Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-12-07


Of inportatinns now either free, or drtied al fifteen per
cen'um, or less on the foreign cost. Twenty per cen
tum is The nominal imposition, but this twenty is TO be
computed on the home valuation, aud the duty IS to be
paid down and then the wholesale merchant, and
every successive retailer, is TO have his profit upon the
duty and the cash payment, as well Is upon the cost OF
The article. Fifty pr cenium will not cover The IN
Ceased price which this twenty per centum will bring
on The consumer. And then the bill Is partial and nm
just besides. 1t admits, free of duty, above one hun
dred articles for the benefit Of the manufacturers, and
nothing for The benefit Of the farmers. On the contrary,
1t lays them open To the com petition of coarse wool,
raw hides, and other articles coming from abroad. VI
these, more than three millions of dollars worth per an
mum Of a single article-raw hides-are received into
The U. s.; disceuraging and diminishing our own
snlrs annually to that amount. This is the next bill
on the calendar: a new tariff bill, favoring one class
ut the community ut The expense OF the others-taX-
ing the necessares OF life -i,nposinr a burden of eigh-
teen or twenty millions pc. anuum on the iabo.ing and
producing classes, III order 10 raise half that sum for
the public Treasury. Such is the new tar Il bill. the
most wanton and wicked ever yet imposed in our conn.
try! the most regardless of the laboring, farming, and
planting interests! and cruelty to be brought upon us
by first throwing away the land revenue, and thus ere
ating a pretext for 4 new tariff. If this land bill pass
IS, il passes by Southern votes and thus the new Ia
riff is the work of Southern bands. 1t IS n Southern
tariff; and the basest tariff that we ever had; for II con-
POUNDS all the principles of taxation: making no dis.
tInction between neeessaries and lnIur,ss, and throw
ing the burdens Of supporting the Government on the
%laborIng and producing classes. The Northern tariffs
were better than this. They at least made n distinc-
ton between necessaries and luxuries! They gave us
l2any things free, If they did give some things high;
~ in nd ratorem duties, they assessed the duties
n,dehe foreign cost, not upon the home valuation-a
hnnco tbassessment now introduced cover,ly 10 en-
fac, n n-omount of the duty, and with the certain ef.
,ha Iriroo hing inequality Of duties, varying all over
). area, ,n;,rv of 9evitably highest in the South; 10 the
gran, v;ol,,;on ofthern importing cities, and in ia
~tar,ff-,he Land bill Constitution. This is our new
from which, and all SUI The Soulhe'i af'h. ara
country! may the Lolu denver the
Relieve the States, is the Ia.
They vote for this bill 10 relievgage 81 gentlemen
their plea and they say the Statae states. ms IS
sources of revenue The lands and theve up Tile great
Federal Government and row It is buttoms-'o lhe
Federal Government should return 10 THEFT that the
distress, the land part Of this revenue. And'n their
the custom house part also : The argu nent isny not
good for one branch Of the revenue as The other; Gas
) good for neither !; for it is forbid hy the Constitution.
and forbid b. reason. The Constitution reclaims all
this revenue for Federal purposes; and IN receiving it,
The Federal Government also assumed all the great
subjects Of State expenditure. IL assumed all the ex-
penses Of the Federal Government, reieas.-- he States
from The pay of their own members Of Congress ii.
the expenses of foreign and Indian intercourse all
The expenses Of foreign wars and domestic insurrec-
tons all the expenses of protection 10 the States at
home, and their commerce abroad all the expenses, IN
short, of armies and navcs, ships, forts, and cannon,
and the nunber!ess expenses oil a National Govern.
