The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-03-10
spEUqFlc DUTIES A POLITICAL SoAREcRo "

From the Virginia sentinel, 81
Ii forms large portion of the harangues of opposition
orators that there is diversity of opinion in the
democratic party in reference to that in
OF their aspects present party tests So far any argu
To the disadvantage OF party be drawn from
this diversity it disappears entirely when comparison
is made between the democrats and their opponents.
Our points of difference fewer than their points of
agreement They cannot agree even in naD,e-repub
licans, Americans wings; they only together
by dropping every affirmative name, every profession of
faith and adopting the merely negative unamiable and
indefinite name of opposition They only unite by
forming what John Minor Bolts calls ''coataion, in
whose support lie he should be very glad 10 have the
votes of the free negroes
We allude TO the subject of specific and dd pdlor du
ties in connexon with the tariff The President iavors
the former, while others protection in everything
but al Otm duties We frankly confess that we prefer
I'D paiorem TO specific duties but at the same time we
maintain that the question of protection is not in
volved in the choice In this opinion, so far as Mr..
Buchanans defence is concerned sustained by the
authority of Senator Simmons of Rhode Island-a man
whose speciality is tho tariff and protection is,
his choice is for ad DaIorea duties
A few words shall explain views g Protection"
to American manufactures consists in leyying duties
taxes goods imported from abroad The amount of
the tax is the amount of the s'Protecon If English
iron is taxed five dollars ton, American iron it pro
ected five dollars ton Protection depends on
the of the duty not the mode of levyng It,
If the duty be laid the wegM quantity of an article,
it is ''specifc" duty. 1t does not change with any
change in value OF the commodity If the duty be laid
on the value of an article is an ad uoora duty 1t
changes with the changes of price. This is the whole
difference between the two modes They both TO be
justified only mode Of obtaining for govern
ment purposes They both incidentally yield 'protec-
ton - to the extent of the tax imposed.
If asked which is the most protective the answer
is look at the taxst and The amount OF the tax is
the question The mode of laying it has nothing to
do with it, To illustrates
Suppose, ton of foreign iron, of particular des
cripon worth, generally, say $40 specific tax Of ten
dollars is laid Ten dollars ton is then the amount of
protection to the American manufacturer. Or sup
pose that ad oaor duty Of twenty five per cent is
sessed That would Weld ten dollars ton also Just the
same amount of "protecton" the other. Suppose
now the iron rises in value to 500 The specific tax still
yields but the ten dollars of projections while the ad pa
loren would then yield fJteen much larger protection
than the other. IT, the other hand, the price should
fill to $40, the specific duty would still Yield its ten dol
lars while the ad pdloreH would yield but five dollars
ucuate in its protection while the other does
not, and that is the whole difference.
Specific duties may be fixed SO low that the whole
ufcturing interest would ghten the welken with their
wailings I'D Daiorem duties may be made high to
fill their covetous souls with ccstacy.
''Protcction we repeat depends the tax, not the
mode of assessing it, And if the tax be made low
possible and imposed for revenue purpose alone,
but little which mode be adopted The question of pro-
o;ton is but very indirectly involved in the two modes
we have noticed The choice turns on other cpnsider
ons,su facility Ia estimating duties prevention
of frauds, &c.
They who are SO kindly attempting to array the Presi
dent and his party in opposition the Tariff question:
thus seen 10 he entitled to their labor for their pains
Good Democrats find here occasion ion strife es
arrangement