The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1854-03-01
MR.. B0YCE's SPEECH
UPON THE TARIEE

the Secretary ofthe Treasury, that the sur
plus balance on hand September 80, 1853,
WAS S2S,2l7,SS7 7S. Mpied by such u
vast and increasing surplus, the Secretary
very properly recommends II modification
of the Tariff His proposed modification
may hc summed up in three ideas Du-
ties Of ono hundred per cent. on brandics
and cordiais, a greater extension OF the
free list and an uniform duty of twenty
five per cent. on all remaining imports.
Though | have the very highest respect
for the Secretary Of the Treasury, am
compelled to differ from him on this sub
Ject. As regards tho one hundred per
cent. duties, they are utterly indefencible
rs . financial measure; they arc five times
higher than the revenue standard, end
must diminish the revenue and injurious.
ly affect our commercial relations with
France. can see no possible reason for
such cxhorbtant duties, but desire to
loyiSlate indirectly on agrcat social qLcs-
tlon, with which | conceive we have moth
ing to do. Passing by these one hundred
per cent. duties, which arc in no harmony
with the Secrctary's general tariff policy
, Ilapproach the two leading principles urg.
ed by him-tho free list and uniform
duty ottwrnty-tive per cent.
1t is important to observe what the free
list does not contain and what it docs
contain. 1t does not contain articles of
foreign manufacture, which may como in
competition with home manufactures. 1t
>docs not contain the raw materials Of do
mestic manufactures, and certain exports
for which our manufactures are exchanged,
as tea and coffee for instance. 1t is also
important to consider what articles will
pay the duty of twenty five per cent, con-
tessedly high duty, above the revenue
standard-five per cent. higher than the
maximum duties under the British revised
tariff Of lS43. 1t will be found that a
mong these articles aro all foreign pro
ducts which may come in competition
with domestic manufactures. From these
facts, the object of the Sccretary's tariff
Tsecomes luminous. 1t is evidently design
.el to give domestic manufactures the ut.
most practical protection; and it accom-
plishes this purpose most thoroughly for
the effect Of admitting tho raw material
duty free, and taxing the manufactured
article twenty five per cent, is to extend
protection, in some instances, to the ex-
tent of forty and forty-tivo per cent This
free list is great invention for while it
confers an exclusive privilege on tho man.
nfaceurers, that of importing the commo-
dities they need free Of duty, it creates an
apparent necessity and affords u prc,eyt
for high duties on their rival imports.
What u system! Those commodities
which the manufacturers need pay no dutv
Those which the people need pay duty
amounting, practically, to about onc-thirA
of their SaluS. -..---
cent.,it rests on the radical error that all
imports can pay the same rate of du y,
whereas the fact is exactly tho reverse.
Some commodities cannot pay more than
five per cent, and hence every tariff that
we have ever had has proceeded on gra-
dation Of duties. To apply uniform rate
Of twenty-five per cent. is to prohibit many
articles, and diminish the revenue. There
is one article to which tho Secretary pro,
poses to extend even moro than an Old nary
share Of protection is irou-of all
imaginable things that which the univer.
sal industry Of the country. in every form
and section, is most interested to obtain
cheap. Yet urder the euphonious term,
spacitic duties, this article is to receive the
lions share of protection. entirely dis
sent from the Secratary's rccommenda-
tions. object to every one of them his
his ono hundred per cent. duties, his free
list his horizontal tariff of twenty per cent,
his spacfic duties on iron, This projected
tariff is protection and monopoly in their
worst, because their most covert forms.
will not dwell longer on this report, salts
fed to call attention to its protective fca-
lures. pass on to the general considcra
tion OF the subject.
After \ brief history Of the revenue sys- !
TEN, prior to the adoption of the revenue
policy in 1Sl6--of the protective policy |
result Of prohibition on the one hand and
bountics on the other, lie stated that the |
obje4t of taxation varies in different gov
ernments. That i'm some it is to deprcss |
tie masses and secure the dominion OF the |
few-that this government is mere trus-
tee Of the people Taxation is n means
TO execute tho trust, aud i'll this view it
should take as little rs possible from the
peopo--it should bare equally upon all,
and should interfere rs hltle rs possible
with private industry. That protective
tariff Is inconsistent with these conditions,
aud for reasons rs follows:
THIS protective policy is manifestly un.
eigsI &c CLASSES --hu. !ts inequality 10
sections is still more obrious.-The manu-
tacturi1g interests are in great degree
confined to the northern section Of the
Uaion IL benefits portion Of that sec
ton at III. expense of all other sections.
To illustrate this, we will suppose the
southern planter wishes to exchange his
cotton for cotton cloth, or WOODEN or ircn.
under tho operation OF u protective tariff
he must exchange his cotton for less guam
tity OF those ARTICLES. Ii he buys the for
eign commodity he must pay Government /
at least one fourth of its value for the pri-
vilege Of bringing it within the country.
To escape this taxation, he must buy the
homemade commodity at price enhanc-
cd TO the extent Of the duty on the foreign
article. Fivc,sixths OF our cotton crop is
exported TO Europe to bc exchanged for