Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1842-06-20
CTION
TO AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE AND
MANUFACTURES.
From The National InieHigencer.
COPY OF A LETTER
From Farmer in Vermont 10 gentleman in
Washington

COPY OF A LETTER
From Farmer in Vermont 10 a gentleman in
Washington.
WEATHEsFIELD, April, 1872
DEAR SlR: | received your three letters of the
3lst ultimo aud LIST and I'd instant last night, and
was disappointed and mortified at the course things
are taking i'll Washington m relation to the tariff
policy. II is now about nine years since The ex-
perlnlens on the currency began. We had not
then wisdom enough to let we'll enough alone, and
what has been tie consequence Why, we have
been experimenting and EXPERIMENTING, until
widespread ruin has overshadowed the land
Hundreds of thousands OF the most industrious
classes Of the community, and those who were
daily adding honey to the national hive, are now
ruined and, instead of enjoying the comforts of
life as the fruit Of their industry, esteem the ben
eht OF the bankrupt act as a resource against the
most degraded poverty, and as the means of eX
erting their industry in some humble line to pre-
vent the starvation Of themselves and their fami-
lies. Had an accurate valuation of all classes of
property in the United States been taken in 1888,
and again in the present year. am satisfied that
there would he found loss of over 100000
Of the money value Of that year as compared
with the present.
One woad suppose that such an immense a
mount Of loss, aud such distressing prosration
of all branches Of our industry, would have con-
vinced the Representatives of the People in Con-
gress assembled, Of the danger of experimenting
upon am subject vitality affecting the interests OF
The community. There seems to be some fatality
attending both our currency and tariff policy, but
| in directly opposite way. When our currency
was gooh, we strayed from the true system; but
twelve years of perjury, corruptions, aud frauds,
attended with The loss of many millions to the
revenue, and incaculable injury to the ndustr-
Gus classes of our People by means of the foreign
yul h,,a
closely TO our bosoms until it will sting the rev.
enue and the agricultural, manufacturing, and me-
chanlcal classes of The community 10 death.
Upon this point the experience of twelve to
fourteen years does not seem TO enlighten the
minds of Congress. Neither the general knowl-
edge OF those frauds nor the judicial testimony of
the fact exhibited i'll orr courts can wean them
from the pernclous system. One offers one req =
son for adhering 10 it, and another anolher; and
every one that has been offered, my own practical
experience sa i-fics me- is perfectly groundess.-
The first reason heard, and that too from MEM
Der ct Congress- WAS, that the home appraisers
might appraise the goods so high as to cut off for.
eign imporations and thus destroy greatly les
sen the revenue. So it seems the Government
must go shares with SGT of foreign cheats and
swindlers, in the shape of agents, in order to Sc
cure 10 itself part OF the revenue that ought TO
he collected, and 10y this very dignified copartner-
ship ruin The agricultural, manufacturing, and me-
chanicn industry Of large portion of the coun-
try. Another objection is, that without host of
custon-house officers to examine every piece of
goods, the home valuation cannot he carried into
effect. BE it so. An eighth part of the money
of which these foreign agents have robbed the U.
ned States would pay all the officers needed to
perform Ibis duty thoroughly and eXpedtiously /;
aud, for one, no doubt II very narrow-mnded man,
should prefer giving from 100000 to 100000
t. our own citizens to protect the revenue of our
ali Of
ding agents rob us Of 100000 to So, 600, 900
year by means of the false invoices, false oalhs
and the bribery OF our custom-h house officers
This foreign valuation has proved direct bounty
TO perjury, bribery, corruption, and fraud, and will
continue so to operate, maugrc all the legal pen
allies that can be enacted
But where is the difficulty about the home val
uaIion? II has always been practsed in Holland,
in the llanse Towns, in France and Spain, as
have Witnessed with my own eyes, and in Portu
gal, "a Witnessed for nine years and in the Two
latter countries on every kind of goods imported
into The United States. e.. manufactures of
wool, of cotton of silk, of iron of steel, OF brass
of copper, of pewter of tin, and of leather, Liy-
erpoo ware and glass, beginning with broadclolhs
ut six dollars yard down TO coarse woollens at
twenty-five cents musns at two dollars a yard
down TO goods at ten cents; ra2ors and knives
worth five shlllings sterling each, down 10 those
of sixpence sterling, aud the same is applicable to
other manufactures; yet the cases of goods were
opened day by day AT the custom house, and the
appraisal went on in Il methodical, correct, and
orderly manner, in the presence OF hundreds of
people. Now have mixed in The course Of my
life much with foreigners and must say that my
countrymen are quite as ready, handy, and intel
| ligent people as any of the continental nations
| OF Europe, and II so employed and well paid,
have no kind OF doubt that we can assess foreign
manufactures with as much readiness, sagacity,
and skill as any foreign people whatever. In
| England, too the duties which were not specific
were always assessed in the same way.
But Mr.. 5. has received letter from an appral-
ser in New York which states that nine tenhs OF
the revenue on importations is collected on ten
articles. I do not see clearly what inference ls TO
be drawn from this fact, unless il is intended 10 be
| inferred that, as Great Britain collects S@O0,O00,'
600 from ten .'tcles by specific duties, il follows
as necessary consequence that we must collect
duties at the appraisal set on the goods by the
| exporter in England, whose interest II is TO have
\ them entered at as low duty in this country al
possible and his appraisal is TO be taken as the
true cost, because this same English exporter ha.
taken British customhouse oath that The price
he has affixed TO the goods is the true cost or val
Ne. Why, would sooner take the word of |
Yorkshire horse jockey as to the soundness Of I
| horse which he had taken TO fair in marke
town for sale. Besides, as the New York custom
house has been the theatre of more than three
fourlhs Of The frauds against the revenue, and a.
there is a strong hankering after the monopoly o,
the foreign trade in ihat city, must DC a',oWeu
to receive with many grains OF douDt inc inieieh'
ces intended to be drawn from any fact stated al
coming from that quarter. should hardly thinA
tina, much credit ought to be given 10 the opinion