ring this administration, and leaving due, on the 1st of January, 1829, $58,362,136. Whilst these sums were devoted to increasing the resources, and improving the condition of the country, and in discharging its pecuniary obligations; those claims which were derived, from what are termed the imperfect obligations of gratitude and humanity, were not forgotten.

More than five millions of dollars were appropriated to solace the declining years of the surviving of ficers of the revolution; and a million and a half expended in extinguishing the Indian title, and defraying the expense of the removal, beyond the Mississippi, of such tribes as were unqualified for a residence near civilized communities; and in promoting the civilization of those who, relying on the faith of the United States, preferred to remain on the lands which were the abodes of their fathers.

In the condition which we have described, in peace with all the world, with an increasing revenue, and with a surplus of $5,125,638 in the public treasury, the adminis. tration of the government of the United States was surrendered by Mr. Adams, who became a private citizen, to Gen. Jackson, his suc. cessor. We cannot characterize the course, the policy, and the fate

of his administration, better than by an extract from Edmund Burke's description of the administration of Lord Chatham-"A great and cele. brated name, it may be truly called,

"Clarum et venerabile nomen Gentibus, et multum nostræ quod proderat urbi."

"The venerable age of this great man, his merited rank, his superior qualities, his eminent services, the vast space he fills in the eye of mankind; and, more than all the rest, his fall from power, which, like death, canonizes and sanctifies a great character, will not suffer me to censure any part of his conduct. I am afraid to flatter him; I am sure I am not disposed to blame him. Let those who have betrayed him by their adulation, insult him with their malevolence. But what I do not presume to censure, I may have leave to lament. For a wise man, he seemed to me, at that time, to be governed too much by general maxims.

"In consequence of having put so much the larger part of his opposers into power, his own principles could not have any effect or influence in the conduct of affairs.

"When he had executed his plan, he had not an inch of ground to stand upon. When he had accomplished his scheme of adminis. tration, he was no longer a minis. ter."

AMONG the most prominent measures which engaged the attention of the 20th Congress, was that for the alteration of the tariff. The loss of the woollens bill, at the close of the last congress, had produced much excitement in the northern and western states; and measures had been taken, to urge the subject upon the favourable consideration of that body when it re-assembled. The general reasons, briefly stated in the last volume in favour of the protection of domestic manufactures, had lost none of their force in the public mind; and other reasons, derived from the operation of the revenue systems of foreign countries, upon our trade, gave additional validity to those topics which were usually urged in favour of manufactures at home.

The illiberal commercial system of Great Britain, excluded from her ports the staple productions of the northern and western states; and only the produce of the

south was admitted in return for the admission of all British manufactures, into the ports of the United States. It was similar in principle, though not in degree, to a commercial system, which should exclude all the productions of the United States, except the sugar of Louisiana, from British ports, while her manufactures were admitted without restraint into this country.

A system so partial and oppres sive in its operation upon the interests of all the grain-growing states, had long called for the interposition of the American government. The inhabitants of those states had been compelled, by the inadequate returns which agricultural pursuits afforded, to turn their attention to other employments. Commerce was found to be less profitable, after the peace in Europe augmented competition in the carrying trade; and manufactures were the only resource left for the surplus capital and unemployed labour of the country.

By the operation of these circumstances, a strong feeling was produced in favour of an augmenta. tion of the tariff on British manufactures among two classes of citizens; and its policy defended on two distinct grounds, although it had in view the same ultimate end. These were, to carry out the principles of reciprocity which pervaded the commercial system of the United States, and to tax the admission of the British staple manufactures, in some proportion to the duty imposed on the importation of the great staples of the United States, into British possessions; and the other, which was rather a consequence than an end, to create employment for American capital and labour, and at the same time to build up the manufactures of the country, and to naturalize the arts of Europe on the American conti

nent.

This was, indeed, the inevitable consequence; and any augmentation of the tariff must necessarily lead to such a result, so long as the nation was bound by treaty, from making any distinction between the productions of England and those of any other country. These conventional stipulations compelled congress to place British manufactures on the same footing with those of all other nations; and by preventing a strict ap. plication of the principles of reciprocity, induced that body, in increas.

ing the tariff, to keep in view the ability of the country to supply its wants, and to sustain permanently the manufacture, for whose protection the duty was to be imposed. The duty to be laid would necessarily enhance the price of the article, until the encouragement afforded by high profits had brought capital into that branch of business, and reduced the price, by domestic competition, to the lowest rate of profit.

