The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1842-03-02

leu thouSuhu acres. oIa2fdHu, pays OH -tlldt
account m more tax than he who owns one
acre. In this manner itsprotects accumu.
, lation nf property ndofavors the rich. 1t
is in effect an intermediate system Of tax
alinn between the Poll Tax and the Direct
Tax.
The Poll Tax falls upon all alike, whe-
ther rich or poor. 1t is tax on all per:
sons. The Direct Tax on the other hand
falls only on thnse who have property,
and is greater or less in proportion to
their possessions. A Tariff is=a tax, NOT
directly on the person or properly. Ii is
nnta tax upon the head, though it taxes
that which is necessary to sustain life. 1t
is not a tax on lands, stock, utensils, or
furniture, though il is a lax on the cloth.
ing purchased with the produce of lands,
and the wages of their labor in all lis de-
parlmenls. If all men consumed alike Of
the imported articles taxed, it would be
in principle, precisely like a poll tax. II
all men consumed those articles in proper
ton to their wealth, it would be in princi.
pie. precisely like Direct Tax. But as
such is not the fact, il is neither the one
nor the other; but partakes Of the nature
of both. To the man without property
who purchases tariffeh articles with The
frniis of his labor, it is in ctlrcta poll tax.
To lhe.man whose expendilures.are rrgu-
lated in view Of great possessions, it%is
somewhat in the nature Of a tax on pro-
pcrty.
! OF all taxes, poll tax. though nomi-
nally equal, is, in respect to the objects
for which taxes are laid, the mostuneqhal
and unjust. Tile chief expenditures Of
gnvcrnmrnt are for the protection Of pro-
perry. Those for the protection of ger.
sons arc comparatively small. 1t is un-
jnst TO tax man for The protection Of pro.
perry who has no property 10 protect
1t is just to tax him for the protection Of
lis person. But i. may be doubted,
whether the liability of poor man 10
military duty and the labor generally ex-
acted from him in the making and repair
uf roads, &c are not sufficient tax to
pay for ali lie protection he receives at
tic hands Of government or the commun
ty. To tax him in all he eats, drinks aud
wears, directly or indirectly, as is thr
case in England. and to a considerable
extent in The United S,atcs,7is draw
back upon the acquisition fproperty, and
often IN the means of subsistence, frnm
which, if practicable, he ought 10 be.ex-
empl. The true policy Of republican,
government is TO afinrd all practicable fa-
clIilirs for the acquisition of property;
but at the same time, check its accumu!a.
ton in large masses. And we have some
times thought the best possible revenue
system would be tax M property to be
increased in proportion To The value Of
mans possessions: For instance, let the
man wilhnul property be taxed only in
personal services; let The man who;is
worth $1,000 or less, be taxed small per
crnlage ON the actual value Of hissProper
"; or those who are worth from $1,000 to
S5OaO, let the percentage he increased; on
those worth from $4,000 to 10000, still
futher increase; and so on, making the
richest man pay the heaviest percentage.
such IA system would be as just as uny
now pracliseh, and would operate as a
constant check upon those vast accumula-
,inns of property which are SO fatal to
liberty and equality. .qs
Returning to The point where we set
out, we coucele to Tariff as means Of
raising a revenue, that, falling in effect
upon the profits of business, and being
an abstraction from the surplus
products of The country, it is less felt than
a Direct Tax upon the person or proper
~.
2. One of the arguments in favor ofa
TaIllfnver other meas Of raising revenue
is, the alleged chcapn 'ss ofcollection This
is an assumption contrary to the fact
There is probably no tax levied in this
country which Gusts so large percentage
for the collection as Tariff.
We see il stated in. recent debates in
Congress, that the cost Of collecting the
revenue received at the Custom Honse in
New York. being mnre than two-thirds of
the whole income The government from
duties on imported marchandize, is about
cieht pcr cent This, however, is but a
small proportion of the amount actually
paid By the people, The Tariff system
makes every merchant and shnpkeePrr in
the Union. wholesale aud retail, who sells
imported goods OF produce, a collector NJ
rerenue fDr the government, who mus
have his compensation, not only for the
troubIr but for advancing the money to