Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-07-20
Webster VS.. Walker.

The Secretary of the Treasury-who, although
no, regularly knighted by Queen Victoria, has been
greeted as "Sr Robert Walker" by member OF
The British Parliament, in which both himself and
his principles seem TO be very popular-has trans
United TO the Senate another batch of estimates,
by which he demonstrates very satisfactorily TO
himself and Of course TO the Editor of the Union,
that the tariff bill now pending before that body
will yield much larger amount of revenue than
the tariff Of 1912. The Secretary's esti-
mates are not altogether unlike Bobadil's calcu-
lations of the facility with which his single arm
could destroy, by unerring arithmetical pro-
cess, an entire army. Having the figures under
his control, and being allowed to assume his own
data, il was Of course not at all difficult to reach
any conclusion that might be deemed necessary
to meet the emergency. Had it been impor-
tant to show that the new tariff bill will yield fifty
millions of revenue, the Secretary, with these
elements in his hand, could have reached that re-
suit quite as readily that to which he has arri-
we'd in his last Report.
The Secretary estimates that, without calcua-
Ting any augmentation OF imports whatever the
nett revenue, under his proposed BILL will amount
10 e2i,496,537
That increase Of population from
Both June, ls45, to 30th No.
vember, 1S47, will increase
this amount I,99s,65O
That from the increase of popula.
ton derived from the annexation
of Texas, we may calculate on
further augmentation of reve-
nue., by the sum of ls9,955
Total revenue, without any in
crease of imports, S26,6S5,l ZAP
But the Secretary assumes that there will be u
considerable augmentation of imports and in this
we think il probable he will not be disappointed,
until the country, drained of its specie, and find.
ing its foreign markets but little extended will be
unable to pay for them. 1t is possible, therefore,
as we have heretofore remarked, that the result
of the first years operations under the new sys-
TEN, may exhibit an approximation To the Secreta-
rvs estimates but there is Just as little doubt, if
it shall do so, that there will be corresponding
reduction in the receipts of the next. This addi-
tional element Of revenue the Secretary estimates
at S24,44l, SAG, which, added TO SlO4, SIS, 3O3,
The amount las he enormously states) Of i'm.
ports of dutiable articles for consumption in
lS45, makes the whole amo unit Of estimated
dutiable imports, under the British tariff
Sl29,O2l, 2O9-the nett revenue upon which
the Secretary estimates at S3l, 0s6, 6I5-about
four and a half millions more than has been
collected annually under the existing system
But he admits that sit is impossible TO estimate
with great accuracy imPoratiOns in detail, under
any system of duties - and says he has more con-
fidence in the aggregate result" which he finally
states--and we presume that he will claim
that his system as a revenue measure shall here.
after be tested-at S27, s35, 73l.
Mr.. Webster's estimates upon the accuracy of
which we place much more reliance than upon
the Secretary's, may be seen in another column
He assumes that the nett revenue will not ex
coed twenty millions OF dollars--and as he gives
The data upon which that opinion is founded, our
readers can form their own opinion in regard to
the correctness of his prediction.
OF Since the foregoing was in type, we per-
ceive that Mr.. Evans has exposed the most gIar
ing errors in Secretary Walkers estimates-[See
Postscript head.