The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1846-09-11
DEMOCRATIC REASONING rersus DEM.
OCRATiC AUTHORITY
FRoM rue HARRISBURG DFMocRArIc UNION

UNA IL Az III bRl L l.
FROM rue HARRISBURG DEMOCRATIC UNION"
The last Free Trade Report. The Re.
port Of the Secretary Of the Treasury Of
the 22d Of July, which our friend Of the
Warrington Union says will be " the great
document Of the free. trade party in eve.
ry portion OF the country, advances such
novel doctrines that we feel constrained to
take brief notice Of II. with view of
exhibiting It's utter absurdity. The broad
and sweeping assertion IS made in this re.
por, that the people Of the country are tax.
ed, 10 consequence Of the tariff, from three
to four times the additional amount Of the
duty, and most singular table is pfepar.
cd To prove this fact.
The Secretary takes sixteen Of tho lead.
ing items Of manufacture and consumption
~ the country, viz: iron, and the manu-
features thereof; the manufactures of TO.
hacco, cotton, wool, and leather coal, salt,
sugar, moasscs, glass, paper, coIdage, cot.
ten baGglng, hats and caps, straw hats,
bonnets, aud bralds, and earthenware," a.
mounting, IN the aggregate, to 1891 ,l9S,.
500, and lays down the position that, upon
these items, TO bring a nett revenue of
Sl1,032 ,2s9 into the Treasury, there vas
imposed by the Tariff Of lS42 a tax of
s94, 100, s57 upon the people of these Uni.
ted States, Of which SIS, 1886 452 was gross
revenue, and the remainder, So, 2 "A, 405,
constituted the enhanced price OF these
protected domestic articles" The mode
Of proving the above extraordinary posi-
ton is this: The Secretary takes the Whole
consumption Of the above matted manutac-
lures and adds thereto the duv, assuming
that the domestic article is raised in price
to precisely that extent. Thus he sets
down the consumption of coal at ! ,3l1 900
tons, valued at Sl5,2l6, e07, and adds
thereto the duty Of Sl.75 per ton, assert.
ing that the consumer is taxed Sc, 500, 092
with view ging into the Treasury
Sl3O,22l, a.noHnt OF duty collected on
the foreign Goa brought into the country
last year. In other words, the Secretary
lays down the position that n ton OF coal
at the Harrisburg wharf is raised in price
Sl.75 by the tariff of lSI2, and that its
repeal would lower the price Of a ton of
coal 10 that extent. Now, is there a sane
man in this borough, or any where else
throughout the length and breadth Of the
Commonwealth, who viii say that coal is
raised one copper at this place or Phla-
delphia, or Plitsburg, BY the tariff law of
! ls42 The fact is, that the price OF coal
/ has decreased thro'out Pennsy wanna since
/ ls42, and we might, if we chose 10 ad.
vance absurd theories, declare that this re.
ductinn was owing TO the passage Of the
tariff bill. The books of our coal dealers
show that Wyoming anthracite coal retail
ed at the Harrisburg wharf as follows In
1sil at 81; ls42 at S32j; 1913 at So
25; ls4i al SO; and Si5 Il, $3.50. In
Philadelphia the reduction in prices has
been in a much greater proportion. 1t
must be an exceedingly rich Joke TO our
neighbors of Plttsburg, who get their coal
for about eighty cents ton, to be told that
they are paying a duty of Sl.75 upon it.
Again, in the item of cotton manufac.
lures, the Secretary contends that the du.
" is TO be added TO the value of the whole
$50, l57 ,04S worth manufactured and con.
sumed in the county, and hence the poo.
pie pay a tax of Sl0,4s7 ,l45 in order 10
get into the Treasury S3,73l ,005. Now,
by the report of the Secretary on com
merce and navigation, it appears that we
exported last year of domestic manufactur-
ed cotton goods, namely, printed and col.
ored cottons, white nankeen, twist, yarn
and thread, aud other manufactured goods,
tho neat little amount of 81, 327 ,02S worth;
and, il we can export these cottons in com
potion with all the world, viii any man in :