The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1850-12-06
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the Presidents Message which recommends an abandon
ment OF the present ysism of ad saore duties and the
substitution of specific duties.
We touched this point in the hasy remarks which we
made our commentary on The Message but the Jour!
nal OF Commerce goes more fully into the matter than
we did There Is manifest injustice in imposing the
same lax on an inferior article and one much more vau-
bic simply because they are made OF the same material
The value OF the article is the only thing which should
be looked 10 in ievyng ane collecting duties and we
have been able TO any logic in that reasoning
which would impose a duty OF two dollars on
yard OF cloth that costs dollars and two dollars on
yard of the kind of cloth which costs only three
dollars The necessities OF the poor force them 10 con
the least valuable fabrics; and seems to our COM
prshension to be rank injustice in the 10 tax
those coarser fabrics high the finer fabrics which
are consumed by the rich, taxed The only plea
which we have ever heard urged in defence of such
plain injustice is to protect the revenue from fraudulent
invoices, and 10 give uniformity to the duties levied
in the various ports, These ends desirable as we admit
them TO bedo not in judgment Justify means which
pesuppcse wrong and injustice on the part Of he govern
nen For one, we not willing purchase uniformity
At that price As to the alleged frauds we have no doubt
that frauds have heen be perpeated under any
and every system but must adhere to tile belief that
the government should adopt other measures to d.
minish the frauds perpetrated under the ad vaorem sys
tenn, rather than resort wrongful and fraudulent egis
laton We have reflected this subject and we cannot
believe that frauds have been perpetraed to the extent
alleged or, they have been perpetraedto that extent
cannot believe that they have NOT been perpetraed
under the former specific system Despite the low duties
Of the present bill the revenue has increased be-
You'd all expectation Forithe iscayea has gone far
beyond Mi Meredith's estimates. We cannot therefore
see how is that tho revenue has suffered 10 the extent
which the monoposts assertooIf what these gentle.
men say be true then evident to us that there were
either similar frauds during the tariff Of 1872 or that The
high duties encouraged smuggling to an enormous extent
Our conviction that the outcry against the ad valorem
system is raised for the purpose OF breaking down the
freetrade principles which have operated so benef.
ciay for the country The proectonsts dare mol make
an open issue before the people this point. All
their prophecies of ruin, and all their antcipaiions
Of distress, happily remain unfulled The country is
prosperous beyond example, and the revenues from
customs have increased with astonishing rapidity
Our beraly has induced foreign nations to be more
liberal in levyng duties on our productions. Under
these circumstances, the advocates Of class legislation
must resort to Induction They, therefore, rail
openly, not against free trade, but against I'D paiorsn
duties hoping that, when specific duties are subst-
tuted, they will succeed in arranging them to obl
crate every ses,ge OF free trade, aud the dscar
ed principles of the protective tariff OF 1912 Yet they
talk ofpemanency and uniermy and the President even
jonsavth them, while he ishe FIRST to recommend change
and advocates the overthrow of system and the subs
luton OF another, Weconfess do not understand such
permanency and uniformity that amounts TO. The
original bill OF ls4a contained provision that when the
appraisers at any port believed that cargo Of goods
were nvoced low, they might take them on behalf of
The government aiinvoiced prices This provision would
have tended strongly prevent fraudulent invoices yet
was stricken out by ths tariff partyby the very
who complained Of frauds on The reyense Under such
circumstances. must pardoned for being suspicious
,ss5a ~ NJ From the New York Journal Of Commerce. !,
On the subject of the tariff, course descent from
some Of The Pesldenis positions II we rightly understand
him. while he Truly ssfers thai what the maonIao,g.er
At the same time . strongly recommends modinozion Of
die sew sss, 70 . o. nat %
tariff has been In operation only -four years IL has pro-
ns Se 5 i've
contributions 10 The nannaeuIersihai is
willing TO submit Them while longer l however the
tariff TO be modified rs 70 for lower duties Instead OF
eIy anopm IN the mode Of assessing se duie. whereas
the arf Of 1872 was Of ad ysorem ana specific
on Of about io2 Now, II the objections against dis
OF the value Of the goodsare
sss . S 'R Ss n sd S.s
rem duties auetpn,e with the, price And why should
ainy pay more duties than value of Any dollars
Under the ad ysorcm system, such IL always case
while, under the spscic system, ths apount Of duties
given article, of given qualify Is always the same
however much the pains OF the article may change. In
other words the per esnfags Of dss proportion the
value of tho goods constantly changing urdef the spe!
ci6c system, but remains steady and am the ad
vsorem system, But this Is all Under the specific
system, different quaiues Of The article are, Ia
value OF quality be twice thrice thai Of anohcf
thus making the poor man pay much dnty upon poot
article the rich man pays upon good Upderasy
system. revenue scd by duties upon Imports operates
coisut many goods nearly many as rich
But when, In addition to this, tariff makes the poor
man pay much larger oensge OF duty upon the value
which he than the rich does, 10 far
very bad tarf, beyond question and SUCH to- greater
less degree all tariffs based upon specific duties
The President is not happy in hs paragraph showing
the benefits Of protective duties The fact is
that when duly iseved upon article produced 10
this country all goes into the treasury. except the
penscs Of COLLECTION; Whereas In The case OF an article
into the treasury The amount OF duties the imported
ce, hut by doing. enhances the price OF sl like
goods In this country, which be double
qaadrups the amount pored II would therefore be
quired should be collected upon goods the fike Of
which are not manufactured in this country The
consumers, however. In their great lberay, do
in general require this, but consent still pay du
ers. Nevereess this string viii bear pulling
hard. All goods which can be prombiy prodacedn this
country will eventually be made here ~ they cannot be
made here without perpetual bounty drawn from the