The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1843-05-03


declared that had the amendment been a
dopted, he should have moved to reduce
the duty on all wool to 20 per cent. So
that it turns out that both amendments
were designed virtually to abolish any es-
sential protection to all wool, and eventu-
ally defeat the bill. Can any intelligent
man in our community be deluded into the
belief that Mr.. Preston a nullifier, or Mr..
Benton the most bitter reviler ofprotection
in the Union, had any purposes but those
ofdefeat to the tariff by these motions, the
success of which would have again placed
it in the power of the House. And if
Messrs. Phelps and Prentiss who voted a
gainst them had suffered the trap to be
sprung upon them, they must have been
regarded as the silliest davis in the world
by every friend of the tariff in Vermont.
But to corroborate the silly suspicion
that the whigs-were slippery in relation to
their favorite measure, our correspondent
asserts that 8 or 9 manufacturers hung on
the coat tails of Members Of Congress and
with Hampden Cuts having letter from
Consul Jarvis (who by the by is wool
grower and knows more about the article
than a dozen of Weybridge wool growers
like couzin ]. and myself stating that the
South American wool did not come in
competition with our own, should be duty
free if costing 8 cents or under, attempted
to make the tariff on wool worse than it is.
He does not however inform us whether
these mischief making manufacturers or
those around whom they lowered were
wings or locos. One thing, however, is
certain; their councils did not prevail with
the friends of the tariff, altho' they doubt
less were favorably received by its oppo-
nents.
We much regret that our correspondent
in his zeal for victory, should have so FIR lost
his urbanity, as to insinuate, that we were
cumming over our readers by speaking of
the importations of Two or three millions
Buenos Ayres wool as the only coarse wool
from abroad. 1t is certainly the coarsest,
and the only wool that can be brought 10 at
the 5 per cent. duty. 1t is true the Stats.
tics show Is millions of coarse wool from
all quarters were imported in Is4I. But
it must be allowed that it came in the dirt,
and compared as to weight with our fleece
wool as fitted for market, it was little more
than half that amount, making at the utmost
not over 8 or 9 millions of pounds. Il
must be admitted that much of it was pur
chased in Buenos Ayfes at very low rates
in consequence ofthe surplus occasioned by
the embargo. 1t was further imported On.
ty free, and down to this moment the refuse
of it is Cutting our markets, and is quoted
from 10 10 cents, and sold without profit
and even at loss. Ifit is credible, as as
serted by our correspondent, that millions
Of cheap woods but short time since sold
at one sale al less than cents, it was prob
ably portion of this same wool which has
been cUffed about and culed in our mar
keis ever since ls4l. until the purchase is
scarcely worth the candle. So much for
the present low quotations of coarse wool
In our market, and the alarming importa.
ton of Is millions in lS4I which we have
shown to be wholly accidental, and have
fairly reduced in reality to s or millions
of pounds without dirt.
But as we last week conjectured. we find
from an authentic public document, that last
year this amount Of wool coming in duty
free was vastly diminished. During the
year ending Sept. 80, 1912, only 1O,538,.
99s lbs. was imported. This our cores.
pondeni, it will be seen, has admitted, ex.
cept he states the time eleven months, in
which he is mistaken. Divide this by two
for the allowance of dirt, and it brings the
amount down to five or six millions in com.
parison with our wool as washed in the
fleece.
But our correspondent is forced to ac-
knowledge that the wings in good faith, did
attempt TO Interpose some checks 10 The
lmPortations of fine wool, and to account
TOR their failure, he has recourse to the VIC.
latlons of duty on tho part of custom house
officers and inspectors. He concedes that
some improvement was made in imposing
hVe per cent upon all wool costing under
seven cents which before came in duty free.
Nor con ne dispute that all wool which
should be adjudged fine whatever its cost
might be, even down 10 one mill, must paw
the highest rate Of duties. This qualifica.
ION OF hne, however, he considers nuga,o- |
| nv, because Webster's d;c,;on,x. l.