to occur, under the practice of this school, in finding facts in abundance for their justification. It would afford many readers great satisfaction with regard to the personal integrity and character for veracity of its professors, if they would be pleased to furnish the public with an indication of the kind of facts intended, in order to avoid all imputations of wilful deception. In the reply before us, we could easily point out a multitude of false facts, but our limits will not allow us to elucidate them in the manner required to show the style of manufacture. We take a single instance which we have selected from a mass of the same kind with which Mr. Carey usually embellishes his productions, not on account of its importance, but from the insight to be derived from it with regard to the elaborate process by which a false fact is got up, and the plausible and imposing manner in which it is maintained. In our remarks upon the credit system of England we undertook to show that its enormous political corruption had led to the general impoverishment of the people. While the few had been enriched and aggrandized, we stated that the many, that is, the laboring classes," are now reduced to a condition far more deplorable than the serfs of Poland and Russia, since the general diffusion of knowledge only serves to render the former sensible of their entanglement in the political spider's web wound about them by the credit system, and to convince them that nothing short of revolution can extricate them, by breaking at once these artificial restraints upon their means of comfort." This statement Mr. Carey does not venture to deny, since it is amply established by Mr. Marshall, an authority of so much reputation on these subjects, that all reference to his works is most discreetly avoided by Mr. Carey. He, however, mutilates the forgoing extract in his usual mode, and adds the following, by way of proving its inaccuracy: "We have before us a report from the commissioners on the revisal of the poorlaws, in which we find answers from 856 parishes to the question, 'what might be earned by a laborer, his wife, and five children, aged 14, 11, 8, and 5 years?' 856 parishes give for the man an average of wife and children £27 17s. 10d. 13 19 10 £41 17 8 being equal to $201 04 for the support of an agricultural laborer and his family. This sum does not yield him the same comforts that could be obtained with a similar amount in this country, because food is much dearer; but on the other hand, clothing and house-rent much cheaper. A careful examination of the condition ot the laborers of England and of the United States would satisfy the reader that the difference in the reward of their services does not exceed 15 per cent., yet it suits the purposes of the reviewer to inform us of their degraded condition!" Now, this interesting fact, showing that there is but 15 per cent. difference in the actual means of comfort and independence between the laboring classes in England and those of this country, has been ostensibly extracted, parish by parish, from the voluminous reports of the Poor Law Commissioners. So accurately and fairly has this been performed, that the results are given to a single penny. But what is the true fact? Why that there are ten thousand parishesand among them a number greater than the aggregate from which Mr. Carey has derived his fact, where the estates of great proprietors include a whole parish. A wealthy individual, who employs the whole laboring population of a parish, frequently gratifies his vanity, or his beneficence, by great liberality to his immediate dependants. Other parishes comprehend or are in the neighbourhood of large and flourishing towns. The rate of remuneration, paid in such parishes is the falsest criterion that could be devised, as to the rate of wages paid in the 9,200 or 9,400 which are entirely unnoticed. The truth as to 600 or 800 parishes becomes palpable falsehood, when taken as evidence of the condition of the whole. We decline to follow Mr. Carey's example, in undertaking the labor of showing, from the returns of the parishes, which he has so carefully omitted, the true average wages of the laboring classes. Generally it does not exceed from six to eight shillings a week, taking the families of agricultural laborers, who are by far the most numerous. As to their degraded condition, we feel reluctant at placing before our readers a piece of evidence of the highest character, from the same reports, which the suggestion that their condition is very nearly as elevated as that of the bulk of our own citizens, induces us to bring forward, not only to rebut his statement on that point, but to enable our readers to perceive, what is apparent to every one who reads his performance, the low estimate he has formed both of the understandings and morals of the American people. We take the following, verbatim, from the report of John W. Cowell, Esq., a gentleman who has been for two years past in this country, as Agent for the Bank of England, and who is favorably known here for his intelligence, integrity, and ability. He says "It may almost be affirmed that the virtue of female chastity does not exist among the lower orders of England, except to a certain extent among domestic female servants, who know that they hold their situations by that tenure, and are more pru dent in consequence. Among the residue, all evidence goes to prove that it is a nonentity. A daughter grows up-she learns what her mother was-she sees what her sisters and neighbours are-finds that nobody thinks the worse of them, and that nothing is expected of herself, and that there is a short road to marriage or a maintenance." Did this appalling picture of the moral condition of the bulk of the English nation, meet the eye of Mr. Carey, in his investigation into the Poor Law Reports, and did it convey to his mind no idea of degradation? If such be the condition of the purer sex, to what degree of demoralization must not the other sex have reached! Such are the inevitable results of that terrible system which is always fatal to all the elevating sentiments of the heart, and which has destroyed public spirit, as well as private morality, in all communities where it has gained the ascendency. Those American citizens who estimate purity of conduct. and the decencies of social life, at their proper value, must judge whether they are willing to place their posterity in the condition of the peop.e of England, whether degraded or not. But for the corrupt facilities arising from the introduction of the paper system, explained in our former article, the public debt of Great Britain, which has brought her laboring classes into this situation, could never have reached onetenth of its present amount. Those States of the Union which are heedlessly incurring enormous masses of debt, for the gratification of the cupidity of speculators, to support which the whole community will hereafter be compelled to bear immense burdens of taxation, to be paid to its present holders, at home or abroad, will do well to meditate upon the present condition of England. Notwithstanding the large army employed to keep its laboring population in subjection to the laws, disturbances of the public peace, and destruction of property by wanton burnings, are affairs of frequent occurrence, upon an extensive and organized scale. The established order of society is in constant jeopardy, from the wild and ungovernable passions of the people, driven to desperation by the contemplation of their own