nd unwholesome workshops; when
they shall be obliged to shut their ears to the bleatings of their
own flocks upon their own hills, and to the voice of the lark that
cheers them at the plough, that they may open them in dust and
smoke and steam to the perpetual whirl of spools and spindles, and
the grating of rasps and saws. I have made these remarks, sir, not
because I perceive any immediate danger of carrying our
manufactures to an extensive height, but for the purpose of
guarding and limiting my opinions, and of checking, perhaps, a
little the high-wrought hopes of some who seem to look to our
present infant establishments for 'more than their nature or their
state can bear.'

"_It is the true policy of government to suffer the different
pursuits of society to take their own course, and not to give
excessive bounties or encouragements to one over another. This,
also, is the true spirit of the Constitution. It has not, in my
opinion, conferred on the government the power of changing the
occupations of the people of different States and sections, and of
forcing them into other employments._ It cannot prohibit commerce
any more than agriculture, nor manufactures any more than commerce.
It owes protection to all."

The sentences in italics constitute a pretty strong and explicit statement
of the _laissez faire_ doctrine, and it will be observed that the tone of
all the extracts is favorable to free trade and hostile to protection and
even to manufactures in a marked degree. We see, also, that Mr. Webster,
with his usual penetration and justice of perception, saw very clearly that
uniformity and steadiness of policy were more essential than even the
policy itself, and in his opinion were most likely to be attained by
refraining from protection as much as possible.

When the tariff of 1816 was under discussion Mr. Webster made no elaborate
speech against it, probably feeling that it was hopeless to attempt to
defeat the measure as a whole, but he devoted himself with almost complete
success to the task of reducing the proposed duties and to securing
modifications of various portions of the bill.

In 1820, when the tariff recommended at the previous session was about to
come before Congress, Mr. Webster was not in public life. He attended,
however, a meeting of merchants and agriculturists, held in Faneuil Hall in
the summ