Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-01-20

was supposed to relate chiefly to a reduction
of the Prussian duty on tobacco and tobacco
stems. | doubt not that was the understand
ing of most of our people. 1t stipulated for
so much, and that the duties upon rice, cot
ton, and lard should not be advanced. The
duties on tobacco were not to exceed four
thalers per centner (or S2,S8 per ITO
pounds,) and not over three thalers per
centner on stems. We, through our Minis
ter, loudly protested then against the in
Justice of any higher duties, and yet we our
selves now impose upon manufactured
tobacco imported into the United States 3
duty of 35 cents per pound, equal to about
"a thalers per centner, or more than thirteen
times rs much as then appeared reasonable
to us that the Prussians should levy upon
our tobacco Yet to-day very few pretend
that we can do with less. Beside, it will be
seen by the tariff promulgated years since
by the Zollverein, that they have, without re-
quiring an equivalent from us, continued
cotton on the free list. as it was plain from
enlightened self-intcrest they must, and have
reduced the duty upon tobacco to the identi-
cal and magical figure OF thalers per cent
ner Without any treaty or sO-called equiva-
lents now have all the advantages sought
for by President Tyler. The craftsmanship
of the State Department seems to have been
uequal to the task of forecasting for 20
will be much more apparent if we examine
the equivalents, so-called, which we were to
have given for the distinguished considera-
tion to tobacco. The catalogue of reductions
to occur in our tariff are too long to be fully
repeated, and embraces TO a great extent the
luxuries and toys of commerce-the very
sources from which, since 1851, we have
most largely increased Custom House sup
plies. No higher duty than 20 per centum
od ralore7g was to be placed on woolen
worsted, or cotton hosiery, mits, caps, bind
/ ings, drawers, shirts, and all similar man
ufactures made on frames, nor upon musical
instruments, except piano-fortes No higher
duty than 10 per centum Gd rdloren on any
manufactures Of silk, or which silk should
| be a component material of chief value, nor
upon Thibet, merinO shawls, and all manu-
I factures of c0mbed wool, or of worsted and
silk combined, nor upon polished plate glass,
silvered or unsilvered, toys, wooden clocks,
cologne water, scissors, files, saws, planes,
scythes, needles, copper wire, bronze ware of
all kinds, fsh-hooks, leather pocket-books,
and all sorts Of similar fine leather manu-
lactures, pocket lOoking-glasses, snuff boxes
of papicr- -machc, lcad-pencils, &c. No more
than 10 per centum Gd raiOrcm on all thread,
laces, insertings, lace tresses, tasscls, knots,
stars of gold and silver. mineral water,
spelter, &c. And, finally, we were to agree
not to increase the then existing rate of
duty upon wines and the duties upon wines
in lS44 were as follows On Madeira and
sherry, in casks or bottles, 60 cents /; cham
pagne, 40 cents claret, six cents per gallon,
and on white wines l-2 cents in casks, or
20 cents in bottles, per gallon.
1t is quite apparent that the American
negotiator of the proposed treaty, however
learned and accomplished in other respects,
was sadly deficient in practical knowledge of
revenue laws or Of the industrial interests of
the United States, and without any appre-
hension of the strides these interests were
destined to make in the immediate future.
Whatever Of budding promise there might be
in the efforts then being made or subsequent
ly made to establish manufactures of wOrsteds.
of silk, of linen and hemp, of wooden and
cotton goods or frames, of scythes, saws,
files, planes, fish-hOoks, lead pencils, and so
on to the end. or whatever were the prospects
of American wines, it is quite certain that if
this treaty had been accepted all these varied
5ntsrests- s.ssssated bss -ills-.-- --'r-.i~i
have received their death knell, or If not,
their advent would have been postponed for
a generation and if the treaty had been in
force at the outset Of the rebellion the Gov
ernment of the United States would have
been almost paralyzed, and without the
power to mend its financial condition SO far
as that then depended upon receipts for
duties upon foreign merchandise. 1t was
found necessary, for revenue purposes, to
place three or four times the amount OF
duties upon many of these articles which
could not have been done had the Zollverein
treaty been in force, and under such rates of
duty the protection of home manufactures
has been so great that we have largely di-
minished our dependence upon foreign sup
plies for silks, w0rsteds, and whole classes OF
other manufactures included in the treaty.
This only illustrates the extreme inexpedien-
cy, not to say folly, Of reciprocity treaties
4 great and growing nation must be left FREQ
to act in any and all emergencies as its honor
and interest may demand.
Only ten years after the Zollverein treaty
had been set aside for the grayest Of constitu
tional reasons, the Senate reversed its posi-
tion and The House of Representatives acqui
esced, by making the treaty of 1854 for the
benefit of the British colonies of Nortl
America. American statesmen in the NORTH
were lifted off their feet by the will-o the
wisp of annexation, and in the South by sec
tional advantages. This treaty. beyond al
doubt was made to induce annexation, but
the arguments used 70 that end, without re
gard to the merits or demerits of that qucs
tion by itself, have been buried too deeply
by our eleven years of cruel experience unde
the treaty ever to be again resuscitated.- =
That whatever desire any parties in th'
Provinces may have entertained prior to th'
treaty for joining the United States wa
temporarily crushed out by the Reciprocit,
treaty cannot be denied And why not p
If they had cured the chief benefits to b
derived from annexation why should they no
shun any and all of it's duties and burdens
: There was no inducement left to go further
: the profit and loss account in all subsequen
| stages was to be nearly equally balanced
7 American statesmen vainly anticipated a
t era of good feeling. hoping that our neigh
= bors were, after all, imbued with some ad
miration of more popular institutions, an
s with some ambition to become an integra
= por tion of great Republic : but the Rebel
t ion touched our Provincial neighbors wit
the spear of Ithuriel. Then they assume
5 their true shape and boldly hoistcd their tru
colors, and at once all these prophetic an
coming glOrics vanished as the unsubstantis
: visions Of maidcns dreams. Our recent boz
$ der fair-weather friends seemed to be file
= suddenly with every and all uncharitablenes,
Eager for bargains in the purchase of our FL
: gitive ships hiding from the Clyde, greed
C for the profits of blockade-running, in flu
: sympathy with the master spirits of the RI
r bellion, harborInS raiders on our border
n and furnishing an asylum to those who wei
e sending assassins one day, disease and deaf
n the next among our people, it became too al
c parent that the Government of the BIRTHS
= Provinces, instead of reciprocity, instead
: building up the United States, would feel
V lively Joy as that disclosed by Mr.. RoebuC
@ their spokesman in the British Parliamen
J, in having % the presumptuous and audacio
= bully of the world as he styled us, humble
= and destroyed. These undeniable facts sho
a the folly of making an exception in favor
n British subjects in the rule of treating fo
II eign nations They are and must be enemi
2 in war in peace. friends. 1t may be sa
: that the treaty of 1854 settled an importa
Ic question relating to the fisheries. Ifthere
IF any point where American diplomacy oug
le to blush, it is in relation to this very que