Mobile register and journal., 1845-05-26
TARIFF POSITIONS DEFINED.

Hhig and DemOcrdtIc D0cTineS.
 We have great difficulty in finding out whn, sort of 'ai iff modern deinocracy is in favor of Will the Nashyi file Union inform usl In order 10 induce il 10 do sos we will tell il frankly and explicitly what kind ofa tariff are in favor of, and sha II srenuously advocate. We in favor, in ihe first place, then. of raising not cent more of revenue than will flee for ec1nomIcai administration "i ihe government. In raising the amount necessary for that purpose, are in favor of affOrdin; dde- quate prOtecon home industry, by laying the high est, sufficiently high, dnlies on those articles which compete with similar articles ofnLr pro duction. and the lowest, no duties, on such arr ticles as are exclusively of foreign growth facture.-I Nashville Whig.
 In lhe first position lad down in this extract, we most heartily concur-not cent more of revenue o ,ght to be collected than will support economi- cal administration of the goverument-and we will add that every cent of revenue collected, whether from the public lands or from mpost duties, should bs faithfully applied 10 the current expenses of the government. If the Wing agrees with us in this, il of course gives the distribution policy. The nexI position laid down in the involved in such confusion oi underlined terms that it conveys distinct idea ''Adequate protection !' What IS meant by "adequaie protection 2'' Is it a rate of duties adequate Tor revenue purposes, or adequate for manufacturing cnpidityl In lS40, Mir. Clay said, the protection D the compromise will he | adequate, in most if not as to all interests" In 1842, the whigs in congress thought that, to give "adequae protection to home industry" the average dhtleS men in force tJ be 01Oie1, ana therefore passed Ihe present tariff law. Ia 30 per cent fine cotton goods adequate proteclonl- nd is 12O per cent on crttpn goods ands nothing morr than an ''adequate pro,econ?"- ''Hnme industry!' What is mpant by these termsl Is the labor of the farmer embraced as W Il as the ioil of the mechanic, and nlso the capital Of the wealthy manufacturer? "The highest sufficient iy high dnies!" Prnhihitory duties the highest -Is that the meaning? Sevenly.ive per cent on sugar, and about the same iron, are now the du- ties imposed-Are these sufficiently high! But "sufiicently high" for whal For revenue or for mere protection to home industry, and which branch of home indusiry-ihe agrinullura, the mechanic. the manufacturing Amidst this jArgon of indefinite and vague generaiies the Whig loses itself, and yet professes to give explicit and flank definition of it's position! And he prelaces his remarks with the complaint that he has ''great difficulty in finding out what sort of d tariff modem democracy is in favor of"
 IL is certainly true that the tariff question always has been one Of difficulty, from the fact that the terms employed in discussing it are vague and inde finite. Mr. Foster felt this truth in 1889, when he declared that "ihe mysteries of q system winch steals
 in silent inpun'ty. from unconscious purses, may easily deceise well informed community, whilst il
 imposes heavy burdens on their industry" If the suggestion of the Whig to s friends abandon the term "incidental prntection'' was enlarged and adopted. soas 10 reject altogether the ''proiec. t'on," and adopts the true word taxation in our discussions, the question would be relieved of much
 
 purposes of modern whig gism-lhe strength of i,s argument lies in the flippant of such voie-catch ing terms as "proieciIOn to home Industry''-"a home markei"-and such indefinite and Tyslerious expressions and to give mp these would be tania- mount to a surrender of the high tariff policy.
 An equitable system of taxation, whether by lhe direct or indirect policy, is that in which 'everv c- 'zen pays according to his wealth and means" In arranging tariff oi duties, this cardinal principle should be kept in view far as practicable This 10 EYtn I. fha nnIaa Hnfl 1853, in which duties were imposed according to llle value of the articles imported IL is Ihe total dsre gard Of this lundamentil doctrine Of justice and equity m the present tariff law thai we condenn.- II was m view of this same principle that MT. Polk declared in his Inaugural Address
 "Ali are equally entitled to the fostering and proiectlou of the government. In exercising sound discretion in laying discriminating dulie within the limit prescribed, (ihe revenue limit care should be taken that il be done in manner mol to benefit the wealthy few at the expense of the tong millions, by taxing lowesi the tluxuries or articles o superior quality and high price, which can only he consumed by the wealthy; and highest the necessaries of life, or articles of coarse quality and low price, which ihe poor and great mass of our people must consume The burdens of government should as far as practi. cable he distributed justly and equally among all classes oi opr popplation."
 In this exraci will be recognised In explicit lan gua2e the great principle on which the people of Tennessee stood united few years since How perfroIy Mir. Folks views accord with those 80 elo quenly expressed by Mir. Foster n ISSs. when he ady'caled the entire repeal of the duly on salt, and added
 ''But there are other things in ihe short catalogue of the wants of the poor, which as il seems to me, should likewise engage our consideration, and claim nur notice and defence. l emulate the zeal which warms generous bosoi,s, and would bower the prIce by reducing or removing the duty from thai essential article which impars sharpness and durability 10 ihe laborlng mans plough, ~hst n, iie same tune il gives point lo his axe and his hoe, and nails .ui the piercing winds cf inter from his humble habi taion. l would touch, too, wi,h the same tender regard, ihe tax that su Ills the of other commodities and which, however they may be at times the choice of the rich, fall from necessity lo the ipvariabIe loI of the poor. To his class as sign coarse wool. course wooden olDths aud i,., win cotton mixtures Of similar qua fly; and now, that the period approaches whea we are to antici. pale thorough and equitable revsa Of our whole