necessities, contrasted with the luxurious affluence of the few who enjoy the fruits of their labors Before the credit system is allowed to fix itself deeper upon the vitals of our political bodies, let its advocates well consider the consequences of their rash cupidity. The apprehensions with these consequences must excite in every enlightened mind, are by no means alleviated by the systematic prostitution of the language of economical science, to the designs of a few gamblers and speculators, for the purpose of facilitating the execution of their unwearied intrigues against the permanent welfare of the community. No well-informed person can read Mr. Carey's publications, without constantly discovering statements which create alternate astonishment and dismay. Indeed he appears to be not altogether free from these emotions himself when he happens to find any of his opinions out of his own writings. His reply contains the most extraordinary specimen of complaint on the part of any author that was ever heard of -which strikingly illustrates the complacency with which a mass of absurdities may be regarded by minds of a certain texture, while the individual instances which form this mass are each too revolting to be received. In our former Article we quoted a passage from his publication, precisely as it was there found, even to the words in italics. Its glaring absurdity was so tranparent, that we expressly stated that we should leave its meaning to be guessed by our readers—it was the remarkable passage where Mr. Carey A emhpatically affirns, that prices would rise by the diminution of currency. Now he complains-not that we have misquoted him-not that we have suppressed a syllable necessary to the understanding of his statement, for we actually gave the whole passage—not that we have made comments calculated to mislead the reader as to its true interpretation--but that the reviewer desires to have his readers believe that it is asserted that prices always rise in proportion to the scarcity of currency." Having fairly left our readers to guess for themselves, we must be permitted to say that we conceive ourselves to be treated with great harshness, in thus having our secret desires unceremoniously dragged forth to the gaze of the world! This strange assault upon the signification of a fair and accurate quotation, from his own work, is perfectly in character with his other complaints of our quotations. There are some half a dozen, and in every instance an explanation quite as conclusive might be made, did our time and space permit us to follow up such small game. We particularly regret that we are unable to elucidate the details given by Mr. Carey, as to the condition of France, for the purpose of invalidating the force of our statements, which he has not undertaken to contradict. A counterpart of the explanation of the degraded condition of England might be easily made on that subject. The preposterous libel upon the honesty and integrity of the whole manufacturing and mercantile men in France, is now charged by Mr. Carey upon M. Chevalier, who adduces in its support, according to the reply, "the captain of the French discoveryship Favorite." What a remarkable discovery-ship! The system of the New England Banks is again the subject of unmeasured approbation in the reply, but no allusion is made to the explanation of the process by which they were compelled to restrict their issues to their means of redemption, which was given at length in our former Article. To this process these banks have entirely owed, during the last fifteen years, their usefulness, and the confidence of the community. This important suppression was the foundation of a mass of false facts, and equally false inferences, in Mr. Carey's former publication, as we abundantly demonstrated from the authority of the reports made to the Legislature of Massachusetts last winter. The repetition of these facts and inferences in Mr. Carey's formal reply, without the slightest regard to the conclusive refutation furnished in the Article to which the reply is directed, indicates a persevering determination at deception, which appears extraordinary in any individual, of whatever standing in society, who undertakes to give information to the public upon questions deeply affecting its highest interests. As we have never been initiated into this marvellous distinction made between true and false facts, we take the earliest opportunity to correct an oversight which occurred in our former Article, and which escaped notice until after the Number had been published. We had introduced, at the commencement of our remarks upon the failures of the banks of New England, on 226th page of the volume, a qualification, extending the period to which we referred in describing the extent and consequences of these failures, to the period of thirty years, instead of the twenty-five carefully adopted by Mr. Carey. The omission of the line containing this qualification affected the precise accuracy of our statement-since these five additional years were intended to include the tremendous crash which occurred among the banks in every section of New England in 1808, 1809, and 1810, as well as the explosions. which happened in 1837 and 1838. The disasters of the former period resulting from the false confidence and the over-banking which had previously existed, brought a torrent of abuse upon the government at that time, quite equal to any thing to be found in either of Mr. Carey's publications. The banks in New England were almost wholly under the control of Federal politicians. The disturbed condition of our relations with the belligerent powers of Europe, and the measures adopted by our government for the protection of our neutrality, enabled these politicians, by their control over the paper currency, and consequently over the subsistence and industry of the people, to excite great public discontent. So alarming were the distress and dissatisfaction which they succeeded in fomenting throughout New England, that John Quincy Adams, then a leader of the Federal party, and a member of the Senate of the United States from Massachusetts, thought proper to inform Pres!dent Jefferson, that the Federal party had entered into a treasonable arrangement with the British Authorities in Canada, for the separation of the States, and the creation of a Northern confederacy. About the same time Judge Story succeeded in so effectually alarming the Democratic members of Congress, by his confident statements that civil war would inevitably break out in New England, unless the restrictive policy adopted by the government for the security of our commerce was rescinded, that this great and salutary measure was abandoned at the point of time when it has since become well known that the British government had felt themselves compelled, by the privations imposed upon her colonies, to accede to our just demands. Had the embargo been persevered in a few months longer, no individual acquainted with the real state of af fairs at that period, can fail to believe but the subsequent recourse to war for the vindication of our national sovereignty, would have been wholly obviated. It was at this period of depression and distress that Mr. Webster published that famous pamphlet inciting the people of the Eastern States to resist the laws by violence, of which he was compelled to avow himself to be the author, when under cross-examination upon the trial of his prosecution against Gen. Lyman for a libel, because the latter had stated, in one of the |
