Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-05-05

] OF cotton, one hundred and one ofwhicl
were sold for upward of twenty-iou
! Thousand dollars, and If the remainde
should orlng an equal price as IL is sup
poseu III Will IL shows an average o
nearly three thousand dollars per man.
think we may dismiss, with such fact.
before US, all apprehensions or croak
lnSs about being taxed for the support
OF TINS class OF people. Reckoning foul
hundred pounds TO the bale, the duty o
two cents per pound collected by the
Government of these thirty-three freed.
men would amount to S2,sl6, or nearly
one hundred dollars for each man. Ii
every man among us could contribute
as much, we should have no need to bor-
row or issue legal tender.
One other thing is also limited by
those who do not hesitate to impair the
credit OF the Government by magnify
ms lts obligations, and by belittling its
means, and that is that a large amount
OF unpaid debt is outstanding against
the Government. To some extent this
is true, and always must be so but it
Is not true that it is greater now than
usual and 1t is also true that there is
to-day in the hands of the disbursing
agents, paid out Of the Treasury but
not yet accounted for, S30,000,O00 to
meet these very debts. There is no
cause for any stabs at the credit OF the
country in this direction.
The general purpose of the bill before
us Is to largely increase the amount of
revenue, and, while doing this to re-
move any doubt as to the proper inter-
! probation of any parts of the act where
any doubt has arisen, and to add such
provisions as will prevent any fraudu-
lent evasions of the law, and enable the
Government to collect all the duties
and taxes imposed thereby protecting
the honest and true men of the country,
who are ready and willing to bear their
full share of the public burdens. 1t has
been considered an object of some i'm
portance, also, to have all matters CEN
cerning internal revenue embodied i'm
one act, in order that it might be placed
in the hands of those who are to ad-
minister it as whole, where it may be
easily read and understood without the
hindrances incident to a careful COM
parason of various amendatory acts
1t will also be of much convenience to
all those who are made liable to pay
duties and taxes to find all that con-
Germs them in one acf All the main
features of the law of 1862 are preserv-
ed, although there are many slight
amendments and, as the Committee of
Ways and Means believe, Improvements
calculated to facilitate its execution
The system has worked smoothly and
well. No equal amount of tax was ever
collected so cheaply. In England it
costs nearly twice as much as it does
here to collect similar tax. ..
The duties have been largely increased
by increasing the rates of duty and by
adding new objects of taxation. Among
those increased will be found manufac-
lures, upon which it is proposed to levy
duty of five per cent. in lieu of three.
1t is believed there will be general assent
to this proposition 1t is tax which
distributes itself widely and while the
manufacturer obtains war prices for his
products, it works no evil to him. With
the tariff adjusted upon foreign produc-
tions so as to leave no greater competition
from abroad than such as existed prior
to the tax, the manufacturer suffers no
hardship except that which arises from |
the diminished consumption in conse-
quence of higher prices, and that must |
be charged to the necessities of the coun-
try. The amount of revenue which will |
be derived from this source, under all |
heads, will probably exceed the entire |
revenue now derived from imposts.
1t is also proposed to enlarge the scope |
and rates of stamp duties.
Upon incomes the duty has been raised
from three to five per cent, and with no
differential rates, whatever the amount;
and the rate upon the income derived |
from the United States securities is rails
ed from one and half to two and half |
per cent. This part of the act has been |
in part rewritten, and the mode and man.
ner of estimating the duty has been more |
definitely stated as well as the deduc-
tions which are to be allowed If all |
men were ready to come up to the gold |
en- rule and this were the sole tax, it |
would be the most just ever devised by |
the wit of man. 1t has been thought
expedient, therefore, that every man |
should be required to render an account
of his income under the sanctions of an |
oath. In such times as these it is to be |
hoped all may feel the grip of honor not |
to give return to which they would !
not be willing to give an oath
There are few articles that have been
singled out for heavy and unequal taxa
tion. The fact that England raises a
large revenue from spirits, tobacco and
a few other articles, is often cited as an
example we might profitably copy. To
some extent this is true; but there are
so many differences of relative position |
tnat we cannot afford to follow the ex-
ample, except at reasonable distance
behind. Great Britain is small in terri |
tory, surrounded by water, and with |
few ports of entry. This enables her to |
shield herself from all smuggling, For
generations their people have been ac-
customed to these heavy taxes, and they |
know no other rule, and are content |
In the case of tobacco none is permitted |
to be cultivated there, so that the duty !
is sure to be seized at the custom house
Their excise officers have narrow fields |
of duty and are exceedingly numerous
and vigilant.
Our territory, on the contrary, is one
of great extent. with bays and rivers !