The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-14
THE DAILY UNION.


fer the wants Of the government. IL the same
i opinion continue 10 be entertained now ua'
some entertained then, ] anticipated The same
attempt to reduce these rates, because they y'eideo
much more revenue than the necessities OF the gov
j eminent required. But now that the scene Is 80
changed-now that we have urgent necessity for all
the revenue that be obtained-when we arc
about to resort to loans-when We are about TO DC
depressed in our financial condton-hat gentlemen
should still persevere in attempting TO carry through
a measure which at the time alluded TO had some
grounds stand upon, does certainly appear 10 me
most extraordinary. But NE argument has changed
| with the circumstances. We are called on no" 10
reduce the rates Of duty, not because TOO much rev
is raised but because there Is too HUE, ana De-
| cause be obtained by reducuoh OF inc
rates Well, sir, | commend the prudence of those
who take this view Of the subject Whether they
may be able TO demonstrate IL la satisfactory man
ner is another matter. But commend the prudence
of gentlemen who are altogether unwilling IN the
present of affairs TO vote for any change OF the
revenue system Of the country, unless they are aole
to say that they eohseenlousy believe that at least
i as much revenue will be obtained by the new sys
TEN is obtained by that which they are about to
oyerturn. | am sure that gentlemen feel that they
could not stand up before the connry-thal they
could not stand acquitted in their own eyes-lf they
were to vote for change in the system OF raising
revenue, at a crisis like the present, when the
government is contracting for loans and lis eA-
penditures are so largely on the increase, unless
II was demonstrable beyond all sort Of doubt that
the new system would supply an adequate revenue
Il at all events that II would afford an amount OF
revenue equal to that Obtained by the system which
now exists, and which il TO be demolished IL did
seem to me, sir, that 1t was quite reasonable To
expect Of the administration and its friends ~ both
houses Of Congress, that they would say that "sneh
Is now the altered condition OF public htairs-sucb
has been the change in circumstances since this
attempt to reduce the rates OF duty was hrst made,
that we deem IL the more prudent--indeed, he only
prudent that ought to be taken to STAND
by that which has beea tried and proved, and tested,
and avoid for the present, In such an emergency,
entering on the trial OF that which is ayo~edly
and confessedly All experiment; the amount ~ rev
enue be derived from which is altogether eI
ofconectue and uncertainty the changes winch were
proposed in the collection and administration OF the
revenue being 90 fundamental that even an approx
Imalon to the truth, as the senator from Alabama
said yesterday cannot he reached, the whole bust
ness being matter Of hope, Of guess-woTk rather
Than Of sober calculation and sound reasoning. But
II seems that such prudential course 10 to be Ia
ken. This bill is to be pressed on 10 hnal action, ana
that too in open disregard Of the usual order OF pro-
ceduTe. The act Of 1912 is to be oyerthrown.
From the remarks made the other day when It was
moved to refer this bill to the Committee Of Fl.
nance, inferred that II stated that the act OF
| lSl2 is to be oyerthrown. Gentlemen the other
side so declare; they affirm that they know they
are able To pass this bill. II is not for me TO say
that they do or do not know that Whether the
bill is TO pass in its present shape cannot say.
ConcnTrlng IN the opinion expressed by the hon
orable senator from Massachusetts, near me, Mr.
WEBSTER, that the bill Ia radically wrong IN princi'
ple-that defective tender almost lmpos-
sibe build any thing subsant al upon it have the
expectation that II pass at all It will be IN It's present
shape; and | have no disposition or purpose to
move any amendment whatever, nor do think
shall have the slightest disposition or purpose to
vote for any amendments whatever, unlePs they be
TO that extent that can we'll infer from them the
preservation Of the revenue Of the country, and the
commercial and all the other great interests OF the
country, which are involved in the ad ustment OF
the tariff of duties upon foreign goods. shall go
for no attempts at patching up" that which |
believe to be so radically wrong that 1t cannot be
patched up so as TO be made available TO the uea-
sury or substantially beneficial TO the country. IL
aust take some new shape-some new form-be-
come essentially changed in its principles before
can give to it my concurrence to any extent what
ever But the tariff Of 1912 is TO be
thrown. The fierce and bitter acknowledgements
outpourng of all sorts of opprobrIous epithets d.
rected against the existing law, proclaim the pur-
poses Of it's opponents. Well. why is 1t TO be over
thrown This is a question surely worth mo-
ments consideration. Has the tariff OF 1912 ac-
complIshed that which its friends and advocates
and supporters promised il would accomplish Has
It failed in the fufment Of any single object which
it designed to gain' Has il yielded adequate
revenue' Has it restored public credit and public
confidence All this we promised All this we
| pledged ourselves TO achieve, and how were our
promises and Wedges metz Why, gentlemen then-
on the other side-and see many of them still
there-ridiculed our professions and promises,
They predicted great decline in the revenue. They
predicted destruction to commercial interests.
i They predicted all manner Of evil. II was main
tanned that would not be nbe to obtain the loans
necessary to carry on the government-for the
treasury was then 50 impoverished that the gov
eminent under the necessity Of borrowing
twelve fifteen miions-and recoect that one
gentleman contended very zeaously that we should
be obliged 10 give 800 of scrip for 500 in cash.
Well, we passed the law authorizing the loan, and
not a dollar could we get at any rate, TIL this
revenue bill was passed. Then, sir, money
enough could be Obtained, and at lower
rate Of interest than that authorized to
be paid. The public credit advanced at once,
and continue to advance until the stocks of
the United States reached, think maximum of
about Is or Is, and at that sold rapidly after the
enactment of this law, because verybody that
we had system which would enable US to carry on
the government to pay the interest puncually, and
the principal when it became due Look, then, at the
working of the act Of 1912. 1t dad not 60 fairly in
to operation for several months after it enacted
1t can hardly be said that it fairly in operation
& ull the succeeding spring-the spring of l643
About that time we changed the commencement Of
the fiscal year, 30 that fiscal years end on
the Both of June Take, then, the first whole fiscal
year under the act of 1872 and you will find that it
yielded CATER paying all the expenses Of collec-
ton, drawbacks, and everything else, of which
will speak by-and-by) twenty-five and three-quar-
ter millions. That was the result of the first year.
, In the second year (lS45) the amount twenty.
six and thrcequarters. (amost) showing an in
crease eff about million. In the third year Just
ended, June, l846) the nett amount was S26 81 1864,
according to the best computation could make, for
the statements quite contradictory. By the papers
! received this morning from the Secretary of the
Treasury, the amount is set down at $26, 6si ,9l5.
Thus is shown a constant increase, but an increase
: marked by an extraordinary uniformity. Here are
three successive years in which the amount received
into the treasury scarcely variesnothng perceptible
There are no such other three years to be found in
our history, or anything approaching to them.
Well, now is not this most extraordinary illustra-
, ton Of the character and working Of our tariff
Search our statute books from beginning to end and
you look in vain for any other law whose operation
: has been so uniform--so steady. During these
three years we have had none Of those fluctuations
which result from excessive importations-one wear