The manufacture then being established, would either sub'sist by its own power of sustaining itself, even if the protecting duty should be taken off; or if it could not compete with the foreign manufacture, the capital invested in the business would prevent any diminution of the duty, except some extraordinary change in the commercial policy of the country should justify the sacrifice of so much capital. The policy, therefore, must prove permanent; and such laws could not, like other retaliatory commercial regulations, be removed, when they had produced a melioration of the prohibitory laws of other nations. The laws were, however, designed to regu. late commerce; and, although such considerations, and the collateral consequences of adopting such a policy, compelled congress to take into view its effects upon the domestic industry of the country: it was strictly retaliatory in its character, and was one of those pow

ers originally vested in the federal government, for the purpose of protecting American trade from the hostile legislation of the colo. nial powers of Europe. The great. est portion of the commerce of the United States being with Great Britain, the policy chiefly affected her manufactures; and the course of trade with that power formed the data upon which its details were established.

The annual importations from Great Britain amount to about $28,000,000, of which, between seven and eight millions consist of cotton, and a like amount in wool. len goods; and between three and four millions of iron, steel, and hardware.

The productions of the United States, exported in exchange for this amount, consist almost solely of the produce of the planting states; the cotton, rice, and tobacco alone amounting, according to the custom house returns, to $28,000,000 an. nually, of which, about $24,000,000 are sent to Great Britain. The produce of the grain-growing states being excluded from Great Britain, the exchange is confined to the produce of the planting states, for British manufactures; of which, about four fifths are consumed by the inhabitants of the other states. The equilibrium of trade is restored by the consumption, at the south, of northern produce and manufac. tures; so that as between the dif.

ferent portions of this country no difficulty exists; but with Great Britain an inequality arises, from the trade being forced by her reve. nue laws, from its natural course of a direct exchange of grain and lumber for cotton and woollen ma. nufactures, to a circuitous route; compelling the farmers of the east. ern and western states to carry their produce to a disadvantageous market, in exchange for what they consume. American capital and industry are thus forced from their natural employments, by foreign commercial regulations; and the unfavourable operation of this system upon the northern and western states, produced a general feeling in favour of retaliatory measures ; and congress was called upon by the inhabitants of those states, to augment the duties on the staple manufactures of Great Britain, in order to bring home to her some of the evils, which her monopolizing policy was inflicting upon other countries. This feeling, which was the origin of the tariff policy, was manifested more strongly after the pacification of Europe. Previous to that event, impatience had sometimes been manifested, at the partial character and oppressive effect of the British corn laws upon American commerce; and various attempts were made to modify our revenue system, with the view of retaliating upon British manufac tures.

Some principles of this

character were engrafted in the first revenue law passed by the federal government; and the demand for American productions, created by the convulsions in Eu. rope, alone prevented the vigo rous prosecution of the policy. In 1816, another step was taken, and increased duties were laid upon many foreign manufactures. This law was enacted rather to prevent anticipated evils, than to remedy any actually felt. It was not, therefore, so much the result of public opinion, as an exertion of foresight on the part of congress. A few years of experience, under the uninterrupted operation of the commercial regulations of the two countries, demonstrated that ine. qualities still existed, and produced the conviction that a further modification of our revenue laws was necessary, for the protection of our trade, and to insure its admission into the British market. The people themselves took the lead, and gave the impulse to con. gress. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1822. In 1824, the attempt succeeded, and various augmentations in the imposts were made, with the view of protecting American manufactures, and to secure to them the domestic market.

On some articles of foreign manufacture, and more especially, on the great British staple of cotton cloths, duties were imposed almost prohibitory, except on those of the

finer kind; and the experience of a few years, established our ability to supply ourselves with manufactured cottons, upon better terms than they could be procured from England.

On woollen manufactures, the duty imposed in 1824 proved inadequate for protection; and the languishing state of that manufacture indicated the ruin of those engaged in it, without further legis. lative encouragement. This encouragement was also asked, on the ground, that the British Parliament, contemporaneously with the passage of the law of 1824, and with the view of defeating it, modified its revenue laws for the purpose of placing the British woollen manufacturer, upon a better footing than he was before. As the law of 1824 was intended to give to the American, a comparative advantage over the British manufacturer; there was an obvious propriety, provided the policy was correct, in adopting further measures counteracting the British acts, passed with the view of defeating that object. Upon these grounds, and other con siderations of a general nature, which were set forth in the introduction to the tariff discussion in the last year's Register, application was made to the 19th congress, for an increase of duties on imported woollens. After a long, and animated discussion, the bill received the sanction of the house, 106 to