Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1845-01-03
From the n. Y. Evening Post.


The following passage in the annual re-
port of the Secretary OF the Treasury. fur
nishes a curious illustration of the effect ui
the present tariff:
at appears that revenue yielded from the
imDoriatons under the act of 1912. for the nine
months. from Both September, 1912, 10 3O,h
June. l843, averaged upon the goods paying
duty. was equivalent 10 duty I'D vnlor. NJ Of
thirty-se"en dollars elghiy-four cents and one
mill upon every hundred dollars; Tor the whole
veal from 3Uth September. 1912. to Both Sep
tember, 1913. the averaged duty was tqniva-
lent to a net revenue Of lhuy-tive dollars FIVE
Gents and FIVE mills upon every hundred dol
lars in value of goods paying duty; the, for
the ibport,tinns from 3O,h June, lS43. 10 3Oih
June, 1914. the net revenue received into the
treasury was equivalent to duty Of thirty
three dollars eighty five cents md nine mills
upon the hundred dollars Of goods p wing du-
ly; that from 3O,h September. lS43, to 3Oth
September. 1914, The Mt revenue received in-
to the treasury was equivalent to an ad valo-
rem duty OH goods imported, paying duty, Of
thirty-one dollars tw enty-six cents and eiuh
mills upon the hundred dollars.'
This is a sort of descending stair in COM
merce First, tie goods imported pay ali
average duty Of nearly rry-eight per
cent, then of thirlyfour per cent, next of
twenly-f"ur per cent, and finally Of lhir-
ty-one per cent.
In other words the tariff has operated
as gradual exclusion Of the articles pay
ing the higher duties. The importing
merchants tried their introduction and found
that they were losers they then fell back
upon commodities, paying a somewhat
lower duty. and discovered Likewise tina.
this was losing enterprise; they made a
third trial with like success, and at last they
are forced to content themselves " i,h the
introduction of articles, which, taking them
all together. the heavily taxed, and the
lightly taxed, coi'ons which, pay duty OF
hundred and fifty per cent. and ieweiry
which pays duty of but seven-yield an
average rate of about ,hir.y-one per cent,
upon their value.
There are two inferences to he drawn
from the statement made by the Secretary
of the Treasury.
First, that the returns Of the custom.
house do not show the entire injustice and
wrong of the present high duties. They
show what articles. even under the pres.
sure of these high duties, can be squeezed
through the custom-house, but they do no
exhibit list of such as are excluded
Besides the high duties which we pay to
the government. there are the high du,ie:
to the mill owners, Of which the custom
house returns take no note. AT first the
government received thirty-eight per cent
upon the goods imported; the rate has now
fallen to thlrtv-one. and the difference goe:
to swell the large dividends shared by the
mill owners.
Secondly, that tie present tariff is not
what its friends hypocri,icalIy call it, fo
they must know better. revenue tariff
1t is tariff of prohibition and exclusion
and its effect has been. as seen in the de
scending scale which The Secretary Of thu
Treasury presents US. 10 cut of, from month
to month, first the commerce i'll one elias
Of commodities, and then the commerce il
another, until our trade is confined to thos
. articles which are least heavily tsxei upol
their introduction.