Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-02-04

The whole consumption Is estimated at 100 lbs per head
of which the English have heretofore supplied annual
ernse Of bs during the past year the usual of
81 lbs Surely, business is oyrrdone where than
one-ihird of the whole consumption il imported. The de-
preston in the trade commenced in leia wiki the iEcrcas
ed importaons and has been aggravated par passu will,
them.
These increased mporiaons undoubtedly due in some
degree 10 low prices Of foreign iron but chiefly the
peculiar structure of The tariff Of 1885, which il especially
fvurahc large ipoations when prices are low, and ar
suutey protJitory when they high The tariff Of l64G
framed for purposes and procsSed the aG
rGore basis. The Iron masters therefore, confonndlng the
with the substance, have generally attributed their
present difficulties the al r1torem principle, and the
nue. structure of the tariff Here is the great error.
is not because the duty on iron is the revenue ad rdo
rate but because neither ud raiorem
duty that the iron trade suffering. We
that this taking the bull by the honslat 1t attacks the
tariff for its proiessed principles, but for not putting
those principles into practice But let If this be
the fact.
The term al ralorem "upon the value" The tariff
the duty upon the price Are price and ralue the
hingl Ii they are, then the tariff is al rdorem Ii
they not then the ta is not ad vaorem, but lad
tluln" The value, refers the Of the produc
ton; the price, what the article will bring in the
market Value is intrinsic price extrinsic. Hence we often
hear il said that thing has been sold bought Tor hall
double its value If value and price were synonymous terms
there would be but little chance for speculaion-and the
aodnay fluctuations in the price OF stocks often hve per
single day, without any assignable cause would
be known in Wall street. is, however, only was
ting words enlarge obvious matter Price depends
entirely upon demand and supply They being equal in the
being unequal price will have no reference TO value If the
price therefore of any article be very liable uctuao its
value can only be ascerained by the the prices
the recognized principle that staple article be produ
ced for series OF years. below its actual cost and il will
not average than fair profit for the labor skill and
pta employed in its production. Now of all staple articles
iron is most subject iucuaon Within years il
has advanced "a los fl4 and reccdcd again f4
los luciuaon OF 300 per cent. Deatours thermometer
is not more yariabeand YET like the solar heat the price
Iron has lis periods and its average from which does
depart
To make this plain, diagram has been prepared
The truly wonderful fluctuations in price appear glance
One familiar with the production Of iron will seek for the
causes these fluctuations elsewhere than in variation Of
first The whole cost OF making iron consists in the Ia
Dor bestowed and the interest OF the capital employed Now
it well that for 80 years. the price of labor and the
interest in Great Britain have been very unifom-so
that the of production, which, with fair profit deter
mines the value has been nearly constant To determine
this average line has been drawn which falls the IS
line. The eye will perceive that this is not high the
elevations above the line will certainly fill The depressions
below. We may therefore, assume Is the fair value Of
English bar-ron in Liverpool This average value and
the daily price springs from the laws Nature sz the value
of labor ana capital And when the economists maintain
that it is better 10 let Nature regulate the matter they
bound afford her chance 10 have her way Price is
not creature of at ALL II is the offspring Of specu
aon of demand and supply, of famines, revolutions and
countless violations of the laws OF Naureand II space per-
med il would be difficult 10 show that, wherever the
price has departed far from the average has been due
iirey TO causes that man can regard as natural.
ad paorem duty then bar iron should be based on
f6-whch by the way, is merely the average OF the
whole thirty years but Of each period Of yearswhich
seems constitute the interval OF hgh and low prices
what astronomers would call the a,c OF its revolution.
Having shown that duty based upon anything else than
the average prices is at ra0rm lei Us determine if
possible the Rcrenue rate Of duty The following table
will guide US the 1916 and lSi7 being omitted as transit
ton years from the inefmngng OF duties, and the
operation OF other disturbing causes is impossible 10 deter
mine the rate OF duty.