erent state of society, or to infer that what was judged
expedient by them, in their early history, must also be expedient for
us, in this early part of our own. This would be reckoning our age
chronologically, and estimating our advance by our number of years;
when, in truth, we should regard only the state of society, the
knowledge, the skill, the capital, and the enterprise which belong to
our times. We have been transferred from the stock of Europe, in a
comparatively enlightened age, and our civilization and improvement date
as far back as her own. Her original history is also our original
history; and if, since the moment of separation, she has gone ahead of
us in some respects, it may be said, without violating truth, that we
have kept up in others, and, in others again, are ahead ourselves. We
are to legislate, then, with regard to the present actual state of
society; and our own experience shows us, that, commencing manufactures
at the present highly enlightened and emulous moment, we need not resort
to the clumsy helps with which, in less auspicious times, governments
have sought to enable the ingenuity and industry of their people to
hobble along.

The English cotton manufactures began about the commencement of the last
reign. Ours can hardly be said to have commenced with any earnestness,
until the application of the power-loom, in 1814, not more than ten
years ago. Now, Sir, I hardly need again speak of its progress, its
present extent, or its assurance of future enlargement. In some sorts of
fabrics we are already exporters, and the products of our factories are,
at this moment, in the South American markets. We see, then, what _can_
be done without prohibition or extraordinary protection, because we see
what _has_ been done; and I venture to predict, that, in a few years, it
will be thought wonderful that these branches of manufactures, at least,
should have been thought to require additional aid from government.

Mr. Chairman, the best apology for laws of prohibition and laws of
monopoly will be found in that state of society, not only unenlightened
but sluggish, in which they are most generally established. Private
industry, in those days, required strong provocatives, which governments
were seeking to administer by these means. Something was wanted to
actuate and stimulate men, and the prospects of such profits as would,
in our times, excite unbounded competition, would hardly move the sloth
of former