The Oxford intelligencer., 1861-03-06
( The tariff OF the Confsderacy.

The Provisional Congress has adopted the
revenue laws of the United States, as they stood
in November last, extending the list of free ar
ticles so as to embrace agricultural products,
provisions, and munitions Of war. This legis-
Iation, we presume, is designed to be merely
temporary. The expenses attending the insti-
tuition of a new Government will be very great !;
and, therefore, it was proper to retain the old
of duties in order to provide the necessary
means for carrying on its operations. 1t is very
possible that we shall soon be engaged in a war /;
and, for that reason, it was wise to guard again t
the enhancement of the prices of such things as
will be of thefirst necessity to the government
itsefin that contingency. In short. the new tar
if is an experiment. 1t imposes no new bur
thens upon our people. 1t may produce rev.
enue more than adequate to the wants of the
government IF this shall prove to be the case
it will be easy 10 reduce the scale of duties to the
revenue standard Its clearly impossible, how
er, to foresee what amount of money will be re-
quired by the government; and. therefore, it
was polite to make a very ample provision. IT
any error has been committed, it is an error upon
the SAFE side.
We are altogether opposed to the principle of
a tariff 1t is an insidious method of indirect
taxation, devised for the purpose of binding the
people as to the actual amount of their contrl-
buttons for governmental objects. Even when
most fairly imposed, it operates uhequally and
with great Injustice, exonerating the wealthy
from their due proportion Of the public burthens,
the weight of which is chiefly thrown upon the
middle and poorer portion of the people. The
present tariff was framed upon the protective
principle and instead of being levied upon every
description Of imported goods alike, it dscrimi-
mates between different articles, with the avow-
ed object of favoring particular branches of do
nestle industry. Considering this tariff as
provisional measure, Of merely temporary char
acter, designed only to meet the eXigcncy of the
moment we have no objection tourge against it;
but, if tariff policy is to be permanently sad
died upon the people Of the Confederacy, we
trust that the duties will be leyie,l alike upon
every thing that is importei from abroad, so az
to support the government by what shall literally
NC itA 'N''' 49, '''N
as now tax upon the consumption Of paftfcu-
lar articles.
Free trade, with direct taxation, is the policy
we favor We are aware that direct taxation
is regarded by many as impractcabIe. 1t is
said that the people woud not submit to- it
They do submit to il, however for State purpo-
SEES; and, although many of them might complain
of it for federal objects, their complaints would
be stilled as soon as il was explained to them
that they were required to pay far smaller tax,
in this direct form, than they would pay, uncon-
sciously and by indrection under the tariff sys-
TEN. Direct taxation is not only the most just
system, upon principle, because it taxes every
man in proposition to his property but it also af
fords an admirable check against corruption and
extravaganza in the government u