, 1857-05-08
The New Tariff.

The following are the leading features oi tue ue"
tariff law Just passed by Congress:
|. large extension Of the Free List placing there,
on many articles scarcely produced or rlNaed IN tns
country which enter as raw materials INTO the 0onP
siiion 0f our Manufactures. .-- -,
3 A reduction Of the present rates OF duty on Iron
Cotton and Wooden Fabrics, Hemp. Sugar Mool
costing over twenty cents per pound and most o'heI
articles now charged Thirty, to twenty-five per eenI
g. Wool costing less than twent! cents per pouhu WI"
henceforth be free.
l. Distilled Spirits. Liquors, &c. hitherto charged
one hundred per cent are reduced toseventyhNe per
cent. -.
and all forms OF manufactured Tobacco, all manuiac
lures of Rosewood Mahogany, &c, SweetneetS'
Prunos &c. are reduced from forty per cent TO thity
il not to a lower figure. -
c. general reduction of twenty per cent on all
articles not carried to the Free List or reduced ether
to four or eight per cent.
R9y- We publish, in another column,
says the Pennsylvania the Tariff Bill as
amended by the late action of Congress, in
as clear and Ineligible shape as we are
able to prcstnt it. 1t is little singular
to reflect that subject which, but q few
years since divided and excited the whole
country, should now be re.adjusted with so
little feeling. Whatever diversity of opin-
ion existed, was the result rather of section
al and local feeling, than of radical poll
tical diversity of sentiment Every member
of the Committe of Conference Of both
Houses finally agreed upon the present bill,
and the vote upon its final passage was not
at all of political character.
Whether the new bill will prove good
one, remains to be seen. 1t appears to
have been arranged in too much haste and
with too little discrimination, to be the best
bill that might have been framed. Still,
nothing is palmer than that it was absolute
ly wrong for the government to continue
to collect from the people more revenue OF
taxes than were necessary to defray the
proper and necessary expenditures OF the
country, and however gratifying to our
national pride the idea that we had q large
surplus in the Treasury, it would be very
unwiSc and unjust to continue swelling that
Surplus, us well for the reason already
stated, as because the very existence of q
surplus breeds corruption, incites to extrav-
agance, and constantly tempts designing
men to concoct new schemes Of plunder.
1t is possible that the present reduction
of the rates of duty will not greatly di-
minish the revenue. This remains to be
seen. The internal products and trade oI
our country are so very large, as compared
with our foreign commerce, that the latter
is susceptible Of an immense increase, both
Of export and import, and it is impossible
to estimate how far the removal Of any OF
the shackles which fetter commerce will
stimulate and increase it,.
The effect of the modification Of the
Tariff upon the business interests of the
country and upon the expenditures of its
citizens will be considerable. The greatest
reduction in rates of duty is that upon
spirituous liquors, which are reduced from
100 to 80 per cent. Those who retail
large quantities of imported liquors will
feel this reduction very sensibly. The
transfer of all wool of the value of twenty
cents per pound or less to the free list viii
very favorably affect the manufacturers o
articles requiring such wool.
So far as the incidental protection af
forded the manufacturing interests of tht
country by the tariff is concerned, the eff
feet upon cotton manufactures is very
slight, as they are only reduced one pei
cent-from twenty-five to twenty four pei
cent. The reduction upon manufactures
of iron is six per cent-from thirty to twen
ty-four per cent. A number of articles
useful to manufacturers, are very properly
placed on the free list or reduced to the
lowest schedule.