Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1860-12-14

fifteen out of the thirty-fve States compc-
sing the confederacy, were without Repre-
sentatives and that consequently fifteen
States would be disfranchised by such
call, These fifteen States will be in the
same condition on the 4th of March next
Two of them cannot elect Representatives,
according to State laws, until different pc
RODS. extending from the beginning of
August next until the 9th of November
and you remember in my last message l
gave warning that in time of sudden and
alarming danger, the salvation of our insti-
buttons might depend upon the power of
the President Immediately to assemble
full Congress to meet the emergency.
1t IS now quite evident that the financial
necessities of the Government will require
a modification of the Tariff during your
present session, for the purpose of increas-
ing
THE REVENUE
In this respect to reterate the recon-
mendation contained in my last two annual
messages, in favor of imposing specific, in
stead of adj uaIorena duties on all imported
articles to which these can properly be ap-
piled. From long observation and expert
ence, | am convinced that specific duties
are necessary, both to protect the revenue
and secure to our manufacturing interests
that amount of incidental encouragement
which unavoidably results from a revenue
tariff. As an abstract proposition, it may
be admitted that adj UoE0rem duties would,
in theory, be the most just and equal but
II the experience of this and all other
commercial nations has demonstrated that
such duties cannot be asked and collected
without great frauds upon the revenue,
then it is the part of wisdom to resort to
specific duties. Indeed, from the very ma
ture Of an al Ualorens duty this must be
the result under it. The inevitable conse-
quence Is that foreign goods will be enter
ed at less than their true value The Treas
ury will therefore lose the duty on the diff
ference between their real and fictitious
value, and to this extent we are defrauded.
The temptations which ad UGloreB9 duties
present to dishonest importer, are irresis-
tible. His object is to pass his goods
through the custom house at the very low
est valuation necessary to save them from
confscation. In this he too often succeeds,
in spite of the vigilance of the revenue
officers. Hence the resort to false invoi-
ces, one for the purchaser, another for the
custom house; and to other expedients to
defraud the Government. The honest i'm
porter produces his invoice to the collector,
stating the actual price at which he pur-
chased the articles abroad. Not so the
dishonest importer, and the agent of the
foreign manufacturer And here it may
be observed that very large proportion of
the foreign manufactures imported from
abroad, are consigned for sale to commits
sion merchants, who are mere agents en-
ployed by the manufacturers. In such
cases, where no actual sale has been made
to fix their value, the foreign manufacture
er, 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 manner the dishonest
importer and the foreign manufacturer en-
joy decided advantage over the honest
merchant. They are thus enabled to un-
dersell the fair trader and drive him from
the market. In fact, the operation of this
system has already driven from the pur-
suit 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 as this may be prac-
ticable. 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 temptation to the
appraisers of foreign goods, who receive
but small salaries, and might by underval-
uation in a few cases, render themselves
independent. Besides, specific duties best
conform to the requisition in the Constitu-
ton, that no preference shall be given by
any regulation Of commerce or revenue to
the ports Of one State over those of an
other. Under our ad valorem system such
preferences are, to some extent, inevitable,
and complaints have often been made, that
the spirit Of this provision has been viola
ted by lower appraisement Of the same
articles at one port than at another. An
impression strangely enough prevails to
some extent, that specific duties are neces-
sarily protective duties. Nothing can be
more fallacious. Great Britain glories in
free trade, and yet her whole revenue from
imports is at the present moment collected
under system Of specific duties It is a
striking fact, in this connection, that in
the commercial treaty Iof 23d January,
1860, between France and England, one
of the articles provides that the ad valo-
rem duties which it imposes shall be con-
verified into specific duties within six months
from its date, and these are to be ascer-
tanned by making an average of the prices
for six months previous to that time. The
reverse of the proposition would be nearer
to the truth, because a much larger amount
of revenue would be collected by merely
converting the ad valorem duties of tariff
into general equivalent specific duties
To this extent the revenue would be in
creased, and in the same proportion the
specific duty might be diminished, Spe-
cifc duties would secure to the American
manufacturer the incidental protection to
which he is fairly entitled under revenue
IL 1