The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-06 00:00:00

TEE _RIVAL AMERICAN TARIFFS.

The New York Commercial and Shipping List
publishes some interesting particulars respecting
the rival tariffs, It says :—" The battle of the
tariffs which is about to commence—if it has not
already commenced—between the seceding States
and the Federal Union, is one which vitally affects
the interests of every merchant, shipper, and busi-
ness man in the country—and everything, there-
fore, that tends to develope results is just now of
particular interest. The Augusta Chronicle, one
of the ablest and most impartial journals in Georgia,
expresses the belief that a competition of this cha-
racter must ultimately culminate in establishing
free trade in both sections. The editor then goes on
to receon that this fina.ily would be most detrimen-
tal to the South, for the North, with the great ad-
ya etages it has in manufacturing, cepital, and skill,
would be, as it has been heretofore, the workshop
of the South, and we should remain tributary to a
nation from which we have separated in enmity, for
articles manufactured from staples mowing at our
very dool'. 1-7crld be l!:tter, ther2forr, RR 7'13
think, instead of eincring into such a suicidal con •
test, to enter into some compact, such, for instance,
as has been in force between the States of Germany.
Their Zoilverein, or treaty of commerce, was in-
stituted under circumstances and necessities simi-
lar to those which will soon press upon the two
American Confederacies. That treaty has been
in force nearly 20 yeaas, and its effect in abrogating
numerous and vexatious restrictions, and putting an
end to smuggling, and the irritating contro-
versies:which had been continually occurring among
the numerous German Sovereignties, have rendered
it very acceptable to merchants and people. The
substance of the arrangement is, that along the
whole of the exterior frontier of the German States
the same tariff of duties is enforced, and the neces•
say of interior customhouses exists no longer. The
revenue collected is proportionably divided among
the different Governments. Such a plan, or a
similar one, to suit circumstances, might be adopted
here; and we prophesy, when two of the sections
have got into a better humour by living apart for
a time, and no further causes of exasperation occur,
such an arrangement will be adopted. The neces-
sity for it will become every year more apparent.'
Cho proposed Southern Tariff Bill differs very little
from our old (1857) tariff, except that considerable
additions have been made to the free list. We
intended to publish the bill entire, but as Congress
adjourned without acting upon it, and as it may not
become law after all, we concluded to postpone its
publication for the present. As some of our readers
may be interested in its general provisoes, however,
we make the following abstract :—There are five
schedules, a list of specific duties, and a free list
Schedule A pays an ad valorem duty of 25 per cent.;
schedule B, 20 per cent.; C, 15 per cent. ; D, 10
per cent. ; and E, 5 per cent. The first of these
schedules is nearly identical with the 30 per cent.
schedule of our present tariff, brandy and wines
the chief articles, on which, however, they save 5 per
cent. as compared with the present rate. They re-
tain cigars and manufactured tobacco in this list.
and cut glass also. Their 20 per cent schedule corre-
sponds mainly with the 24 per cent. of our tariff,
including in it sugar and molasses in nli forms, and
throwing out ale and beer, manufactures of fur and
knit woollens, carpets, carriages, clocks, clottling,
cheese, coal, cutlery, diamonds, earthenware, epau-
lettes, furniture, glass manufactures, and manufac
tures generally in this list, excepting those of silk,
the precious metals, and plated ware and perfumeries
The 15 per cent. schedule takes moat of the 111a1111-
factures of our 24 per cent list, and nearly all m
our 19 per cent. list, clothing, carriages, carpetta
and almost, all ordinary manufactures The 10 eer
cent. schedule has ashes, bark, lumber, books,
cheese, coal, diamonds, furs unmanufactured, hemp,
and nearly all crude drugs at,d unmanufactured
articles, including steel in bars, iron in bars, and
railroad iron, wool unmanufactured, and unmanu
factured tobacco. The Next or 5 per cent. schedule
has a small list, also of raw materials mainly, as
tollows :—old brass, copper ore, pig and old copper.
diamonds not set, guano, iron in pig and labor..
