The herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1835-1837, 1837-04-21

Venerable lTtcuQ
Butler of the Mercantile, in article OF some length
his paper of the l3th undertakes to refue the doc
tne advanced by nae that to the partial repeal of the
Tariff connected with the want Of National Bank,
are to be attributed present disastrous state Of
Commercial Affairs.
Towards the close Of his article he calls spon me to
discard my erroneous views, based as he says, on ex
ploded hypothesis as TO exports and imports; -and
ne advises me TO draw my conclusions from expert
ence, and not from books.
All this is very we'll / seriously recommend Mr..
Butler to read if not what have written, what he has
written himself. He admits almost as much as |
could desire, the position assume; and tor the re-
malnde he wanders round and round in that sort Of
tangible darkness in which many OF our statesmen,
Bank directors and Merchants are wandering
lie admits that the excessive imporations OF last
year II semble those at the close of the Qast) war,
when British manufactured goods came upon the
country like as flood, and were such drug in the
market that they were shipped back for the benefit Of
return duties"
What are the facts of the two cases By an act of
Congress the high or double duties on imported mer-
chandze were TO cease az one year afterwards (by
piundering act OF Congress) made two years, from
the date of the treaty OF peace and under this repeal
of half the duty, the country was flooded with foreign
merchandise; every branch of home industry, paraly-
zed the Banks drained of specie; and no efectual
relief afforded, even by United States Bank, until
the extra Tariff of 1924.
As TO the shipping back of merchandise fer the be-
net of return duty that only done in the of
some goodsimpered in the expectation that the dou-
Bile duties would cease at the end OF one year; they
shipped to be re imported after the double duties
had ceased under the second act Of Congress- al the
end Of tsoo years.
Oar excessive importaons nou, are also cense-
quence OF dminutlon Of duties under the 'c0mpr0-
mise act and the Indemnity Treaties, and the pres
ent shipments by the ship Republic, to which our
friend of the Mercantile alludes, made with view
to rempor in 1885, when further reduction of duty
takes place under the compromise act.
But, IN the most direct and planest terms MI. But
Ter admits all that contend for;--he says, "we agree
with the position that diminished tariff, resulting in
part from the compromise act &C., has led TO exces-
sve Importation"
The two longest paragraphs in the Mercantile are
that kind of stuff which is pre- emineny calculated
to shed additional darkness over midnight The frsl
intending TO show that cotton tobacco and rice,
cost freight commission, insurance &c. DC. to get
them to foreign markets, and when there they sell for
profit additional and that these costs and profits
so much added 10 custom house valuation. This may
be all very true at times, but this year, am apt to
think, the shippers OF cotton rice and tobacco would
gladly compromise for custom house prices.
But the paragraph intended to shew how we must
make up the value OF our mpors-that must request
you TO rapublish part OF. 1t is OF those mystl
hcations by which men first bewilder themselves,
and then attempt TO bewlder their readers 1t is thus
printed upside down, for in that form it will claim
NEST attention, and best represent the standard OF IN
tellect that can comprehend it:
eIoAeJ mo u! 6loSIuI % OF umoqs az IM ooupIuq
9ql pue sIodxo mo no 95guao I9d 9mgs 5ql pup son
5! llnql aueunSIpJ 10 oYps stl Ioy 'amnssn IaAsMoq
lin oIM 1uooIod Ayy pup A,loJ o. ,unouu o,sSeISou
7ql VI AIqnqoId IlM qolqM I9gl7I pun Ioqqof L9Iod
ru9q 81 p!ud slyoidJo lunoue aqi aleIuoeo o. oAgq
aoh qolqm 10 lunouup 7le5,I5SU 9qp uo-lusuuuIoAoD
10 lloddns 9ql IoJ pled so1np 10 lunome 9ql $500
-ulS!Io OF ppe o. oApq noA slIodml o. 50 u!p5v,,
Can you TELL sir why we are 10 add forty or fifty
per cent, TO the original cost, or invoice price Of
imports in order to know how much we owe
abroad l content to take net cost or invoice
prices, and thought that large enough. What has the
duties paid at custom house, or the profits made by
merchants and pedlars here 10 do with the first cost
of those goods abroad 2 Nothing. Absolutely moth
| ing
| Again, Although our imports for three or four
years past have exceeded exports by thirty or
forty millions year, we grayely told, that if
will add just 33i per cent to each Of the sums it will
change their relative amounts, to make the ex-
ports the largest!!.
Mr.. Bennett VIXEN such stuff as this is admitted
INTO old and respectable paper the Mercantile,
and that under the inspection of good, worthy
and amable citizen as Mr.. Butler, l am no longer
n, tonished that systems Of finance and banking,
and commerce have fallen into such wild disorder,
and are spreading SO far and WIDE such dire calam-
/ lty.-