The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-12-23
Tariff Reform.

| DuiioiuS, last evening, 10 near an address from
Gen. R. Brinksrhof, of Ohio, upon the subjec,
of Tariff Reform.
The meeting was called to order by Hen. G
f. Talbot, who nominated his Honor, Mayor
Kingsbury to preside. On assuming the chair
the Mayor remarked as follows:
| thank you, fellow citizens, most sincerely,
for the honor you have conferred upon me-, by
inviting me to preside over this meeting.
This ia in no sense political or partizan
gathering. The invitation to the distinguished
| gentleman who is to address US was signed BY
| many well known citizens of both the great
parties of the country, and we have assembled
which bear upon the common interests of all
| classes.
The decade which closes with the present
year has been crowded with issues of the high
est moment to the welfare of the nation. Our
terrible civil war, after four years of bloody
contest, has been closed with the restoration Of
the Union. Slavery, the curse of the nation,
and the prime cause of its discussions, is forev-
er disposed of. The right of suffrage is extend
| color.
BY the necessities of the times we have been
| shut up to these great and vital issues. But
the hour has come when the people, relieved to
great extent from these questions, can take a
vital Importance to their prosperity and happi-
ness. They cannot live always upon the past,
Leaving the things that are behind. let us
press forward" to the new ideas, the new du-
ties that lie before u.s.
The Mayor then introduced to the audience
Gen. Brinkerhoff
Gen. Brinkerhoff commenced his address by
speaking of
FREE TRADE-wHAT IT MEANS
The speaker defined free trade not to be the
abolition of taxation-neither did it mean d.
fnv
No people were more anxious than the free
traders that the credit of the government should
be maintained, and all necessary revenue col
lec.ed. SO long as governments exist, and so
long as our Constitution remains as at present,
the only practicable way of collecting our ma
tional taxes must be by tariffs and excise laws
Free trade, therefore, means nothing more
than such revision Of the tariff and internal
revenue laws as to give to the Government the
revenue it requires, and at the same time be
the least bnrdensOme to the people.
The tariff in any shape was burthen, and
not blessing. and therefore it should be made
as light as possible In order to do this, it must
be confined to its sole object-taxation. To test
tax under it, is to inquire, does the Govern.
ment get it? Does it get it alls If it does not,
if it sticks to somebody's fingers, or goes into
the Golfers of some great monopoly, you may
rest assured that there is something wrong.
THE TARIFF TESTED.
0eu d. tnen teSt0Q the tarlt, BY the rule
laid down, and spoke OF the duties on Goa, iron
leather, salt, wooden goods, and lumber, alleg-
ing that the government gets bnt small reve-
nue. from the tariff on those articles, while the
rich owners and monopolists were pocketing
the largest amount of the proceeds. He was
very severe upon the Onondag0 Salt Compa-
ny.
He commended that the effect OF reduction
OF the tariff upon home manufactures, would
be more to their advantage than to their iniu-
~, and quoted from letters from manufactur-
ers to show that such would be the case.
OUR SHIPPING INTERESTS.
Ten years ago we stood at the head of the
mercantile marine of the world, and now we
already rank only as fourth rate power. Un-
der this tariff we have gone down steadily at
the average rate of 100000 tons per annum, and
to-day two-thirds of the freights of our own
commerce are paid to foreign shipOwners, and
it costs twice as much to build ship in New
York as it does upon the Clyde. The p1otec-
tionsts claim the Alabama as the cause of all
this, but the fact is the Alabama went to the
bottom six years ago. and yet since that time
our shipping has declined more rapidly than
before.
