The New York Journal, And Daily Patriotic Register

From the Newport Herald.

We are perpetually complaining of the badness of the times, and the only consolation which many experience amidst the present general poverty and distress, like that of persons laboring under bodily disorders, is derived from an opinion, that they can account for their origin. It would be well if in both cases, men always formed a right judgment, & better still if that judgment, was followed by a steady use of the means of relief. The remedy for both disorders may be easily known. The difficulty lies in investigating their causes, and inducing the constant use of proper remedies.

The causes and the cure of a disordered purse are of much easier investigation than those of a distempered body; but it is much more easy to persuade persons to use suitable remedies for the cure of the former than of the latter.

The principal causes of poverty are idleness and extravagance, and the only rational cure in my opinion, for a reduced purse (I leave to physicians those disorders which more peculiarly fall under the cognizance of their profession) the only cure, I will venture to repeat it, for a reduced purse, are industry and frugality. I know very well that some persons have attributed our poverty and distress principally to the vast importations of European goods immediately after the peace; and others chiefly to the flood of paper emitted in the year 1786. Without doubt both these, especially the latter, have produced pernicious effects;—but this acknowledgment doth not in the least invalidate my doctrine; for to what were these owing but to idleness and extravagance ? Is not idleness the stupid parent of a sickly fondness for dress ?—Do industrious persons concern themselves about gewgaws, and the frippery and superfluity of dress,—simple neatness, and protection from the weather is all they wish and all they expect from clothing ;—and what merchant would have imported large quantities of goods of any sort, especially of frippery, if there had not been a great demand for them. Merchants in general know their interest too well to glut the market.—They govern their importations by the demand for them.—It is true that some of them, counting too highly on the pride and folly of the people, have stretched their credit beyond bounds, and by injudicious importations injured their creditors and others, if not themselves. But pride and laziness laid the foundation of all the mischief.

Industrious people are commonly honest and free from debt ; and if by adverse occurrences any of them are unhappily reduced they use no other means of recovery, but redoubled diligence. They seek not for relief in fraud and injustice.

Men who by their laziness and folly have precipitated themselves into debt, having lost entirely the tone of action, and being destitute of every honorable resource, catch at straws, and recur for extrication to the most base, abominable expedients. To such characters I would recommend a serious perusal of the following lines, which contain excellent advice, and if properly attended to, cannot fail of being useful.
Characters may we not justly attribute that deluge of paper which has overwhelmed this state, and laid in ruins the garden of America?—To our laziness, pride and folly, we are indebted for all our misery: and nothing can retrieve us, under God, but industry and economy.

Pieces on this subject—pieces which recommend industry in all its forms, afford me, and I think must afford every one who wishes the prosperity of this state, great satisfaction: because I will hope that the repetition of them in our present situation may make an impression, and excite us to those pursuits which may retrieve our circumstances and place us at least in a comfortable situation.—In the pursuits of honest industry we may arrive at that condition of mediocrity which yields greater happiness than is to be found in scenes of opulence and luxury.—Indeed in this state riches are not to be acquired; rather are we to expect a scarcity than an abundance of money.—This can only be obtained by such states as are possessed of those valuable staple commodities which are in demand of foreign countries.—Our little state furnishes nothing that deserves the name of a staple commodity.—Our business is to promote agriculture, to attend to our breed of horses and sheep, to those articles of production which the state can raise, to work up our wool, and not stupidly exchange it for tow-cloth with the citizens of other states when we can grow as much flax as we can manufacture. The more we manufacture the more money we shall save, and where there is, and for a long time will be a scarcity of money, it will be the duty of the people to save all they can. The folly of suffering our unwrought wool to be carried into the state of Massachusetts to be manufactured is so glaring that it is impossible to assign any other cause for it than downright laziness. Is it impossible that those who raise sheep should need a bounty to stimulate them to manufacture instead of exchanging it for tow-cloth, or even selling it for money?—And yet some members of assembly at the last session proposed that a bounty should be given on the manufacture of wool into cloth, and on some other manufactures, and a committee was appointed to take this matter into consideration, to report to the next session.—A sense of interest one would think should render any bounty unnecessary. But if nothing but a bounty will induce my countrymen to manufacture their own raw materials I am content that they should receive a bounty.—I am so thoroughly convinced that industry and economy alone can save us, that I am willing every encouragement should be given to introduce those habits, the benefits of which must be so sensibly felt, that when once they are acquired it will be very difficult to destroy them. Indeed I should be contented that a bounty should be given, upon the raising of such fruit and other trees as Agricola mentioned in the Herald No. 68, and even upon baskets made in the state. Baskets may be considered by some as an article of so little value as not to be worthy of notice.—If they were not worthy of attention they would not be brought annually into this town from, I believe, Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in large quantities; and besides let any one calculate the amount of the baskets made in other states and sold here yearly, and he will find it to be considerable; to be so considerable that in a state like this in which we ought to make and save every thing we can, we surely should not let our money go from us for baskets. Many littles make a mickle, and twelve pence make one shilling, and one shilling makes a pound, as poor Richard said, or might have said. But it will not do to be a penny wise and a pound foolish unless we are economical as well as manufactural, agricultural and otherwise industrious, we shall be depressed and never feel that greatness and independence of spirit, which gives dignity to human nature, and which I most sincerely wish every inhabitant of this state may enjoy.

VERTUMNUS.