Mississippi Democrat. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1844-18??, 1846-07-29
From the Mississippian.
THE TARIFF.
Look to the Senate

heVohue AdriH Dill al the present session
of Congress, had scarcely gone forth before
we were called upon TO change our note.
and again iterate fears that the popular
will is doomed to receive temporary defeat.
The SENATE-the whole body of the de-
mocratlc professional democrats) party in
that body are not to be counted upon
STURGEON and CAMERON, of Pennsylvania,
1t was known would act with the Wings.
10 these we have too much reason TO fear.
is to be added the name Of NILES, of Con-
necticut. The indications now are. that
the vote in full Senate ,riH be a tie-2S for
and 70 against the House bill. Should
this be the case, the high responsibility OF
giving the casting vote will devoIve upon
Vice President DALLAS. Az representa-
tive of the State of Pennsylvania, he might
POSSIBLY, with safety,) be counted among
the advocates of the tariff of 1912. But
he holds much higher position; he has
been placed in the office of President of
the Senate by the people of whole Union,
and that constituency call upon him to re-
sPect their wlshes--to carry out their prin-
ciples.
The following are the remarks of Sena-
tor Niles on the proposition to take up the
Tariff Bill. We find them reported in the
National Intelligencer of the 7th inst and
IT he has not been misrepresented by the
reporter, we may say of him that "amother
patriot is gone"
Mr.. Niles was in favor of the reference,
first, because it was the usual course in that
body; and, secondly, because, as had been
statedsby several Senators, this was bill
whlch'required the examination of com.
mlttee. 1t was almost wholly matter of
detail, and he wished the subject present.
ed in such a light, if possible, that he
might vote for it. As it at present stood,
he was not in favor Of the bill, nor would
it be approved by the people OF this coun
try. 1t would come upon them by surprise.
They expected no such measure as this.
He had felt that it would be the part of
wisdom to let this matter be passed by for
another year, until the consequences Of the
war in which we are now involved might
be clearly known and the condition of their
finances be ascertained. He had hoped,
fondly hoped, that the good sense and the
practical interests of the country would
have had some effect upon public opinion,
and that the time would come when this
subject of the tariff which had hitherto
been agitated between the two extremes
of parties, would cease to be a football of
party contest.
1t was easy to foresee the fate Of this
measure. There would probably be no
amendments tolerated; reference, there
fore, would be of little importance. He
would have desired to see it amended so
that it would guard the ordinary interests
OF the country. Such were his hopes, but
they were destroyed. He saw it was de.
termined that the bill should be forced
through without examination, and they
would be driven to the disagreeable neces
sity of voting upon it as it stood. La such
case he should not hesitate. He had no
agency in making the law of 1912; he
had no agency in this; indeed he might
almost say Congress had no agency in it;
it was an Executive measure, and Congress
was merely called on to register it by their
votes. But he would say to his friends that
perhaps they were not aware of the re-
sponsibllty of passing an act of this kind.
1t was not light subject. II that bill
were passed it would be found not TO be a
light subject, when they came back here
one or two years hence and found an ex-
hausted Treasury, discredited Govern
ment with the necessity OF making a loan
of twenty millions of dollars. Gentlemen
would then begin to perceive lts effects
they would then begin to discover how de-
structive it was to the best interests of the
country. Those interests were not TO be
trifed with; they were not to be made the
sport OF party influences or party caprice;
and they should not be made so by his vote
That vote should be given with a proper
regard to the interests of his own consti-
tuents and of the country at large. The
time would come when the present law
would be repealed, but the repeating law
must be based upon no new experimental
principle. The bill he supposed would
take its course; he should take his. He
would stand where he had ever stood, on
tariff ground which belonged to the De.
mocracy of the North. The people of the
North know their rights, and they would
not be betrayed He would endavor al.
WAYS, so far as he was able, to carry onl
the principles of the Northern Democra.
cy. Those principles were a tariff fol
revenue with discrimination for protection
Was this bill based upon those principles
He was inclined to think not. He was 10
clined to think that, in many instances
ii dscriminates against protection. 1t hac
no uniform principles except one, anC
that was the ad valoren principle. He
could not sanction it; still it was due to the
subject as we'll as to the country that i
r II Ell