The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-04-15

ness :" but, sir, the laboring man of this
country will regard 1t as worthy of his con-
sideration and will declare by his vote that
he does not want any such blessings as
free trade is bestowing upon the working
classes of England.
Let them go on. Let them thus force an
emigration to this country of hundred
thousand skilled workers in iron, miners
and smelters, and they will, if tho gentle
man from Indiana cannot succeed by the
repeal of the tariff in forcing wages down
to q point that will preclude the possibility
of our working people consuming the pro-
ducts of the field, orchard and dairy as
freely as they now do, make the gentle
mans own state so rich that he will feel
that a tale of magic has been told by time !;
attract by our better wages hundred
thousand people from the coal and iron re-
gions of England, put them in the coal re-
gions of Indiana, and you will add tivefold
or tenfold to the value of every acre of farm
land in the State. You will build villages
in what are now waste places, and trans
form what are now villages into cities.
The gentleman himself will be lost in won
der at the marvels he will see rising around
him in country that has wisdom enough
to protect its laborers against fatal compe-
tition and develop its own exhaustless and
infinitely diversified resources.
No, sir, England has not found free trade
blessing. The last census shows that the
rate at which her population increases has
already been greatly diminished; and if
monopolizing capitalists will only open
plenty of iron mines in Spain, and thus
close those of England, where mining and
handling the ore would cost them more, he
who lives to read the census of 1881 will
find written on every page of the statistics
of population palpable proof of free trade
England's rapid decadence.
| happen to have with me copy of the
English tariff, which the gentleman pre-
sents as model which we cannot too
speedily copy, together with presenta-
ton of one years results. A more in
famous piece of legislation was never
planned by the cunning of greedy capi-
talists than this model tariff. 1t is tho
work of heartless cupidity.
The English tariff has two objects, sir !;
the first is to tax every import of which the
laborer is a special consumer, and to admit
free of duty everything that the governing
classes of the people require. That is one
of its objects. The other is to tax two of
the leading agricultural products of the
United States. The English laborer and
small farmer know two kinds of fruit, and
two only-raisins and dried currants.
These even the poor, before they approach
too nearly to pauperism, enjoy in their
Christmas pudding and the better class OF
laborcrs enjoy them on Sunday at intervals
throughout the year. The arlstocracy in
dulge in white grapes, and figs, and nuts,
and indeed every variety of imported fruit.
Does the English tariff touch either class ?
Yes, sir; the crrrants and raisins of the
laboring man pay duty of seven shillings
per hundred weight; but the luscious fruits
enjoyed by the aristocracy, the grapes Of
France and Italy, the figs of Smyrna, the
pruncs of the world, the banana, and
other tropical fruits, and all those things
which beautify and grace the tables of the
aristocracy, are admitted free of duty,
Would the gentleman have US copy such
features as these?
English laboring men enjoy tea when
ever they can afford to get it, and being
was going to say ninety-nine hundredths
of the community, but will not go so fal
as that; will say that being ninety PEI
cent. of the community, to tax tea is to tai
them. Consequently tea is taxed three
pence pound. Coffee for the aristocracy
is taxed but three or fourpence per pound
while chiccory, its substitute, for the poo
man is taxed 81 Us. Cd. per hundre'
weight.
Mr.. Kerr-The gentleman from Penn
sylvania is not correct about the amount Q
those taxes /; but presume he can max
the correction when he gets to his room.
Mr.. Kelley-The gentleman from Ind
ana will not attempt to correct these figures
for read from tho tariff of Great Britain
and Ireland, published by the America
Free-Trade League, Nos. 81 and SO VII
liam street, New York.
Mr.. Kerr do not think the gentleman
followed the amounts as stated in tn
pamphlet which he holds in his hand
[ have no doubt, however, he will ge
get them all right when he comes to publis
his speech. ,."
Mr.. Kelley-Although my eyes ar
somewhat dim to-day, think have quote
them accurately.
Now, Mr.. Speaker, chiccory, the subst
tute for coffee used by the poor, is, as
have said, taxed Ell IS. Sd. per hundred
while coffee is taxed three or four cents pc
pound, depending on quality. Tea is take
gi1pence per pound, whether it be the cos
hest article used by the wealthy or til
poorest stuff the laboror is able to buy.
Let US look at the wine. The wine
the small tradesman, costing one to tw
shillings at the most, brought across tt
straits from France, pays one shiliin!
while the rare wines of the aristocracJ
costing from thirty to fifty shlllings, pa
only two shillings and sixpence. The fran
ers of this model tariff seem to agree vii
the gentleman from Indiana in the opinic
that the growers and manufacturers of t
bacco ought to be made the objects
special and inordinate taxation. To accor
plsh this laudable purpose they strike
The poor miner and laboring man who ma
still be able to enjoy his occasional pipe
tobacco. They also agree with the gent
man in regarding the grain-fields OF Il
West as fit objects for heavy special tax
ton. Tobacco and spirits are Amerle;
productions, aud with sagacity, quickent
by British greed, the trainers of this mod
tariff knew that to tax them heavily won
make our farmers and tobacco-growe
pay for the privilege of entering Britt
markets. But for the enormous tax up
spirits our grain-growing states would
growing gram to-day to much larger e
tent than now, and distilling and EXPORT
it to England. English statesmen S
America produces grain and tobacco t
aristocracy preferring brandy, port, sher