Joseph Hume Quotes
I see no reason for giving the capital employed in agriculture greater protection than the capital vested in other branches of trade, manufacture, or commerce.
Hume, Joseph. "Corn Laws." Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd ser., vol. 21, T. C. Hansard, 1834, cols. 1197-1216.
At that period of American History, the Republicans supported high tariffs and protectionism for American companies and it was the Democrats who were the advocates of free trade. Later each of the parties would flip flop their positions and then say that they were advocating their traditional principles.
Despite developed nation calls for free trade, The US, EEC and Japan maintain an extensive system of agricultural subsidies which are politically difficult to eliminate while expecting developing nations to eliminate their protectionist practices.
This summary of the problem of trying to politically “sell” free trade is as good as anyone has ever said it in America. And the problem and argument has not changed since. Free trade is good for most, but really harms some in specific situations. The beneficiaries often do not realize who they are or how they have benefitted, but those who are harmed generally know exactly how and what the damages are.
Whitaker was right bet at that time his advice was not heeded. When Ireland late in the 20th century finally acted on his advice and eliminated almost all of their protectionism, the economy thrived and not only did the Irish emigration stop, but people began to immigrate to Ireland for the economic opportunity.
It was a classic economic protectionist practice to for an imperial nation to sell manufactured goods to its colonies, but not to allow the colonies to sell high labor value goods back to the mother country. The early American colonies were victims of this, and Brandgee was the leader of the protectionist wing of the Republican party. See {640519} for William Howard Taft’s opinion of him.
America’s first political economist. The first American Political Economist was a virulent enemy of free trade.
Joseph Hume FRS was a Scottish surgeon and Radical MP.
