5024. MANUFACTURES, Household.—[further continued].
We are going greatly
into manufactures; but the mass of them are
household manufactures of the coarse articles
worn by the laborers and farmers of the family.
These I verily believe we shall succeed
in making to the whole extent of our necessities.
But the attempts at fine goods will
probably be abortive. They are undertaken
by company establishments, and chiefly in the
towns; will have but little success and short
continuance in a country where the charms
of agriculture attract every being who can
engage in it. Our revenue will be less than
it would be were we to continue to import
instead of manufacturing our coarse goods.
But the increase of population and production
will keep pace with that of manufactures, and
maintain the quantum of exports at the
present level at least; and the imports need
be equivalent to them, and consequently the
revenue on them be undiminished.—
To Dupont de Nemours. Washington ed. v, 583.
Ford ed., ix, 317.
(M.
1811)
