Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1860-12-13

june. 1850 including 81 667 Il for the contingent (
Of Congress- ee d mS With the interest upon Of
$50 OOO appropriated By the act OF 10Th loo
for the of supplying the de p c eparmen
for the year ending the Both June 1923 Ans sun
justly chaEgea6e to the year @ IS the
pendture the year ending on the Seth June eeO
balance for the thsJ ANY year
Treasury for the same fiscal year ending on tne v
June $780, to "a makes 0I The aespse of
oUgbt in ,stce to be observed that several of the
estimates from he departments for the year ending 3Oh
June 1860 were reduced by Congress below what was and
st Is deemed compatible with TIE public interest Allow
inc liberal margin of 900 this reduction and for
other causes may be safely asserted that the sum OF SOL
OOO or at the $62 600 00OO amply sufcen 20
administer the Government and to the interest the
public debt unless contingent events should hereafter
| render extraordinary expenditures necessary
This result been attained in considerable degree Dy
the exercised by the appropriate departments Ia en
ering into public contracts have myself interer-
with the Colonization Society, deemng 1t aaysae TO
head Of the department with The general instruction that
these contracts should always be given to the lowest ana
best bidder 1t has my opinion that public con-
tracts are not legitimate source of patronage to be
ferred upon personal political favortes but that in all
such public officer IS bouno TO act or e "oein
ment as prudent individual would act for himself.
| AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE &C.
is with great satisfaction communicate the TACT mat
since the date my last Annual Message not single slave
has been imported the United States III violation OF the
laws prohibiting the African slave trade This statement Is
founded upon thorough examination and investigation OF
the subject Indeed the spirit which prevailed some time
since among portion OF our fellow clzens IN favor OF THIS
trade seems to have entirely subsidized ,
also congratulate you upon the public sentiment "hch
against the crime of setting en- foot military ex
petitions within the United States, to proceed
from thence and make the people OF unoendng
States with whom at peace In TINS respect nap
DIV change effected since the commencement OF my
1t surely ought to be tine o, evey
receive countenance in country or depart from our
shores.
1t would be useless repetition do than refer,
with commendation to my former
favor Pacific rsroad-o the grant OF power to the
President to employ the naval force in the Vcy Tor the
protection of the lives and property OF our
passing the different Central American routes,
against sudden and awless outbreaks and depreoatons
and also to protect American merchant vessels te crews
cargoes against violent and unlawful seizure and con-
scaton in the ports Mexico and the South American
pubic when these be in disturb ard reyolutlona
power we do not afford that protection to those engaged
in the of the country which they have right 10
ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
again recommend to Congress the passage OF law IN
of the provisions OF the Constitution appointing
day previous the 4h March, in each year OF an
odd number for the election OF representatives throughout
general appreciation, the appointment of the same
day throughout the Union for holding ne election of cleo
President and Vice President of the United States
attention earnestly directed to this subject from the
fact that the 3th Congress terminated on the Sd March,
1852 without making the necessary appropriation 1or th
service Post Office Department then forced
to consider the best remedy for this OMISSION and an imme
date call of the present Congress was the natural resort
Upon enquiry however ascertaned that fifteen out OF the
80 States composing the Conederacy without
be dstranchised by such call These fifteen States VIII be
in the condition the 4th March next Ten them
elect accOl ding to existing State
laws, until different periods extending from the beginning
of August next until the months of October and November
In last message gave warning that, time of sud
den and alarming danger the salvation of institutions
might depend upon the power of tine President Immediately
to assemble full Congress- to meet the geDcy.
TARIFF.
quite evident the financial necessities of the
Government will require modification of the tariff during
present session. for the Of increasing the
In this aspect desire to reerae the recommends
O IN l2St O
imposing specific instead of ad udOrtn duties all npor
ted articles to which these can be properly applied From
long observation and experience convinced that spe
chic duties necessary both to protect the and
manufacturing interests that amount of in
cidental encouragement which unavoidaby results from
| revenue tariff
abstract proposition may be admitted that dd
aloren duties would theory be the most just and equal
But if the experience of this aid of all other commercial
has that be assessed
collected without great frauds upon the revenue then
the part of wisdom specific duties Indeed
from the very uaoren, duty, this must be
the result Under the inevitable consequence is that
foreign goods will be entered at less than their value
The treasury will therefore, lose the duty the difference
between their real and fictitious value and to this extent
| detrauded.
The ptation which od ucIore duties present to dis
honest importer irresistible His object pass his
goods through the at the very lowest
tion necessary to them from conscaOn In this he
too often succeeds spite of the vigilance OF the
officers Hence the resort to false invoices, for the
purchaser aAd another for the cuetomhouse other
expediens to detraud the Government. The honest i'm
porter produces his invoice the collector, stating
actual price at which he purchased the articles abroad
Not the dishonest importer and the agent foreign
manufacturer And here it may be observed that yer,
large proportion OF the manufactures imported from abroad
are consigned for ale to commission merchants who
mere agen employed by the manufacturers In such
70 actual sale has been made fix their value. The
foreign manufacturer he be dishonest prepares an in
voice of the goods not at their actual value very
lowest rate necessary escape detection. In manner
the dishonest importer and the foreign enjoy
decided advantage the honest merchant They are
thus enabled to underse the fair trader ard
the market In fact the operation of this system al
ready driven from the pursuits of honorable commerce
many OF that class of regular and merchants
whose character throughout the world the pride of our
| country
The remedy for these evils in specific du
es so far as this be practicable They dispense with
inquiry the the value
OF the article and pays the precise amount duty pre-
Vlcusy fixed by law. They present temptations 10 the
appraisers OF foreign goods who receive but salaries
and might, by differentiation cases. render them
| selves independent.
Besides specific duties best conform to the re0uson in
the Constitution that preference shall given by any
reguaon OF commerce or revenue to the ports State
over those OF another Under dd system such
preferences to extent inevitable and complaints
have often been made that the spirit this provision has
oeen violated by lower apprasement of the articles
| at one port than at another.
An impression strangely enough prevails to some ex
tent that specific duties necessarily protective utes
Nothing be fallacous. Great Britain porips in
free trade and yet her whole from imports is at
the present moment collected under system of specifc
duties. 1t is striking fact in this connection that in
the commercial treaty of 23d January 1860 between
France and England, of the articles provides that
the dd Uoor duties which it imposes shall be converted
into specific duties within six months from its date and
these are to be asceraned by making an of the
prices Tor SIX months previous to that time The reverse
OF the proposition would be nearer to the truh becanso
much larger amount of revenue would be collected h
merely converting the dd ralore duties of tariff into
equivalent specific duties. To this extent the rnvnnno
would be increased and in the same proportion
clfc duty light be diminished. ~