Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1831-06-03

discriminating imposl duties now Ia force.
Aud yet should ha,tsr myself, II any thing were
TOO ao,utd Tor belief In political coa'roversie.-,hai
there was not a man in Sou,t-Carollns in the United
States, or upon The face OF the earth, who could have
tbs stupidity to believe, or the hardihood TO maintain,
tina, such a system Of discriminating excise duties,
would have the sembiauee Of equality or justice, in it's
relative operations on the southern and Northern por-
tons oil the contederscy. La relation 10 these rrspec-
tive parts OF the Union, il would be jus, as unequal, as
aschemc oil Indirect taxation could be rendered. The
very taxes 1t would draw from the Southern States,
instead oil imposing any burhen al all on the Northern
slater would rebound 10 them asa bounty. In fact, Il,
wouii os very nearly a. unequal as a poll tax levied
sxeiu'ivsiy On tho Inhabitants Of the slav.-ho.ding
) atcs.
A-o'her view Of this mbj-c', which is well ealcu-
iated 10 strip II oil it' Disguise, will be- distinctly exhib-
tied by eou pairing The effect OF a duty upon the ex.
port vi our s,aple', with a like duty upon the impor,
OF INC manufactures received in excharg s for them.-
l conhdenuy maintsio, as | have heretofore done, that
4 duly upon imported manufactures, lie equivalent, With
sn immateiiai exception, 20 an equal duty upon the do
nestle productions, given in exchange for them. The
only answer l have ever heard to this proposition, il.
tna' when the duty IL levied upon imports, YOU NAV
obtain specie in exchange fr your export,, which pays
no du'y.
Without d yelling on the theoretical ab,nrditv in.
volved in ttis answer. I will simply remark thai, how.
ever true it may b., 1t hao nothing TO do with the facts
oil The ease: In poiut OF fact, we do not import specie
10 exchange for our staples, but on the ctntsary, the
very articles against which the prohibitory system il.
directed. Aud what maintain 10, tia. az long as wa
actually import these article, in return for cur Cotton
~Ns tS' NV P'ohNSt ~ OSioc u ~ muCn Affected OX
a duty upon The one as upon the other, with a uomi.
cal exception, which l will stats dire city. Let u, sun.
pose 10 make the case too pain orovasion or equivo-
Gallon, that two m -rchants sSt oa, for l. verpocl. each
O. them viii a ca go Of a thousand ba'es OF Upland
Cotton, worth 5000 900. with a view TO exchange
them Tor Cotton msnuisc:ures. We will also suppose
that one OF 'hes' merchants is compelled TO pay an ex.
port duty Of 80 1-3 per cent, and tha the o!her. under
the Impression that II would be much less bur hensoms,
Is permitted as a special favor, to exp lrt his Cotton ire
oil duty, on condition ,ha,he pay a like duty, when be
Imports the return CARGO. Now. LAT na frllou ,h..
mere ants though tn. ir respective adventures. and see
how thu matter will end. One Of them Is compelled
20 pay leo thousand dollars, at the great national toll
gate, as he gees ou', 10 raise which sum. he sells one
ttlrd oil his cotton, before he leaves The United States.
When they reach Liverpool, and sell their 70 spe five
sarsos' one OF them finds that he has only $50 600, 900
10 us posket, wberewi.h 10 purchase so)ds, while the
o,her exnit' In th' possession of $50, 600, 900. Each
OF them proceed to invest his money in cotton manu-.
lectures and they 'h:n embark in the same vessel fot
me united States. When they reach !he Custom.
House. the one who recently exul;ed in his cargo
worm $50. O0 600, Is Informed With grea, cs iity, tb,t
ne viii be permitted 10 land bis goods, il he will psy
me tri1lr K sum OF $40 900. 900, for 30 valuable a priyi-
( iege. He, OF course, complies with a proposition so
Veiy T asonabie-but upon comparing stock with His
eomPe i'or, on this sid' of the federal toll gate, be is
a',onished to nod that they are almost precisely in the
same condi ion. Toe only difference between them
would be, tho irt rest on $4,000 900 for the period
eonsu'ned IN II voyage a difference nearly counter.
oa'anc' q oy that between tho value of cotton i'm the
United States, upon VIII CHI the EXPORT du'y WAS paiJ,
ana the value tf 1t In Liverpool, upon which, or lis
equ'aient' 'he import duty must be es,imated.-As /
am o@ck-soentrymaD, | must take the lber ty OF sta,.
