The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1853-12-20
Dfnfral llews.
The Treasury Report.

4 We are indebted to the Hon. William Aiken,
! for the Letter Of the Secretary oft the Treasury,
giving the estimrtes of appropriations needed
TOR the public service for the next fiscal year.
1t is carefully prepared document, and, what
is not without interest, it is admirably well
printed We hope th, is an indication of a
permanent and much needed improvement in
this branch of public business.
The Report of the Secretary "f the Treasury
indicates very great activity i'll his department,
and that new energy, activity and system have
been introduced into its complex machinery.
Important changes are also recommended in
the tariff Of duties. What these are we cannot
!. yet say. The tariff is, however, smplifed--
all foreign goods being distributed into three
classes-those free Of duty, those taxed 100 per
cent, and those taxed 25 per cent. No change
: in the ad valorem system is recommended ex-
! cept in the article of iron, on which it is sug
gested, specific duty, founded on the average
price for the last three ears, might be levied
with advantage to the manufacturers and with
! injury to the revenue. We have no doubt Of
all this, but there is another class, the consum.
ers of iron, who would certainly not be the
( gamers by a specific duty founded on the ave-
rage of three years OF high prices. There are,
also grave objections to breaking in upon the
nd valorem system, for the benefit Of Il parlicu.
lar branch of manufacturers. The difficulties of
1 this branch are far more due to the enormous
amount of ignorance among the iron masters,
than to any need of protection against fair
. competition. Mining and reducing metal is
science in Sweden here it is taken for grant
cd that nothing more is needed to make a mar
an iron manufacturer than that he should buy
n mine, and set to work herd of men, if pos.
sible, more ignorant than himself Is it good
public economy for the Government to assume
the burdens Of such ll.advi>ed undertakings
The Secretary advises the abolition Of the
Salt duty and the fishing bounty changes
that have been talked of as part of Il proposed
settlement Of the Fishery question with Eng
land. II is, at any rate, very desirable that
they should be made.
But the most interesting particulars in the
Secretary'S recommendations are his enlarged
free list, and his list of articles taxed at 100 per
cent. We wait for the publication of these
with some impatience, not Disgusting, in the
meantime, that we look upon the list with pro.
found disgust. There is no Justification, at "a
time like this of over abundant revenue, for
taxing so highly any class of imports And it
is the more to be regretted, il, as it is asserted
by ietter-writers, this enormous tax will prin-
cipally fall upon our trade with France "A
trade that our Government ought TO cherish
with peculiar solicitude, for reasons both politi.
cal and economical; and we rejoice to see in
the Presidents Message the proof that the ad-
ministratlon is alive To the Importance of en-
larging our commercial relations with that great
aud friendly nation Charleston Mercury.