The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-12-14

last message gave warning that in time of sudden
danger the salvation of our institutions might depend
upon the power of the President Immediately to as,
Semoie 1ui Congress to meet the emergency.
| TARIFF.
1t is now quite evident that the financial necessities
OF tne government will require modification of tho
!arn during your present session. for the purpose of
increasing
In this respect desire to reterate the recommends
ton contained in my last two annual messages in IA
vor of imposing specific instead of ad valorem duties
ON all imported articles to which these can properly be
| applied. From long observation and experience am
convinced that specific duties necessary both to
protect the revenve and to secure our manufacture
ing interest that amount of incidental announcement
which unavoidably results from revenue tariff As
abstract proposition, may be admitted that ad vao-
rem duties would, in theory, be the most just and
equal but the experience of this and of 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 re-
SOFT 70 specc duties. Indeed from the very nature
OF an ad valorem duty ths be the result under
IT.: Ihe inevitable consequence is that foreign goods
Will be entered at less than their true value. The
treasury Will therefore lose the duty on the difference
between their real and fictitious value, and to this
tent we are defrauded The temptations which ad val
Drum duties present to dishonest importer ire
slstabe His object is to pass his goods through the
custom house at the lowest valuation necessary
to save them from Contiscation In this he too often
succeeds in spite of vigilance CT the revenue officers
Hence the resort to false invoices for the pur-
1
| eXpedients to defraud the government The honest
importer produces his invoice the collector stating
the actual price at which he purchased the articles
abroad. Not the dishonest importer, and the agent
OF the foreign manufacturer. And here it may be OBJ
served that very large proportion of the foreign
manufactures imported from abroad, consigned to
commission merchants, who mere agents employed
by the manufacturers. In such cases. where actual
sale has been made to fix their value, the foreign man
uacturer 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 manu-
facturer enjoy decided advantage over the honest
| merchant, They are thus enabled to undersell the
fair dealer and drive him from the market In fact
the operation of this system has already driven from
the pursuit OF honorable commerce many of that class
of regular and conscientious merchants, whose char
acer throughout the world is the pride of our
| try.
The remedy for these evils is to be found in specific
duties, SO far this may be practicable. They dis
pense with any inquiry at the Custom House into the
actual cost or value OF the article and it pays the pre-
else 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
differentiation, in d few render themselves in
dependent. Besides, specific duties best conform to
the requisiton in the Constitution, that preference
shall be given by any regulation OF commerce
enue to the ports OF one Saate over those of another
Under our rd vaorem system such preferences are to
some extent, inevitable, and complaints have often
been maae' that the spirit Of this provision has been
violated bya lower appraisement of the articles
enough prevails to extent, that specific duties are
necessarily protective duties. Nothing can be more
allaclous.
Great Britain gories in free trade and vet her whole
revenue from imports, at the present moment collec-
ted under system OF specific duties. 1t is striking
act in this connection that in the commercial treaty
of 23d January 1850, between France and England,
of the articles provides that the ad valorem duties
which it imposes shall be converted into specific duties
within six months from its date, and these to be
ascerained by making average of the prices for six
1 he 1aro- flat rI,n of H.
proposition would be to the truth, because a
much larger amount OF would be collected by
merely converting the ad valorem duties of a tariff
into the general equivalent specific duties. To this
tent the ould be increased and in the same
proportion the specific duty might be diminished.
Specific duties would secure the American manuac
urer the incidental protection to which he is fairly
entitled under revenue tariff and to this surely no
person would object. The trainers of the existing
tariff have gone further, and in liberal spirit have
Disseminated In favor OF large and useful branches of
cur manutactures-not by raising the rate of duties
upon the importation of similar articles from abroad
but,wha is the same in effect, by admitting articles
free OF duty which enter into the composition of their
fabrics
Under the present system it has been often truly
marked that this incidental protection decreases when
the manufacturer needs it most and increases when he
needs it least and constitutes sliding scale which al
ways operates against him. The of the coun
try subject to similar fuctuaton, instead of ap
preaching steady standard as would be the
der system of specific duties. They sink and rise
with the sinking and rising prices OF the articles in
foreign countries. 1t would not be difficult for Con-
gress to arrange system of specific duties which
would afford additional stability both, to revenue
and our manufactures, and without injury Injustice
to any interest of the country. This might be
plshed by ascertaning the average value of any Civ
article for series OF years at the place of expora
ton, and by simply converting the of dd valore
duty upon it which might be deemed necessary for
| revenue purposes into the form of specific duty
Such an arrangement could not inure the If
he should pay greater amount of duty year thi
would be COunterbalanced by lesser amount the
next, and in the end the aggregate would be the same
desire to call your immediate attention to the pres
ent condition Of the Treasury, ably and clearly pre-
sented by the Secretary in his report Congress- and
to recommend that measures be promptly adopted to
enable it to discharge its pressing obligations The
other recommendations of the report well worthy
| of your favorable consideration.
herewith transmit to Congress the reports of the
Secretaries of War; of the Navy, of the INTERIOR and
| of the Postmaster General. The recommendations
and suggestions which they contain highly valua
| BILE, and deserve your careful attention
The report of the Postmaster General details the
circumstances under which Cornelius Vanderbilt,
my request agreed, in the month of July last, to
ry the Ocean mails between Atlantic and Pacific
coasts Had he not thus acted this important inter-
communication must have been suspended at least for
a season. The Postmaster General had no power to
make him any other compensation than the hostages
on mail matter which he Nigh carry 1t is known at
the time, these hostages would fall far short of ade
quate compensation well as of the sum which the
service had previously cost the Government MIR.
Vanderbilt in cOmmendable spirit, willing to
rely upon the justice of Congress make up the def
cheney, and therefore recommenq, that apprOpra-
ton be granted for this purpose
should do great injustice to the Attorney General,
to omit the mention of his distinguished
vices in the adopted and prosecuted by him
for the defence of the Government against numerous
and unfounded claims for land in California purport-
ing to have been made by the Mexican Government,
previous to the treaty cessiOn
The successful opposition to these claims has saved
to the U. s. public property worth many millions of
dollars, and to individuals holding title under them,
at least equal amount.
FAMINE IN KANSAS.
1t has been represented to me from sources which
deem reliable that the inhabitants in various portions
of Kansas have been reduced to state of starvation
account of the almost total failure of their crops,
whilst the harvests in every other portion ofthe
have been abundant The prospect before them for
the approaching winter is well calculated to enlist the
sympathies of every heart. The restitution appears
to DO general that it cannot be relieved by private
contributions, and they in such INDECENT circum
stances to be unable to purchase the necessares OF
life for themselves 1 refer the subject to Congress.
If any constitutional for their relief be
devised, would recommend its adoption.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
cordially commend to your favorable regard, the
interests of the people of this district They
inenty entitled to your consideration especially
unlike the people of the States they appeal to
government except that of the Union
JAMES BUCHANAN.