Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1864-02-19

Under the stipulation contained IN nearly all recent
commercial treaties TO give all privileges subsequently
granted the most favored nation, Il might be difficult
To see why any nation with whom have such treaties
could not By admitting iIce Of duty the schedule OF an
mAnd equal hvors Such expansion Of the contract
might not very much increase tho exposure Of inter
est as other Countries reap consid
efabe advantages thereby but the clements Of our
diplomatic relations and Of our laws would be Sc
rious.
COMPLICATIONS ARISING PROM TREATIES.
Complications sometimes arise by virtue Of treaties
not anticipated nor intended. When there Is conflict
between law Of Congress and treaty. the Executive
practically decides the question issue, and feeling
more directly responsible for the latter the "supteme
law than the former. sustAins aud executes, not the
law OF Congress but the Executive version of the treaty
signal instance Of this furnished by treaty
with Portugal Of August %, 1870 In article three we
hnd the Following words
tor diS sss a,s ss ss. 'es q h%sros q say ss s
oss Y PcTgsa hs sSes ~ Ave. u o. S BAL g. payable 90 tn,
& being the rowth, produce or manuaours OF Any
In the tariff OF 1872, two years later, specific duties
were imposed upon wines Of which described
by their common and with other descrp-
ton than the name Of the county from whence they
came, At rates varying from sx 70 siNvhye cents per
That nothing herein contained shall be construed per-
opere,ed 80 A. 20 Interfere win snbss'ing treaties
soon after thistarid came into operation. Portugal.
BY her resident minister here made
the law in conflict with treaty stpulations claiming
the a mission Of her wines madeira and port and
those OF her possessions being higher priced than most
otuef Wines Al the lowest rate Al Whcn VINE OF
country OF of any sort no matter how pa!try the quality
OF price, was should be admitted After profacted
discussion BY Al eminent Secretary Of state t Gun,
Gus 90 md that our Executive wholly bbandoned the
tariff Law Of 1872, far as IL related TO Portugal wines,
collected duties upon the Portugal construction OF the
treaty, aud refunded such duties had been COLI
leoted upon any other basis.
should be admitted that the tariff Of ls42 in
Instances barren As It was Of any description save the
name Of the wine country where produced 90 limit
ed extent defective but the preension Of the minister
Of Portugal that under the treaty the United States we're
ptecludcd from evyiug specific duties upon wines, with
rates according 70 their commerca value on the ground
that wine was generic term, not divsibe into species,
aud therefore emhracngn single word the weakest caet
and the strongest port 'old Falernan. such will
be improved when is called vinegar. all equally ike.
little deserved appears me, the oomplajstnce t OBJ
tanned IT the Portuguese argument was valid all our
tariff laws have been al fault through their diverse oas
sitcations Of coal iron hemp, and even carpets
and other articles which might be easily cited unlike
in name but OF widely dssimar character and value
The position Of Portugal and is wholly untenable
OF would be were it not sustained by respectable
American authority Al that IL is necessary for n
Rress 10 do iu order 20 maintain s constitutional power
it appears me- Is 20 frame law descriptive u the
class Of wines Il may be- proposed taXnot leaving u
solely dependent Tor m nomenclature upon the name of
the country from whence il comes, that hardly cou-
Germs US Ia the adustm Hut-and specific duty upon
wines, with many rates sorts, n you please may
De imposed with prOpuety without infringement Of any
treaty aud with great benefit TO the revenue Il may be
added that Il possibly dcorcuce 10 the Portuguese
arsument to which our Government had so patient
succunbed. that The tariff Of 1851 II not that OF 1916,
did not secure from priced wines, aud
which possess favor and flavor ia the ratio Of
cost IL consolation perhaps that considera-
Ole boon was yielded 90 inferior aud friendly power
and not 20 any As tits however, cheap wines
are taxed too much aud expensive or luxurious wines
too little
From the recital Of this case it is plain that the power
Of the House - representatives subrcs Of taxation
may easily be tampered with, rircumscribed and per-
haps be gotten rid Of altogether by the Executive aud
Senate should they pesi,tsnny combine or This
purpose, and there appears be- remedy. Having.
under the forms Of tfely.maki1g usurped the powers
he mil 4f IN
enforce that legislation. "the supreme law Of the
land IL It be adnis able TO regulate with one nation
6' treaty the rate Of duties imports, would It not be
equally 80 to dN by treaty the rule Of naturalization with
any other nation
NO ACTUAL RECIPROCITY ~ rHB REcfrBoc1rY TREATY.
There l. something attractive in the terms recpro-
city equality ana free trade that assent yielded
measures which they presumed without ante
ceden inquiry subsequent reflection aud il Ia only
after patient examination Of the facts Of history the
tesus of iudispuiable experience tbat become dis
gused with terms, which, no, invented for the pur
pose. mislead the understanding, and are made 10
mask Whole seres OF antagouistic principles.
