The Somerset herald and farmers' and mechanics' register. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 183?-1852, 1846-08-11

ScHeule, tielT Only answer UuSt Ue, W
break up your labor. Let them 90 into
their districts and tell the halters that the
Secretary intended to bring in fifty thou
sand dollars more of foreign hats. Tell
the blacksmith that Mr.. Walker intended
to bring in fifty thousand dollars of iron
manufacturers. Go tell the tailors that
he intended. in like manner, to bring in
two hundred thousand dollars worth more
of ready-made clothing, reducing the pro-
lection on that article from fifty down to
thirty per cent, and let them understand
that the fruit of this reform would be TO
reduce the revenue and reduce the price
of their work twenty per cent, to throw
multitudes OF them out of employment,
and 10 supply the place of them in the
market by the labor OF English and French
shoemakers, English hatters, English
blacksmiths, and English tailors, and how
was it probable these men would be
pleased,& ,& what was Of more consequence
TO gentlemen, how was it likely they
would vote! A great restlessness was
here manifested. Mr.. S. said he knew
it was very unpleasant topic in certain
quarters, but what he said was true, the
gentlemen would find it TO be true. He
warned them to remember his words, just
so sure as they passed this new tariff bill
so certainly would they destroy the reve-
nue., destroy the country, aod destroy
their party; and, if the last was the only
consequence. he would not regret tit
would be godsend to the country. He
told ihem bafore hand they would not
have money to pay the ordinary expenses
of the Government, let alone the expen-
ses of the war.
Mr.. S. was willing to risk all he had
in the world on the correctness of this pre-
diction. Let gentlemen carry out the
ad volorem tariff, their subtreasury bill,
and their warehousing system, and they
would not get next year onehalf the reve-
nue. that they got this-not hallmark
the prediction. Yet their scheme was
called revenue measure, but it was in
truth system 10 encourage fraud and
perjury, 10 cheat the Government of rev.
enue, and the farmers of their market,
and labor OF its employment. and indus
try of its just and fair rewards.
And here Mr.. S. would take the liber-
ty of suggesting 10 the chairman Of the
Committee Of Ways and Means the prac-
teal contrast between the sliding scale OF
Sir Robert Peers bill and the ad valorem
scale of the new tariff bill. By the bill
of Sir Robert Peel, when the prices ran
down, the scale of duties ran up; and
when the prices ran up, the scale of du-
ties ran down; but the scale of the chair
mans bill worked in a manner directly
the reverse of this. When the price abroad
ran down, the. duty randown; and when
the price ran up. the duty ran mp with it.
Sir. r. Poefs scale prevented fluctuations
of price, and the committees promoted it.
Mr.. Joseph r. Iugersoll begged Mr.. S.
to call it the Secretary's scale, and not
| the scale of the Committee of Ways and
Means. 1t was the Secretarv's bill, and
nobody else's.
Mr.. Stewart resuming. said, come the
bill from where it might, it would give the
laborer protection when he did not want
protection, and would take it away from
him when he wanted it the most. When
the prices of his labor was high, foreign
goods would be kept out by high duty,
but when the price OF labor was low,
foreign goods would be let in upon him by
proportionably low duty. When iron,
for oxaD,DIo mos s,,vI ,Jo,,r a. .,......-
four dollars a ton, and of course would
be largely imported, then the duty was
but seven and half dollars, but when iron
rose TO fifty dollars ton, and could not
be imported, then the duty rose to
fifteen dollars. Such was the practical
operation of this ad volorem system; be-
sides, it was system of frauds and per-
Juries, by which dishonest foeigners were
enabled to destroy & drive out Of business
every honest American importer. Could
any man deny the truth this! Why,
then destroy the present admirable tariff.
that has worked so well, and adopt such
miserable and rickeriy system as this!
Why destroy tariff that had paid since
1912, inclusive, no less than S34 ,307 ,224
of the principal and interest of your pub
lie debt, and leaving in your Treasury,
on the lst of July, 1915, balance of
S7,65s, ,306, which, added to the above
gives surplus revenue, over and above
the ordinary expenditures, Of s41, $685.
$50, derived from the tariff of 1912, in
eluding the payments Of that year. This
ne stated from official annual Treasury
reports OF ls43, page 81, of 1914, page
l9, and of ls45. page 25. Yet this tar
iff, which had yielded this large surplus
is to be DESTROYED in the midst of war,
and. instead of doubling the duties, as
was done in the last war, it is now pro-
posed to reduce them one third.
Mr.. s. said he had risen this morning
unexpectedly. He had not intended 10
make speech, and had already said more