duty shall be laid upon articles exported from
any state. No preference shall be given, by
any regulation of commerce or revenue, to the
ports of one state over those of another." A
general export duty upon rice would have been
levied substantially on South Carolina. If the
duty had been levied on tobacco, Virginia
would have had to pay it. Where the climate
varied so much and the whole Union was, as it
then was, agricultural, no export duty could
have been borne evenly by all. But as there
were then no manufactures, duties on imports
affected all alike. These were then small, varying
only from five to about seven and a half
percent. The war with this country in eighteen-
'thirteen prevented the import of manufactures.
An extension of manufacturing enterprise within
the states themselves was the result, and in this
the North not only took the lead by virtue of
its climate, coal, free labour, water power, and,
above all, its energetic and laborious spirit of
enterprise, but its lead was so complete as to be
virtually a monopoly. Thus, to the other points
of contrast between North and South, it was
added that one became manufacturing, the other
remained agricultural. After the war manufactures
were poured in from abroad, the young
home trade suffered, protection was then an
undetected fallacy, the very prosperity of English
trade was commonly ascribed to it.

The United States, with the full assent and
aid of those of the South, therefore set up a
moderate protective tariff. Usual results
followed. The protected interests clamoured for
more and more assurance of the comfort of
monopoly; and as political morality also
declined, the moderate protective system decayed
into corrupt political bargains between special
interests, to impose for their own profit heavy taxes
upon other interests. In the year 'twenty-three
a large increase to many existing duties was
proposed for the benefit of the manufacturers.
The South felt then, that it was called on to pay
tribute for the benefit of the North, and
resisted the proposal. It was carried against
them by a peculiar sort of political jobbery that
secured a majority of five in the House of
Representatives and four in the Senate. In
'twenty-eight there was another struggle of the
same sort, in which the State of Pennsylvania
took the lead, and on behalf chiefly of the textile
fabrics of the North, a general bounty was, in
fact, to be paid by the agricultural interest. In
the debate in the House of Representatives,
one of the chief speakers even then said, "If
the union of these states shall ever be severed,
and their liberty subverted, the historian who
records those disasters will have to ascribe them
to measures of this description. I do sincerely
believe that neither this government nor any
free government can exist for a quarter of a
century under such a system of legislation."
For a quarter of a century the system was
persisted in; then shortly came the end that is
before our eyes.

In 'thirty-two, the tariff came again under
revision. Excessive duties had produced surplus
of income; reductions were, therefore, to be
made, and the manufacturing interest strove
that there should be no reduction of the bounties
upon manufactures. The agriculturists
fought then for a fair share of the relief to be
accorded, but without success. In vain had
Mr. Hayes, of South Carolina, exclaimed in
debate, "Remove, I earnestly beseech you, from
among us, this never-failing source of contention.
Dry up at its course this fountain of the
waters of bitterness. It is in your power to do
it this day, by doing equal justice to all. And
be assured that he to whom the country shall be
indebted for this blessing, will be considered as
the second founder of the republic."

The injustice of the North caused the assemblage
of a Convention, called by the people of
South Carolina, which proceeded to declare the
tariff null and void, on the ground that
"Congress had exceeded its just powers under the
constitution, which confers on it no authority to
afford such protection, and had violated the
true meaning and intent of the constitution,
which provides for equality in imposing the
burdens of taxation upon the several States."
Jackson, a Southerner, himself opposed to the
tariff, was then President. While he strongly
condemned the revolt of South Carolina, he
introduced a bill to remove the grievance. This
lay dormant in the house till news arrived that
South Carolina, ready to secede, was arming a
militia, and preparing for extremities. Then
Mr. Clay interposed as a mediator; and a measure
of his, satisfactory to South Carolina, which
provided for a large but gradual reduction of
the duties upon manufactures—a reduction
spread over ten years—was pushed through the
house with unprecedented rapidity, by an
evasion of the rules. At the end of the ten years,
government expenses had so largely increased
that the settlement was repudiated, and from
that day to this, protection has enriched Northern
manufacturers at the expense of the Southern
agriculturists. Disguised often under the name
of revenue, all American tariffs since the year
'sixteen have been protective, and the immense
excess of this protection has been in favour of
the manufacturing interest of the North. It is
true that here and there a Southern interest has
taken advantage on its own behalf of a system
that it was found impossible to overthrow. The
duty on sugar, for example, has been higher
than it would have been but for consideration of
the interests of Louisiana. But the profit of a
few districts bears little or no relation to the
loss of the whole South by a system that
compelled it to pay a heavy fine into the pockets of
the Northern manufacturers as the price of its
equal participation in the privileges of the
constitution. The price is heavier than that.
While the cost is raised of what it buys, the
value of what it sells is lowered, because the
American tariff is a check on the convenient,
and to each side profitable, way of payment, by
exchange of commodities. The South was
sending to this country alone agricultural
produce to the value of thirty millions a year, and