The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1860-06-28
VOI~L EBENSBURG, "A.

tion-a very inconsiderable fraction-over
the fayoritc revenue standard of thirty per
cent. on rails and pig, would be very much
under it. 1t is well known that a great
portion of the iron imports-and this re-
mark applies as well to many other arti-
clcs-ls lnvOlced on account Of the foreign
manufacturer, to the agent in this country,
At the net cost Of production, and not at
the price which it would cost a purchaser
in the market from which it is exported
Our consul at Glasgow, Mr.. Vail, in his
report Of September 80, 1858, says: "Pig
iron is very prominent article Of export,
and is now almost entirely shipped on man
ufacturers' account and, in the absence
Of any demand IN the United States, is so
shipped apparently in order to reduce the
stock on hand here, thereby to keep up
to aver that these duties, so far from be-
ing exorbitant concessions to the manufac-
turer, are absolutely less than those of the
act Of 1916. The bill has nothing to
commend it to our favor over that act, but
the conversion Of its al VGlorcn1 into spe-
cifc duties. This is the chief protective
feature i'll it, and that being equally IA
vOrable to the revenue, upon what possible
grounds can its enemies maintain their
opposition
The evils arising frcm al Ualorent du-
| ties are so universally felt and understood,
that the wonder is single advocate can
be found for them. Ibelieve that amongst
all the nations of Christendom, except our
own, specific duties are imposed whenever,
from the circumstances of the case, they
are at all possible or convenient. In the
late commercial treaty between France
and England, Of which [ shall have more
to say hereafter, the policy of imposing
specific, In preference to I'D Ual0rem du-
ties, Is recognized in that clause which
provides for the conversion of the latter
into specifics, by an other convention, on
the first Of October next, to be estimated
on the average prices of the articles for
the five months preceding the date Of the
treaty. One Of the Inconvenience OF our
! system arises from the great fiuctUation Of
prices, rendering it extremely difficult to
determine whether the invoice is fraudu-
lent. Under it, the frauds upon the reyen-
uc are innunerable tits said by the mcrch-
ants and by ourconsuls abroad that in many
| parts Of the continent 1t is the uniform
! custom Of manufacturers to make out two
/ IilE OltCS. Otit lOI TIC GAlI-sJ-
iting the prices at low figure, generally
from twenty to forty per cent. below the
value OF the article, IL order to secure Il
! low duty, aud the other for the consignec,
showing the true value. y gentleman
here this winter told me that whilst III
Paris last fall, after he had purchased !,
bill Of 500 of fine goods, he was asked
if he would have a custom-house invoice
at thirty-three per cent. below the actual
cost, and was told, that while it was pos
siblc for him to pass them at the custom
house at an appraisGment Of forty per
cent. less than the cost, it would be more
judicious TO take it at the usual rate of
thirty-three, and avoid all risk Of detcc-
ton.
Take the article of bar iron, for exam
pie, which fuctuates in price from five
shillings to perhaps twenty-five per cwt..
an article that Will be quoted at different
prices every week, and how easily may
the most competent and honest appraiser
be misled from one to three shillings by
a fraudulent invoice, whereby the revenue
will be defraudcd Of two or three dollars
per ton. But sir, however injuriously y
the revenue may be affected by the I'D rat
Oren1 system, the manufacturers, and es
pecially the iron manufacturers, are thu
victims of its most mischievous conse
quences. When the specifics of 1S4.
were replaced by the al cG1orenaS of 1916
the duty on bars, at the then existing
prices, was, as | have shown, fifteen dol
lars per ton; and they through whose Vi
!, olated faith and broken pledges that fata
!, measure was carried sought to reconcile
manufacturers, by the protection which
that duty would afford them. In vain
) however, did they plead, that when, il
} the Quotations of prices abroad, irol
would be as then, at a high price, the.
would not need protection, and when loV
it would be taken from them. And wha
was the result? In very short time
the English price fell from fifty dollar
to twenty, four dollars per ton, and tn
duty consequently from fifteen dollars t
seven dollars and twenty cents. The Englisl
strong in cheap capital and cheap wages
flooded our ports with low-priced iron t
f such an extent that many of our furnace
: were blown out, and those that continued
/ struggled on, though seriously cripple
, in the unequal contest
e Again: on the sudden appearance {
the railroad mania in England, price
: rose to the highest speculative points
c and when the bubble burst, the lmmens
c surplus stocks on hand were exported