not fair, as they did not vote, and such a rule would have added to the political powers of the whites, merely because men who could not vote were mingled with them. But if they were not counted at all, this seemed unfair, because after all they were persons as well as property. So the compromise was made. The States which had few or no slaves being contented that the States which had many slaves should have more than the share of political power which belonged to their number of voters, because an equal excess of taxation was cast upon them. The reason that bargain was satisfactory to the non-slaveholding States was, that at that time it was believed that the revenue of the country would mainly, if not wholly, arise from direct taxes. This was an enormous mistake. But it would be unreasonable to charge the men of that day with lack of wisdom, because they did not anticipate the growth of our commerce and of our national resources. Congress has, at different times, and in great emergencies, as in war, imposed direct taxes. But it took them off as soon as possible; and nearly all the national revenue has been and is now raised by indirect taxes, and principally customs duties.

In laying these duties the great question has been, is now, and is likely to be for ages to come, Shall these duties be laid for revenue, or for the protection and promotion of domestic manufactures? That the duties may be laid for protection is nowhere expressly enacted in the constitution; but the whole clause respecting duties is this: "to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States." It has been very much disputed as to what is the effect of the last part of this clause. What may be termed a simple and common-sense view of this question would be, that this power to impose taxes is given for the purpose of paying the debts of the nation and also providing for its general welfare.

Instructive evidence as to how it was understood at or very near the time of the adoption of the constitution, may be found in the preamble of the second act passed by Congress, which was enacted in 1789. It runs thus: "Whereas it is necessary for the support of government, for the discharge of the debts of the United States, and the encouragement and protection of manufactures, that duties be laid on goods, wares, and merchandise imported, - Be it enacted," &c. It would seem too late to lay much stress upon the question whether Congress, in laying duties, could pay whatever it deemed a due regard to the encouragement of domestic manufactures. Whether they should do so, and what this due regard would be, must be argued on expediency and equal justice to all the parts and all the interests of the country.

The main arguments of those who object to any special regard to protection, may be said to be these. Manufactures must to a considerable extent be localized; in one region cotton goods will be made; in another manufactures of iron will prevail. Climate, cost and supply of labor, natural facilities of various kinds, will operate; and the necessary effect will be that the people of one region will be the principal manufacturers of one or another kind of goods, while the people of another region are mainly employed in manufacturing some other kind of goods, or in producing food, or articles for export. Hence any laws which operate exclusively in favor of a certain class of manufacturers are partial, and therefore unjust. Moreover, taking the whole country together, such laws necessarily produce a loss instead of a gain. Any interference with the natural course of trade or business of any kind must be mischievous, for the plain reason that this natural course of "let alone" is sure to result in the people of every region, and, indeed, of every country, engaging themselves in the work which, upon the whole, they can do best; and this work will be at once most profitable for them, and most useful to all. If the labor or enterprise of any part of the people is diverted from this natural course, the large gains made by a few will seem to indicate a general prosperity; while, in fact, these gains will be made at an exactly equal loss, divided among a far greater number.

For example, a plough, or so many axes or shovels, made in England, where labor is very cheap, may be bought there, and, if there be no duty, imported and sold here for, we will suppose, five dollars. They cannot be made and sold here, where labor is dear, for less than six dollars. Let a duty of forty per cent be laid, and the English goods, which would cost here five dollars, will now cost forty per cent, or two dollars, more, which will bring them to seven dollars. But the manufacturers can make them and sell them for six dollars. If they sell them for that price, or even for six and a half dollars, the importation must cease, and the manufacturers make great profits, and all the people in the land who use ploughs, axes, or shovels must pay this extra dollar or two, and a part of it goes to make up the profit of the manufacturer. The same reasoning applies to the manufacture of articles of clothing, or other goods of general use, if the importation of cheaper goods is prevented or checked, and dear goods made at home substituted for cheaper goods made abroad.

The answer to all this, made by those who are in favor of protection to domestic industry, is substantially this. The doctrine of free trade and free manufactures might work well for all if all nations practised it. But, in fact, other nations do not. There is not a

country in Christendom that has not laid more or less restriction apon traffic, for the encouragement of its own productions; and we must do the like, in self-defence, if we would not fall behind other countries. Moreover, there is a fallacy in supposing that a duty upon manufactured goods always increases the price of them in proportion. At the beginning it may have much effect in that direction. But soon there comes competition. Ingenuity is taxed to improve machinery and overcome the advantage they have abroad in cheap labor; and hence it is that all our manufacturing machines and processes are in a condition of continual improvement. Large amounts of capital are thrown into the business, so as to secure the advantage of buying materials when and where they are cheapest, and of making them up at the least possible cost. The effect of all this is, that prices, instead of being advanced, are, it is said, lessened, and manufactured goods of general necessity and use are bought in this country for less than they cost before duties were laid on them. Not only so, but we are able to export largely at a fair profit; and what proves that we have taken our place as a manufacturing nation, and can manufacture our goods as cheaply as other nations, is, that we send our manufactures, especially of cotton and iron, to foreign markets, and can sell these goods for a less price than even English goods of the same quality are sold for. Moreover, immense amounts of labor are employed, at good wages; and those who are thus withdrawn from the general labor market make its value greater everywhere, and the whole labor of the country is better paid.

