Litchfield enquirer., 1844-10-17

suppose you carry lno ou1S " pIVhtVti0ha Nuu
TO protect the sugar growers of Louisiana, on.
tircly exclude the foreign article. What would we
pay Tor sugar? and what our remuneration for
Iho tilEas millions of revenue from sugar? -Wc
should be taxed ON some othor necessary article
10 supply tho deficiency in the treasury.--T This is
an illustration of the prohibitory system, and it
it is Just and polite in one instance, ono inter.
est will demand il as strongly as the other. %
During the last session. / was Que OF
those who was willing to modify the pre-
sent Tariff. ! would not have agitated
this subject voluntarily, although believ-
ed that whiIelhe law contained many good
things, it also contained many unjust and
bad ones. But l was willing, when the
subject. came up and ] was compelled TO
act, TO do what believed to be right.
will give one instance in which I thought
the law defective. AS to this worry article
of wool Il think the duty on fine wool sut-
ficiently high. think with safety TO our
farn,ers, it might be reduced some-made
to yield mere revenue, and yet be an g.
qualy effective protection to them.-
Whether | am mistaken or not, time will
determine. But speak of the duty on
coarse wool from abroad. There is de-
scrip,ion invoced from abroad as costing
not more than seven cents, which pays
duty of FIVE cents on the dollar in value, a
practical duty Of three mills on the pound
of wool. 1t is said this wool don't come
in competition with ours. We grow no
wool worth seven cents, it is true: but our
farmers do raise wool that will answer the
very same purpose that this does, to every
practical extent. With my own eyes, on
my journey from Washington in the month
of June, saw in Vermont mandatory,
surrounded by wool growers, employed
busily and exclusively in working the wool
of Smyrna, which paid five cents duty on
the dollar, or three mills on the pound
Another factory across the street was work.
ing American wool. Both make the same
goods; satinetts for the New York mar
ket. How stood these manufacturers with
reference to protection? Precisely alike
the cloth made by each is protected by
duty Of forty cents on the dollar. But
the wooi manufactured by the one is pro-
tected by a duty Of forty cents on the dol
lar, and by the other, with duty OF tOe
cents on the dollar. Is the protection
equal here ? II is a protection to the man
ufacturer, equal in both cases. But if the
coarse wool was charged with as much du-
~ as the fine, would I have found one fac
tory working the wool,of Smyrna? No.
IL il is right to protect the manufacturer, it
is right to protect the farmer also, and to
the same extent. This is one defect
there are Il vast many others. A great
many duties under this law are what are
denominatod specific duties; not duties on
the value, but duties on the pound weight
Of the goods. Take the strong, firm, blk.
silks, which is an article worn generally in
all our country towns and villages. Weigh
piece of it; value it. 1t will weigh about
double the same number Of yards Of fine,
figured French silks. 1t will cost half as
much money abroad. Yet the pound weight
pays the same duty of two and half dol
lars, in the one case and in the other.-
What is the consequence? The plain
farmers and mechanics family, who do
not or cannot indulge in silks beyond the
plain Substantial dress, of the description
I have designated, pay about double the
duty that the family does that INDUCES in
the extra fine and light silks Of France
! think this is perver,ing the whole matter.
If yon favored either, you shonld favor
those who purchase and wear the more ne
cessary article. ! do not pretend that a
silk dress is necessary; but it is very desi-
rablo and comfortable to our wives and
daug and sisters, and we desire them
to have them; and because we do, shall we
pay double and treble what the lady does
who is able to wear the rich silks and
gaudy laces Of foreign countriesl e..
Again--our coarse c0ttons-and speak
in tho presence of those who understand
this better than do-take our duty on
cotton manufactures are not spe-
cilic; but there is another contrivance ap-
plicable to them, called a minimum duty,
which may be thus explained. The law
says, every yard Of cotton, bleached or un.
bleached, shall be valued when imported,
at twenty cents the square yard, and on
that value pay duty Of thirty cents on the
dollar. Now, Of Ill the cotton worn by
the mass Of citizens Of this country, what
does The square yard cost abroad whore ii
comes fronl What do you suppose is the
average? We purchase. | believe, in the
retail stores, at from 6 to 16 cents. Iii
very fine and rich article, when you 60 be-
You'd that. The average would be 10 or
IL cents. What would be the cost abroad?
Some Of it 6 or cents-the mass Of il.
What is the duty? Why, you must valne
the yard at 20 cents, and AT that value pay
a duty Of 80 cents on dollar. You value
it at two or three times as much as it is
worth, then add thirty per cent.-thus ma
king The duty sixty or ninety, and as the
tables will show, one hundred and twenty