The spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1840-1844, 1842-10-07

from Pars. But | have already sufficiently adver-
ted to this subject.
In the third place. in imposing tariff Of duties,
YOU ought, as far rs may he consistent with sound
policy, to g>n incidental advantages, by dlscrm-
nutiuy nues, TO the productions Of one foreign ma
ton which admits into lis ports your own Dunes
tic productions upon liberal terms over those Of an
other which cluscs lis poils against your most I'M
porlonl articles of expectation. All nations have
acted more or less u pom this principle. II France
receives your agricultural productions on more Ia
vorAble terms than England, statesman, IN m
posing duties, ought 10 encourage The trade with
France, rather than with Engand,
In the fourth place; articles the consumption OF
which anon! the people sound policy requires YOU
10 discourage ought To be subjected 10 heavier du-
lies Than those Imposed upon articles the use OF
winch ought 10 he encouraged Who, loi example,
would think Of imposing the same nd yalorem rate
ofdpty upon French band. and upon coffee
In the filth place: articles of very small bnlk and
very great value such as jewellery diamonds aud
other pgccnus soncs-uust be- chllged with
low rate of duty, otherwise they will all be snug
nlrd into the country on the persons OF Individuals;
whilst on the contrary, articles oi great ami pom
drrous bulG the original cost Of which Is tIiilng,
and whose chief value consists in the expense Of
Transporting them to our markets, ought TO he
charged with h.h rate Ofud vn0rcm duly--o,l-
erwise they will wOduce Iitlc ar no revenue
Coal il IN example Of such an article The 20 per
cent. duty which II NOW pays, under The comprom-
lse act amounts Oniy 10 about 10 cents per ton, or
less than one cent and ht!f per huSheI although,
under the act Of 1916 1t was subjected 10 II revenue
duty Of live cents per hushel, Such ure the effects
of horizontal tariff,
Again in imposing duties with a view to inci-
dental protection, Determinations onghl 10 he made
in favor Of manufactures, the law material Of which
Is the protection of Your own country, and more
especially if it be an agricultural production, For
this reason, the cotton, won|'cn IRON, and henp
manufacturers the nilcrrIl Of which is derived from
foreign countries, Nou ought 10 discriminate in
favor Of the manufacture of such articles ms will
IendGf YOU independent in war, Indeed, might
state II thousands reasons for discrimination, which
prove conc!usivey that the Procrus'ean rule OF
Uniform horizontal nd valnrnm tariff of duties can
never be applied in nd usllng the revenue laws of
a great nation. l, Is for such reasons that ] voted
aglinS, the ancndment of N, friend from Arkan-
,ai VII SEvIER proposing horizontal duty Of
Is per cent; although firmly believe that u tariff
might be easily adjusted, with proper dIscrlnilmn-
lions, which would Weld sufficient revenue 10 the
treasury, and ai,r Incidental protection 10 'nann.
G,c,ures, without exceeding TINT average rate.
But am moi only opposed To any uniform scale
ur ad valorcn duties, but TO any and all ad vnIo-
rem duties whrieyrr, except in eases when, from
the nature Of the article imported, II Is not possible
10 subject it 10 specific dizzy. Our own severe ca
prrience has taught rs n lesson on this subject,
winch we ought no, to forget, canno, refrain
Iruu briefly advcItiHs 10 some ofmy reasons for
thiS opUion,
Oar al ,vaorem system has produced grcni
fraud, upon the revenue, whist i, has driven the
regular American merchant from the business of
importing, and placed i almost exclusively IN the
hand, Of the ag'nts Of British manufacturers. The
American Importer produces his invoice 10 The col
lecor, containing The actual price nj which hl+ I'M
potts were purchased abroad; aud he pays The fair
and regular duty upon this invoice, Not 50 the
BilSh agent, The foreign manufacturer, IN his
inyore, REDUCES the price Of the articles watch h.
ln,crds to import into our country to the lowest
possible stand ,rh when he thinks will enable then,
to pass through the cuslom.hou,e without h2ing
seized for fraud and the business has been hitherto
managed with so much ingenuity MS gencra'y 10
ESCAPE detection. The consequence i, that the
I'riilSh agent passes the goods of hl4 empower
through The custom house IN the payment of II
much lower dnty than the !,r American merchant
+cumpcrL II pay. In this manner he is under
sold in the market by the foreigner, and thus il
driven from the competition, whilst the public
tcS cnur i, lUuiucHt reduced.
hgiiu: nd ,alOrcm duilrs deprive the American
manufacturer Of nearly NIL the benefits nI lucldrn
nl protection when It il most required. When
the business Of the country is depressed, rs it il ut
present, aud when the prize Of f. ign articles
sinks To Tar less thnn their cost your duty sinks in
the same proportion, aud you are also deprived Of
revenue nj III time when it Is most needed.
Oar own experience, therefore, Ought To have
convinced us that whenever it j. possible from the
nllGrr II the article, we oughl tn substitute spcci
ir Cos al ,alorcm duties. These continue to be
he same upon the same ui,i"lcs, notwithstanding
the constant niriuatinn' In prizes They afford II
steady incidental protection. When commodities
are usually sold 10y weight or by measure, ,on
may always subject them To II specific duty; aud
thus ought nlway, io be done.
Let u, them abandon the idea Ola uniform hori
2onlal srdir uf al yalufrm duties; aud whether the
duties be- high or low, let us return To the ancient
practice Of The Government. Lei w adopt wise
impose specific duties
Then, .r. after malurcly weighing all the urgu-
mcn's both for and ngiin>! the present bill -; after,
on the one side, considcrin. lhs strong OF jrrlons
Ia il, aud the other contemplating the miserable
The distressed, aud hopeless condition oC the pro
pie Of this country, and the still moro miserable.
distressed, and lnpeloss condillon Of the public
credit. in case his bill should not pass.--l have
Determined tia, my ,olc shall no, pru,ent it Gom
becoming law.
TARIFF lTEtIs.