M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1863-03-05
The West Taxed for the Benefit
- OfNew EngIand-Speech Of Hon.
8. g. Cox.


committee of the Whole, considering
the bill "To provide ways and means
for tho support Ofthe Government" -"
and the pending amendments, Mr..
Cox obtained the floor and said:
| move to amend by striking out the
words, F." except duties on imports.
The reason for this amendment has,
no doubt, been suggested to the COM
, mittee Of Ways and Means by the
gentlemen from Pennsylvania Mr..
Stevens], and others. Payment OF the
public dues Ought to be Uniform
That is very clear. Perhaps it is i'm,
possible at this day to make 1t uni
form, either all in gold or all in pa
per. But it has a bad effect, especiar
lily to one class Of people and one sect
ion Of the country. The retention OF
these words. "except duties on i'm
ports," requires the import duties to
be paid in coin. What is the effect
Of that 2 Its effect is, beyond all con.
troversy, to increase the price Of all
imported articles.
The effect OF this is to increase tie
burdens to a certain section and to a
certain interest-this is, labor. There
is no doubt of that. | have voted
against all this banking and currency
business by the government. | be-
lieved it WAS bad at first and would
lead 10 worse results. 1t was like a
machine, which, if once you put your
hand in, your whole body would fol
low. 1t matters little to me which Of
the plans are adopted. They will
alike fail: some more speedily and
more disastrously than others. Twill
vote for the least dangerous expert.
ment. What you want to sustain the
Government is confidence in itsagent5'
! venture to say that there is no case
CT a Government keeping up it's cred.
it by running counter to the popular
will Credit is confidence, and conf
dence implies votes, popular agree
ment with the policy pursued. This
Administration, for reasons not now
to be advanced, has, by its conduct OF
the war and the treatment of the slav.
cry question, dishonored its own bills.
The protest ofthe people 10 the pro-
test OF the Government paper.
Twill sustain, as an amendment,
the amendment of the committee as
the least evil.
But | desire to enter now my OBJ
jections to this whole policy. ! do it
BY the amendment | ufltr. Every
dollar of new paper issue for circuIa-
tiOn increses the burdens OF the West.
How 7 BY the increase of the price
oil every article which comes from
abroad. The crstolns being paid in
coin-whether wisely or unwisely | |
do not now discuss-the price of the
coin enters the price Of the article up.
on which there is a tariff, and the |
consumer pays il. Labor pays it to
capital. That principle is now axio-
matte in economy.
This bill will increase tribute
which the West pays to New England
aud tends TO weaken the bonds be-
tween the East and West. | speak
this not, as has been falsely alleged OF
remarks OF mine in another place, to !
favor disruption. | always opposed,
and yet oppose, any sort OF mutiation
Of the republic; but to advise this
House and the country where these
quicksauds are To what end to
hurry US into theml No; but TO hur.
ry us away from the pitfalls of dan,
ger.
No one except the contractors have
made 80 much money out of this war
as the New England manufactures
and your issue of greenbacks and pay
ment Of customs in gold and the high
price Of gold consequent on your pol.
icy have made this condition.
This is plain. Twill give you facts,
which the wise will heed.
In the first place, they have pro-
lection by the tariff ofthirty per cent.
Il believe) on foreign goods coming
in competition with theirs. The de-
prvc'ation Of the currency has opera
ted as greater protection to them
At present the premium on specie is
forty eight per cent, and on foreign
exchanges sixty per cent. The latter
must be added to the cost of the goods
in the foreign market as well as the
duty. This secures to the manufacs
urer protection of more than one
hundred per cent. Thus demon
strate it. | take only one item. The
importer Dcuhases one dollars worth
OF prints in England When he en-
ters them for consumption he pays
thirty per cent. duty. This he adds
to the original purchase, making 81
go. He also adds the difference OF
exchange, sixty per cent, making
Al. 4 ~