The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1860-12-12


The temptations which ad raloren, duties
present to dishonest importer are irresisti- !
ble His object is to pass his goods through |
the custom house at the very lowest valua- |
tion necessary to save them from confsca- |
ton. In this he too often succeeds in spite
of the vigilance of the revenue officers
Hence the resort to false invoices, one for
the purchase and another for the custom.
house, and to other expedients to defraud
the government. The honest importer pro-
duces his invoice to the collector, stating
the actual price at which he purchased the
article abroad. Not so the dishonest import
or and the agent of the foreign manufactu-
rer. And here it may be observed that a
very large proportion of the manufactures
imported from abroad are consigned for sale
to commission merchants who are mere
agents employed by the manufacturers. In
such case no actual sale has been made to
fix their value. The foreign manufacturer,
if he be dishonest, prepares an invoice of
the goods, not at their actual value, but at
the very lowest rate necessary to escape de-
lection. In this manner the dishonest i'm
porter and the foreign manufactures enjoy
decided advantage over the honest merchant.
They arc thus enabled to undersell the fair
trader, and drive him from the market. In
fact, the operation of this system has alrea-
dY driven from the pursuits of honorable
commerce many of that class of regular
and conscientious merchants, whose charac-
ter, throughout the world, is the pride of
our country.
The remedy for these evils is to be found
in specific duties, 80 far as this is practica-
BILE. 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 pre-
sent no temptations to the appraisers of for
eign goods, who receive but small salaries,
and might by undervaluation in few cases
render themselves Independent.
Besides specific duties best conform to the
requisition in the Constitution that ''no pref
erence shall be given by any regulation of
commerce or revenue to the ports of one
State over those of another" Under our
ad Uatorem system such preferences are TO
some extent inevitable, and complaints have
often been made that the spirit of this pro-
vision has been violated by lower appraise-
ment Of the same articles at one port than
at another.
An impression strangely enough prevails
to some extent that specific duties are nee
essarily protective dnties. Nothing can be
more fallacious. Great Britain glories in
free trade, and yet her whole revenue from
imports is at the present momeut collected
under system of specific duties. 1t is
striking fact in this connection that, in the
! commercial treaty of 23d January, 1860, be-
tween France and England, one of the arti-
cles provides that the Gd UdtOreDt duties
which it imposes shall be converted into
specific duties within six months from its
date, and these are to be ascertained by
by making an average of the prices for six
months previous to that time. The reverse
of the proposition would be nearer to the
! 1,
enue would be collected by merely convert
inc the nd ,,qln10I1I- dnties of n UarlH INTO
I equivalent specific duties. To this extent
the revenue would be increased, and In the
same proportion the specific duty might be
diminished.
! Specific duties would secure to the Amer
ican manufacturer the incidental protection
to which he is fairly entitled under a rev.
+ euue tariff, and to this surely no person
would object. The trainers of the existing
! tariff havs gone further, and in liberal
! spirit have Disseminated in favor of large
and useful branches of our manufactures,
not by raising the rate of duty upon the i'm
portatiou of similar articles from abroad, but
/ what is the same in effect, by admitting ar
ticles free of duty which enter into the com
! position of their fabrics.
Under the present system, it has been
often truly remarked that this incidental
protection decreases when the manufacturer
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 fuctu-
ations Instead of approaching steady
standard. as would be the case under sys-
tenn of specific duties, they sink and rise
with the sinking and rising prices of arti-
cles in foreign countries. 1t would not be
difficult for Congress to arrange q system OF
specific duties which would afford aGditiOna
stability both to our revenue and our manu-
factures, and without injury or injustice tC
any interest of the country. This might be
accomplished by ascertaining the average
value of any given article for a series o
years at the place of expectation, and by
simply converting the rate of Gd caloreD
duty upon it which might be deemed neces
sary for revenue purposes into the form OF
a specific duty. Such an arrangement cod
not iDjure the consumer. If he should pay
greater amount of duty one year, this
would be counterbalanced by a lesser
amount the next, and in the end the aggre
gate would be the same.
| desire to call your immediate attention
to the present condition of the Treasury, 81
ably and clearly presented by the Secretary
in his report to Congress and to recon
mend that measures be promptly adopted
to enable it to discharge its pressing oblIga
tiuns. The other recommendations of tht
report are well worthy of your favorable
consideration.
/ herewith transmit to Congress the re
ports of the Secretaries of War, of the Ma
w, of the Interior, and of the Postmaste
: General. The recommendations and sug
gestions which they contain are highly val
liable, and deserve your careful attention.
| The report of the Postmaster General de
tails the circumstances under which Corne
/ Illus Vanderbilt, on my request, agreed. II
. the month of July last, to carry the oceal
, mails between our Atlantic and Pacific
, coasts Had he not thus acted, this impor
/ tant intercommunication must have beer
suspended, at least for season. The Post