ing ho" a plain fsfmsr would reason in a case inyoly-
Ing precisely the same principle, and furnishing a very
OBVIOUS and familiar Illustration. II, then, there was a
'oi gate at the entrance of this city, a farmer, unso.
phi by theoretical subtleties, would regard n as
pc ! city immatefiai, whether he paid a toll Of 80 ner
cent on the value OF his load, as he came to marke', or
As NO returned home. Now, obvious as this rrop, si-
ton Is TO every apprehension, it 10 not more certainly
true, than that which have laid down as 10 EXPORT and
Import du'ie'.-What, then, would you sey Of an ex-
| DOft ntV nnln GElt0n N Ftna .n,Al L. - ..
on the returns received for them : Or, to MAXI The
case Q i'll plainer, what VOL you say If an excise d -
~, equai IN amount, levied upon thess staples by the
Federal Governmsn, |? Ia is certainly a matter of mo
possible consequence to the planter, whether the du'v
Is levied at bis own Warehouse and called AN EXCISE
or at the Federal Custom Houss, and called an export
duiy. IL there be any d. ference in tho two cases. bu,
Inc name, II must be a very acute dice elimination
INA, Con discover II. IL there a mau among us. hen
. . Jar sene IN the wre;ehed delusions OF false theory
apa parry excitement, as to maintain, thai an excise
duiy upon cotton add rice, which would lew ius, onc
naii oil the federal revenue, rom the productions OF
,ess mar one.'our'h OF he population OF the vhol.
oulon' would be a sy"'em OF taxation equally difusins
us burdens over the geographical sub divisions of III
Onion 'houlJ hope that no such person could be
teund and yet hnedred, of our feiiow-citizens are
deluded toto The belief, that a system of taxaiion. nrs.
ciseiy equivalent to thi', ia its relative operation on the
planting and manufacturing States, is perfectly Just and
equitable
/ viii now beg leave TO exhibit this smile g, in an
oiher point oil view, calculated TO illustrate the UNEQUAL
and oppressive action Of The impos, duties upon The
South.
Lsl us now suppo's that the people Of the Nor bern
States had discovered thai their soil and climate were
toierabiy well adapted 10 the culture Of cotton & rice. &
'ha' instead OF commencing. the manufacturing BUSH
cess al the close oil The ia'e war, they had adopted our
mode oil obtaining manufactured articles, by cultivat-
ing the soil, and exchanging its productions for those
articles We will also suppose, that find ng that our
SOIL and Climate added to the chespness oil our labor,
gave US an advantage over them Of about forty per
cent, they had applied to Congress TO protect their
agriculture from the unequal competition, BY impos-
ing that rate OF duty upon our imports or imanufac
lures, at the same time exempting theirs. They
would, L doubt not, have been at no loss to find ar
guinents Tor the discrimination, quite satisfactory 10
an interested majority in Congress. They would pro.
oaoiy nave said, " why, somehow it seems that we
get Tor our cotton and rice, that are paid by the
southern people, seeing as how they have richer
iand, a better climate and more negroes. We have
made a calculation, and finding that we cannot sell
me goods we get r our cotton and rice, as cheap as
they can sell theirs, unless they are made TO paw n
duty OF DO per cent, and we are EXEMPTED frsm il
ms would put us upon an equal footing with them:
ana II Is the duty OF all wise governments TO put the
various departments of industry on an equal footing
eiohsirous and audacious as such an application would
nave been, and ridiculous as the arguments are, by
which l have supposed it TO be urged upon Con.
gress, they are in principle, precisely the applica-
uoh anu the arguments, upon which the prohibitiye
system IS founded. And incredible as il may appear
AZ the hrst view, the supposed discriminati9n will be
found upon alton, to be 10 no single partieuIar
moe unequal or oppressive in is pera,irn on The
planting Slater, than The discrimination which now ex-
is's' IN a form a little moro disguised. And the ssme
arguments would be used 10 reconcile us to our oppres-
sion. They would say 10 us, for example. a. Won
nave no cause TO complain Sou. h, for you get the came
price Tor your eoliOn thai we do to ours-the 'L;v.rpool
price, dsduehDg cost and shargef;' and as 10 lhs dutv
Ievisd upon your imports, every body knows tina, IL
paId oy Inc consumers, and we are greater consumers