The New York herald., 1870-11-30
Tho Free Trade Festival OF the Free
Trade Lcague-Plonty Of Time.


Tho Free Trade Festival or the Free
Trade Lcague-Plonty Of Time.
The Free Trade League had monopoly
dinner (twenty dollars ticket) at Dalmonico's
on Monday evening last, at which powerful
free trade speeches were made by Robert B.
Minturn, President; William Cullen Bryant.
Mahlon Sands, David N. Wells, w.
N. Grosvenor, of the St. Louis Demo
.crot;; Horace White, Of the Chicago
Tribune; Edward Atkinson, s. s. Cox,
Charles II. Marshall, James Brooks, General
Brinkerhsn, Of Ohio, and others. In laying
bare the enormities Of the protective tariff
system these speeches were very interesting;
but In defining the programme Of the Free
Trade League they were very cloudy and
indefinite. AS near as we can get at it the
League proposes to reach free trade, not in q
single jump, but by gradual approaches,
beginning the war upon Syracuse salt, Penn
sylvania pig iron and Ohio wool. The New
England, South Carolina, Georgia and Ala
bama cotton mills are to be attacked after the
aforesaid outworks Of protection are carried.
Free trade, the grand ultimatum Of the
League, as defined at a free trade dinner Of
George Sanders, at the Irving House in 1862,
or thereabouts, which Mr.. Bryant will prsba-
bly, remember, means the abolition Of all
duties upon foreign goods, which carries with
it the abolition Of all custom houses and the
substitution of direct tax upon the people to
make up the deficiencies of revenue thus re-
sulting to the national Treasury. Now, con-
sidering that we have national debt Of some
So, 500, ,OO0,00 to look AFTER the interest of
this debt, together with the regular govern
ment expenses, win require 70: years to come
pretty heavy taxation, to say nothing of the
payment of tho principal of the debt. General
Grant is paying off the principal at the rate
OF hundred millions a year but this may be
very properly cut down in reduction of the
taxes, internal and external, to the extent of
hfty millions year. Still, to meet current
expenses and the debt some three hundred
millions must be raised for the Treasury. At
present the sum Of ono hundred and eighty
millions, in round numbers, is raised from the
taxes on foreign imports and one hundred
and seventy millions from our internal or
direct taxes.
In order to have free trade, therefore. while
meeting the interest on the debt and fifty mil
lions Of the principal, instead Of reducing our
direct taxes we must have them increased to
the extent Of one hundred and thirty millions
q year, which will simply be robbing Peter to
pay Paul. The only short cut to free trade, in
fact, is the short cut of reputation but as
this settlement of the national debt was not
suggested at this free trade dinner and as 1t
is not limited at by the League, we shall have
plenty Of time-say twenty-five or thirty
years--for this free trade discussion and for
the abolition Of all our custom houses. The
best that we can do meantime is to tighten as
FAR as pvsSibio, looking tn the gradual redemp-
tion or funding Of the national debt, the bur-
den upon the masses Of the people which they
now have to bear in our external and internal
or Indirect and direct taxes. Down to the late
war all our national revenues, except few
millions from the public lands, were raised
from the customs or indirect taxes and partly
because, as an invisible system of taxation, it
was considered the best. 1t has grown now to
a system of protection Of home manufactures,
which In many things invites assaults and yet
we cannot have free trade short of the redsmp-
ten or the funding or reputation of the
national debt.
NILSSON AS FLOWER SELLER at the
French fair was as great success as Nilsson