Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1832-05-25

merchant; aud the necessity which the Commit
tee believed there would be for them under IN.
continuance Of the graduated minimums wa,
among the most cogent reasons which produced
the conviction upon the minds of the majority ,h,,
the system itself ought to be abandoned 0ueof
the effects which has been produced ALREADY i
the transfer of the importing trade from the Ams
rican merchant, our fellow citizen, to the eypor.
ius foreigner in Great Britain.
The valuation Of the article by its cost al n.
place of expectation enables the exporter to 6y
the cost in his invoice much al his discretion; aod
airhoug,. mat discretion may occasionally be re-
STRAIN. oy the administration Of the oath rcculr.
e. (. o. II has long been settled by the sases
uisn Jurisprudence that fraud upon the re-.
venue law. of foreign country is no offence
against the laws CT England, the mere admnisra.
ton Of AL oath unsanctioned by any practical De.
nal.y. furnishes but an indifferent security for
the correctness OF the invoices at the place Of ex
por,atlsu. The Committee have received iDfor.
nation from an American importing merchant Of
unquestionsble character, that offers have been
made to his agent in England for the supply o.
til" manufactured article TO any amount that he
might desire, and at any cost in the atcs,ed il.
voice winch he hit see fit to prescribe the real
prices of the articles to be adj usted between them
at the rate of the real value Of the article Hence
il is that frauds TO so extensive an amount have
been detected at our custom houses, and ,ha,
frauds 10 a much greater amount have probably
passed without detection. There is besides in
the system of graduated 1ninimums, an appear.
ance Of r,lirectinn little consonant with the frank
observation-disclosures Of Republican institutions. |,
has the air as if the legislators Of the nation, 10
taxing their constituents, were unwilling to LEI
them know the real amount OF that taxation. This
has been one oi the severest reproaches cast upon
the Tariff bv its adversaries. And the Commit
tee are anxiously DESTROYS OF taking away from
those adversaries their most forcibe argument.-
But in renouncng the system OF graduated mini.
nuns, ii is not their intention to abandon the
protection of the manufacturing interest Nor
was that the intention Of the Sec'ry of the Treasa.
~ in the preparation ofhis bill. The impression
OF the manufacturers, however, SO far as it has
come to the knowledge of the Committee, is, tia.
the reduction Of the amount ofdutes upon The ar.
ticIe of manufactured wOollens is TOO great for
the establishments Of this country to bear. Such
is the impression Of a majority OF the Committee;
and they have accordingly modified that part
the Secretary's draft. Whether the amount Of
duty as reported by the Committee is itself sui.
icient to preserve the principle Of protection "a
applied to the woollen manufactures, it will be
for the wisdom of the House to determine. Il
has been the sincere desire Of the Committee At
once to cOnciIae the interests and feelings ofthe
South, not only BY the abandonment oil the sys.
TEN of graduated minimulns, but by the admls'
Sion of coarse woods free OF duty, and by aea.
responding reduction upon the duties Of the ard'
Gle manufactured from them In this they have
also consulted the interest Of the American wool
grower, with whose products the coarse article In'
ported from abroad cannot come 10 competition,
and Of the manufacturer in whose favor theires
admission Of the raw material must likewise ope.
rate. On the imported wool with which that oil
native growth must stand in competition, they
propose a reduction which they believe will De
sufficient to retain in the hand Of the American
wool grower the command Of the market.
In all the other notifications Of the Secretary's
bill proposed by the committee, both with regardto
wool and woollens, and to all other dutlabIe artI'
cles, the object Of The committee has been to re-
duce largely those articles which are not 10 comPe'
tition with our own manufactures, and very 1T
tie, or not at all those that are. On this p'lnel-
pie the bill now reported devIates from the DRAFT
OF tIlc ScCTctdTy III VIC "pN'1 ", N"'''" >
yarn and thread, which is excepted from the &c,
neral duty OF IS per cent. on all manufacturer"
cotton, aud prescrbes that the cotton manu'ac
lures to be valued at 80 and IS cents per square
yard shall not be of those exceeding those values
respectively. TbeJ have also affixed SPECIFIC
duty of l2i cents per square yard on OIL clo'n'
included in the draft OF the Secretary's oil WIN
floor mating. at duty of 80 per cent. al vaO
rem. On manufactured hemp the committee
have reduced the sum proposed in the Secretary
draft to thirty five dollars per ton; 1t having OeeI
amply ascertained that this article, as imported
from abroad, does IN no wise enter INTO cO'npeI
ton with that raised in our own country; anu
being raw material, essential to all our MANI
features of cordase and sail duck. ln ,arylns
from the draft of the Secretary on the articles"
silk the committee have raised the duty on ,0r
coming from beyond the Cape Of Good HoPehY"
25 per cent. to so ad valorem, reducing othef "'
nufactures Of silk from 90 per cent to :, Mu
sewing silk, which is raised to ~ p'
cent. in consideration Of the incpent maau'a'
ture of that article in our own country. on"s
article of sugar the committee would have Oe''
induced to decline adopting the reduction p0pn
ed by the draft Of the Secretary. but tor Inc ~
PRODUCTION into it of the article OF syrup al u.