Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-05-02

INCOMES, REvExuE, &3.-What the govern
ment is 10 do, to keep the a1les fabricated,
and its wheels in easy, and successful notion
it is not easy to see. A debt that counts Dill
ions. and becomes almost incomprchenslole, SO
far is it beyond the ordinary computations OF
life. must needs have some steady, reliable, ana
correspondingly large revenue, to meet the
accruing interest, to say nothing OF srauu"i
reduction, and liquidation Of the debt ltseil'-
What should be, then, and what are the pro-
visions for meeting that end The duies from
the customs, cannot be even usually large IN
the midst of such commercial s'agnatlon
as now prevails, when the effort OF almost cV-
erv class. and particularly SO, of the farmer and
acriculturist, is to narrow his wants, and curb
his necessities, to the last degree until the mer-
chant is left to no other course, but to get along
with the smallest possible stock in trade, buy
ing lightly, and frequently, to avoid accumula-
ted stocks of deprecated goods, as well as to
avoid more disastrous contingencies. With this
usual and mainly reliable resource of govern
ment go materially shortened in, the next de-
pendence is internal reYenue. When material
aid is cut off in one direction, attention is nat
urally turned with deeper interest towards 9TH
er resources. Let US see, then, whot are the
grounds of hope in the direction of the direct
tax upon the incomes Of the people. The
monthly duties upon manufactures, from which
large pr6P6ttion of internal revenue has been
received, it is known have been repealed,
though against the requirements of policy, yet
in justice, we may say, to an oppressed class.
The revenue then is narrowed down, mostly
to the annual taxes-SfcciGt toTes and m
comes In the first, there will be perhaps. lit
tie or no falling off With the latter, it VIII be
quite otherwise. l. this region, no one class
of industry has succeeded during the past year.
The merchant was selling for mos! of the
year, upon falling market, a graduated scale,
with downward inclination, and not one of a
hundred is enabled to return a dollar over his
exemptions. Some kids Of manufactures have
done q little better, but as a-wholc, there are
but few incomes returned from them. Take
next, vessel properly. aid seldom has more
disastrous year occurred. OF course we speak
of lake marine. As illustration, we may assert,
that but one vessel owner, among the many of
this locality has been able 10 return one dollar.
Turn we, then, In this agricultural locality, to
the farmers But few Of whom would be call
ed anything more than ''smsll isted', farnters,
who, if they come up to the liberal exemptions
of the law, are considered as doing well. Of
those who rise to a higher grade, with farmes
ranging from three to eight hundred acres of
| land, some dealing in cattle, sheep and dairy,
in the 18th division, for illustration, not more
than one in four or five hundred are enabled to
return an income, and the few that do, ale small
and Insignificant. The high rates Of lator, the
necessities Of securing su-tenance at high pri-
ces above the products of the farm, for keeping
stock, the low range of wool, and the losses III
handling cattle for the eastern markets, have all
combined to produce this scarcity Of incomes,
and this retrenchment of the government reve-
nues and resources.
The gains of professions, have Lecn light,
also, during the yeor 67. The law, especially,
has not net with the liberal returns, commonly
reaped by its followers, and doctors, both of
the soul and body, if they make, however tri-
fling show above the 81 600 and other cxemp-
tions are doing all that can be looked for
Where, then, if this showing from the annual
returns Of ihis portion of the 10Th district, is
true elsewhere, or generally, is the government
to derive its revenues? So far as We are ena-
bled now to see, there cannot but be deficiency
and embarrassment. However, we'll disposed
our law makers may be towards burdened
people, the facts may as well be looked square
ly and intelligently in the face. The revenues
of the county are materially falling off, and the
necessities of The case cannot be avoided. The
interest of the public debt must at least be paid,
and in order TO do this, seme expedient beyond
what is now employed, must be resor,ed to to
keep the exchequer supplied. If We are not
driven to take tie back track, and impose a.
gain the burdens from which we have just been
relieved it is plain that some new course must
be struck out that shall promise the needful--
The taxes upon whisky and tobacco, and an oc-
casional succession or legacy duty are not very
likely in the opinion of this humble indvdu-
al" to be sufficient to keep the wheels of gov
eminent in motion.