428 



FARMERS' REGISTKR. 



[No. 7 



the policy of the banking system of this country came 

 directly under considerdtion or notice in this journal. 

 We quote the editorial remarks iVom pp. 618, 619, vol. 

 I. Far. Retf. They were written in March, 1834, dur- 

 ing the then existing "money pressure," and were 

 called forth by the remark? of a correspondent in 

 reigard to what he deemed the best currency and 

 banking system for the country. Nothing is now 

 changed, except in marking some passages by italics : — 



"The foregoing communication treats principally of 

 a subject wiiich is so closely, and to so great an extent, 

 connected with the interests of the whole agricultural 

 community, that we could not, with either justice or 

 propriety, have excluded it from a journal devoted to 

 the promotion and maintenance of those interests. 

 Nevertheless, we would gladly have avoided the neces- 

 sity of discussing the present " money y)ressure," be- 

 cause it has been improperly made a party question, 

 and very generally debated upon the ground of one or 

 the other side subserving the views of particular in- 

 dividuals, in theiretforts to acquire, or to retain, place 

 and power. But though dt-termined not to permit the 

 Farmers' Register to be connected with party struggles 

 — to become involved in the despicable game which is 

 played by "the madiiess of the man3S for the sain of a 

 lew" — still we will not yield our right to discuss anv 

 question of political econom}^ or of general policy, hav- 

 ing an important bearing on agricultural interests, 

 merely because political partizans have seized on it, to 

 forward their own interested ends, or tliose of the 

 leaders whom they slavislily follow, and implicitly 

 obey. If every subject were prohibited, that had been 

 used by others to aid party purposes, it would be ne- 

 cessary for us to abandon the defence of every general 

 and important interest of agriculture as' soon as it was 

 assailed: for what measure of government has ever 

 been acted upon, that has not been, converted to party 

 uses ? Nay, what question can be started, that may 

 not be used as a weapon, or a defence, in party warfare!' 



Our correspondent's expressions are not obiroxioiis to 

 the charge ot beHhg dictated by the feelings or the in- 

 terests of a partizan. His reasoning and statements are 

 simply those of an experienced and well informed mer- 

 chant. To the facts derived from his acquaintance 

 with commercial affairs, we pay the utmost respect. 

 But our politico-economical views as to the currency, 

 have been acquired in a different school — and whether 

 it is from our want of commercial knowledge, or that 

 we are behind the lights of the present day, we rem.ain 

 of the opinion long entertained, that it would be far 

 belter if our currency was principally metallic. And 

 we would zealously contend for a return to such a cur- 

 rency, proyj^en! (what we certainly do not believe to 

 be the case now, if it will ever be,) that there was a 

 sincere disposiiiou on the part of either the people, or their 

 niters, to establish and adhere to 'Such a rule of general 

 policy. Wliatever may be the immediate cause of the 

 present alarming and general state of distress, the re- 

 mote and efficient cause is the existence of a paper 

 currency. Without denying the alleged advantages of 

 the system of paper money, and its concomitants, while 

 prosperity and public confidence continue, it may well 

 be doubled, whether those advantages are not more than 

 counterbalanced, by such effects as are now felt, and 

 such destruction of credit, depreciation of the currency, 

 lo^s of property to individuals and to the nation, as were 

 suffered in 1814, and some years after." 



En. Far. Reg.] 



From tlie Farmer's Magazine. 

 BF.ET ROOT SUGAR IN FRAIVCE. 



The French Ministry is pl;iced in an extraordi- 

 nary position by the turn which the sugar question 

 haa taken. The measure under discussion is 



pretty nearly the same with that ' proposed last 

 session by M. Duchatel ; hut the rapid improve- 

 ments which have taken place in the domestic 

 manufiicture have' so far alarmed M.de La[)lagne, 

 the new Minister of Finance, as to the safety of 

 an important branch of the revenue, ifsomething 

 more were not done than the mere reduction of 

 one iialf of the dutie.* on colonial suo:ar, that he 

 has found it necessarj'-, in the interest of his de- 

 partment, to declare that the new law must con- 

 tain at least an acknovvledfiment of the principle 

 that snijar, wherever or however manufactured, is 

 an article emhiently suited to the purposes of 

 revenue and taxation. The Minister of Com- 

 merce, on the other hand, M. Martin (du Nord,) 

 from the circumstances of his representing in the 

 Chamher one of the departments of France where 

 the culture of beet and the manufiicture of sugar 

 have of late been carried on so successfully as to 

 have added in a rerharkahle degree to the profits 

 of the farmer and the rent-roll of the landed pro- 

 prietor, finds that his corivictions are all on the 

 side of high import duties, to the extent of the 

 statu quo, combined with the absence of all fiscal 

 restraint on the development of the domestic 

 manufacture. As the treasury cannot afford to 

 sacrifice the fifty or sixty millions of revenue which 

 it now draws from the article of sugar, and which, 

 in the face of a greatly increased consumption, has 

 falien off during the last year to the extent of five 

 millions, as compared with lb35, M. de Laplagne 

 is desirous of warning all those who may be pre- 

 paring to embark in this prosperous branch of in- 

 dustry that they must not expect. the continuance 

 of such an amount of protection as even the halfof 

 the present duties would afford. Without this 

 salutary warning, he is afraid that his fifty millions 

 may escape from him alfotjether, and that the 

 sugar interest may find itself in the situation of 

 the Greek philosopher, who resisted his mother's 

 entreaties that he should think of marriage so 

 long, under pretence of his being too young, that 

 he found himself too old before he could he pre- 

 vailed on. It is probable, however, that the 

 Chamher will content itself for the present session 

 with a sort of mezzo termine, in the recognition of 

 the principle sutrgested by the Minister, and that 

 no attempt will yet be made to levy an excise on 

 the produce of the beet. As to foreign sugar, the 

 new law contains a series of provisions for its ad- 

 mission in a raw state for the purpose of the refiner, 

 on security being found lor its subsequent expor- 

 tation. 



This plan of M. Duchatel is, 1st, to protect the 

 colonies, by not allowing beet root sugar to he 

 made and sold without paying a duty. 2nd. To 

 protect the beet root sugar manufacturers by im- 

 posing a duty on colonial sugar, so as not to allow 

 the home manufacturers to be ruined by a super- 

 abundant supply from abroad. 3rd. To protect 

 the colonists from the evil consequences which 

 would arise from their sugar being taxed too high, 

 or from beet root sugar being taxed too low. 4th. 

 To encourage this new and useful, profitable, and 

 national manufacture of beet root sugar on condi- 

 tions which shall prevent it from being injurious to 

 vested interests. 5th. To relieve the pressure 

 which weighs down the colonists, in consequence 

 of the heavy duty on sugar, by diminishing that 

 duty, and by equalizing, as near as possible, the 

 duties on colonial and home sugars. 6th. To 



