Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-05-23

DISTRIBUTION AND A PROTECTIVE TARFF.
high protective tariff is necessary incident TO
the distribution of the proceeds of the pubHoland
To favor the policy Of distribution, IS to advocate
the proPriety Of high tariff To establish high
tariff is to the labor Of the many for the benefit
Of the few Justice and sound commercial policy
are both opposed to such partial legislation. hany
branch Of industry cannot support ITSELF 1t Is IN
just to tax others for its support The old doctrine
that 'high protective duties make cheap goods" IS
an exploded error, which at the present day finds
but few advocates among statesmen Of any research
Self interest however stil prompts those who arein
condition to reap pecuniary benefit from protective
duties, to seek to accomplish by indirection what
the almost unanimous public voice would condemn,
if directly subjected to consideration. Hence the
scheme to accomplish this object under the specious
plea of distribution"
The revenue for the support of the Government is
derived from two sources, to wit: The duties upon
foreign imports, and from the sale Of the public
lands. Bhese two items being collected and placed
in the Treasury are now used as the exigencies of
the government may require. If the amount re-
ceived for sales of public lands is Withdrawn from
the Treasury for the purpose of distribution among
the several States, as an inevitable consequence
the tariff Of duties-in other words the taxes-win
have to be increased to meet this deficiency While
the proceeds of the sales of the public domain are
used for the ordinary expenses of the government,
Of course the amount necessary to be raised by tax
alton is smaller by that amount. No sophistry can
do away this infallible result.
This being conceded, where is the advantage to
the people of the States Of abstracting this fund
from the Treasury, while they viii be obi ged to re-
place similar amount derived from taxation, to
meet the expenses of the Government? Why incur
the expense of Ievying and collecting tax from the
people, for the purpose of giving back to themas
gratuity? If the States desire to raise fund for
internal improvements or for other purposes, how
much better for them to tax the people, rather than
that the general government should levy this tax.
The States can accomplish the same result under
standingly and at much cheaper rate,-why then
call upon the general government tax us and after
retaining the expenses of collection, pay the bal
ance over into the State Treasury?
But the advocates of distribution tell us that they
do not propose to take from the Treasury the money
collected by taxation, but only that which is re-
ceived for sales of public land When both these
items are paid inso the Treasury how viii they be
able to distinguish between the two? If a million
Of dollars is to be taken from the United States
Treasury, and bestowed upon the States separately
what practical difference does It make whether they
assume to abstract the amount from one or the other
source of supply? You may say that you take it
from one, but still it is from the aggregate whole
that it is taken, and just to the extent that it is
Withdrawn from the Treasury, to that same s1tsat
Nth the expenses Of collection added viii it viii be ne
cessary by taxation in some shape, to restore the
amount. This additional and unnecessary taxation,
while it may serve to foster favored branches Of in
dustry has at last to be collected with accumulated
and compound interest out of the pockets of the
people.
But, it is argued that there is already heavy
surplus in the Treasury, and that the present taxes
added to the sales of the public domain, are likely
to continue to produce more revenue, than the ne
oessites of the government require. If this be
true, and do not doubt the fact reduce the taxes
to still lower rate, so that there will be no surplus
to squander either upon the States or for other pur-
poses outside Of the legitimate requirements Of the
government. This is the only true method of de-
pleting aredundant Treasury Reduce the peoples
tazes! Bring the receipts into the Treasury down
to the revenue standard! The people will be under
far greater obligations to that party which reduces
their taxes from one dollar down to eighty cents,
than to the advocates of distribution who propose
to collect one dollar from the individual citizen TO
be enabled to pay back eighty cents,-nOt into their
| pockets even-but into the State Treasury.
In brief then, the difference between the advocates
and opponents Of distribution, is this-those who
favor this policy necessarily favor an increase in
the tariff Of duties thus re-inaugurating the pro.
tective policy. And viewed in its most favorable
aspect, they propose to tax the people, to certain
extent with the view Of returning to them smaller
amount in the shape of gratuity, more properly
to create fund to bride the taxpayers into their
support. The democracy on the other hand are in
favor of reducing the taxes to the revenue standard
and appropriating the money in the Treasury to the
| legitimate uses of the general government
! THE RAGE OF SpEoUIAT1oN.-A letter in the Du.
| buque Herald, written from the Usage land Office
Iowa. says that there are about two hundred tbOus.
and persons in attendance on the land sales, and
that great competition exists between spectators
and the settlers. This competitor had been carried
to bidding SlOl per acre for wild land. The set,
tiers had held meeting, and organized themselves
/ into club numbering seven hundred, and had de-
termined that every settler should have the priv
lege of bidding off quarter section of land in ad-
| dition to one quarter covered by presumption, al
| government prices. Attempts were made to settle
ell difficulties this basis by the settlers furnish
| ing names Of persons who were bidders; but this
had not been done up to the time our informant left
As consequence, very few tracts of land we're sold
The capital of Minnesota is just now the scene Of
scrambing and corruption. The land grants to
railroads are to be disposed Of and the cormorant:
are gathered there from all quarters striving for
| grab-ChicagO, as well as other places, is pretty
! well represented. The politicians who spec
ulate upon their positons-are there-all engaged
in general scramble for the spoils Of the land ap
preparation.
| SCARCITY OF BREADsTUFFs AND PRovENDER. -
| From many parts Of the country we see and heal
accounts of great scarcity Of the necessaries of life
for man and beast. We learn that in parts of Bloun
| Hancock, Walker and Marion counties, Alabama
especially, many of the people, and their horse,
| and cattle, verging starvation. The citizens Of
| Lawrence county, about MOultOn and COurtland