Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1844-05-09
MIX. WRIGHT'S SPEECH
On the Tariff.

Mr.. Wright of New York addressed
the Senate, yesterday on the subject of {
modification of the tariff. He referred
briefly to the circumstances under which
the present Law was passed, and to the
reasons which induced him to vote for it,
and particularly to the suspension OF
the distribution of the proceeds of the
public lands, as prominent among those
reasons; and in his judgement, most es-
sential, to avoid the necessity for the
permanent continuance of a high tariff.
He referred to his State as embracing
within its population all the great inter-
ests to be affected by any regulation of
the duties upon imports. He said the
manufacturing and mechanical interests
of New York were second to those of
few of the States; that her commercial
interests were still greater, and superior
to those of any State; and that her agri-
cultural interests were greatly paramount
to either. He acknowledged his obTiga-
ton justly and carefully to regard all
these interests in all his official action,
and especially in reference to legislation
upon the tariff.
He referred to his efforts to modify
the present law when on its passage
through the Senate. and to his promise,
made upon its final passage,of a readi-
ness, whenever an opportunity should
present, to lend his aid to correct its de-
tects. He said he had been reminded
of that promise the course of the de-
bate, but it had not been forgotten by
HIMSELF; and his present object was to
examine the practical operation Of the
law, with view to determine how far
defects were made apparent. so as to
call for iulilnent of his obligation.
He laid down the rule by which he
proposed to conduct his examination of
the law, and by which he thought modi-
iications ought to be governed. 1t was
that every duty was both protective and
prohibitory to its extent, but that every
duty was a revenue duty so long as its
revenue were paramount to its prohibito-
ry powers; to this extent the protection
afforded by the duty was incidental and
proper, it the revenue yielded by the du-
ty was required; that when the rate of a
ny duty was raised SO high as to diminish
the amount of revenue derived from the
importation of the article upon which it
was assessed, it became protective, as
contradistinguished from revenue du-
ty, its prohibitory being then paramount
to its revenue powers. This, he believ-
ed, was the true separating line between
revenue and a protective tariff; and
discrimination, within the revenue range.
he was compelled to consider a matter
entirely within the discretion of the leg
islature. Within this range, he thought
it might be made between necessaries
and luxuries, with view to favor the
poor rather than the rich, to protect par
ticuar manufacturing or other interests,
or for any other object. This limit he
did not think should be transcribed for
any other object. Nor did it follow that
duties were to be kept always as high as
this limit would permit. The wants of
the public treasury, and the necessities
for revenue, should control the rates of
duty within the revenue range. a.
He then proceeded to examine the &C.
tual imports of several leading articles,
made between the 1st of October, 1912,
and the SOth of June 184S,and the duties
actually paid upon them. as returned
from the Office of the Register of the
Treasury, to ascertain the rates of duty
actually paid. and to compare those i'm
ports with the importations of the same
articles for the previous six years
Some of the articles he named, and the
rates of duty paid, were as follows:
Wool, costing over T cents per pound,
| paid duty of 40 pr C
Woolens, cloths, cassimeres. &c. 40 do
Cotton manufactures from so to 20 do
Silks do 16 to IS do
Iron, rolled bars 90 II do
! do not rolled do 81 do
do pig do y do
Leather 81 manufac's of,(rom IS to 60 do
Glass do 90 to 24S do
Hemp, cordage,& duck do % to 1919 do
Cotton bagging do 40 to IS do
Sugars and sifup do e. to 16l do
Paper do 10 to " do
There may have been other articles,
but these, we believe, were the principal.
Upon the comparison of the imports of
these articles between tie average for
six wears commencing with 1887, and
closing with 1912, and for one year, es
timated by adding one-thrd to the actu
importations for the three quarters, Mr..
Wright pronounced the following re-
suits:
The imports Of wool for the wear was