The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1857-02-24
If there W. re no tariff, no matter whether any
commodity of the same kind was imported &r

If there IRE no tariff, no matter whether any
commodity of the same kind was imported Or
nol2
Mr.. BOYCE. Home products, naturally
cheaper than similar foreign products; are of
course in no%se affected by customs duties;
butif the foreign product is cheaper than the
home procuctit it is enhanced in price to the
extent Of the duty. For instance, duties on
raw cotton would not affect the price of cotton,
but duties on cotton goods would do 80. The
imposition ofduties on foreign products implies
the belief that the foreign products is cheaper;
the fact Of any such importations paying duties
demonstrates the correctness Of that belief, and
involves the enhancement of price on rival
home products. rest myself upon this sim
plesidea, that there cannot be- two prices Of the
same commodity in the same market and if
!. .gese 40. for ti,edats articles,
they would come ID much cheaper. 1t seems
to me that the matter is very simple.
Mr. KENNETH would ask the gentle
man from South Carolina how he would make
out that proposition whensugar was selling in
the market at three cents per pound, and the
import duty at the same time was also three
cents per poundl
Mr.. BOYCE, The reason is very obvious
The duty of three per cent, under the circum.
stances stated by the gentleman, must have
unnecessarily operated entirely to prohibit 'foregp'
sugar, for it is absolutely impossible it could
be imported under a duty Of three. cents, and
sold for three ceents. If such state of thugs
existed permanently as the gentleman allndes
to, the cheap price Of the domestic sugar would
exclude the foreign sugar, ard the duty would,
| under such circumstances, Nave no effect what
ever on the price. There can be no doubt Of
this proposition. that one article can have but
one price in the same market at the same time.
If that is not so, why do gentlemen who rep.
resent the manufacturing interest desire pTotec.
tion9 Ifthese high duties upon foreign articles
do not increase the price Of similar articles
manufactured at home, why ask for high duties
upon foreign articlesl. Why exclude importa
lioni There can be no protection unless the
price is increased.
Sir, according to my idea the protective poll
| cy, SO far as the indirect taxes are concerned
to say nothing of the injury caused to. the coun'
| try by the burdens placed upon the exchanges
and Of the paralysis which the productive ener'
gies of the country have received-has cost the
country to the present time, 81 100000, 600
Well sir, that sum would do great deal. The
interest of it would build all the railroads in
the United States which we could desire;f fronl
this time to the end of the R0rld-the Pacific
railroad included. 1t would support the Gov.
eminent without taxation. 1t would support
| four navies as large as our present one; and
what perhaps is better s'ilI;' j. tsould give
dowry 10 every poor girl in the United States
which would enable her, possibly, to get good
husband. 1t would carry telegraphic wires to
every village in the United States. 1t woulC
clear out every river and harbor in the United
States and it would build good house fol
evev poor man p the United States dc
not know where would stop were to emu
melate all the good which the interest Of 81.
600, 900, 900 would do to the United States
Yet, sir this vast sum has been sunk, because
we have been dominated over by this manu-
featuring interest.
I1r. Franklin used 70 say that there NIGH
possibly be such a. thing as "paying too dea
for the whistle" 1t does seem to me, though
submit it with great diffidence that we ma,
BE- "paying too dear for the whistle" OF pro
lection. And here, let me ASK, who has beer
benefited by the loss Of that 81, 900, 100000
In ls46, according to the report of the Secre
tary of tile Treasury, there were ten thouSaut
capitalists engaged in manufactures and fou
hundred thousand operatives. Well, sir, sup
pose that we now double that number. Suppose
that Vie place at twenty thousand the capitalists
engaged in manufactures, and a. eight hundred
thousand the operatives. First, what do the
operatives receive for protection 7 They do moi
gain more than average wages. appeal tc
you, gentlemen, who represent manufacturing
interests, do the operatives gain more than ave
rage ages1 Hardly, l apprehend. The ope
rstives are in nowise better off than they would
have been without the protective policy, fo
they would have made the same average rate o
wages in other employment. But there are
twenty thousand capitalists benefited by it
and to benefit these twenty thousand capital sts
we have lost 81 600, 100000. Now, [s,have
the most benevolent feelings in the world fo'
these twenty thousand capitalists !; but it seems
to me that they tax us rather too high When
they charge US sloOO,o0o,0oo. 1t would be
better TO pension these lords of The spindle al
once; better give them each fortune, aud lei
them 90, if we could thereby obtain the great
privilege Of having our industry and exchan
ges untrammeled. So much on this point
CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK
THE SHIP F1DEs WREckED.-The ship
Fide., which has been reported off this Bal
for some time, with cargo Of Salt from
Cagari, in attempting TO come in at the Ship