The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-23

II
and Means, and thus leave tho tariff Of
| 1912 IN full operation. Why, sir, if the duties
on tea and coffee will operate unequally and harshy
on their constituents, have they again and again
denounced the duties in the tariff Of 1912 sugar,
on iron, on salt, on coarse woollens, and very
| many other articles, most Of which, like tea and
coffee, are assimilated in the minds Of the people
with necessaries, as most unequal, oppressive and
UNJUST Have they not stamped the odious mini
mum and specific features Of the tariff bill Of 1912
with the stigma Of fraud, and demonstrated their
gross injustice 10 the poorer classes How, then,
Ia any contingency, they prefer these more
numerous, these crying inequalities and OPP
prsssons, 10 the endurance of tax, even though
considered unequal, on only two articles OF no great
er necessity or more general use, and that tax OF
only temporary duraton' The simplest calculation
would convince them, even on the Of interest
apart from their reiterated pledges TO repeal the tariff
OF l542, Of the folly and injury Of such course.
But 70 return from this DEPRESSION, which may
have served, MIR Chairman, TO illustrate the purely
revenue character and general fairness Of duties on
imports not produced within the country: we must
recollect that such duties may not always be laid
without eneounlerng Overriding inconvenencies
and objections; and, besides, would not alone suf-
hce 70 supply the requisite revenue for the wants OF
the government. Duties must then be imposed
likewise, on the importatons Of articles produced
within the country. What will be the effect Of
such dutes' Here, as in the Of imports not
produced within the country, all the articles I'M
ported, the duty becomes an element in the price,
and enhances TO its amount the cost Of the imported
article TO the purchaser. The whole amount Of du-
~ on the imported article, TO the extent Of its con-
sumption, Is tax, the proceeds from which are
received by the government. But the effect Of such
duty on the producers Of like articles within the
country, becomes now observable as producing in
equality. II the producer within the country Of
any given article, on the import Of which from
abroad duty was laid, produced only enough for
his own consumption II is manifest he would be
simply freed from all participation in the burden of
tax, which must be paid by all other consumers
But II he raised as almost every producer does not
merely for individual consumption but for SALE his
products would command the added price imposed
by the duty on the imported article coming In com
petition; or, supposing preference to exist for the
imported article, at precisely the price, and
consequent necessity, on the part Of the producer
within the country, to take a somewhat less price,
would command increased value very nearly
equal TO the enhancement on The foreign article by
the duty. The price being thus enhanced to the
producer within the country TO the amount or very
nearly, Of the imported article, the duty, instead Of
tax would operate u bounty, to the precise
amount Of such enhancement paid 10 him by the
consumers Of his products precisely as the duty
on the imported article would be paid TO the govern
ment by the consumers of that.
by any dates, then, on imports similnr to those
raised, or which may be produced in the country
whose government lays them, bounties and protec
tion become blended and complicated with taxes and
burdens. Inconsistent the two things in
ture, and diverse are the purposes to be accom-.
plished by them, they still, TO limited extent,
lnseparable. The one-protection TO some-being
the inevitable concomitant and incident to the other
| the tax on the many. When, however, the duty is
laid honestly for revenue the bounty, protection,
Is but the inevitable incident-not the end designed
or sought-and only illustrates the universal order
of the POLITICAL Of the moral and physical world,
w at afeSh v ruls hpr svil
to the many, becomes, by some peculiarly Of sx-
cepuon, boon or blessing to few. To such in
equality, known to exist inseparable to the sys-
tenn, none will object; but, on the contrary, all will
rejoice in the benefits thus legmatey realized from
the general evil oftaxation
Such, Mr.. Chairman, is the system Of taxation by
import duties but to make it tsxatioR honestly for
revenue and fair and equitable its operation, il is
manifest the duty or tax should be as low, extended
over as large an amount Of consumption, and dis
trbuted among as large a number of consumers, as
| may be consistent with the raising of the amount
required; while the bounty should be confined to as
small an amount of consumption, and be limited to as
| few consumers as may be, consistently with the
| same object
Now, duties may be imposed to any amount,
| from the lowest, operating almost exclusively as
tax, to the highest, which, excluding all imports,
will be purely bounty, and cut off all receipts to
| the government. In the range between these ex-
| tremes, there is wide latitude of discretion, &C
cordng to the object designed. Revenue exclusive
ly, protection, yet not without reference to
| enue or protection exclusively, may be the object.
1.-THE first, the lowest duty which will raise the
quiste amount should be adopted; if the second the
highest duty, at least higher duty than may be
| necessary TO yield the revenue required, will be
adopted if the last prohibitory duties will be resort
ed to- Ii may seem strange that high and low rates
of duty may raise sometimes the same, or about
| the same, amount of revenue; yet such both ex-
perence and the reason Of the thing demon
srate to be the fact low duty, admitting
| larger amount of imports, and consequently more
extended consumption by greater number, may
| suffice to raise given A much higher duty,
which may most seriously restrict the amount Of
importation and the extent of the consumption of
the imported articles, yet, by of its larger ex
| action, may give the same sum. The very highest
| amount of revenue which any article of import will
yield may thus be obtained at very different rates of
duty; and the has been but too prevalent that,
provided the amount of revenue raised was the
greatest that could be obtained from an article of
import, it thereby clearly shown to be pure
| revenue duty. less tax a greater amount of
imports may manifestly equal in product greater
| tax on less amount of imports. The position,
therefore, assumed by the gentleman from Vermont,
Mr.. CoLLAMER,] the other day, that the lowest du-
ty and the highest duty that will yield the largest
| amount of revenue are one and the same duty, was
gross fallncy. The dersion which he attempted
to cast on the able and luminous report of the Secre-
trary fundamental principle, may be justly re-
torted the critic, who in assuming to correct has
| exhibited only his own misapprehenson igno-
rance. Why, sir, the very case supposed by the
gentleman to illustrate the justice of his
poses its folly and corrects his own error He sup
posed 100000 pairs of shoes imported at duty of
10 cents. The revenue yielded would be SO 900.
Now, let the duty be increased to Is cents, and the
importation remain the same, the yield would be
$4,000. But, continued he, suppose the duty to
Z. ~ Al a..
to be so produced ut home under the encouragement
of the duty, and the importation so restricted that
only $4,000 pairs were brought into the country
from abroad" what" he asks, would be the
yield I" and replying "manfesty only $4,000" he
triumphanty asks, "Then, is not the largest amount
of revenue realized at Is cents duty' Is not the low
est duty which will yield the largest revenue Is
centsl And is not the highest duty which will yield
the same Is cents They are, then, enc and the
same and the phraseoogy of the Secretary of the
Treasury-the Lowest duty that will raise the highest
amount of revenue-a miserable catch word for pop
ular effect" ....u
ber an hp nan.