The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-12-07
THE WASHINGTON UNION.


imported the test for taxation The reason is that
In taxing articles not made in the country the whole
sum taken from the goes into the treasury,
while in the other class the pays the enhanced
value not only ON the quantity imported but the
quantity made at home This last tax is paid not to the
treasury, but TO the manufacturer thereby rendering such
duty not only more burdensome but grossly unequal ;
the home producer being benefited at the expense Of the
consumer
Planting himself firmly upon the tariff law of 1857,
as furnishing the true and sound basis of our
nue. policy the Secretarys specific recommendations
of increase are the following, which strike adj
miraby sound in theory and judicious in policy
Adherng to the principles of the present tariff act
would recommend such changes will produce the
amount required for the public service In accordance
with the suggestion contained in my last annual report
recommend that schedules, G, ID, f. q, III, be raised
respectively to 25 20, Is, TO- and per cent.
good reason for having departed in the act of 1857 from
the system of decimal divisions The present state of
things affords fit opportunity of correcting the
This change will increase the revenue from customs
slS000oO, upon the basis of the importatons of the
last fiscal year.
To raise the additional amount needed will not
qure an increase OF all the rates of duty OF the present
tariff 1t will become necessary therefore, to select
tain articles to be transferred from lower to higher sched
ules In making such changes the true principles gov
ening the imposition of duties for should be
kept in view, and such determinations made as consist
emily Herewith will best promote the various interests
of our country without doing injustice to any The in
formation contained in table win afford to Con-
gress the necessary data for their action That table
contains the mporations with the rates of duty and
amount of revenue dervable thereom for each of the
three last fiscal years When the amount which the
legislation of Congress shall make necessary to raise
shall have been asceraned with anything like reasonable
certainty the information contained in this table will
render the work of making such transfers simple and
easy
The reply of the Secretary to the clamor of the
manufacturing classes of the country for protection
and bountes from the federal government is cogent
and sencing. The petitioners say that their bust
ness is Frustrated and their fortunes ruined and
that their affairs cannot be restored except by i'm
posing high tariff on imports to protect them from
the competition Of foreigners. The Secretary re-
plies that it could ave been by foreign impor-
tatons that they Ne.e ruined for they prospe-
rous in 1857, and yet 10 that year the importatons
were $76276 900 greater than they have been in 1853
Moreover if American manufacturers ruined it is
not the foreign manufacturers who have profted by
their misfortune for they have experienced greater dis
tress The prices of bar iron for instance, eigh
teen per cent lower in Liverpool in 1858 than in 1857
whereas the prices of this article only thirteen
per cent lower in New York in 1858 than they were
in 1857 while there were $9,625,000 or forty per
cent less of iron imported into this country in 1858
than in 1857 The truth is the report proves that
the manufacturers have suffered no more distress
in the late prostraton of business than the other
great industrial classes of the country for, while
the prices of manufactured articles have fallen only
some ten or fifteen per cent. below those of 1857,
those of all agricultural products have fallen fully
much To show this fact, the report vouches table
from which it appears that from the year ending
June 80 1857, to that ending June 30, 1858, there
was decline in the prices leading articles fol-
lows viz ......