The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-08-27
Brandon, August 20, 1846.
Speech of MIR. Collamer, of Yer
mont, on the Tariff.

Delivered in the House Of Representatives, Z.
S., June &c, 1916.
The following is extracted.
81 wish now to present certain facts, taken
from the returns Of the past year in the Treas
ury Department, as to our importatlons, and
the duties arising therefrom, which seem to
me very conclusively to show, that the pro-
posed bill cannot furnish the ordinary reye-
nue. to the Treasury. The present tariff pro-
duced by duties on importations, gross rev.
cnue of thirty millions last year, being about
twenty-seyen millions when the expenses OF
collection, &C., were all paid. Now, it must
be borne in mind, that all that amount is
needed, and the Secretary in no place denies
that There are six articles in our tariff from
which more than two-thirds Of the whole rev.
enue is derived. (This is so in the English
tariff, where the great body of their revenue
is derived from eight articles) Those SIX ar
tcles are woolens, cottons, sugars, (includng
molasses,) silks, spirits,an iron, with its man
fact ures OF these six articles there was
imported, last year, in all, the aggregate of
81 ,960.492 dollars, and there was derived
from them 20,685,035 dollars of the whole
gross revenue, being over two-thirds of the
whole.
Should the present bill pass, and thereby a
great part of the business of the country
Should be deranged and remodled, it would
probably not improve the condition Of the
people 50 as to enable them to buy and use
more than before. But even ifno CONFUSION
or depression should follow, and our people
should import and use the same amount as
last year, then, at the rate of duty provided
in this bill, there would be a falling off in the
r.; he
sum OF 5,GG2,43 dollars in every year. In
order, then, to bring up this deficiency, there
must be a greatly increased importation of
these articles. At the rates Of duty provided
in this bill, in order to produce the required
ordinary amount of revenue, that is, the a.
mount realized last year, of woolens, of which
there was imported last year 10,67S,387 dol
lars worth, there must next year be an impor-
alton of 12,613,073 dollars worth. Of man
ufactures Of cotton, Of which there was last
year imported Il 1868, 1892 dollars, there must
next year be imported 20,456,308 dollars
OF foreign distilled spirits, Of which there
was last year imported 1 ,191 ,120 dollars, there
must next year be imported 2,1S0,577 dollars,
OF the whole six articles, of which there was
last year an importation Of an aggregate of
81, 1872 dollars, there must be next year
69,604, 122 dollars; being an increase Of the
importation, of these six articles only, of II,
743 ,632 dollars. From view Of these facts,
we naturally inquire, how can it reasonably be
expected that our people will actually and an
nually hereafter import, buy, pay for, and
consume, year by year, the enormous sum of
over seventeen millions and half Of dollars,
of these six articles, more than they now do
and a corresponding increase of all other i'm
portations in the same ratio? Yet this seems
to be the expectation of the Secretary. The
next question which naturally arises is, if this
enormous additional amounts to be annually
imported, how is it to be paid for? Sir, if it
is ever paid for, it must be in specie. Eng
land will take of us none of our products, but
to supply what she cannot furnish and cannot
buy cheaper of others That she does now,
and no more. Our specie thus drained off,
and our banks thereby shut, our whole cur
rency becomes deranged and bascless, and all
the necessary and well known distresses fol-
low Such has heretofore been the conse-
quence, as | shall hereafter have occasion to
show, and such it probably must be again.
But it is said that the repeal of the En-
glish corn laws will increase our expectation,
and so we may pay for the increased quanti-
ty of English goods. That, sir, think an
entire delusion. / have not time now fully
to expose it. l can merely say here, that this
will little help that part Of the country who
buy and do not sell flour and provisions
That when our home market is destroyed by
the ruin of our manufactures, the wheat and
provision grower will seek the foreign mar
ket,and there meet in England the wheat and
provisions of the continent selling at prices
ruinous to him. because raised by the labor of
men and women working together in the
fields at six pence per day, and finding their
own provisions of black bread and water
Has not this been fully tried already? Is
not our flour now selling in England, though