, by congratulating our- 
 selves and our country, that, notwithstanding the embarrass- 
 ments under which we labour, we have still encouragement 
 
20 
 
 to proceed. The almost universal interest which the justice 
 and importance of our cause has excited ; the extensive and 
 influential portion of community personally engaged ; and, 
 finally, the ultimate necessity of such a policy, arising out of 
 the nature and progress of a country like ours, all urge us 
 to go on. Nor will we be deterred by odds or opposi- 
 tion ; for though our adversaries, who have predetermined the 
 fate of our exertions, may impede our progress, they cannot 
 prevent our success. Although we ar r low, yet we are not 
 prostrate — though our spirits have been depressed, they re- 
 main unbroken; and while we enjoy the prerogative of re- 
 publican citizens, we are determined to assert our claims to 
 republican privileges. We are not deceiving ourselves — 
 there is an impress on the destiny of this empire, which cannot 
 be mistaken. It is the indelible feature of power, arising 
 from the perpetual and increasing flow of her population. 
 Let the advocates of a disgraceful foreign vassal ige look for- 
 ward but twenty-five years, and behold twenty milhons of 
 freemen in the teeming census of our country — a population 
 nearly equal to that of France, thrice as large as that of 
 Spain, almost double that of England, and four times that of 
 Denmark and Sweden. What a monopoly for any one nation 
 to possess, would be the supply of our wants furnished only 
 by the loom. Should the perspective be extended to double 
 that period, when that population shall be doubled, what an 
 astonishing balance of wealth and power will exist in this 
 western world. — Shall the industry of such a people be solely 
 employed in agriculture, and not a dollar of its superabundant 
 products be received abroad for those wants only to be supplied 
 by the aid of manufactures ? Let us no longer rest our undi- 
 vided affections with this nursling of our pride, it is a blind 
 partiality, which will bring sorrow upon the parent, and ruin 
 upon the favourite child. But if we cherish, with equal care, 
 the legitimate and twin sister, then shall we see them grow 
 prosperously together, till their offspring shall be the pride 
 and happiness of our land.