The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-09-20
W A S H | N CT @ N.
FRIDAY EVENING, SEPT. 20. 1874.
A SHORT TREATISE OF POLITICAL
ECONOMY

A SHORT TREATISE OF POLITICAL
ECONOMY.
The advocates for free trade deny that they
wish to resort to direct taxation resource for
revenue. They would establish horizontal
tariff of duties upon foreign goods; by which is
implied uniform rate OF duties upon all articles
upon those which come in competition with our
own products and manufactures, alike with arti-
cles which are not or can not be produced in this
country. Let us examine this plan:
The objection to naked free trade, which i'm
plies an entire freedom from impost duties, is,
that it would infallibly PROSTATE nearly every
chancal and manufacturing occupation in the
country. None but the most rude and simple
mechanical operations, apart from those which
must be necessarily exercised where the fabric
is used, could Withstand the competition of the
immense capital, and cheap labor of England.
The advocates of free trade feel the force of this
reasoning, and in order to parry it, avow their
willingness to afford the mechanical arts the in
cidental protection which will arise from hori-
zontal tariff
Now let us briefly examine how far horizon
tai tariff, levyng equal duties upon all articles of
foreign importation, would 60 to protect domestic
manufactures against foreign competition. A
tariff Of equal duties upon all articles which we
import from abroad, if levied merely with view
to revenue, would of course fall far below the
average duties lain by the existing tariff; for the
reason that at least one third of all the foreign
goods at present impoepd are free of duty. If
these be taxed, it will be necessary, in order to
adhere to the revenue standard to lower the du-
ties, in corresponding degree, upon those which
we now class as dutiable imports. But by taxing
the non-dutiable imports, which are such as can
not come in competition with our own domestic pro-
ducts, we should not materially, if at all, curai
the amount imported. On the other hand, by re-
ducing the duties upon those articles which COM
pete with our home products the effect would be
to destroy the home product, and vastly augment
the foreign importation. 1t would be augmented,
first, by the greater market arising from cessa-
ton Of the home supply-and secondly, in conse-
quence of the lighter duty imposed upon the for
eign article. From these combined causes it
would be necessary greatly to reduce the range
of duties, in order to avoid an accumulation of re-
venue above the wants of the Government. 1t
is impossible to estimate with any precision, the
actual rate of duties which, upon the horizontal
revenue. II would certainly be far too low to
give adequate incidental protection to home man
ufactured products, which, in consequence, would
generally fall into decay. Fifteen per cent. upon
all imported goods would perhaps be sufficient to
raise revenue; whereas, thirty-two or thirty
three, the present average, has been found neces-
sary to protection.
But there is another important consideration
which the horizontallsts have lost sight of. There
are few articles of domestic manufacture into
which foreign products donot enter as Ingredients
Such articles are now free of duty but upon the
horizontal plan they would be taxed equally with
everything else and thus, while the manufac-
turer and mechanic is shorn, on the one hand, Of
protection, on the other, the materials and imple
ments OF his trade would be subjected to tax
from which his foreign competitor is free.
The tree traders dare not admit that such arti-
cles as are essential to home manufacturing NAV
be exempted from duty because such an excep-
uon couiu only De inaue LOT opJects oil protection;
an object which they hold to be utterly uncons,i-
tutiona @ '..ea
The doctrine Of free trade, therefore, whether
absolute, or qualified by horizontal tariff is ut
terly irDpracticable and incompatible with the pre-
sent state of things.
- -.
Hon. J. j. Crittenden addressed large Wing
Mass Meeting at Memphis, Tennessee, on the
4lh inst. He is stumping it through Tennessee
and the people flock in throngs TO hear him.
The Natcbez Free Trader says that there is
not barrel of -four or bushe Of corn meal in that