Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1860-12-13


can be properly applied. From long obser-
vation and experience am conyincsd that
specific ddtiss'ate necessary. both tn. protect
the revenue, aud 10 secure to our msnuisct-i
uting interests that amount OF incidental
Encouragement which unavoidaby results
from a.rsyenus tariff.
As an abstract pr oposition II nay be sd- /
m tilted that advsloem duties would. in the.
ory, be the most Just and equal. Bot if the
experience OF this and OF all others com
msrcial nations has demonstrated that such
duties cannot be assessed and collected
without great frauds upon the revenue, then
it is the part Of wisdom to resort to speci-
ic duties. indeed, from the very, nature
Of an cd vslorcm adu,y. I. this must be the re-
suit. Under IL the inevitable consequence
is, that foreign guods' will be entered, at less
than their true value. The treasurer will.
| therefore. lose tho duty, on The difference
between their real and fictitious value, aud
to this extent we are delraudsd. ..i...
i The temptations which nd valorem duties
present to a dishonest importer are ,irresis-
tibls. His object is to pass his goods
through the custom-hous at the very lowest
valustien necessary to save them from con.
6scation. Ia this he too often succeeds in
} spite OF the vigilance Of the revenue officers.
+, Hence the resort to false invoices, one for
the purchaser and another for the custom
house, and to other expedients to dsfraud
the Governaent. The honest importer pro-
I duces his invoice to the collector, stating
: the actual price at which he purchased the
articles abroad. Not 90 the dishoAsst in-
$ porter and the agent Of the foreign manu-
y fscturer. And here il may be observed tha,
4 a very large proportion Of the manufactures
= imported lron abroad are consigned for - IL
Q to commission merchants who are mere
: agsnts employed by tho lmsnulscturers.--
n In such casss no actual sale has beer made
N to fix their value. The foreign manuiac-
10 lures, il he be dishonest, prepares an in
+ voice of the goods, not at their sctusl VAL
ue, but at the very lowest rate neccesshry
|. to escape detection. In this manner the
e dishonest importer and shs foreign manu-
% facturer enjoy decided advantage over the
/. honest merchant. They are thus enabled
: 10 undersell the fair trader, and drive hin
Q from the market In fact, the operation o
Q this system has already driven from the pur-
s suits Of honorable commerce many Of tha
h class of regular and conscientious !, mer-
ts chs Is, whose character, throughout tn,
d world is,he pride Of our county. -,i,s-.
N The remedy for these evils is to be feunt
le in specific dsties, so far as this may be prac-
IN ticsble. They dispense with any inquiry
n at the custom house into the actual cost o
10 value OF the srticls, and it pays the precise
i amount of duty previously fixed by law,--
They present no temptations to the apPraii
ers of toreign goods. who receive but smal
T. salaries, and might, by andervaluaiion IN
v few cases, render themselves independent
40 Besides specific duties best contorm &
N the requisition in the Constitution that NJ
IN pre- lerence shall be given bysny regulation
IN Of commerce of revenue to the ports of one
IN State over those Of snother,' Under our a
III yalorem system such preferences are TO som
N extent inevitable, and complaints have Of
10 ten been made that the spirit OF this provi
sion has been violated by a,lower apPrsise
ic msnt OF the same Al iticles Al one Purt thar
ne at another. = -tr.s
MS An Impression strangely enough prevail
to to some extent that specific duties are nee
as essarily protective duties. Nothing eau b.
70 more fallacous. Great Britain gloriss il
re free trade, aud vet her whole revenue fror
At imports 10 ~ the present moment COLLECTED
10 under a system Of specific duties. II is
It, striking fact in this connection that, in th
Q. commercial treaty OF 33d dJanusry, 1860, be
IT tween France aud England, one OF the az
ticlss provides that the ad Valorem dutis
10 which it imposes shall be converted int
a. specific duties within six months from it
In date, and these arc to be ascertained b
of making IN average OF the prices for al
Al months previous TO that time. The rsvers
of OF the propos i,ion would be nearer II TO th'
ne tru,h,because a,muchigrsatsr ant Of rsysnu
al would be collected by merely converting tn
". ad vaierem duties OF tariff into equiyaler
to specific duties. To this extent the rsvenu
,ir would be increased, and in the same propol
n tion the specific duty might be diminishe
- Specific duties would secure to the Ame
b. lean manufacturer the incidental prsiectio
nd to which he is fairly entitled under arevel
ed We tariff, snd to this surely no person weu
ye object The trainers of the existing tati
n have gone further, and in 4 liberal splr
ch have Disseminated in favor Of large and w.
iul branches Of our manufactures, not b
raising the rate Of duty upoI the mportstis
OF similar articles from abroad, but what
=. the same In effect, by aGmitting articles fr'
~ Of duty which enter into the composition
their fabrics. NJ,
- Under tho present system,it .lp:ten be'
truly remaI ket that this incidestal protec
= ton decreases when the manufacturer nss
- it most, and increases when he needs
T least, and constitutes a sliding scale whl'
~ always operates against him. The revenue
-. of the country are subject to similar auciu
~ tion. Indeed of approaching a steady stan
=. ard, as would be- tina case under a system
oI specific duties, they sink and rise with Il
,,a 80 sinking and rising pricss oi artices :
~ foreign countries. ltwoutd not be dificu
=, for Congress. to arrange a system of spscii
~ duties which would afford additional stsbi
-" ty both to our revenue and manufactures,
=. without. injury sor injustice 20 any i
~ tersst. Of. the country. THIS nigh
(" be accomplished BY ascertainins the avsral
B. H