The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-03-27


the recent experience of the country proves, not
surpassed by any other which unwise, unjust, and
excessive legislation has visited upon an enterpris
ing people.
but that Of manufactures must demand modfca-
ton OF the existing rates OF duty Commerce must
demand it; that, relieved from it's too heavy letters
il may again start into healthful and steady and
prosperous life and action. Agriculture must de-
mand II that, commerce being again revived, II
may find mark for its surplus beyond the domes-
TIC consumption. And, in the deliberate judgme MT
OF the committee manufactures should not be IN ex-
ception, butshouldalso demand reduction of these
duties. Many of them are confessedly tar high
er than any manufacturing interest demands; while
upon the protected articles, are, as thew believe
abundantly sufficient tor any of those interests al
ready established In the country. That branch of
manufacture which cannot sustain itself against To-
reign competition under a protection of from twen-
ty-ve to thirty dollars upon every one hundred dol
lars 10 value Of sproduction-must be very sickly
almost too sickly to authorize higher taxation
upon an Industrious people TO sustain It.
The committee proceed to explain the tables and
statements annexed. The first is a statement Of
the Register of the Treasury, taken from Senate
document No. As of the present session, showing
the imports and exports of the year ending on the
3Oth September last, made from retsrns received
the treasury, as far as such returns had been re-
ceved on the 18th Of January last, when the
document bears date; and from an estimate
of the Register, where the returns for the
last quarter Of the year covered by the statement
had not been received. That the Register consi-
dered the statement substantially accurate, the
committee infer from the language he uses; and
they suppose, therefore, that no very important re-
turns were behind This statement the committee
mark A, and it shows that the whole amount of
imports upon which duties were chargeable for the
but $4S, 7S9 93i Of which 81, 1863 440 in value was
re-exported with drawback Of duties. leaving but
$4i, 426, 494 to pay duties to the treasury. The
cond table lmaIked b is a comparative table of
No fvof linn cbc
portations of the three years 1887, 1885, 1899,
the values given in the import tables prepar.
ed at the Treasury Department The articles are
been possible, the order of the bill, and the desig-
nation Of articles named in it. The results placed
in the first column Of figures are obtained by TAX
ing the value of imports of the article named in
the margin, for each of the three years named,
adding them together, and dividing the amount by
g. thus obtaining the average imports for the three
years. The second column Of figures is composed
three years ls4o, 1871, and 1872, and shows the
average import of the article named for those three
years. The third column Of figures shows the ac-
tual imports OF the same articles for three quarters
and ending on the 3Oth of June, 1S43 The returns
of the imports of the fourth quarter of that year
had not been received al the Treasury Department
when this statement was called for by the commit
period, will be to have been get the actual
importations under the present tariff law. The
committee would have preferred the importations
for one whole year, because the comparison
would then have been direct and simple. But it
will be recollected that the present law was ap-
proved on the 18th Of August 1922 that the period
between that time and the Both of September after,
would be included in the accounts Of importations
that the law, though taking effect at Its passage,
could not have been known, so to be in any per-
feet operation, before about the LIST of October.
Hence it was impossible to 20 back beyond that
day and the statement for the three quarters of
wear comes up as far the returns would permit,
when il prepared at the office of the Register
of the Treasury. The comparison will, however,
answer all the purposes of forming general udg-
ment AS to the practical effect of the present law
upon the importations, if it be borne carefully in
mind that the averages presented in the two first
importations presented in the third column are for
three quarters only. The time covered by this
comparative table is from the CONNIE ncement of
the year 1887, to the middle of the year 1913. At
reductions of duty under the. compromise act bad
taken place; at the close OF the year 1887 another
of these reductions took place; at the close of the
year 1889, another; at the close OF the year lS4I,
on the goth day of June 1912, the residue of that
excess. From the LIST of July to the Goth of Au-
gust, in the last named year, no duty exceeded 20
per cent. The great revuslons consequentupon the
speculations of 1885 and 1886 took place in Nav,
1897 when almost every bank in the country sus-
pended specie payments and business of every de-
scription received shock from which branch
has yet bs
general remark been irregular, light, unstable, and
feeble though there are believed TO have been Pc
RODS, of very short duration, which the remark
will not properly characterize. VI the value OF a
time of so many adverse business influences, of
such marked business irregularity, and of such
stantly changing legislative action, the members
of the committee are no better Judges than the
other members of the House they present it, and
the facts and circumstances which surrounded the
period and leave the differences to each mind which
shall examine the table.
The fact of the great falling off in the importa-
tons of many important articles, well as in the
aggregate of dutiable importations under the pre-
sent law, will be apparent; and whatever other in
fuences may have affected the trade Of the coun-
try during the various years, 1t will be difficult to
believe that the high duties under the present law
have not had a powerful effect, if not the chief
agency, in producing, the result. The accounts of
importations under the various tariff laws DO not
permit the comparison to he made strkingly or
as mlnutely as could be desirable because the
present law classifies the articles and imposes the
duties. in many cases, so differently from the for
mer, that the comparison can only be made as to
general class OF articles, and not between the va
rious qualities and descriptions of goods, which
compose the class. The third table (marked C)
has been prepared for the double purpose OF show
ing what the present law Is what duties 1t, IN TACT,
imposes; and what changes in those duties the
committee propose to make exhibiting, as to eve
nv article the rate amount Of the duty under the
present law the rate or amount proposed to be re-
tanned and the amount Of reduction or increase
of every duty proposed to be changed The margin
of this table will show the names of the articles in
the order in which they named in the present
law and the same order is retained, so far as the
articles are named, in the proposed bill! The first
column presents the DUTY upon each article as fixed
by the present law, whether ad vaOrem or specific;
and when specific, the ad valorem rate also, which
is equal to the specific duty. The only data diff
cult to be obtained for the composition of this Ia
equivalent to the specific duties imposed by the
law. The committee have resorted to two modes
TO obtain these data The first, and that upon which
they base the table, was call upon the Treasury
tons of the three quarters before mentioned, as
shown by the returns from the custom houses
Finding, as they did, that those returns after The
quarter ending on the Both Of September, 1872,
would not permit them to extend the call for