East Saginaw courier., 1866-04-25

| The Committee on Ways and
Means have agreed upon a reduction
| of internal taxes amounting. in the
aggregate to eight millions Of dellars.
This does not include any reduction
of the income tax. It relates to GER
tain raw materials, and manufactures
in crude state, such as pig-iron, cop
per, brass, lead, zinc, etc, in bars,
sheets, paper, barrels, boxes, and a
multitude of primitive manufactures.
1t Is estimated that the exemptions
proposed by the Committee will re-
lieve the country Of about twelve
millions Of taxation, for while the
amount received from these sourcss
during the last fiscal year was only
eight millions, the increase Of the
revenue since tho close of the war
would probably bring the amount up
to twelve millions during the current
year
This is a good beginning, but 1t can
only be called beginning. The Rev
enue Commission estimate that a re-
duction of fully one hundred millions
can be safely made during the pres
ent year: 1t is, perhaps, well to move
cautiously in this reform, but the pso-
pie will hardly accept this homeopathic
dose as fnality. We are to-day
the most egregiously taxed people on
the face of the earth. No other gov
ernment in christendom or heathen-
dom could levy such taxation on its
people without producing revolution.
The present income tax is nothing
less than confscation, taking, as it
does, every tenth penny from the en-
terprising and prosperous, and every
twentieth from every body else, in
addition TO the multitude Of other
taxes, direct or indirect, which assail
the individual like q cloud of mosqui-
toes in August. We have heard
nothing of the intentions Of the Com
mittee of Ways and Means regard
ing the income tax, except an occas-
sional surmise that they would take
no action at all until after the confis-
cation should be enforced for the
present year. Wewould notprejudge
the Committee we are aware that
their labors are considerable, and we
are willing to concede that a large
share Of the intelligence and patron
age Of the House is embodied in the
nine members of that important COM
mittee. But if it is their purpose to
grind out another ten per cent. in
come tax, in face Of the fact that it is
not needed, we trust that some men,
Der of the House will call for vote
upon the question, and get the yeas
and nays upon it, if nothing more
We have had enough of this awk-
ward surgery. The patient who has
lost quart Of blood may be able to
survive the extraction Of another pint,
but the doctor who should propose TO
take it out of him because he could
probably endure tho depletion, and
not because it is deemed necessary to
secure his recovery, would be hooted
out of the medical faculty, end all the
people would say, Amen
Another thing to be done is to re-
duce the tariff in corresponding de-
gree with the reduction Of the intern
al revenue, and on the same articles.
Unless this is done, there will be no
certain relief to the people, and the
only effect Of the reduction Of the in
ternal tax will be to take given
amount of money out of the Treas
ury and put it into the pockets of the
classes engaged in producing the ex-
empted articles. Pig-iron, for in
stauce, is taxed three dollars and sixty
cents per ton. The import duty is
nine dollars per ton. We import con-
siderable pig iron from Europe. I'm
less the tariff is reduced pari passu with
the internal tax the price Of pig iron
to the consumer, and Of the articles
which are made from it, will, in all
probability, remain unaffected by the
reduction of the tax, and the peo-
pie will gain nothing by it, but, on
the contrary, lose the amount which
formerly went into the Treasury from
that source Of revenue. The price
will stand at the figure at which it can
be imported with the duty added
The object of a reduction of taxes is
to take burdens of from the people,
not to increase them. The Govern
ment derives about million and half
of dollars from the tax on pig IRON
If this sum is discarded and the price
of this article not reduced, the people
have clearly lost million and half
of dollars and gained nothing. We
use this one article as an illustration.
There are doubtless many articles in
the list Of exemptions, which we do
not import from abroad. Upon these
the reduction of the tax will operate
as an immediate relief to the country.
We trust the present session Of
Congress will not expire without some
approximation to the reduction of
taxes estimated to be safe by the rev.
enue Commission. We are paying
Federal taxes at the rate Of $500, ,000,-
900 per annum, while the needs Of
the Governmentareo only 1924, 900, 900.
Fifty millions per annum is all that
ought to be applied at present to pay
ing of the national debt The re-
manning sl66, 900, 900 is sheer extor-
ton and Legislative rapacity, and We
assure our representatives in Congress
that unless they let up on their con-
stituents in this matter of overtaxion,
their constituents will find members
of Congress who will.
ALWAYS Best TO TAKE TINE BY THE
FoRELocK.-The people of the West
seem determined to believe that the
cholera will visit us during the ensuing
summer, and hence the reason they