Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1860-03-17
ICoMMuNIcArEp.

T,y Bull see it stated, that the
No.. hin rs it is now going through the Leg
: Ia is very much opposed in Richmond
isia' a.her cities. and that it is said. In the
Oh. ..or of sugar. molasses and rum, the South
lha' States would be Disseminated against,
cru AL;,s. tbe same articles from the West In
s;ss would be exempt from the tax. The
p;cbmond Wing says, IN an article nave
1aen Quoted, 1T will be observed that tins
sev" IL imposed, not upon the profits, but
Va the actual sales, whether there be any
upUr Of pro6ts or not. Thus, a merchant
- virginia. who sells, in the course OF the
~ aor fen thousand dollars worth OF goods,
ea ' - nav one hundred dollars tax, whether
h;s nrofts be large, small, or nothing. And
H. man who sells hundred thousand dol
iars worth has to pay tax OF one thousand
s"Ilars and so on. Under this provision OF
.ha hill. there is one large importing irm IN
p;cbmond who will have to pay tax OF oce''
80, tbousaad dollars" | fear this bill will,
also beyery injurious, particularly to Alex
andra, situated SO near the border, ana
slopg side of the market IN Washington, to
saw nothing of Baltimore. Permit me also
- give another extract from an article IN the
Richmond Wing ON this subject: Just at
,be very moment when our merchants sup
nosed they would meet with liberal encour-
pa1sment from the Legislature, in order to
enable them TO compete successfully with
their Northern rivals, they unexpectedly en-
.onnter a tax, in the shape OF one per cent.
~ all their sales, which will drive many OF
them from the trade, paralyze others, and
essentially embarrass all. The only means
uoder Heaven of saving themselves, consists,
Of course, in charging their country custo-
mers a higher profit for the goods they sell
them. And what would be the effect OF this!
Would it not necessarily tend to divert these
customers from Richmond, Petersburg, Nor
fork, Lynchburg, Alexandria and our other
virginia cities and towns, and drive them TO
the Nor;hern markets, to the markets OF Baltl-
more. Philadelphia and n. York? Such, assn
redly. will be the inevitable effect OF this tax
for it is unreasonable to suppose that the
merchants Of North Carolina, tennessee,
and other neighboring States will make
their purchases in Virginia cities, if they
have TO shoulder the tax, In whole or IN part,
which is imposed upon the sales OF Virginia
merchants by the bill now before the Legls-
lature. 1t is equally unreasonable to sup,
nose that our merchants can long hold on, II
ilsy have to bear the whole OF this onerous
lax, and the consequence will be, necessarily
that the country merchants, instead of ma
king their purchases in Virginia cities, will
betake themselves to the cities of the North.
And thus the mercantile interests OF Virgin
ia, which it is the plain and solemn duty oil
the Legislature to foster and encourage, by
all proper and legitimate means, will be ut
terly Frustrated and ruined, while the effect
Of the same ill-adyised, unwise, and oppres-
sve legislation, will be to give new impulse
to the commercial prosperity and power OF
the Northern States. 1t seems TO me there IS
great force in these objections. The com
mercial and mercantile interests of Virginia
have always suffered under our State Leg
isiation, aud here is another blow. All are
interested in the matter, and though the
Merchants bear the brunt all the citizens
come in for their share Of the burthen.
A MERCHANT.