The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1860-12-14

III.
These fifteen states will be in the same condi
ton on the 4th Of March next
Tits now quite certain that the financial ne
cessitics of the government will require mo-
difcation IF the Tariff during the present SEES.
sion, for the purpose of Increasing
TIE REvENUE.
In this respect | desire to reiterate the
recommendation contained in my last two an
nual messages, in favor ofimposng specific,
instead OF ad valoren duties on all imported
articles to which these eau properly be ap>
piled. From long observation and expert
ence, | am convinced that specific duties are
necessary, both to protect the revenue, aud
to secure TO our manufacturing interests that
amount of incidental encouragement which
unavoi 1ably results from a revenue tariff
As an abstract proposition. it may be adj,
uitted that ad valorem duties would in the,
DRY, be the most just and equal, but if the
experience of this and all other commercial
nations has demonstrated that such duties
cannot be levied and collected without great
fraads upon the revenue, then It is the part
Of wisdom 10 resort to specific duties. H.
deed, from the very nature of an adj vaorem
inevitable consequence is that foreign goods
will be entered ut less than their full value
The Treasury will therefore lose the duty
on the difference between their real an A.
titious value and to this extent we are de-
frauded The temptations which al valo-
rem duties present to dishonest importer.
are irresistible. His objects is to pass his
goods through the custom house at the very
: RI ovafh o
| con6scaton. In this he too often succeeds,
in spite of the Wig lance CT the revenue offl-
| GERS. Hence the resort to false invoices,
| one for the purchaser, another for the Gus
| tom house; and to other expen1ients to de-
fraud the government. The honest impor-
| ter produces his invoice to the collector, sta
ting the actual price at which he purchased
| the articles aboard. Not so the dishonest
! importer, and the agent of the foreign mau>
uacturer. And here 1t may be observed
that a very large proportion OF the foreign
manufactures imported from abroad, are
consigned for sale TO commission merchants,
who are mere agents employed by the man.
ufacturers. In Stch cases, where no actual
sale has been made to fix their value, the
foreign manuac urer if he be dishonest
prepares an invoice of the goods not at their
| actual value, but at the very lowest rate
| necessary to escape detection. In this man.
ner the dishonest importer and the foreign
manufacturer enjoy decided advantage
over the honest merchant. They are thus
enabled to undersell the fair trader and drive
him from the market, In fact, the opera,
ton of this svstem has already driven from
the pursuit of honorable commerce many of
that class of regular and conscientious mer>
chants, whose character throughout the
world is The pride of our country.
The remedy for these evils is to be found in
specific duties, so far this may be practicI
| bic. They dispense with any inquiry at the
| Custom House into the actual cost or value OF
the article, and it pays the precise amount OF
duty previously fixed by law. They present no
Temptations to the appraisers of foreign goods,
who receive but snail salaries. and might by
undervalufion in a few cases. render themselves
! Independent Besides, specific duties best con-
form TO tie reruisition in the Constitution, that
no preference shall be given by any regulation
| of commerce revenue to the ports OF one
State over tn 1se of another
Under our al valore,n system such prefer
! enGts are, to some extent, inevitable, and
/ complaints have ot"D been made, that the
| spirit OF th. provision has been violated by
lower appcaisement Of the same articles at
one port than at another. An impression
| strangely enough prevails to SOM extent,
that specific duties are necessarily protec-
tive duties. Nothing can be more fallaclous
Great Britain glories in free trade, and yet
her whole revenue from imports is at the
preseHt moment collected under system OF
specific duties.
10 is striking fact, in This connection,
that in the commercial treaty of 23l Of an
uary, 1860, between France aud England
Que OF the articles provides that ibe ad va
loren duties which i t imposes shall be con-
verified into specific duties within six mouths
from us date, aud these are 10 be ascertain
| ell by making an average Of the prices for
six months previous to that time.
The reverse of the proposion would be nea-
rer to the truth because q mnch larger amount
! of revenue would be collected by merely
verting the adivalOrlm duties OF a tariff into
| general evJivaeut specific duties. To this
tent the revenue would be decreased aed in the
same proportion the specific duty might be Ii
ninished. Specific duties would secare to the
American mauufa cturer the incidental pr0tac-
! ton to which he is fairly entitled under the
venue tariff, AMI to this surely person would
| object.
Uuder the present system it has been Of
ten truly remarked that this Incidental pros
lection decreases when tie manufacture
needs it most, and increases when he needs
it least and constitutes sliding scale which
always operates against him. The revenues
OF the country are subject to similar fluc ua-
tons, instead Of approaching steady STAN
dard Us would be the case under system
of specific duties. they sink and rise with
the sinking and rising prices of the articles
in foreign countries. lt wonld not be diff
cult for Congress to arrange a system OF
specific duties, which would afford add ton
al stability both to our revenue aud our
manufacturers, and without injury or inius-
tice to any interest Of the counlry. This
might be accomplished by ascertaning the
average value Of any given article for Sc
ries OF years at the place Of expectation,
and by simply converting the rate OF ad va
loren duty upon it which might be deemed
necessary for revenue purposes in the form
| of a specific duty. Such an arrangement
could not injure the consumer if he shod
| pay greater amount OF duly one year this
/ would DE counterbalanceI by by lesser
amount the next, and in the end the aggre~
gate would be the same. | desire TO Call
/ your immediate attention to the present con-
! ditlon of the Treasury, SO ably and clearly
represented by the Secretary i'll his report to
! Congress, and to recommend that measures
! be promptly adopted to enable it to DIS
charge it. pressing obligations. The other
recommendations of the report are well wor-
! thy of your favorable consideration.
/ T hArppifh transmit tn f'nnprn-, ba 70