CHAPTER XII.

Letter respecting the tariff. - Letter respecting railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific. Public spirit. - Colonel Pratt a candidate for governor. Declines the honor. - Political parties in New York.- Conclusion.- Review of the life of Colonel Pratt as a mechanic, as a business man, as a banker, as a man- as a writer and speaker, as a statistician, as a legislator.Anecdotes.

THE tariff question was warmly discussed in Congress during the year 1846, which led to the adoption of the system now in force, that has been found to work so well, both in peace and in war, furnishing an ample revenue, and not pressing too hard on any of the interests of the country. While the House of Representatives was engaged in the discussion, Colonel Pratt visited Washington, and was addressed by several gentlemen, of the Committee of Ways and Means, who desired to know his opinions on the policy of continuing the then high rates of duty on hides and leather, and on articles into the manufacture of which leather entered, together with any facts and suggestions which he might think proper to offer.

Colonel Pratt has often been known to say, that he never looked into the almanac to ascertain the character of the weather, nor into tariff laws to learn how to regulate his business. His rules were, he said, to buy as

cheap as he could, to manufacture as cheaply and as quickly as possible, and to forward his goods promptly to the market, selling them for the highest prices he could get, and always keeping his customers good-natured. In this way, he said, he had carried on business very satisfactorily for twenty years, each year affording him a fair profit; and with that he was content. The opinion of such a man on the question then under consideration. would have much weight, and the gentlemen of the committee acted wisely in opening the correspondence with him which may be found in another part of this volume.

In respect to his letter, it may be asserted, with much truth, that it would be difficult to find better sense, expressed in better language, in anything which has been published, during the whole controversy on the relative merits of protection and free trade.

Had the views which he, through life, adopted for himself, been entertained by others in business matters, how different would have been their fortunes! It is clearly obvious that men should not depend upon the action of government to regulate their business; for, if government can raise them, through the favor it shall show to a certain course of policy, to the zenith of prosperity, a change in that policy must depress them to the very nadir of ruin. The varium et mutabile of the poet is but too applicable to governmental action; and that, too, without those who hold the reins of government being the subjects of censure. The ship of state, even in countries that are far less free than our own, must be

directed in accordance with the popular breeze. The very prosperity that follows from government favors raises up enemies; and that which was to have been the source of permanent wealth often is made the means of destruction. Our manufacturers but too closely resemble those court favorites, who used occasionally to appear when royalty was a vital thing, and whose destruction was the necessary consequence of their prosperity. There is, indeed, nothing like the sun of prosperity for developing poisonous qualities in soils that apparently teem with flowers.

The deep interest which Colonel Pratt felt in the construction of a railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific led him to address the people of the United States on the subject. The address was published in the National Intelligencer, Washington, Aug. 28, 1847.*

No one had a better right than Colonel Pratt to speak to his fellow-citizens on this subject. Not only had he mastered all the details connected with it, but he saw clearly what would be the result of the undertaking, if it were carried out to completion. He had, too, been the first man to bring the subject before the national legislature. The address is exceedingly interesting and instructive. It was extensively published, and attracted much attention both here and in Europe.†

* See second part of this volume.

In February, 1847, Colonel Pratt was invited to take stock in the Hudson River Railroad Company. The Journal of Commerce publishes his reply, which authorized a subscription of ten thousand dollars. He closes in his brief,