Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1842-04-16

third SeCt1On, winch etnDOul6S HOSt VI the
great principles of the act, is in these
words:
"SEc g. And be il further enacted, That,
until the 18th day Of June, 1912, the duties i'm
posed by existing laws, as modified by this act,
shall remain and continue to be collected. And,
from and after the day last aforesaid, all duties
upon imports shall be collected in ready money!
and all credits now allowed by law, in the pay.
ment Of duties, shall be, and hereby are, abol.
shed and such duties shall be laid for the pur.
pose of raising such revenue as may be neces-
sary to an economical administration OF the Gov
eminent; and, rom and after the day last afore-
said, the duties required TO be paid by law on
goods, wares and merchandise shall be assessed
upon the value thereof at the port where the same
shall be entered, under such regulations as may
be prescribed by law
What is the meaning of this language7
Can any thing be more explicit or less la
BILE to misconception? Ii contains two OBJ
legations. The first is, that there shall be
an economical administration of the Gov
eminent: no waste, no extravaganza, no
squandering of the public money. l ad-
NIT this obligation, in its fullest force, in
all its length and breadth, and Itrust that
my friends, with or without my aid, will
fulfil it, in letter and spirit, with the most
perfect fidelity. But the second obligation
is no less binding and imperative; and that
| is, that such duties shall be laid as may be
necessary to raise such revenue as is requi-
site to an economical administration of the
Government The source of the revenue
is defined and prescribed-the foreign i'm
ports TO the exclusion of all other sources.
The amount, from the nature of things,
could be specified; but whatever it may
be, be it large or small, allowing US to come
below, or requiring that we should go be-
yond twenty per cent, that amount is to be
raised.
contend, therefore, with entire conf
dence, that it is perfectly consistent with
the provisions of the compromise act to
impose duties to any amount whatever,
thirty, forty, or more per cent, subject to
the single condition of an economical ad-
ministration of the Government.
What are the other principles of the act!
First, there is the principle that fixed ad
valorem duty shall prevail and be in force
at all times. For one am willing to abide
by that principle. There are certain
vague notions afoat as to the utility and
necessity of specific duties and discrimina
tons, which am persuaded arise from g
want of right understanding of the sub
iect. We have had the ad roiGrem princi
pie practically in force ever since the com
promise act was passed.; and there ha
been no difficulty in administering the du
ties of the Treasury on that principle.
1t was necessary first to ascertain the
value of the goods, and then to impose the
, duty upon them; and from the commence
!, ment of the act TO this day, the ad Ualoren
principle has been substantially in opera
ton. Compare the difference between
specific and the dd Udlorem system of du
ties, and maintain that the latter is Justly
entitled to the preference. The one prn
ciple declares that the duty paid shall b.
upon the real value of the article taxed
the specific principle imposes an equal du
2 ty on articles greatly unequal in value
Coffee, for example, land it is an articl
6 that always suggests itself to my thoughts,
: is one of the articles on which specific
= = duty has been levied. Now it is perfect.
well known that the Mocha coffee is wortl
at least twice as much as the coffee of st
Domingo or Cuba, yet both pay the sam'
: duty. The tax has no respect to the value
: but is arbitrarily levied on all articles of
Q specific kind alike, however various ant
unequal may be their value. say that, il
theory, and according to every sound prin
> ciple of Justice, the ad valorem mode o
i taxation is entitled to the preference
: There is, l admit, one objection to it: as tn
$ value of an article is matter subject t.
e opinion, and as opinions will ever vary, eli
. Their honestly or fraudulently, there is som
: difficulty in preventing frauds. But wit
IS the home valuation proposed by my frien
q from Rhode Island, (Mr. Simmons) the a
5. valorem system can be adopted with a
e practical safety, and will be liable to thos
u chances only of fraud which are inevitabl
J. under any and every system.
d Again: What has been the fact from tn
v. origin of the Government until now2 TIL
$, articles from which the greatest amount {
revenue have been drawn, such as wooden
ie linens, silks, cottons, worsteds, and fe
70 others, have all been taxed on the ad ual
=, rem principle, and there has been no diff
s ss Guilty in the operation. Ibelieve, upon Il
Cd whole, that it is the best mode. | beliey
Nh that if we adopt fixed rate dd galore,
m wherever it can be done, the revenue W
n. be subjected to fewer frauds than the il
m Justice and frauds incident to specific
n. ties. One of the most prolific sources
I'm the violation of our revenue laws has bee
IN. as every body knows, the effort to get
nd goods of finer quality and higher vail
i, admitted under the lower rate of duty I
be uuired for those of lower value. L