The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-08-11
SPEECH OF SENATOR HARLAN
Delivered at tie Republican State Conven.
tion, June 22d, 1859. 80
CONCLUDED FROM LAST WEEK.

1t is therefore probable that the enter
prising and industrious millions of free
people swarming in the North and North
west, pay relative excess ofthe receipts
at the custom houses, approaching in a.
mount the excess Of their lmporations.
The revenues collected through the
post Offices in each section of the confed-
eracy. presents disparity still more stri-
king.
The expenses of the department in the
nine new free States in the Northwest ex !.
ceed the receipts only S937, 238 92; and
in the nine new slave States 81, ,9s2, ,425,
81, or more than two dollars in the slave
States to one in the free States.
After cereful review of this subject.
no one can be so uncandid as to deny
that the burthens of the National Govern
ment are laid unequally on the people of
the North by the Democratic party and
that this. is especially oppressive to the
people Of Iowa tits probably an aver
age State Of those in the Union, in the
consumption of foreign goods. It's pop
ulation in June, 1856, had reached GIG,
600; the census returns. now coming in,
indicate an increase up TO this time Of 80
per cent. over that year hence our pop
ulation is now probably about 800, 600.
The population of the entire confederacy
is supposed to be about 80 ,OO0. 600, of
which over four millions are slaves--leav-
ing white population of less than 25,
600, 900; hence the white population of
an average State is less than that Of Iowa.
1t can therefore hardly be doubted that
the people Of this State pay. in indirect
taxes to the National Government. 81.
100000, Of the $4,000. 900 of the an.
nual receipts from customs. This is an
enormous sum of money to be collected
from the people of a new State. But in
addition to this indirect tax, the people
of this State have paid into the national
treasury, during the last four years, as
we have before shown, ST. 100000 per
annum for land, out of which they are
struggling to dig support for their de-
pendent families. eatia
Is it wonderful that we feel the pres
sure Of hard times in Iowa. with the
Democratic party pressing from your
pockets an aggregate of $3,6OO,OOO per
annum. to pour into the treasury at Wash
ington City to support a government de-
clared by Mr.. Toombs, one of the Dem
ocratic leaders, on the fooriof tho SEN
ate. to be the most corrupt, at this mo-
ment, of any government on earth If
the party intended to secure the destruc-
ton OF the government by the oppres-
sion of the people, they could not be
more prohigate in the expenditure of the
public treasure. A more grinding tax
has never been rung from a people by
any despotism of the old world. The
annual amount paid by the people of Iowa
to the National Government for the last
four years would yield. if invested at ten
per cent. interest, $500, 900 year--a
sum more than equal to the annual ex.
penses of your state, government. includ-
ing the construction of your public
buildings, as estimated by those who
have been charging the Republicans of
the State with extravagance in the ad-
ministratiop of its local affairs.
9th. IN this emergency ,chat measure of
refss does the Democratic party proposes
They propose TO iaerease the taxes |!
this is their mode of relief. They pro-
pose to increase the rate Of duty now
paid on foreign goods. and to levy new
tax on commodities, now admitted free ::
giving Che preference to those which
come in competition with the products
Of our own workmen in our home mar
ket, and imposing it most heavily on
goods. such as teas and coffee, brought
exclusively from abroad. (See Treasur-
sr's Report for 1873, page ~