The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-01-06

mry. and speculations from the Secretary on
the prospect of inducing the holders OF United
States securities 10 part with their claims for
bonus, are now such an old story that the por-
ton of Mr.. Guthrie's report which refers to
them will not attract anything Nike the atteu-
ton commanded by similar announcements
in it's predecessors. 1t may be briefly stated,
that after paying all the expenses by the fede-
raj government, and redeeming over nine mil
lions of the public debt the balance left in the
Treasury at the close Of the last fiscal year
hardly fell short of nineteen millions of dol
lars. Mr.. Guthrie prudently estimates that the
balance in July next will fall short Of sixteen
millions.
The leading feature Of the report is, as usual,
| the recommendation in reference to the tariff
As, happily, there has ceased to be any diff
| ference Of opinion among the active and
| thinking classes of this country on this much
| vexed subject, it is to be expected that Mr.
| Guthrie's suggestions, which constitute a step
| towards free trade, will meet with no grayer
| opposition in Congress than the apathy of MEN,
bers They are substantially tue same as those
| We have had occasion to commend in the two
| last annual reports Of the present Secretary.
Emho5ying a twofold reform, they coatem-
| plate in tie first place smplideation OF the
customs levy, by chasing all commodities 10
three lists-a free list, a list paying % or 30,
| and another Is to 20 per cent: aad secondly,
transfer Of all articles used in manufactures
| to the Tree list.
| The articles paying the highest rate Of duty
| he proposes shall be q iron and its manutac-
| lures, steel and its manufacturers, sugar, wines
and all fabrics of which silk, wool, cotton,
| fax or hemp is q component part whether ma
| nufacturcd il whole or in part except fad
\ nels and cloths costing less than two dollars
| per yard, and blankets" This is, in some re-
spects, a concession to the iron workers. whose
complaints have long been as clamorous as
they were Illogical. Perhaps it may be polite,
in order to ensure the thorough adoption Of
the correct principle of trade, to purchase their
acquicscence in the present alteration Ten
years hence, as Mr.. Guthrie very properly re-
marks, it will be necessary to find some other
article to tax, as all the iron required for our
consumption will be made here, and the Gus
toms duty on the foreign article will produce
no revenue The wool and cotton spinners
| may also congratulate themselves on an indi-
rect sort Of protection; though in their case,
also, it is SO little needed that Mr. Glthrie's
successor will probably be called upon to re-
move taxes which viii have ceased to be pro
ductive before his term ends.
The second class-that which consists Of ar
| ticles admitted free--might have been extended
| with advantage. Mr.. Guthrie used to be more
| liberal. As it is, however, it is very good
free list; and will do no small good to certain
| classes Of manufacturers, such as the silk fac
tors, who have been unable to import raw silk
and make it mp proftably, in consequence Of
the duty on the raw article.
| The duty on the third class may be, according
to Mr.. Guthrie, either fifteen or twenty. Either
| ten or fifteen would have been better figures
Considering that it includes all the articles no.
| comprised in the two other lists, duty Of fif-
| teen per cent will be too high in many cases;
duty of ten, perhaps, is sufficient in all.
II is needless to commend the change from
eight to three schedules To the cumbrous
machinery Of the tariff Of 1916, no small por-
ton Of the individual corruption in the politi-
cal world may be safely traced. Men are
bought, votes are sold, souls arc bartered away
at every Presidential election that takes place;
and it may safely be said that in nine
cases out Of ten the consideration Of the
corrupt bargain is barter in the
Custom House. Were it not for the multpii.
city Of hands required to carry out the proTi-
sions of the act of 1916 il would be Impossible
for this buying aud selling t. 20 d.. sm,,y
because the politician w3eic NJ. L,g. IN
wber5wilbai Il reward .he voter yh,y 1uy.
For this reason alone. therefore, thu sncli.
cation proposed by Mr. Guthrie is desirable.
az indeed every step in the direction Ct ir,a
trade is or IN sane Fe4.n. 4 4. ..
tut the reyeinc VIII be defraudcd less fire.
quently, and the Collectors less often embar-
rassed by lawsuits under a three schedule sys-
ten than they are at present
Space might not usclcssly be devoted to
an explanation and reasoned approval of the
views presented by Mr. Guthrie ON the subject
Of the connection between the tariff and
the currency of this country. To the read
ers Of the HERALD, however. no such comment
need be offered, from the simple reason that
they have already, on various occasions in the
course Of the past twelve months had the same
views and the same theories laid before them
in the editorial columns of this journal. That
the conflict between the unsound currency sys-
tens Of the States, and the unsound protective
tariff Of the general government has operated
to produce inextricablc confusion, and to bury
the commercial history Of the United States
in perfect chaos of contradictions and ano-
males, is well known to every one who is con-
ycrsant with history. It is likewise clear that
the ultimate root Of the mischief was the aban-
donment By Congress of the power to regulate
the currency Of the United States-a power as
clearly delegated to the central authority, and
taken from the States by tho constitution nc