The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-21
Free bodybuilding Matcriais-The Treas
ury Department. Circular.

Free bodybuilding Ffateriais-The Treas
ury Department. Circular.
The circular of the Treasury Department to
the Collectors of Customs and others, with re-
gard to carrying out the tenth section Of the
Tariff act of juno 6, which we published yes
terday, will prove interesting to our shipping
merchants and shipbuilders. The act pro-
vides that from and after its passage sail
lumber timber, hemp manila and iron and
steel rods, bars, spikes, nails and bolts and
copper and composition metal which may be
necessary for the construction and equipment
Of vessels built in the United States for the
purpose of being employed in the foreign
trade, including the trade between the Atlantic
and Pacific ports Of the United States, and
finished after the passage of this act may be
imported in bond, under such regulations as
the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe;
and upon proof that such materials have been
used for the purpose aforesaid no duties shall
be paid thereon" The vessels so built, how
ever, will not be allowed to engage in the
coastwise trade more than two months in any
one year, except upon the payment of the
duties on which rebate had been allowed.
The act exempts from duty all articles Of
foreign production needed for the repair of
American vessels engaged exclusively in foreign
trade. The circular of the Secretary Of the
Treasury referred to prescribes the rules to be
observed in carrying out the act, both to facili-
tate shipbuilding and ship repairs and to pro-
tect the revenue.
This act of Congress is not very clear. and
that is fault in Congressional legislation we
have reason to complain of too often. The
first impression on reading it is that all ship
building materials for the class of vessels
named are exempt from duty; but on closer
examination it seems doubtful if iron plates,
which form the bulk of the material for mod
ern iron ships, are exempt. Were these inten-
tionally excluded as favor to the iron manu-
facturers of Pennsylvania? If SO, this pre-
tended liberality to the shipping and ship
building interests of the country is very much
narrowed down. Such stingy, partial and
piecemeal legislation would not meet the wants
of the country. 1t would look much like po-
itical sop on the eve of the elections, and in
the end prove a delusion and snare. Our
mercantile marine could not be aided much
by such legislation. We may be mistaken, and
the act may exempt from duty all mate
rails for vessels intended for the foreign
trade but it will hardly bear that interpreted
ton. What the country really wants to re-
store our tonnage is, in addition to taking the
duty off shipbuilding materials, q repeal or
suspension of the Registry law, SO as to enable
our capitalists to build and buy ships abroad.
The two measures together would soon restore
American shipping and trade, and would at
the same time gradually promote our ship
building interests. But the first and para
mount object should be to restore our ton
mage, particularly in that class Of large iron
ocean steamships which now do the bulk of
the passenger and most valuable freight trade.
We are losing hundreds of millions Of dollars
by the obstructive Registry law. We are sur
rendering our most valuable trade to foreign
ers The loss in year is, probably, greater
than oil our shipyards are worth We hope
Congress will be more liberal and more
broadly national in its views when it meets
again than it has been on this question.