Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1857-04-18

regard to all those articles for which there
would be no demand except such as was
made by the manufacturers themselves there
should be no duty, and those should be free.
Upon all articles on which you lay duty
for revenue, it should be laid only for rev.
enue purposes. Articles for which there is
no demand except that which the manufae-
! turers themselves create, should be free, be-
cause We should thus cheaper the price to
the consumer, and because, too, it would
enable us to avoid the risk of disturbing,
through our revenue system, the natural
equilibrium of the various branches Of pro-
ductiye industry.
But i'll proceeding to that great end, as
said before, desire to go gradually. de-
sire TO act upon principle which = just a.
like to the consumer and the manufacturer;
which, in short, enables the consumer to
buy more cheaply both at home and abroad
because it not only dimnishes the duty up
on imports, but also lessons the cost of pro-
duetion to the domestic manufacturer. To
diminish the cost of production by reducing
taxation, is, after all, the most legitimate
protection which Government can give to
its home industry. While, then, | reduce
the duties on those articles which the great
mass consume, / will reduce pari 1Qssa the
duties on those chemicals, dystuffs, &c,
which the manufacturer uses; SO that, BY
proceeding on this process Of reduction,
when we come to the point where We have
none but revenue duties on those articles
consumed by the masses, we shall have the
raw material, for which there is 10 demand
save that produced by the manufacturer
himself, free. That is the end towards Which
| think we should direct our efforts But
widely different is this in principle from a
free list which includes articles of general
consumption and fit subjects for taxation
tor, to make them free is 10 throw the whole
weight of taxation upon those articles which
come into competition with domestic manu-
features, and to prevent those duties from
ever falling to the revenue standard.
do not pretend to say (for it is very
much the rcversc) that the tariff act Of 1siG
was anything Ike this; but It was justifaht
because it was great Improvement on tie
state Of things which il substituted It re-
eognizcd, too, the principle upon which
proposed to act. So believe that the mol
ifcaiion which | shall oiFer will be al ial-
proyement on that act. What is that mod.
iiieatlon? propose to reduce the one hun
dred per cent. schedule to a thirty per cent. :;
to reduce the forty per cent. the thirty per
cent, the twenty-five per cent. and tht
twenty per cent. schedules one fourth. on
nearly one fourth that is 10 say. the forty
per cent. to thirty, the thirty to tweaty-thre,
the twenty-five to nineteen, and the tweuty
to fifteen The lower schedules, which at
comparatively uuimportant, propose TO re,
duec one fifth.
This is the whole scheme of the substitute
which | shall offer, except that ! mas.
transfers OF certain articles ia order to ae-
eonmadate the bill more to the principles
which ! have been endeayofiug to euunei-
ate transfer some of those dye-stuiYs which
are Of no use except TO the manufacturer, te
the free list, and others to the lowest SEIZED
ule j; so that the operation hereafter of this
scheme, if it should be adopted, will be to
approach as rapidly as we can to revenue
duties upon all articles consumed by the
masses and at the same time, when this is
accomplished, to give the manufacturer those
articles free of duty which are used only by
himself III the productions of the art But
| would approach this end, if | eonla, BY
steps SO sure and gradual as To give 10 rude
shock to any of the great interests Of the
country. believe that all this MAJ be ae-
eomplished with entire safety upon the pritl-
ciplea which | propose.
But II was not my purpose, nor do think
it would be right, to give to the manuiae-
turer all that he desires to have free, while
You tax the consumer upon a long list Of
articles with duties above the revenue stand
ard think the two ought TO 60 together;
and believe the substitute which | offer will
accomplish that in a great degree. But
how is it to operate on the great protected
interests of the country? All those which
have been heretofore considered as among
the protected interests are in the twenty
three per cent. schedule. There you find
iron, sugar, hemp, the manufactures Of
wool, and the finer manufactures of cotton.
Now, ask which of these interests is il
that need be afraid Of foreign competition
with such protection as this? Surely not
the iron interest, because to the twenty-three
per cent. Of duty you are to add the ex-
penses OF freight, aud commissions, &c,
which | have never seen estimated at less
than five cent. Ny excellent friend from
Rhode Island Mr.. ALLEN assures me tina
it costs all of that and he thinks, something
more. That FIVE per cent. added to tn,
twenty three per cent. is twenty-eight pc
cent. in itself large profit. In addition
to that we are to remember, that fer eael
ton of iron which goes by the railway, from
the sea-board into the interior. from tive
and half to three dollars must be added
to its price for every one hundred miles Of
transportation.
Now is there any living, healthy interest
that cannot stand, and stand well, under
such protection as this Of twenty ight per
cent? Twenty per cent, is large profit +;
twenty per cent on any kind of production
is large profit. But has not the iron IN
terest come to that point in its history when
it can well afford to stand under far less
duty, far less degree Of protection |
think it has. 1t is an admitted fact, that in
point of natural advantages in the produe-
ton of iron, the United States are unrivaletl
OF the one hundred and eighty three thous-
and square miles of coal fields of the world
it is computed that one hundred and thirty
three thousand, OF nearly three Iourths, are
in the United States having sixteen times
as many SQUARE miles as Great Britain and