RESTRICTIVE SYSTEM SUSPENDED. 207 XXIII. perhaps, of seeming to play into the hands of the Fed- CHAPTER eralists the amendment of the House and the substitute of the Senate were both dropped, and the bill was 1810. passed as originally introduced. With this, as it proved, unlucky act, terminated a session which the Federalists and the more moderate Republicans applauded, rather too precipitately, as hav ing brought to an end the wretched system of commer cial regulations; leaving commerce, without jeoparding the peace of the country, to take care of itself. On the other hand, the Aurora, and the violent party with which, at this time, the Smiths seemed to co-operate, loudly complained that Congress had tamely abandoned the cause of the country, and had shrunk from its duty of compelling the belligerents to respect our neutral rights. Towards the end of the session, a very zealous though unsuccessful effort had been made by Randolph to cut down the army and navy, the expenses of which, during the past year, had reached the sum of $5,773,000 (within $200,000 of the highest military expenditure of John Adams's time), and more than was at all convenient in the present state of the revenue. While the merchants were groaning under the embargo, the gov ernment, during the year 1808, had collected from outstanding bonds, in addition to a balance of ten millions in the treasury, upward of seventeen millions of dollars, the highest amount of receipts yet realized in any one year. But the income of 1809 had sunk to $7,773,000, leaving a balance on hand, at the commencement of the current year, of less than four millions. Notwithstanding the great relief afforded to the revenue by the Erskine arrangement, the income for 1810 was not expected much to exceed eight millions; and to meet the ex XXIII. CHAPTER penses of the government, including such portions of the public debt as would fall due, a new loan was au1810. thorized to the amount of that debt. The idea of internal improvements, originally suggested by Jefferson as a means of employing the surplus revenue, had already led to a movement towards obtaining the aid of the United States in the construction of a canal to connect Delaware Bay with the Chesapeake. Undiscouraged by the present emptiness of the treasury, a general proposition was now brought forward by Pope, in the Senate, for subscriptions by the United States to the amount of one-half of the stock of any companies that might be formed to construct canals from Boston to Narraganset Bay; from New York to the Delaware; from the Delaware to the Chesapeake; from the Chesapeake to Albemarle Sound; from the Hudson to Lakes Champlain, Ontario, and Erie; round the Falls of Niagara; from Lake Erie to the Ohio; round the Falls of the Ohio; from the Appomatox to the Roanoke; and from the Tennessee to the Tombigbee; also like subscriptions to all companies incorporated by the states for building turnpike roads along the great mail route from Maine to Georgia, or from the highest navigable waters of the Atlantic to the nearest Western waters; and generally to the stock of all companies which might be approved by Congress, for digging canals, clearing rivers, and opening turnpike roads. After some discussion, and the increase, on Smith's motion, of the national subscription from one-half to two-thirds, the bill was postponed to the next session. A very similar scheme was introduced into the House, and supported in an elaborate speech by Peter B. Porter, of Western New York. Nothing, however, was done beyond appropriating an additional $60,000 for the Cumberland Road. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-MANUFACTURES. 209 XXIII. Simultaneously with these movements in Congress, CHAPTER the Legislature of New York organized a commission, of which Gouverneur Morris, De Witt Clinton, and 1810. Porter were members-first movement toward the Erie March 13. and Champlain canals to examine and report upon a route for inland navigation from the Hudson to Lakes Erie and Ontario, and on the condition and prospects of a company long since chartered for an improved water carriage, by way of the Mohawk River and Lake Oneida, between the Hudson and Lake Ontario, but for which as yet little had been done. Gallatin's report on manufactures, presented towards the end of the session, estimated the total annual prod- April 17. act at $120,000,000, including, it would seem, the value of the raw material. The domestic product of furniture and cabinet-ware, carriages, shoes and other manufactures of leather, coarse earthen-ware, soap, tallow, and spermaceti candles, whale, spermaceti, and linseed oils, snuff, chocolate, mustard, and refined sugar, exceeded the demand, as was proved by the export of a certain surplus. The same was the case with cut nails, and cards for cotton and wool-articles manufac tured by the aid of ingenious American machines. The domestic product of hats, whether of felt, fur, or straw, of straw bonnets, printing and writing paper and paperhangings, types, books, salt, cordage, iron, steel, and the coarser ironmongery, anchors, agricultural tools, cannon, fire-arms, steam-engines, gunpowder, windowglass, spirituous and malt liquors, bells, copper vessels, shot, white and red lead, tin, japanned and plated ware, jewelry, and clocks, went far toward supplying the domestic demand. The same was true, though to a less degree, of cotton, woolen, and linen goods, the manufacture of which, stationary almost since the adoption XXIII. CHAPTER of the Constitution, had, since the late commercial restrictions, received a very decided impetus. Previous 1810. to the embargo, there were in the United States but fifteen cotton mills, with eight thousand spindles. By the end of 1809, eighty-seven mills had been built, of which sixty-two were in operation, forty-eight by water and fourteen by horse-power, working thirty-one thousand spindles; and many more were in process of erection. Their products were bed-tickings, at from ninety to fiftyfive cents per yard, stripes and checks at from forty to thirty cents, ginghams at from fifty to forty cents, shirtings and sheetings at from seventy-five to thirty-five cents, and counterpanes at eight dollars each-immense prices compared with those of the present time. There were also in operation many carding machines for wool, and fulling mills for finishing woolen cloths; but the spinning and weaving of wool was almost entirely a household manufacture, as was the case also with linen. Some attempts had been made at printing calicoes, but as yet with little success. The present imperfect state of information-which it was attempted to remedy by providing in the New Census Act for returns upon the subject, the first public attempt at collecting statistics-was urged by Gallatin as an excuse for not recommending any specific plan of encouragement such as the House had called for He mentioned, however, as obvious means, bounties; increased duties on manufactures imported; and loans by government to manufacturers. It was this latter idea which he seemed chiefly to favor; and he went so far as to suggest that, without material risk of loss, from five to twenty millions might be thus advanced in stocks at a low rate of interest, much on the old loan-office plan of colonial times. But to Congress the BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. 211 XXIII. idea of protective duties was much more agreeable; CHAPTER and Henry Clay, who had again taken a seat in the Senate for the fragment of an unexpired term, warmly 1810. advocated that policy, urged, also, in several petitions, and zealously supported in the House by Lyon and others. This policy met, however, with warm opposition, on the ground that to adopt it would be to tax the agriculturists of the South for the benefit of the Northern manufacturers; and all attempts failed at an increase of duties, though something of the sort had been recommended by Gallatin as a means of bringing up the revenue to a level with the expenditure. An application to the last Congress by the Bank of the United States for a renewal of its charter, had drawn out from Gallatin, to whom it had been referred, a favorable report; but too late for any action. That report had insisted on the great accommodation of the bank to the government in the collection, safekeeping, transfer, and disbursement of the public funds, and in the obtaining of temporary loans-conveniences not to be expected, at least to the same extent, from merely local banks. Gallatin proposed, however, greatly to modify the existing charter. He suggested a capital of thirty millions, fifteen to be subscribed by such States as might desire it; a branch to be established in each State; a certain number of the directors of the parent bank to be appointed by the general government, and a like number of the directors of each branch by the State in which it did business; a bonus to be paid for the charter; interest to be paid on all public deposits exceeding three millions in amount; and the bank to be required to lend the government, at six per cent., an amount equal to three-fifths of its capital. A bill, founded on this report, was introduced into |