The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-01-29

public revenue, an attempt 10 made to establish the
theory that high duties on foreign imports will both
I'LL the treasury, and encourage commerce. We
have no belief that Amencan statesmen are at
all likely to put Mr.. Secretary Corwin's sugges-
tons into the shape OF new tariff, nor are APP
prehensive that his doctrines are making much pro
gress IN the States; but II y certainly some what
lete European financial jugglery made the stock
topics OF a formal report addressed by an American
financial minister TO both houses of Congress
Ii it were possible TO understand exactly what
Mr.. Secretary CorwinIaims at in the notions so mis-
uly put forth IN this mysterious paper, we should
infer that he holds the established laws Of trade
to be the result simply OF
and that the amount OF a nations Imports and ex-
ports to be determined, by what il chooses
buy or sell, but by some "practcal rate of duties
that shall conflne all importatlons " to an amount
about equal TO such exports as can lind market at
remuneTative prices abroad" Now, what does this
mean! If trade ceases to be profitable, will it be
continued with or without Mr. Corwn's practical
rate Of duties - and il the object of this practical
rate OF duties' be to limit mporations what other
possible effect can il have Than to inure the reve.
nue., as well as to diminish trade! All duties for re-
venue are necessarily impediments TO commerce;
and If, as Mr. Corwin asserts IL ID the universal i'm
preston of the Americ people "that In assessing
duties on forcing merchandise such discrimination
should be made will have the effect of producing
all articles which can be manufactured at home, Ia
such quantity, if possible, as TO raise up two mar
kets for the consumer the home and the foreign
each competing with the other, so that he may not
be lett to the mercy of one and that the foreign
alone" why, then, the American people are not
quite SO CUTE as we take them to be. The idea
of benefttlng the American consumer by thus Gre
ating two markets, each competing with the 9th
err" is an ingenious one, and certainly as credita
BILE to Mr. Corwln's sagaciy as the practical re-
suit would be To the good sense OF the Americans,
whom he affects to believe would prefer two dear
shops TO a single cheap one. Here II il that MIR.
Corwln begins to reveal what he means by prac-
teal rate OF duties that shall regulate both I'M
opAoy ala AsprvT ,rS
tent revenue" from high duties on imported ma
nufactures ofevery description, he loses sight of the
self. contradiction with which every paragraph of
his report abounds. His principles would 60 the
length OF destroying all foreign trade whatsoever.
He would neither import manufactured goods nor
export raw materials. He dwels upon the magni-
ude and value Of the raw cotton exported fro the
States, as if il were a calamity, and prOnounces il
to be g mistaken policy tor any nation TO send its
raw materials 10 distant countries to be manu-.
featured into fabrics for its own use" What
nations can produce most abundanty and cheaply,
is not the natural and profitable chnnael for their
industry or enterprise, but what they can produce
with the scaniest results and the costest labour.
he talks about securing to the American people
some portion of the profits which other countries
derive from working up their raw materials-as if
America had not become wealthy and great by the
very process which he denounces g The ware
houses of the United States" ne says, " will not
be filled with the products and manufactures of
other nations, so long as we are content to export
our cotton and other raw m aterials in their crude
state. and import the most common articles OF
clothing" Why, America has filled her Ware
houses with $. the products and manufactures of
other nations by exchanging the natural produc-
tons of her soil for the more costly and highly
wrought results Of their industry. Whatever
America exports, she does SO only for the sake Of
importing something more valuable. She is not
loser, but gamer, by the exchange. Garry out
the protective or prohibtory policy of Mr. Cor
win, and its fruits would be a diminuton, not an
increase, of commodities. mere crude and
cal M hRn If he
Of the American Treasury never yet emauated
from the pen of any statesman, either in the old
new world. Not one-half of it is Ineligible,
and the other half is strange mixture Of transpa-
rent fallacies or dishonest pretences, that will do
little for the credit of government which counts
upon making political capital by the nsincere adj
voc acy of a policy which is known to be as i'm
practicable as it 10 preposterous.