Ten years ago, and the shipyards of New York
alone employed q, 900 mocha mics, ami 1900 ap-
altogether. To-day, Of the 125 great steamers
which ferry the Atlantic and return profit to
their owners of $12 600, 600 year, not one car
res the American flag. The cause of all this
is summed up in one word Of sh pbuilder's
testimony before the Ways and Means Com
mittee, viz: Tariff"
Ten years ago, or in 1861, the gross value OF
shipping engaged in foreign com ,nerce amount
ed to $108, 0OU, 900, and the gross earnings to
$4,000 900. The amount of American tonnage
entering our ports exceeded the foreign ton
mage 1861, 374 tons. In 1863 the excess of Am
erican tonnage had fallen to /, 974 800 TONS In
1869 positions were changed, and the excess of
foreign tonnage over domestic tonnage was
kDvna Av,d srn Oh
by the destruction of cur ships by the Alaba-
ma, for the decrease of American tonnage was
greater after that vessel had been sunk tqan it
was before
In 1850 the value of imports and exports car
ried in American vessels, was double that in
foreign vessels, viz: $517 900 O00 against $685..
100000. In 1869 our position in this respect
WAS reversed, viz: the imports and exports in
foreign vessels was 1856. 100000 against $780,
100000 in American vessels
President Grant, in a special message to Con.
gress, last winter. admitted all these facts, and
recommended, as measure of relief, the pay
ment of bouaties to shipbulders. equal to the
duties paid upon materials used in building a
ship THIS remedy, however, was worse than
the disease, and was the. efore opposed and de-
feated by the Free Traders.
President Grant then took another and wiser
course, and recommended Cat the opening of
the war between France and Prussia) that iron
steamers purchased abroad should be admitted
| to registration here.
This would give US the command of the COM
merce OF the seas, but the PrOtectionists in
Congress talked against time and defeated it,
| and the result is that ocean freights have been
doubled, and we have lost in great degree, all
the advantages the war would have given US
for the sale Of the surplus products OF fruit
| full year.
In doing this, the Protectionists have gain
| ed nothing for themselves for we cannot use
| their materials in building ships; but true to
their selfish instincts, they play dog in the
| manger." and England laughs at our calamity,
| as she pours into her Golfers golden stream
from the ireights OF our own American COM
| MERGE.
| SO in every way we lOok-except in the case
of certain bloated moAoplies, like pig iron, salt.
coal, steel and the like-we find the tariff an
unmitigated evil to all our home manufac-
| tures
| OUR EXPORTS.
Our exports show this most wildly. In fact,
| We have almost lost the worlds markets and
| are fast shutting ourselves up, in Chinese
seclusion, from all other nations.
What can be better proof or more melan-
choly reading for our American manufactur.
ers, than the official report of our exports of
last year, compared with the exports of 1860
| ten years ago2
The speaker here read statements of the ex-
port oil certain articles in 1860 and 1859, show
ing an immense falling off aud asked if under
these circumstances, is it wise to sacrifice all
these great industries, even if it was necessary
IN order to keep alive few monopolies like
pig iron, coal, sail, and Bessemer STEEL
FREE TRADE TARIFF.
But, says the protectionist, how are we to
raise revenue for the government? Simply
by levying it upon such articles as we do not
raise at home. Then every dollar goes to the
Treasury and nothing to the monoplics
The British have Just such tariff, and they
raise Sl1O,0O00O0 off of less than twenty arti-
cles. Ninety three and half per cent of
their entire customs revenue comes from six
classified articles, viz:-Tea, coffee, tobacco
and snuff sugar, spirits and wine,
More than one-half of our customs revenue
last year came from ten articles of this class and
three fOurths of the revenue comes from thir-
teen articles. Mr.. Wells's report of last year
contains tariff schedule which gives us rev.
enue of $50 100000, all the government asks
for, and yet it would relieve the people in the
way of bounties OF at least $500 600.
The General closed with an appeal for the
| equal rights of all, and claimed that it is only
bv freedom and equality among all the States
! that we can preserve the Union and our ma
tionality.
| M. l.. A. ANNIvERsARY.-There is some mis-
understanding as to the time when the cele
bration of the 10Th anniversary of the Mercan