What reciprocity j. there IN making cotton free 20 the
United States from Canada when Canada produces
cotton king Cotton was In no danger from long
staple or short raised norih Of The ortyhhh degree
whose AZ is ground by making grnds'oncs free 20 Cana
da from the Unitfd States, when the United States
are mainly dependent upon the British Provinces
flr their own supplies What equality is
there in exchanging the grain and cattle mark
cts of New York aud Boston ior those VI Montreal
and Quebec when the former their normal condition
are twenty five per cent berer than the latter and when
Nue latitT Muner no ffruU eiuuNNn can Oc hfaane
the United States What b. the adyauiage ~ free
trade n lumbfr with caunty whose forests mex
hausuoe and "coeval with tht woddf f Who proposes
20 carry cnals 70 New aste or donhels 10 Spain What
il the advantage Of free trade ihst does include
something make o. cll or thing that somebody
is ready 20 buy
sTArisr CO RELATIVE TO TlW HcirHocITY TRADE
The facts forth by the r,par cf the Hon Israel
Hatch, Afer laborious uycsga0u, DO relation 20 The
operation m the revenue as sui the fciprpety
conimuni -ated 20 CONGRESS June B, 1861, would have
attracted nuf that
no change would he until the expiration Of the full
tom Of Inc frc,+y sb.ll r,f,iro so m fh,se f-ts
win many others Of mof date drr cd fom United States
and British cumcnts but cunhning myself mainly 70
the trade tie Canadas, as our trade with these proyin
S On la Hg "eae 1ss o ps & q a. a' @ qi,s' b
portauons ree " duiy from CAsda the United States
%gTe ilgl 54 whine tet impo1e'nn' paying duty were
SloW2 6A or nearly four riues gfrafer Hu the im-
pottauons free u dny. afcf the treaty took elect, in
four ears, from 1876 20 1853 mclus We, Sj94lS-
915 aud subject duty had fallen of 10 the same
time o. -, 80 53i, only one in twenty eight This
Is the fr.t exhibition " offecprocity
In SjS when the Uuitcd States collected duu's only
on s3l3953 in value ~ Canadian productions, those OF
American labor upon which dut were paid in Canada
amounted 10 Sij2i sos lhisis the next exhibition of
rccocHy being on ihe scale " forty FIVE TO one Dur
ng 1870, ls3I and lojo The amount Of American in
dusry tsHod n 'auada SS 29i 293, than that
Of Canadian Productions taxed in this country BY the
returns ~ later dsc would that their tradc has
almost ceased 10 be soutceof revenue us while from
our trade they obtain their accustomed liberal contrbu-
free by the treaty amounted TO Sl7Slo 6Si and II val
ued according 70 the prices actually obtained IA
keis doubtless the amount exceeded twenty million dol
lars Had it been subject to average eof duty the
would have been less than three four mil
lion dollars, and that cxent Was many bonus 10 the
provinces
By the treaty the ancient laws NJ trade hare been sub
vefted, and exports 10 Cnuada which formerly large
ly exceeded imports greatly less They sell
10 us, but go elsewhere to buy.
Our domestic exports 70 Canada flr long series of
years prior 20 the treaty generally about double the
value Of imports and in addition exports " for.
eign merchandise sometimes equal aud generally
not less than half much more. The relative position
OF the trade is reversed,
The II goods exported Canada in 1855 sub
jeot duty Sll 4ig Az, and in 1852 than
Sc 2S 7S3 The ports of manufactures candies soap,
&c T. Canada in 1883 were in round numbers "a 500 .
90 and they had decreased 10 sl 50OO 900 IN 1863
The imports from Canada for the last eight hscal years
averaged IN value $40 6i3 S25 Of which only average
Of Si67 4SS paid duty on entering the United states
Canadian tables shnw thar for eight 1900 1862
inclusive, average of ~ $40 0lO Of exports
Canada paid duty, ard $40 72l 900 fee II viii be
seen that we charged by them with duty On av-
eage value of SIS 81 500 more than they charged
with by
In the 6rst four years after the treaty came In opera
tiun received of the st Of articles named in the
y SlS III 69l in value than Canada received from
II this is reciprocity, The less have the better
lu 1861 the impors from Canada SlSe45 i57 and
our exports we're Sli 36 $50, excess Of imports
over esp ts NJ - 278509 This amount is be aug.
mented bY S2,6 677 OF Of foreign origin which
meiely passed territory aud transmted
n lieu " exchange or gold meet our indebtedness
aud would have been received by canadA but for the
fact they obtained cheaper thus than they could
b 49, thr tla 81 1