The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1842-10-05
THE TARIFF.

Atariff cannot be protective in the wing sense
of the term without being prohlbItory; In 'ac!,
no other tariffwould meet the object because II
would not operate to the exclusion OF forelgn
fabrics and give home manufactures the eSciu,
Give controle of the market. A high protective
tariff, therefore cannot create revenue oecau"c
the additional price added to the foreign manu-
facture bytie duties and freight, Will rehder us
cost higher than the goods made at nome. NO
merchant will import articles into market"heIII
he is underbid by the operation OF legslatloD um.
consequently the receipts OF the cue'otiiS i,us'
diminish lust in proportion to the use OF the pro-
ducts of our own manufactures. At the same
time also that the people must be called upon 10
make I'D in some other way the deficiency III the
revenue to meet the current expenses OF govern
ment. thew are compelled to pay to the home
manufacturer the difference between the price
at which he can afford to make the articles OF
consumption and that at which they con be made
abroad! The consumer is therefore taxed tor
ssnrotection per se." The government reaps no
-benefit. because no one is fool-hardy enough to
attemnt competition under such positive dlsad-
vantages. The manufacturer alone is benefited,
because his monopoly enables him to Tx his own
price upon his products. Were the pro'ectioh
permitted only so far as to place foreign ana 40
mestic goods in our market upon an equality 10y
afixing such duty as would counterbalance the
difference in the cost OF labor and machinery
here and abroad, the command OF prices ana the
sale would depend upon the superiority OF the
work This would be holding out an induce
ment TO industry and invention, and ensure the
production of well made goods, while, upon the
other hand, the certainty Of prompt sale would
render the manufacturer careless and Indifferent.
Mr.. Inglis, in his work, "Ehe Tyro,' speaking
nf tho tariff of Austria. saws: "tvcry KIND OF
nmerchandize is exposed for sale at the fairs. All
the poods are Austrian; no manufactures of 9TH
er nations are admitted and the protective sys-
tenn is fully acted upon. enquired the prices
of the articles which were eXpo.ed, and found
that good broad cloths, but no means cqualto the
west of England CLOTH or the cloth manufactured
in the Netherlands, cost eight fiorins yard; and
calicoes very inferior to the English, both in
quality and color, to say nothing OF taste, werc
at least one half dearer. Other articles were
proportionately dear; especially every Kind o.
cutlery which, need scarcely say, were oil We
nv inferior quality" In Spain, where the due
ties are prohibitory, vast quantities OF lorelgr
goods are offered for sale, which have been intro
duced by smuggling, and marked with th'
stamps of the native manufacturers. The re
venue is thus robbed and the people are robbed
since the foreign merchandise is sold at home a
prices, to avoid the suspicion Of their having beel
illicitly introduced into the market, 1t is there
fore palpable enough, that the people may be ex
cessively taxed, under high tariff, for the artl
cles of necessary consumption, and yet the 60
vernment not be supplied by it with the amoun
required for its support Taxation is the same
whether its proceeds 60 into government or lit
the pockets Of privileged class
Natckez Free Trader.