Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-12-09

that it shall never be closed again by,an arbi-
trary decree, as it was by thel Walker Riyas
government.
The President refers to the Cass. Yrissari
treaty. which Nicaragua has failed to ratify,
because of the provision authorizing the Uni
ted States to employ force to keep the route
open, in case Nicaragua should fail to perform
her duty in this respect. He concludes this
portion of his Message by asking authority
from Congress to employ the land and naval
forces of the United States in preventing the
transit from being obstructed or closed by Law
less violence, aud in protecting the lives of
American citizens travelling thereupon. We
need say nothing of the Importance of this
demand, it speaks for itself A similar necessity
exists for the passage of such an act, for the
protection of the Panama and Tehuantepec
routes. The President discusses some length
the claims the United States has against Mica
ragua Costa Rica, and New Granada, and
| also alludes to the Paraguay expedition
He then comes to the consideration of the
depressed condition of the industry of the
country He adds but little to what he said
on the subject in his last annual message Our
manufacturers have everywhere suffered in the
late revulsion; but this was not because Of the
tariff of 1857. The same runOus consequences
would have followed in the United States, under
the tariff of 1916. They were the inevitable
result of our unsound and extravagant system
of bank credits and inflated currency, and the
periodical revulsions to which we have been
subjected must continue to return at intervals,
so long as our present unbOunded system Of
bank credits shall prevail. The President there
fore, renews the recommendation in favor Of
the passage Of uniform bankrupt law, app-
cable to banking Institutions This is all the
power over the subject which he believes the
Federal government possesses.
THE TARIFF.
In connect with this subject Is proper to refer to
! our financial condition, The causes which havs
produced pecunay distress throughout the country aYe
reduced the amount Of imports from foreign countries
that the revenue has proved inadequate to meet the
cessary expenses OF the Government. To supply the de-
hciency Congress by the act of Dec 23 1851 authorized
the issue of $50 900 900 of Treasury notes. and this prov
ing inadequate. they authorized hy the act Of June a.
lS5S, loan of OO to be applied to the payment
| of appropriations made by law
No statesman would advise that we should go in
creasng the national debt to meet the ordinary expenses
of the Government. This would be mot ruinous policy
In of war, credit must be chief resource
least year this would greatly impair
ed by having contracted large debt in time of peace 1t
is true policy to Increase our revenue to equal
expenditures. 1t would be runous TO continue to
borrow Besides it may be proper observe that the
incidental protection thus afforded by revenue tariff
would at the present moment to extent increase
fresh impulse to our reyylng business To this surely
| no one will object
In regard to the mode Of assessing and collecting duties
under a revenue tariff, have long entertained and
pressed the opinion that sound policy requires this should
be done by specific duties in to which these be
properly applied They we'll adapted to commodities
which usually sold by weight measure, and which
from their nature of equal nearly equal value
Such, for example are the articles of iron Of different
! classes raw sugar and foreign wines and spirits.
In my deliberate judgment specific duties the best
if not the only OF securing the revenue against false
and fraudulent invoices and such has been the practice
adopted for this purpose by other commercial nations
Besides specific duties would afford to the American
nuacturer the incidental advantages to which he is fairly
entitled under revenue tariff The present system IL
sliding scale to his Disadvantage Under twhen prices are
high and business prosperous the duties high when
he least requires their aid On the contrary wheh prcss
fall and he struggling against adversely the duties
diminished in the same proportion greatly To his injury
Neither would there be danger that higher rate OF dn
ty than that intended by Congress could be levied in the
form If specific duties II would be easy to ascertain the
average value of any imported article for series OF years
and instead of subectng it TO an ad vaorem duty Mt
certain rate per centum to substitute IN Its place an eq
valcnt specific duty.
By such an arrangement the will not be in
iured 1t Is true, he might have to pay little more duty
on given article in year; but if 20, he would pay
little in another and in series of years these would
cOunterbalance each other and amount to the thing
so far as hi. interest concerned This inconvenience
would be trifng when conrased with the additional
cury thus afforded against fraud! upon the revenue in
| which every consumer is directly interested.
have thrown out these suggestions the fruits omy
own observations, to which Congress, in their better
serve.
The report of the Secretary of the Treasury will explain
in detail the operations Of that department OF the govern
ment The receipts into the Treasury from all sources
for the fiscal year ending 3Oh June ls5S, including the
Treasury authorized by the act of 23d Dec. 1851
were $40 273 500 So which amount, with the balance Of
*l77lO,l+ y remaining in the Treasury at the COM
mencement of the year made aggregate for the
vice of the year of $S7, ,9s3 ,9S3 IS.
The expenditures during the fiscal year ending June
90 1855 amounted to 1885 ,667 76, of which s96S4
lied fh.fa nf he ptIbl Gahf
and the redemption treasury with the Interest
thereon leaving the Treasury July 1858, the
mencement of the present 6scal year. the sum OF s6?S
3l6 10.
The receipts into the Treasury during the first quarter
Of the present fiscal year, commencing the lst OF July
1883 including half of the loan of 100000 000 with
the premium upon it, authorized by the act Of the 18th OF
June 1858, were SIS 23Os79 46, and the estimated
cepts for the remaining three quarters to the 3Oh june
1889 from ordinary sources s3S 500 000 making the
balance before stated an aggregate of so l2?lOl Sc
The public debt the lst of July, 1883 the commence
of the present fiscal year, was s25, ,l99,9T 67
[Thc President then calls attention the Reports Of
the Heads of the different Departments The postal sys
TEN is not sefsupporng owing to the vast increase Of
mail service the deficit growing larger every year.
The Pacific Railroad next receives the consideration OF
the President and he refers to his last message for his
views upon the suhJect.I
THE SLAYER ECHO.
On the 2lst of August last, Lieut. j. " Mait, of the
United brig Dolphin, captured the siaver Echo
formerly the Putnam, Of New Orleans near Kay Verde
on the of Cuba with than three hundred At
rican negroes board The prize, under the command
of Lieut. Bradford of the United States Navy arrived at
Charleston on the 9th of August when the negroes BOG
in number were delivered into the custody of the United
States Marshal for the district of South Carolina They
were first placed in Castle Pinckney and afterwards in
fort Sumpter for safe keeping and detained there
until the 10th Of September when the survivors, 2l in
number delivered board the United States stea-
mcr Niagara be transported to the coast OF Africa n
der tho rye of the agent tie United States puSu
10 the provisions the act OF the Sd of March 1873 in
addition to the prohibiting the slavetrade. Under
the second section Of this act the President authorz
cd TO make such regulations he may deem expedent
for the saekeeping support and removal beyond the Ii
r nersons Of color" captured by vessels of the United
States as may be delivered the Marshal Of the district
into which they brought and to appoint proper
diy,u tba foaSf Of