The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-08-17
st'heeling gegistsr.
Saturday Morning, Angus
a Compnri-ou Of Revenue Systems.

4 Comparisou OF Revenue Systems,
The - Louis Times has been compar-
ing the revenue systems of England
and America. As leading result of the
Investigations il finds that nearly the
whole of the revenue OF England is de-
rived from six commodities. For ex-
ample the revenue for lS66 from custom
duties was slO9,9Sl,7o of which the
duties OH tobacco and snuff produced
81, 2,675, $50; sugar and molasses pro-
duced S25, ,252 l25; foreign spirits S2O,-
092, 2,l5O; tea Sl2,790,7I0; wine S,054,
20; foreign corn :l.l22,20l. Thus is
nearly the whole revenue of the British
empire derived from these few COM
modities, while the revenue of the
United States is assessed upon sixteen
thousand articles. The simplicity anu
perfection of the British system is in
striking contrast with the cOmpleXity
and incongru0us system of the United
States. One is the result of statesman
ship, keeping in view che necessities
of the Government and the interests
of the British public; the other is
hased upon tender regard for the in-
terests of one class in community, to
snbscrve which the balance of the
community is sacrificed. In England
the masses of the people wOald not suf-
fer themselves to he made a sacrifice of
not even the benefit of the Dukes and
Lords whom the people recognize as
hereditary rLlers. These the people re-
spect in their place, but they will not
submit TO be imposed upon as the peo-
pie of the United States do by those
who are selected TO make laws for this
country Practically the Dukes and
Lords of the British empire have less
power than the Senators and Represen-
tatives of the United States Congress.
No British Parliament would dare to
act so despotically over the people OF
Great Britain aS the United States Con-
gresS has in relation to the people Of this
country. Judged by every criterion on
which a fair verdict could be founded,
the people of Great Britain are to-day
free people. while those of the United
States are the mere subjects of despOt-
ism.
In Great Britain the Government
asks only for u tax upOn lnxuries and
upon incomes which can bear it. In
she United States the greater portion of
taxation is imposed upon tine pcceSSa-
rics of life and the industries by which
most of the people make u living.
In Great Britain the taxes are col
lected by comparatively few persons. In
the United States, owing to the multi
plicity of duties to be performed, it re-
quires twenty thousand persons at least
10 look after and collect the revenue;
and, notwithstanding this multitude OF
officers, il is 4 notorious and admitted
fact that rs much rs $4,000, 900 per an
mum are lost uu one taxed comm odity,
owing to the corruption Of the Treasury
Department. and tO the partisan man
agement of the revenue service.
In Great Britain, honest. capable per-
sons are sought for to place in positions
of trust under the Government; in this
country it is regarded as a disqualitica-
tion 70 be either honest or capable, as
every days experience proves. The
heads of departments at Washington
know full we'll that their subordinates
are in league with defrauders of the
Government. They know that men,
bers Of Congress are interested i'll the
commission of these frauds, and yet
they suffer these frauds to be commit
ted, and appearances Justify the asser-
ton that the heads of departments
themselves are interested parties in the
frauds.
Such is fair contrast between the
revenue system of Great Britain and
that of the United States, and of the
means adopted by both countries to
collect their revenues. IL is far from
complimentary to cur system of gov
ernment, to American craftsmanship
and to the American people.