ment. All tlis the Federll Government assumed
when il was receiving from the States the customs aud
tho lands. II did more it assumed the State debts
and the foreign debts al the same time and has pad
them, and paid them out Of the customs ana now
the gentlemen wish TO revoke one branch OF this reVe-
nue.. and still leave all the burdens on the Federal
Government. which both the lands and the customs
were TO bear. This Will never do. Justice and tha
Constitution forbid it. The public deteEces now re
ouire above n hundred millions, and that vast burden
must not fall upon commerce. tell the gentleman
e. E..,,p,a vri, hoa brnu rhf for ward tnfJ 1rvu uieNI,
mir. Archer,l that il is a bad argument, aud the worse
because il is Of foreign origin, and was useo py the
British capitalists in favor Of the Federal assumption oil
State debts, before it WAS used by The iand revenue
distributors on this side of the water. This ! showed
in This chamber at The commencement Of Inc last ses-
.;o, when the present Secretary Of State, lHr. Web
s,cr.l then a member Of this body, used the same argu-
ment' in favor of the land distribution. l told MN then
i, was a foreign argument, derived lrohi Di'.s" .'P,,'
,al,s,s: and read hun the chapter IN n BRUSH BOOK
,,on ,ho State debts, and the necessity cl their assnHp
ton by the Federal Government, which proved II. l
deem the gentleman from virginia particularly un'oflu-
nate in giving us 4 new etition OF inns foreign afgut
msnt, especially after it had once before made It's ap
nearance on tins floor, aud had been expelled ifoHi y
Wrong in the argument, and in the reason, the gen
,l,uan Is still more wrong in the fact OF the relief IL
s,if. That Is already pretty well shown by showing
that The new Tariff bill IS 70 follow the Land oill-tlat
Tho Treasury is to be empiiad with one hand and filed
9TH The o,hcr-that eight or ten millions are TO be put
IN. TO supply the loss of three or four taken out-that
these eiph or ten millions are to cost the people fifteen
mr. twen,y-and, in place of a land revenue, derived
voluntarily, from land purchasers, we substitute UNI
versal taxation upon the comforts and necessaries
of life, reaching every family, and falling upon them
with the accumulated burthrns OF home valuation,
r. adv money duties, wholesale and retail mercantile
prosii. and cost Of collection, until what is twenty 10
The Government becomes fifty 10 the consumer. We
have shown this; and in showing it, have shown tho
tnliy and abs,lrdity of this idea OF relief. we nave ex.
uloded The idea of relief; hut a closer view remains SUI
u be takrn-a view that wt!l show the practicai WORK
ing of This fa!lacious idea. The view IS th'si in the
fir, place there IS n cheat in the idca-in the very con-
ce,,,nn cf Ike hing. Tie land revenue IS 10 GO TO the
States in their corp pralr capac'ty, and the taxes are 10
f,,l npnn the people in their individual capacilles.-7
The ralltf and The burdens are not 10 go together. Inc
land revenue goes 10 The States, ana from tne states
either aocs Ia British iobbers and capitalists TO ralse
above pa, the stocks which their arts have sunk far
below par, or gees into banks at home, TO become Tie
urey of spectators; or is adven.ured IN some question
able ENTERPRISE, To become the source OF new oeots, ahG
new taxes upon the people. THIS IS The way Inc iuhe
revenue viii 90: the people will never receive a shilling
Of il! Now, how will the taxes 20 which are TO supply
tie place or this land reyenue' Where will these taxes
90 Straight as a line 10 tie shoulders Of the people ane
let US trace it-trace it in the detail oil 4 iew articles, a.
\ gamble Of all The rest, md as the best mode of aseer
tanning the practical working of this new Tariff bill. !
has already been shown TINT under the administration
of Jackson and Van Buren,, seventy.six millions oil OIL
Importation had become free nf duty, and fourteen mil
lions more had become nearly tree-Paying but IRON
five to fifteen per centum on the foreign cost. All this
amounting to ninety millions Of impnrtations, are nov
to be subjected TO tax; and lie, US take a few articles, an
trace the workings Of TIE tax upon them. will take
two arl:cies-common blankets and salt-and see no"
they rare under Inc new Tariff, which the South, no
The North, now gives Us.
FRS. of blankets. Under the administrations ofJack
son and Van Buren,, and all previous administrations
n distinction had been made between The duties OF
coarse and fine biankets-the latter being taxed muc!
higher than the former-und this upon the obvious prin
ciple of favoring the laboring part OF The community
Upon This principle the common blanket, costing Sc
venty. five cents, or less, in the foreign market, paid bu
five per cent. on its foreign cost; whilst the 6ne blanket
paid twenty-five per cent. Under this system ourannu
al importation of blankets amounted 10 about one mil
lion and a quarter of dollars, Of which the coarse wer
double the amount of the fine. Eight hundred thou
sand dollars worth of coarse blankets were annual
worth of fine ones. The number Of coarse blanket
were sbou. a million; but higher eleven hundred thou
sand: the number of fine blankets probably did not es
Al H. -NI 61Ih