The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-12-18


to employ the naval force, or force in the vicini-
ty for the protection of the lives and property of
our fellow citizens passing in transit over the
different Central American routes, against sud
den and lawless outbreaks and depredations ;
and also to protect American merchants vessels,
their crews and cargoes, against violent and un-
lawful seizure and confiscation in the ports of
Mexico and the South American Republics
when these may be in disturbed and reyolu-
tionary condition. 1t is my settled conviction
that without such power we cannot afford
that protection to those engaged in the commerce
OF the country which they have q right to de-
mand.
ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
lagain recommend to Congress the passage
ola law in pursuance of the provisions of the
Constitution, appointing certain day previous
to the 4th March, in each year of an odd num-
Der, for the election of Representatives through
out all the States. A similar power has al
ready been exercised with general appreciation
In the appointment of the same day throughout
the Union for holding the election of Electors
for President and Vice President of the United
States. My attention was earnestly directed to
the subject from the fact that the 3oth Congress
terminated on the ID March, 1859. without ma
king the necessary appropriation for the service
OF the Post Office Department, and was then
forced to consider the best remedy for this omis-
sion, and an immediate call for the present Con-
gress was the usual resort. Upon enquiry,
however, ascertained, that Is out of the So
States composing the Confedcracy were without
Representatives, and that consequently Is
States would be disfanchised by such a call
These ID States will be in the same condition
on the 4th March next Two of them cannot
elect Representatives, according to State laws
until different periods, extending from the be-
ginning of August next until the 9th Novem-
Der and you remember in my last message
gave warning that in time of sudden and
alarming danger the salvation of our institu-
tons might depend upon the power of the Pres
dentimmediately to assemble full Congress
to meet the emergency.
TARIFF
It is now quite evident that the financial ne
cesslties of the Government will require modi
fication of the Tariff during your present ses.
sion, for the purpose of Embarrassing.
THE REVENUE.
In this respect desire to reiterate the recon-
mendaton contained in my last two annual
messages, IN favor of imposing specific, instead
OF al valorem duties on all important articles
to which these can properly be applied. From
long observation and experience, / am convinc-
ed that specific duties are necessary, both to
protect the revenue, and to secure to our manu-
featuring interests that amount of incidental
arevcnue tariff. As an abstract proposition, it
may be admitted that ad valorem duties would
IN theory, be the most Just and equal, but if the
experience of this and of all other commercial
nations has demonstrated that such duties can
not 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 nature of an ad valorem duty this must be
the result under it. The inevitable consequence
is that foreign goods will be entered at less than
their true value. The Treasury will therefore
lose the difference between their real and ticti-
tlous value, and to this extent we are defrauded.
The temptations which ad valorem duties pre-
sent to dishonest importer, are irresistible
His object is to pass his goods through the Gus
tom house at the very lowest valuation necessa-
~ to save them from confiscation. In this he
too often succeeds, In spite of the vigilance of
the revenue officers. Hence they resort to false
invoices, one for the purchaser, another for the
custom house, and to other expedients to de-
fraud the Government. The honest importer
produces his invoice to the collector stating the
nc. ual price at which he purchased the articles
abroad. Not so the dishonest importer and the
agent OF the foreign manufacturer. And here it
may be observed that Il very large proportion
OF the foreign manufactures imported from
abroad, are consigned for sale to commission
merchants, who are mere agents employed by
the manufacturers. In such cases where no
actual sale has been made to fix their value the
foreign manufacturer, if he be dishonest, pre-
pares an invoice of the goods, not at their ac
tual value, but at the very lowest rate necessary
10 escape detection In this manner the dis
honest importer and the foreign manufacturer
ENJOY a decided advantage over the honest mer.
chant They are thus enabled to undersell the
fair trader and drive him from the market. In
fact the operation of this system has already
driven from the pursuit of honorable commerce
mar ~ hat. ola 81. I
merchants, whose character throughout the
world is the pride of our country
This remedy for these evils is to be found in
speclhc duties, so far as this may be practicable
They dispense with any inquiry at the Custom
House into the actual cost or value of the arti
Gle, and 1t pays the precise amount of duty pre-
yiously fixed by law. They present no tempta.
lions to the appraisers Of foreign goods, who re-
celve but small salaries, and might by under |
valuation in few cases, render themselves in |
dependent Besides, specific duties best con
form to the requlsition in the Constitution that
no preference shall be given by any regulation
OF commerce or revenue to the ports of one state
over another. 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 violated BY q
lower appraisement of the same article at one
lort than ut another. An impression strangely
enough prevails to some extent that specific
duties are necessarily protective duties No
thing can be more fallacous Great Britain
glories IN free trade, and yet her whole revenue
from imports is ut the present moment collected
under system of specific duties.
1t is striking fact in this convention that in
the commercial treaty of ID of January, 1869,
between France and England, one of the arti-
ces provides that the ad valorum duties which
1T imposes shall be converted into specific du-
ties within months from its date, and these
are to be ascertaincd by making average of the
prices for six months previous to the time. The |
reverse of the proposition would be nearer the |
truth, because larger amount of revenue would |
be coll .cted by merely converting the ad valor-
um duties OF a tariff into general specific du
ties. To this extent the tariff would be in
creased, and in the same proportion the specific
duty be diminished
Specific duties would secure TO the American
MANUFACTURED the Incidental protection he is
fairly entitled 10 under revenue tariff, and to
this, surely, no one could object The trainers
of the existing tariff have gone further, and in
liberal spirit have Disseminated in favor of
large and useful branches of our manufactures
.-rlot by raising the rate of duties upon the
appropriations OF similar articles from abroad
but, what is the same in effect, by admitting