The Arkansas banner., 1844-05-29

by the tariff; while they complain that this most certainly depresses the price of their great staple, and as surely depuvcs them of the means of purchasing the products and manufactures ofthe north. Butupon grounds undisputed by the friends or opponents of tarifc Texas must furnish, as a part of the Union, in any event, vast market for many of its products, upon the principle of recip rocal free trade among the States-that great principle which led to the adoption of the constitution, and which has done more than all other causes combined to advance our interest.
 Under the rejection of annexation, 1t will be utterly impossible to prevent the snug gling of British and foreign goods, to an in calculate extent, through Texas into the Union, thus not only depriving our manu- lecturers of the markets of Texas, but also of the markets of the whole valley of the West. This difficulty is already experienced to great extent in Canada, although we have mostly deRse population upon our side, and located in a region of the north, generally highly favorable to the tariff, and deeply .in- terested, as they suppose, in detecting and preventing smuggling But the difficulty in Texas will be far greater. There, the line of division is, first the Sabine-a very narrow stream, far different from the lakes of the North, and the great St. LaWrenee-as a boundary; and from the Sabine, for long distance, mere geographical line to the Red river, along that stream for many hundred miles, and then another long geographical line to the Arkansas, and thence many hun dred miles along that stream to its source, ard thence to latitude 42. Here IS boun- dary of 1900 miles, and very large portion of 1t mere geographical lines, running through the very centre of the great valley of the Mis- sissippi. Could an army of revenue officers, even if all were honest and above temptation, guard such distance, and such a frontier, against the smuggler, and that, too, in the midst of a population on both sides deeply hostile to the tariff; many of them regarding 1t as unconstitutional, and therefore that 1t is right, i'll their judgment, to evade its opera tion9 These difficulties were foreseen by MT. Van Buren, and constitute strong ar gument, urged by him in his despatch of 1929, Ill favor of the remuneration of Texas. He there urges the difficulty of establishing proper custom-house at the mouth of the Sabine, without which, he says, even in that direction, ssit Is impossible to prevent that frontier from becoming the seat of an Ex- TENSIyE SYSTEM OF sMUGGLING.o It is true, that a custom-house on our side of the Sabine, and with numerous and faithful ofli- cers, might diminish smuggling in that di- rection; but by the treaty, 2oac iH force 1cih TeraS, all vessels entering Texas through the Sabine, must pass unmolested, and land their cargoes at any point on the Sabine, could smuggling be prevented ill that direc- ton.
 Butifsmuggling could be prevented through the Sabine, there Is the harbor of Galveston, entirely in Texas, and with depth equal to that at the mouth of the Mississippi; and there is the river Trinity Complying into that harbor3 also entirely in Texas, and navigable to point not far from Red river, within the boundaries of Texas; and up and through these streams into Arkansas and Louisiana, and the valley of the West, it would be ut terly impossible to prevent smuggling. The duties upon many articles under our present tariff, range from 50 to 250 per cent. Upon India cotton bagging they amount to 250 per cent on the foreign price current on many articles of iron to 100 per cent; and upon glass, and nearly all low-priced goods aaec- ted by the minimum principle, there are very high duties. With these articles introduced into Texas free of duty, can they be kept out of the adjacent States, when the facilities and temptation to smuggling will be so very great? This smuggling will be encouraged by the of England, and their agents
 
 be built up as the entrepots of such a traffic. What English manufacturers will do, by an organized system of fraudulent invoices and perjury, to evade our duties, was proved in the late investigation in New ork British courts, also, have refused to notice offences against our revenue laws; and the high au- thority of Sir William Blackstone has been invoked, where he says, in reference to this subject, ..These prohibitory laws do not make the trallsgressiOn a moral offence, or sin: the only obligation in conscience is to submit to the penalty # leried.o And such is the opinion of thousands of our countrymen; and many thousand more believe that the present tariff is unconstitutional, and hence that it IS of no force or validity, and that Is not criminal to disregard its provisions. How ever strong, then, might be my opposition to there are hundreds of thousands, both in England and America, who believe 1t is not criminal; and their number will be- greatly augmented when goods, free of duty, may beintroduced into Texas, and premiums, under our tariff, from 50 to 250 per cent are offered, to induce the illicit traffic. Most certainly then, the refusal of remuneration will REPEAL THE TARIFF, by the substitution of smuggled goods in place of American manufactures; the fair trader will be under sold and driven out of the market by the il- licit traffic and smuggling becomealmost mi- versal and the commerce of the country transferred from New York and the ports off the North, to the free ports of Texas. This disregard of the laws would bring thegovern- ment into contempt, and finally endanger the Union, if, indeed, it did not induce degene- racy and demoralization, always fatI to the ;, #