The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-10-22
COM M u NICATIONS
For the Union.
THE TARIFF.--No. s.

THE TARIFF.-No. s.
The present tariff further considered diies err
plainsd--h discrimimafss IN Japor Of the mansjao-
iurer against ihs producer Of the rsss material; also
In apor Of the rich against The mddiisg classes and
poor-H tares labor and srempts capital, and thu,
tends to build up aristocraey bGsed upon money
and chartered privileges
In my last communication, my purpose mainly
was to explain the three different descriptions Of du-
ties, or modes Of laying Duties under the existing
tarif-viz; the nd valorem, minimum, and specific.
of laying duties undera tariff 1.-The only mode which
should be sanctioned, submitted to, by an honest
republican people. H sr
The second, proved to be a mendacious, fraudu-
lent cheating device, resorted to by the friends Of
protection to enable them to impose upon the con-
sumner duty four five times as great as the tariff
prsiends to impose upon them. $3.50
Il remains now to consider the nature of specific
duties, which is another fraudulent Legislative de-
the consumer to pay an enormous duty for the dou-
BILE purpose of raising revenue for the government
and securing bounty to the manufacturer; which
the consumer would never consent to pay one mo-
ment if he understood the nature Of the duty, and
the extent to which he was taxed by il.
The specific duty also operates to exempt the
rich from taxation, and to increase the burden Of
taxation upon the poor and middling classes. Its
nature, and its mode of operation, shall now pro.
coed to explain.
A specific duty is a certain, precise, and invari.
able duty imposed upon particular description Of
articles of the same kind, Yihous to their cOs
or palue. Its meaning will be best understood from
its application.
For instance: brown sugar pays specific duty OIL
two and half cents per pound; that duty is imposed
all kinds of brown sugar, whatever may be their
cost in foreign markets, or whatever their quail
ity. The best brown Havana sugar pays no
more than the poorest New Orleans or Porto Rico
sugar, ,s,5, sF
Loaf sugar pays specific duty of six cents pes
pound, whatever may be its cost in foreign coun-
try, or whatever may be its quality.
Silk ia brcs, used for dresses, pay specific duty
Of S2 SO per pound, whether they are coarse or fine
cheap or costly. A silk dress weighing one pound,
and costing not more than $40, pays just as much
duty to the government pound of rich silk lace,
which costs $50. ..,--.-
Molasses pays a dsatsyof four and a half mills per
pound whisa, assuming that a gallon weighs ten
no1ndfs is four and half cents per gallon-what-
ever may have been its cost in foreign market,
or whatever its quality.
specific duty, as have before remarked, is APP
piled to article, whatever may be its cost or val
ne. Therefore, some articles it is very heavy
in proportion to their value while, on others, is
very light But this subject is better illustrated by
reference to facts.
The following table exhibits the names Of several
articles imported under the present tariff the specific
duties imposed upon them, the duty reduced to an
average ad-valorem duty on the importations of
the last three quarters of the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1843, as calculated at the Treasury De-
partment, and the ad-valorem duty on the same
articles, calculated from actual importations.