oat n tires of all sorts, papers for printing nea.sp ,pe!s,
ppving stones. she.it hing eopn, r, sfovi in in
pig, bar, and nr.-, and zinc. As there are hut sew
rticic-s in this 5 per cent. list the general difference
between raw twit< and manufactured goods is
represented by the 10 and 15 per cent schedules
tespec;ively, Manufaoturers aretherefore protected
in the Cotten Confederacy by a discriminating duty
et 5 per cent. The specific schedule ha, but three
itsiti,—iee at 2 dots. pt's ton, tea at 4,.! p,,r lb.,
and salt at bushel lii the fro: list. in At:Pi-
t-inn to the usual items in our own tariff, there are
included books published by religious associations,
copper, when for 'the mint of the Confederated
States,' garden seeds, bacon, pork, htims, lard, beef,
flour and bran of wheat, flour and bran of all other
grains, Indian corn and meal, barley, oats, rye. and
oatmeal ; living animals of all kinds not otherwise
provided for;- also agricultural productions, includ-
ing those of the orchard and garden in their natural
state not otherwise provided for; gunpowder and
all the materials of which it is made, lead in pigs
or bars, in shot or balls, for cannon, muskets, rifles,
or pistols ; rags of whatever material composed ;
arms of every description for military purposes, and
parts thereof; munitions of war, military accoutre-
ments, and percussion caps, cotton, ships, steamers,
barges, dredging vessels, machinery, screw pile
jetties, and articles used in the construction of har-
bours, and for dredging and improving the same.
The enumerated list, which cannot be very large,
since the schedules embrace all the articles enume-
rated in our tariffs as now enacted, pays 10 per
cent.; and it is generally-enacted that unenumerated
articles which much resemble those enumerated
shall pay the rate of duty levied on that which
they do so resemble. This is made to apply to all
goods in public store on May Ist next. The col-
lector of every port decides positively all questions
of duty, unless appeal is made within 10 days,
with days notice to head, quarters at Montgo
mery ; suit may, however, may be brought to test
the question more formally, at any time within 30
days after the duties are actually paid. As to mi-
-1 dervaluation, it is provided that the consignee or
agent of goods may ' make such addition in the
entry to the cost or value given in the invoice as
in his opinion may raise the same to the true
market value of such imports in the principal
markets of the country whence the importation
shall have been made; and to add thereto all costs
and charges which, under existing laws, Would
form part of the true value at the port where the
same may be entered, upon which the duty shou:cl
be assessed.' This is a provision giving unusual
latitude to consignees and others. The tiobile
dvcrtiser is entering into a calculation of the
probable yield of the cotton crop for the next 10
years, for t he purpose of demonstrating in advance,
the salutary effect of the proposed export duty on
the staple. The crop during the next 10 years, the
editor is sure, will increase 40 per cent. But,'
(we quote) when to this is added the consideration
that, in the event of the border States standing
aloof from the South, an increased emigration
hither of the citizens of those States with their

families of slaves is sure to take place, we may
I safely disregard the 4-1 per cent. of the crop which
is produced in those States, and base our calcula-
tions upon the former entire crops of the United
States. On that basis the expectation of future
crops in the Confederate States is as follows:-
1861-2, 4,088 000 hales; 1862-3, 4.228,000 ; 1863-4,
4.373,000 ; 1864-5, 4,520,000; 1865-6, 4,675.000 ;
1866-7, 4,835.000 ; 1867.3, 5,000,000 ; 1868-9,
5,171,000; And 1869,70, 5,318,0002

AMERICAN INVENTIONS.—At the Society of Arts
on Wednesday, the viper read was "Some Account of
American Implements and Ec,,n.,mie Contrivances," by C.
W. Eddy, M.A., M. 8., formerly Travelling Fellow of the
University of Oxford. The author began by saying that he
thought the observing traveller in America could not fail to
be struck with astonishment at the vast amount of work
that had been achieved, of forests cleared, of land reclaimed,
of roads, railroads, and canals constructed, and of cities
built by a sparse and scattered population, in the brief pe •
riod of time which had elapsed since the first peopling of
the country. In conga.. ing these wonderful results he
had been I.d to notice the ingenuity shown by the people in
devising implements and machinery for economishag labour,
which was so dear in many parts of that country, and some
of which he thought well worthy of attention, and even of
adoption, in England. He would first touch upon agricul-
tural implements. The first he noticed was the American
felling axe, so well known in timber regions. Large quan-
tities of these axes were made by convicts in the State pri-
sons and sold at a slightly remunerative price. Next in
order to the felling axe came the stump extractor, a com-
pound lever wood, strengthened with iron, 30 feet long,
with a handle at each end, worked generally by a chain of
iron. The author then spoke of a method of applying
steam power for felling and cutting up trees; of a peculiar
method of fencing; of an earth augre for boring holes for
posts ; of the mode of making plank roads ; and described
in detail the different kinds of stone-crushing machines,
which worked very efficiently. A peculiar kind of carriage
spring, able to bear the jerking of the roughest roads, was
next noticed, and some modifications in the general con-
struction of American carts and waggons was described;
also the endless railway horse-power; and for most of the
stationary work on a farm—thrashing, winnowing, chaff
and corn-stalk cutting, cutting up wood for fuel,
&c. The subject of ploughs was discussed at
some length, and the portable steam plough de-
scribed. Various other inventions and appliances wire
alluded to, such as machine-made watches, wood-working
machinery, floating docks, unloading gear for shipping, rail-
way engines and carriages, tramways and tramway cars,
steam ferry-boats, canal sluices, canal boats built in see•
tions, steamboats and pilot boats, &c. ; and, finally, modes
of house-war aing adapted for very cold climates.

