The Arkansas banner., 1844-05-22

1 III OpefdbOn3 ndS Deell IluCn too snort 10 luf- i nsh any decisive evidence as to its perna- 1 nent influence on imporations. The foreign trade continued 10 decline, and mportations have been comparatively small since the pas sage of the act. How far this state of things may have been influenced by the existing system of duties, 1t Is impossible to deter minen Again, on the 16th February, l843, Jthe Secretary shows, that during the first quarter of l842, whilethe compromise act was i still in operation, and had reached its lowest i point of valuation, save one, was S6,060, 4Ol ,S9, and that under the existing Tariff. passed by the Whig Congress, for the last quarter of the same year, was only S2;579,- ] 389,28. Thus it appears that under the ope- ration of the present Tariff in the first year of its existence, there was falling off one 1 half of the revenues. Because the duties im- l posed upon imported articles under the pre- sent Tariff, are so high as to amount to 3 prohibition, and thereby the government loses its revenues, and the citizens are compelled to procure their supplies from northern manu- factories at such prices as they may see proper to place upon them. Under the compromise act, articles of prime necessity, duty of 20 per cent was imposed. Under the present Whig Tariff, the tax on salt, iron, sugar, cot ton and woollen goods, farming tools, and l long list of necessaries had been raised from i 40 to 50, and on cotton goods, and some ar ticles, to 150 and 200 per cent. We take the article of sugar {. Five hundred and sixty individuals in the State of Louisiana receive 1 two and a half cents more for every pound ot sugar that they sell, than they would have done, had the iniquitous Tariff of 1842 never been passed There was made in that State in 1840, 119,947,720 lbs. of sugar (yide AL manac for l843, page 14l,) suppose they made in that State, in 1843, 120,000,000 lbs, and that they needed for their own consump- ton 100000 lbs, there would be left for the home market l17000,000 lbs, which, at two and half cents per pound (which is the ] tariff now on sugar, would amount to the sum of S2,925,000. Divide this by the five hundred and sixty above named, and we find that each of them will receive $5,223,21- five thousand two hundred and twenty-three dollars and twenty-one cents.6 This is the amount of governmental favor these individ- uals receive, and that we the consumers have to pay. The West India sugar planters say to us, if you will take the Tariff of of sugar, we will import 1t into the United States, and sell 1t to you for two cents and half per pound-but as long as the present Tariff re- main, VIC are compelled to ask double that price.
 take another article-that of cotton goods; and for the purpose of enabling all to judge as to the operation of this Tariff, read one of the sections of the Tariff law:
 "Second. On all manufactures of cotton, or of which cotton shall be a component part, not otherwise specified, duty of thirty per centum ad yalorem, excepting such cotton twist, yarn, and thread, and such other arti- cles as are herein provided for: Prouided, That all manufactures of cotton, or of which cotton shall be component part, not dyed, colored, printed, or stained, not exceeding in value twenty cents per square yard, shall be valued at twenty cents per square yard; and if dyed, colored, printed, or stained, in whole or in part. not exceeding in value thirty cents the square yard, shall be valued at thirty cents per square yard, excepting velyets, cords, moleskins, fustans, buffalo cloths, or goods manufactured by mapping or raising, cutting or shearing, not exceeding in value thirty-live cents the square yard, which shall be valued at thlrty-five cents per square yard, and duty be paid thereon accordingly"
 Thus the enormity of the bill is manifest upon it's face. If cotton goods can be pur- chased at two and half cents per yard-still 1t shall be valued to have cost twenty cents per square yard, and be taxed accordingly. Thus a fictitious value is placed upon cotton goods, which we have to pay for the benefit of few northern capitalists.
 The Governor of the the State of Massa- chuseus states, in his last annual message, that the capital in manufactures in that State Is S42, 2,000, eco of dollars-which investment pays an income of $8,000,0G0 of dollars, i which is fraction over nineteen per cent upon the capital invested. Take the most successful farmer or planter in this country, and his capital>4yill not yield him more than one-fourth as much. Yet these northern cap italists are protectected by the Tariff, in such manner as to compel the great mass of our people to pay them p8,000,000 of dollars per annum. This, they say, must be done to protect home industry-that is, to protect few northern capitalists. At the same time, nothing is said about protecting the farmers and planters in this country. Not dollar of this S8,000,000 goes 10 the support of the government, but as private bounty Why should this be SO? Why should we be com pelIed to support a system of legislation that IS thus taxing us-when patriotism does not demand it, when philanthropy does not re- quire it, and when the great principles of jus tice forbid it in tones deep and long3
 Let us restore the compromise act. Let us support system of laws which will do jus tice between different sections of the Union Let us talk. such a course in the administra- ton of thdNgovernment, as will secure its per manency, and enable Us to transmit it to our children unimpaired as it was handed to Us by glorious ancestry. have said this much, gentlemen, in relation 10 the Tariff, merely to indicate it's operation, and not to