CAPITAL AND LABOUR IN AMERICA.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1347, 11 January 1884, Page 2

CAP ITAL AND LABOUR IN AMERICA.

A (Jacob Terry, in Otago Times). $'? :■ '■" "-. ■' i | ; The total foreign trade of the United . States for the 12 months ended Sepjfember 3Q&8&2, was 1,487,354,904d01, or sterling; the aggregate total for the year ended September 30, 1883, being 1,507,246,98 Idol, or £301,449,876 sterling. This is exclusive of the. movements of specie and gold and silver bullion, which was | necessarily considerable in the settle- ! meut .of -balances and preserving the equilibrium of exchange. Now, with such a vast foreign trade added to the domestic trade incident to the produc tion of jjh&ithroense surplus for export, and the'home demand of over 50,000, j 000 of people, is it any wonder that wealth should increase rapidly, and that a high tariff and internal revenue taxes should* produce if surplus which roust rapidly J>ay the public creditor anfl leave 'no. pretext for anything but nominal "takatiofi,*unless the^re should be another civil, or, rathe,r social war. That it is brewing cannot be doubtitd, and the cCapitaiigtflll atfid speculative rings, afe jffoij^Vthelr/..xitaibst-.to.,pi iei|Sfe^i^mlpfi;^vfirnment— national, s^rec;"' and municipal — under their control. They ' own the judiciary, pack, jurie^j convict and acquit at pleasure, aiid are in a position, by haviug,sbj|oluite>. control of the railroad a^n^lggvafi^^systeui , to. issue -fcheir mandate aißl lavy a war contribution •fitort- th«'*fcra*de and industries of ; the coitiiiftry, by an upward turn of their tariff.rates, should it be necessary to arm the lawless scum of the great cities and frontries to shoot down and " suppress," in the name of "social order,", any formidable industrial revolt That they are laying their plans to that end is . undoubted, and that they can dop^ict on " (Constituted authority" is also undoubted General Sherman ,the eitae: day, on taking leave of his old companions in .arm 1 s. l a.t Governors ..Liiaad,' New York H&'iiijpurjs h#y,ing ...Jjeou retired on atjcpunt of, age, .leaving tihendan in /command '•. of the army, cheered the yoting "officers by the assurance that there would soon be active mriploymenfc for jiheiii— -that there would be ; other ways in which they could distinguish themselves, as <ha and others, had f'doue;iu Ahe ; lawuwarii iA'iChere will soon come an ■armed contest between capital and i labour,?- he said ; they 'will oppose eachother, not with words, and arguments, and' but with .siiot and shell, gunpowder and cannon. The better classes are tired of the ihsaaie-' bowlings of the lower strata, and; tli\iy 'mean to stop them." The .": better, classes, '] to this* retired martinet,* vr&9W. pension, *&ncL allpwaijc^ g fftr. >exct*ed. .those of' an> English fipla.inarshaJ.jarHthe. exploiters of labour, land and railroad thieves, waterers and over ; issuers, of stock by which,. ..they have stolen uncounted millions ; the " lower strata" referred to are "composed of thy producing and middle 'classes, who are being gradually ground to the earth through the legal usurpations and inordinate gre*-d of the criminal rich classes, posing before the world to-day as the leaders of American society, intelligence, and enterprise. »If the contest were to begin now, Sherman's wish would be gratified. But it will not The producing classes and the higher ranks of skilled labour are organising, establishing newspapers, discussing and expodug abuses, and prepariug to fight capital at the ballots. If, then, capital should attempt, by subsidising the brute force of the rabble and lower crirn;nal classes, to prevent a free hallol. iiiicj fall back upon the mili ary organisations of the country for support, 'iAevf will he a social war; bat it will be :i w^-r-in which the criminal rich aUi.V-cHir.inal poor will both be trampled v:; aOr foot. The intelligence and maniioxi of America are ranging themselves o:< the side of labour, i.e., the produer: ; classes, its struggle against capiu: i, i.e., the non-producers .in the uppi-. .1 nether strata of society. As hi::,:;-, r illustrating the temper of tiii ~ ate_icu.;i generals, I may add that a siioi-j time pivvious to Shermanfs faf-.voli speech, another geueral lectured colL; su litaryg.irrisou at Hancock's ht-adquai t is on Governnor's Island, and vr c ; t r. .; pon the officers the necessity for stir.iyiiig the topography of the great cities, with the view of putting down turbulent uprisings of the populace, and \i» showed how New York might be taken out of the hands of an armed mob. All this tends to exasperate the men w io are the bone and siuew of the country, and to alienate the army t'roin th« people. The Sharon-Hill scandal, is engrossing great attention. Ex-Seuater Sharon, whose character and career I sketched in a letter on "an unwritten chapter in the history of the Bank of California/'., has several private vices, one of which at last may be found mentioned negatively in the Decalogue. Miss Hill is a women of the American world — bright, intelligent, highly educated, and (if one may judge by appearances) not over scrupulous. She was a leading "society lady," anyhow ; boarded at the Palace Hotel ; made a great deal of money on close pointers in stocks, 90,000d015. of which she alleges Sharon borrow, d from her and refused to return, although she managed to get some back ; in addition to which ho gave her a written promise of marriage, and cohabited with her as his wife. The marriage was to be kept secret however, for two years; but Sharon proved unkiud, turned her out of doors, and cohabited with nine other society ladies, who made po pretence to a private -marriage. Under these circumstances, and beu'g unable to trust,

any lawyer iv San Francisco, Miss Hill, that is, Mrs Sharon — consulted Mr Win. M. Neilson, well known in the Colonies, who, it will be remembered, negotiated the Webb mail contract with New Zealand. Mr Neilson iB no fool, aud he declares tfiat the proof is conclusive;, but he was assaulted, and nearly killed, it is alleged, for his part in the affair. However, he is now around again, fighting, fourteen millions of capital with - great vim. Sharon admits cohabitation, but declares the marriage contract a forgery and became so violent and abusive in | his : language in Court that Superior Judge Fiun ordered him tobe removed by a deputy sheriff, which was done. John Swinton has "retired from the editorship-in-chief of, the" -New York i Sun, the most influential position on the American Press, and established a personal organ to lead the new social and industrial - foroeg^ jtod^prganise them against the raimfJatft corruption tyranny of cqiTpoWps monopoly. I send you a cdm|ilera|fte. The patter is small, but it will grow, and ht® created a profound sensation all^jSy in America ; It will heal' perusal, line of it. From the statements of facts and arguments therein containSJfcf you will find that I have notitfiiny sense exaggerated the gravity of^he situation in this country. Mr Swinttjft. is a man of; mature years, of lifgh character, and is well-known on^tKis Continent and in Europe. — Ofcago Times Correspondent.