LITERATURE.

Egypt, the Soudan, and central Africa; being
Sketches from Sixteen Years' Travel. By John
Petherick, F.R.G.S., H.M. Consul for the Soudan.
William Blackwood and Sons.
This volume contains an interesting account of
travels and explorations among the savage tribes
that inhabit the western portion of Central Africa.
The author is one well qualified to describe then'
from his long residence in the country, and from
the hardihood with which he penetrated into the
most dangerous regions. During the first part of
his wanderings he was engaged in the service of
Mehemet, Ali Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt, in the
capacity of paining engineer. The Viceroy Wes
very tU 10 is to discover coal in his territories,
and therefore employed a Fiench and an English
engineer, in the hope that the spirit of national
rise.:ry would sliaaulate their efforts. The 'attempt
bessesser, neauccersfel, and the _author W 8
suhsequentiy employed oo a different expedition.
Alter some years he retired from the service of
the Egyptian Government •and engaged in the
gum and ivory trade. It was in the latter pur-
suit that he encountered his most exciting adven-
tures, as the search for tusks led him among will'
and hostile tribes, to whom the sight of a European
was something startling. The astonishment and
alarm excited by his firearms was unbounded,
and was often the means of preserving
the lives of the party. On one occasion he had
penetrated the domains of the Neam Nam, a fero-
cious tribe who inhabit the district near the moun-
tains of the Moon, a little to the north of Lake
Tanganyika. The savages gathered round their
encampment, seemingly in high good humour, but
before long the travellers discovered with some
difficulty, through the medium of their interpreters,
that their visitors were discussing the feast they
would furnish, which was only delayed for the
arrival of their chief. Feeling secure in the pos-
session of their guns the party remained quiet, whoa
presently an old man appeared, who, after a little
consideration, advised the tribe not to insult the
strangers, asking them if they knew any tribe that
would have dared to approach their village in suck
small nambers. The savages replied in the nega-
tive, and the old man—whose powers of reasoning
seem to have been very good—went on to say that
since none knew whence they came, their country
must be far distant, and to have traversed all the
intervening lands in safety they must have some
strange means of defence.
This address seemed to have a beneficial effect with the
majority. The old man, motioning two or three of them
out of the way, seated himself near me, and endeavoured
to converse with me ; but failing, he called the interpreter.
His first wish was to examine my rifle: removing the can, I
handed it to him. Long and silent was his examination;
the most inexplicable part seeming the muzzle, which,
instead of being pointed, had a hole in it. Placing WI;
finger therein, he looked at me with the greatest
astonishment ; and to give hi.n a practical explanations
I seized a fowling piece from the hand of my favourite
hunter, and pointing to a vulture hovering over us,
fired; but before the bird touched the ground, the crow*
were prostrate and grovelling in the dust, as if evert
man of them had been shot. The old man's head, with
his hands on bis ears, was at my feet; and when I raised
him, his appearance was ghastly, and his eyes were fixed
on me with a meaningless expression. 1 thought he had
lost his senses. After shaking him several times, let
length succeeded in attracting his attention to the fallen
bird, quivring in its last agonies between two of his men'
The first sign of returning animation he gave was, putting
his hand to his head and examining himself, as if in searcp-
of a wound. He gradually recovered ; and as soon as be
could regain his v, ice, celled to the crowd, who, one after the
other, first raised their heals, and then again dropped them
at the sight of their apparently lifeless comrades. After
the repeated call of the old man, they ventured to rise, and
a general inspection of imaginary wounds commenced.
