The Democratic press. (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio) 1860-1865, 1862-02-06

We have before usHoE Tho an
nual report of the Secretary Of the
Treasury, four months later, adj
mittihe chat bis estimate Of r&
ceipts from duties on articles im-
ported, or 10 be imported, during,
the current fiscal year must aleady
be reduced by $26,00 900 Such
has Been the effect of the "Morrill.
tariff Of 1861, and the act Of Au'
gust amending it. Yet, instead Of
pursuing q course of policy which.
every principle ofpoliticaf economy
depandssaadpromotirg anincrease
Of the revenue by reducing duties
and encouraging importations, we.
are about still further to diminish
the reYepqes byyiAcrsaeingtAeduty
to such an e2teut asAxilhih alittle
while, amount to prohibition
Why's siRsr inportions-of the Norths
west it already requires four bush.
els ofcorn to- buy ione pound of.
coffee, Corn, in Illinois, is selling
at seven cents a bushel, and in.
some places has been used as fuel
instead gof wood, because 1t Is now.
cheaper Yet gentlemen Of the.
Eastern States are continually ap,
plying the same lSangradian
,panaeea, holding fast o.the absurd.
notion that an increase of duty will
always and inevitably be followed
by a corresponding increase Of
revenue. They still insist, when
ever the. receipts run low, on adj
ding to the tariff oflduties, with
out remembering that the natural
effect of the increase, even in or
dinargtimes, is to diminish impor-
tations, andcthat now especially,
the loss of the cotton export,
amounting Last year to $191, OO0,-
!000, or ~deducting the precious
metals, to nearly two thirds of our
entire expectation, and the depress-
ing influence eyeryw oftlle pres
ent crisis, have already cut down
the importation to. nearly one half,
as compared with the last five or
six years. In the port of New
York alone, the falling off
to about one hundred millions Of
dollars. How, l beg to know, are
you to have revenue from imports
when nothing is imported? Er
aihlo nihH fit.
But not so think the wise men Of
the East. The more you letter
commerce the more they believe il
will flourish. The higher you
make the duties the more will
revenue'fow into your Treasury
Do gentlemen forgetthat customs
duty is a voluntary tax, and that
beyond a certain point no one will
tax himself of his own free will?-
When times are prosperous and
money plenty, andtrade and COM
merce brisk, men will buy much,
though theprice be raised. Butin
the times of depression, when
wages are low, money scarce, and
employment dificulttoRbe had-in
just such times, in Short, as are
now upon us-merchants will not
import, because consumers will not
purchase if the pricebe high. The
true policy, therefore, clearly is to
lower the impost and encourage
importation, and not to-add to all
the other causes which now COM
bine TO destroy this main source of
revenue, the killing effect of in
creased duties, This is quackery,
not statemanship; and | predict to.
day your high tariffs will not
realize for the current year even
the revised and amended estimate
of the Secretary of the Treasury.
Now, sir, l submit the question
without going into the argument
further, that at the least this bill
should be postponed until the en-
tire tariff system can be digested
and accommodated to the changed
condition of the country; until it
can be made literally and strict
ly a revenue tariff-a M9r tariff, II
you please. Asst now STANDS it an
incongruous amalgam of three sep
arate acts and two or three differ
egt systems of duties-the ad
rnl0fam. the specific, and a COM
pound of the two. 1 think, sir,
that the bill should certainly go
over for two or three weeks, until
the whole subject can be arranged,
collated and harmonized. This
can be done without the slightest
loss tosthe revenue. How much,
sir, does the gentleman from Yer
mont expect to realize within the
next three weeks from the passage
of this act? Will there be any ex-
traordinary importation oftea from
China and Japan withinthat time?
Will there be any such of coffee