Most of all, and as the greatest advantage of all, an immense home market is opened for home produce. If the great army of workers now employed in manufactures were added to those now employed in agriculture, there would be a great over-production of farm and field produce, and the glut in the home market would, on the one hand, lessen the production of meat and bread, and, on the other hand, would send the surplus abroad at low prices; that is to say, the loss of our home market would make farming far less profitable, and would arrest the rapid growth of our interior. Because it is the protection heretofore given to manufacturing industry that has caused the universal prosperity of the country, by supplying all who produce food with clothing and other necessaries at fair prices, while it secures to them fair prices for the food they produce.

Such are the arguments on the one side and the other. Perhaps there is now a very general assent to what may be regarded as a fair compromise between these extremes. It is, that all duties on imported goods should be laid, in the first place, for revenue, and should never be greater than the revenue requires. But, in the second place, they should be adjusted (so far as revenue purposes

permit) in such a way as to give the greatest encouragement and assistance to domestic industries, the great difficulty still being, and likely to be hereafter, in making this adjustment; the free-trade party wishing it made so as to obstruct commerce in favor of home manufacture as little as possible, and the protectionists asking that enough regard should be paid to domestic manufacture to prevent the destruction of existing industries, and to continue in force a system which has, in their judgment, immensely promoted our national prosperity.

We have seen, by a reference to the second act which Congress ever passed, that at the beginning of our government there was a disposition to encourage domestic manufactures. It may be said that this has, on the whole, prevailed to the present day, although with much fluctuation; the principles of free trade being at one time prevalent, and then those of protection coming into the ascendant. As the subject is of great importance and of universal interest, we give our readers a brief statement, gathered from the latest sources of information, of the present condition of our principal industries:

IRON. The greatest industry of all is that of iron, which has reached immense proportions, especially in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Michigan. There are iron establishments in every State of the Union, with the solitary exception of Florida, and in every territory except Utah. About $200,000,000 of capital are employed, and the products reach $325,000,000. The manufacture of iron gives work to 140,000 hands. Pennsylvania is altogether at the head in this industry, her factories numbering very nearly 1,000, and her products being not far from $122,000,000. But the most wonderful feature of iron manufacture is its spread westward. Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio have between them about 860 establishments; while in the Far West-in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and even in California and Nevada- they are becoming numerous and important. The progress of iron manufacture during the past twenty years may be estimated by the fact that while in 1870 the factories numbered 3,700, and had a capital of $200,000,000, in 1850 there were only 2,364, with a capital of about $16,000,000.

COTTON GOODS. Of cotton factories there are 819, distributed through a large number of States, but mainly in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island (which small State has no less than 140), with an aggregate capital of $133,000,000, a force of 130,000 hands, and products of the value of $168,000,000 yearly. These are exclusive of manufactories of cotton batting and wadding, of which there are 27, with a capital of $276,000, and of cotton thread, twine, and yarns, of which there are 123, with a capital of $7,400,000, and an annual product of $8,700,000. It is worthy of remark that within the past twenty years cotton mills have spread with considerable rapidity through the South, and are to be found not only in

the upper tier of those States, - North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, but even in Alabama, where there are ten; Georgia, where there are twentyfive; Louisiana, and Texas. It is highly probable that cotton manufactures are destined to multiply in the South, on the very field where the raw material is grown, -a promise which opens new prospects of prosperity for that section, and of cheaper goods for the whole country.

WOOLLEN GOODS. There are in this country nearly 2,000 woollen factories, principally in the States of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Connecticut, with an aggregate capital of nearly $100,000,000, employing 77,000 hands, and producing $150,000,000 worth of goods. These factories do not include wool-carding and cloth-dressing establishments, of which there are about 1,000.

WORSTED GOODS. - This industry has almost wholly grown up within the past thirteen years. In 1860 there were but three worsted factories in the country, two of which were in Massachusetts, and one in New Hampshire; in 1870 there were over one hundred, Pennsylvania having thirty. one, Rhode Island eleven, and Massachusetts thirty-five; and the aggregate capital employed being some $10,000,000, giving a product of more than $22,000,000 annually.

CARPETS. In the manufacture of carpets there are 250 factories, with $13,000,000 of capital, and $22,000,000 of annual production, Pennsylvania almost monopolizing this industry, as she has nearly 200 of these factories, and produces about $10,000,000 annually.

SILK GOODS. There are 90 silk factories in the United States, employing about 7,000 hands, with a capital of $6,500,000, and an annual product of more than $12,000,000. This includes silk goods, ribbons, machine and spool silk, and silk thread. New Jersey is the leading State in this industry, having thirty factories to twenty-three in Connecticut, fourteen in New York, and ten in Pennsylvania.

CUTLERY GOODS. As yet there are only about 182 cutlery establishments, with an aggregate capital of $4,000,000, and an annual production of $5,500,000. But this industry has perceptibly grown, and is still growing, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, being the leading States in this enterprise. There are but four cutlery establishments in the South, three of which are in Missouri, and one in Louisiana.

BOOTS AND SHOES. This manufacture is one of the very largest and most important in the country, there being more than 3,000 factories, of which more than 1,000 are centred in Massachusetts, the next highest State being New York, with something over 300 In this manufacture about $10,000,000 of capital are employed, with a product of not far from $150,000,000. The West is looking up in this industry, for there is a large number of factories in successful operation in Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. At least 100,000 hands are employed in the making of boots and shoes.