On other occasions he was in still greater danger
6om the hostility of the tribes, and an old chief
once told him that had it not been for his myste-
rious dealings with the little black marks on papers
his tribe would have annihilated the whole party's
since' they were not so afraid of firearms, as it was
the destiny of all brave men to die in battle,
hut the! they feared hat sorcery would exterminate
wNsin *rib^. A:mthi-sr time they rernsed to let
'lin] have purists fur his goods, and kept him in
state of siege. One tribe were in great want of
rain, and insisted on the stranger who had such
relryelious powers bringing it for them. The
ingenious devices by which the author extricated
himself and his companions from these serious
embarrassments will entertain the reader. The
following anecdote is amusing :
They were great snickers of tobacco, of their own growths
mixed with the rind of the banana, also indigenous to the
country. I was presented with some of it by isimoo, who
professed great attachment towards me. To my great dis-
comfort, after having partaken of my pipe, he expressed a
liking for my tobacco ; and not knowing how to refuse him,
and at the same lime exceedingly anxious to retain intact
the small quantity remaining, I had recourse to a ruse;
and, giving instructions accordingly to my servant, he re-
tired into the interior of the hut to fill the pipe. In the
mean time I expL fined to Dimoo that if any person smoked
my tobacco who was not perfectly well disposed toward'
him, it would betray him by breaking his pipe in my
presence. Not afraid of the ordeal, he accepted *
well-replenished pipe, whilst my servant, by a sign, ac-
quainted me that my instructions had been carte*
Out. Dime:), seated opposite to me in company of some
eight or ten of the notabilities of the place, commenced-
smoking vehemently, when an explosion of gunpowder in,
the bowl of the pipe sent it, as well as the chief and hi'
companions, flying. Dimoo regained his equanimity's
begged me to pardon him, and that he would never or
conceal anything from me; and the only harm he meant
was to detain me amongst them until they had become
possessed of the whole of our riches, which he confessed
they greatly coveted As a proof of his sincerity and good
feeling, he would now assist me in whenever
chose. Explaining to him the necessity of my departure-
at a stated time, in order to return with an increased stock
of beads, I promised to wait the first rains, and to purchase
all the ivory tnat could be procured. After this little event
I was looked upon as something almost superhuman,
and was respected accordingly.
It is a curious fact that some of the beads which
the Djour tribe possessed, and which the author
obtained specimens of, were found by his bead mer-
chant to have been manufactured at Venice solely
for the South American trade, and must conse-
quently have reached the African continent through
slavers. In the earlier part of the work we have
many interesting details of the districts less central-
Here is an account of the depredations of the
white ants in the neighbourhood of Kordofan The white ants'infest this neighbourhood in great shun-
dance : standing proofs existed in numerous mounds of
earth, sax feet above the level of the ground, and mostly of
a round shape, sionie ten or twelve feet in diameter at the
base. The trunks and branches of fallen trees bore indis-
putable evidence of their pretence ; all those which had
fallen prior to or durint the rainy season, when there wan
sufficient moisture for the insect to work, were covered
wiels a coating of mud, which, becoming hardened Or
the sun, formed an incrustation, beneath which it de"
yours the wood. These were now in many instances 611-
tirely hollow, every particle of the wood having been eaten.
Eveiyibing short of metal on the ground within their
reach is in danger of being eaten by them, as soon as:
it is covered $ y a coating of 'earth. This covering 1'
intended only to guard them against the light, exposure to
which kills them. They are the greatest curse that can
infest an inhabited neighbourhood ; nothing is safe from
them; all woodwork of brick houses is attacked, and the
huts are daily covered with fresh incrustations by the per-
severing insects, notwithstanding all the care of the inhabi-
tants, to beat them off as soon as they are dry. It is neces-
sary to raise all articles of clothing from the ground. One
night I remained at a house, ignorant of its being infested
by these destructive atoms.ln the morning, when drawing
on my boots, my foot went through the bottom of one; the
sole had entirely disappeared, as if cut off by a knife, and
the greater part of my rug had also been eaten.
The work is written in an easy and agreeable style,
and gives the reader a great deal of information,
wwilhdoinhabitants, in
are interested
Le: scientific explorations nasiT) dah ltslse learn from the intro-
ductory statement the particulars of the proposed
expedition, of which Mr. Petherick is to he the
leader, and which is to endeavour to join the party
already despatched by Government under Captains
Speke and Grant, towards the sources of the Nile
by way of Zanzibar. The anecdotes and incidents
of Arab and Negro life are numerous. We coo;
mend Mr. Petherick's interesting volume to all
who wish to improve their acquaintance with
Centrgl Africa and its inhabitants, without incur'
ring the risk of furnishing a feast to the Nee°
Nam and their associates.