New-York tribune., 1869-04-10
THE ANGLO.FRENCH COMMERCIAL TREATY


ord. tbe limited States have been busy for
the last seven years trumpeting the provisions
and workings of this treaty as q triumph OF
their theory. The treaty expires by its own
limitation in February, 1871, upon notice
given by either party and as there Is good
deal of dissatisfaction with it manifested and
opposition threatened in England, especially
in Lancashire, and even in Manchester, the
Free-Traders are getting specially anxious and
active in its defense. They have, however
been all the while taking a tenderly solicitous
care of it. The British Commissioners OF the
Customs, the Board of Trade, and the Chan
cellor Of tho Exchequer never let an opportu-
nifty slip for arguing and ciphering 1t into
success. We hear of it here constantly, either
as can abandonment by France OF her old
" time protective policy" "a large advance to-
ward free trade" or, without any sort of re-
gard for tho truth of description, n free trade
" treaty.r A glance at the concessions OBJ
tanned by Mr.. Golden from Louis Napoleon
will settle this pretense efectually. In the
first article of the treaty, the Emperor en-
cages that on the following articles Of British
production and manufacture imported from
" the United Kingdom into France, the
duties shall in no case exceed thirty per
"cept ad valorem, the two additional centimes
Included" This list embraces fifty descrip-
tions of goods of the highest commercial I'M
portance; among them are sugar, iron, steel
machinery, cutlery, metal wares, brandles,
spirits, all sorts of textile fabrics, leather,
glass, china. stoneware; in word, every
branch of production endangered by free COM
petition from England. And all the duties TO
be impos ed by subsequent convention to bo
expressed in specific charges, to avoid the
frauds OF characterization. the Rorges of the
market at prices below cost, and huctuatlon in
tho revenue expected, so that the percentage
method should be utterly excluded in all pos
sible cases; the medium prices for the six
months preceding the date of the treaty being
taken as the basis for the conversion into spe-
cific assessments. On all articles incapable OF
description by number, weight, or measure,
the Emperor bound himself TO reduce the 80
per cent rate to % per cent, after the lst OF
October, 1864.
Several conventions were afterward held for
the purpose of fixing the schedules of specific
duties, according to the treaty stipulations;
and the protected commodities were finally put
under impOst rates which we have no hcsita-
ton in saying were on tho average rs
high as the range of rates of our tariff of 1861,
and q great deal more effectively adapted to
the principle of adequate protection.
We need not waste q word upon any we'll
informed reader to prove that 30 per cent is
relatively as high in the way of defense of the
French home industry as 80 per cent would be
to us against the same rivalry in our market.
Other provisions of the treaty and arrange
ments of the schedules put into the free list,
OF reduced to very low rates, such articles as
France produces cheaper and better than
Great Britain can do, and which therefore
needed little or no protection. Thus the ores OF
iron, copper, tin, lead, zinc, raw cotton, I'M
manufactured wool, silk in cOcoons, and other
raw materials, were made free. Silk tissues
were also made free, and the most exquisitely
fine fabrics Of cotton were put at two cents
per 100 square yards, while coarse cottons were
charged 81 per 100 square yards just rs rail
road and bar iron are charged S13 68 per tun.
and steel II cents per pound; tin, 81 Y
per tun; tin pots and pans, S5S 62 per tun,
while the raw materials Of these products were
admitted free of duty. But we have said
enough on this point when we say we are pre-
pared to demonstrate the Anglo French treaty,
in all its provisions, model protective tariff
for French industry, so well arranged and adj
justcd to the purpose that the best Of ours is
shabby inconsistency in the light of the
principles and details exhibited in this one.
But this policy has been working for about
seven years-none Of its provisions went into
effect until July, 1860, and it did not go wholly
into operation until October /, lsG1-and as there
is no dispute about its protective features or
provisions, its partisans shift the defense to its
operations upon the trade Of the two countries;
and accordingly we are assaed by all the
forces that the sleight- hand of statistics can
extract from figures. twisted and tortured into
groups, percentages and averages for the
purpose.
That a great enhancement of the exports Of