I may add,
that the endowment of public charities, the contributions to objects of
general benevolence, whether foreign or domestic, the munificence of
individuals towards whatever promises to benefit the community, are all
so many proofs of national prosperity. And, finally, there is no
defalcation of revenue, no pressure of taxation.
The general result, therefore, of a fair examination of the present
condition of things, seems to me to be, that there is a considerable
depression of prices, and curtailment of profit; and in some parts of
the country, it must be admitted, there is a great degree of pecuniary
embarrassment, arising from the difficulty of paying debts which were
contracted when prices were high. With these qualifications, the general
state of the country may be said to be prosperous; and these are not
sufficient to give to the whole face of affairs any appearance of
general distress.
Supposing the evil, then, to be a depression of prices, and a partial
pecuniary pressure, the next inquiry is into the causes of that evil;
and it appears to me that there are several; and in this respect, I
think, too much has been imputed by Mr. Speaker to the single cause of
the diminution of exports. Connected, as we are, with all the commercial
nations of the world, and having observed great changes to take place
elsewhere, we should consider whether the causes of those changes have
not reached us, and whether we are not suffering by the operation of
them, in common with others.
Pages:
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309