The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-04-18

of Congress and in speechmaking in both
Houses on the subject of the tariff and taxa
ton, there is no prospect Of any such result as
the country needs. Mr.. Sherman, chairman
of the Finance Committee of the Senate, tried
his hand at revenue reform and reducing the
burdens of the people. He proposed to cut
down the revenue some forty millions, and the
Senate, acting upon his report in the MAN,
passed a bill to that effect. The House OF
Representatives demurred to this action of the
Senate, as an Infringement of its privileges in
introducing revenue measures. The House
protested by very large majority against the
action of the Senate 1t was not likely,
therefore, that the Senate bill would be
taken up by the House. At last q
report has been submitted by the Committee
of Ways and Means to reduce the revenue
about thirty-one millions. But this report is
not in accordance with the views of the chair
man, Mr.. Dawes, and is opposed by other
members of the committee. Though it is the
report Of the majority it does not seem to
satisfy any one. Mr.. Kelley, of Pennsylvania,
and Mr.. Maynard, of Tennessee, wanted a
minority report favoring high protective
tariff, and Mr.. Brooks and another member
desired minority report of a very different
character. From this incongruity of views in
the committee, and the dissatisfaction of the
chairman with the action of the majority, it is
supposed Mr.. Dawes contemplates killing the
Tariff bill, if possible, and to favor the passage
of an Internal Revenue bill only. The con-
sideration of this matter by the House in Com
mittee of the Whole is set down for Tuesday
next. From present appearances there will be
as great muddle in the House, or as much
difficulty in agreeing upon tariff or revenue re-
form, as there has been in the committee.
The difficulty lies with the protecticnists of
certain sections, and particularly with those
from Pennsylvania and New England. They
pertinaciously resist any reduction OF the
tariff or yield under pressure to such slight
modification Of it as would be little felt by the
people, while they are ready to reduce internal
taxes or take the duty off articles which do not
compete with home productions. Indeed, they
are rather anxious to reduce the revenue in
this way, in order that there might appear to
be necessity for maintaining high duties on
foreign manufactures. Hence we see this in
geniously concocted Ways and Means report
in which it is proposed to take off about ten
millions of duties, merely from iron, woollens
cotton, steel and other things, and the manu-
features of these, which enter so largely and
generally into the consumption and indus
try of the country. On tea and coffee
and other articles which we do not produce
there is no other tax than the government
receives, but on iron, steel, woollens and cot
ton goods the people pay enormous imposts
that 60 into the pockets of the manufacturers,
and that many times over the amount that
goes into the Treasury. The price to the con-
sumner of every yard of cotton or woollen cloth
and of every pound of iron and steel of domes-
tic manufacture is raised in proportion to the
duty imposed on like articles imported. For
every hundred millions the government
receives from the present tariff the people have
to pay in the enhanced price of domestic
manufactures four or five hundred millions at
least. The people of the great West the South
and all the agricultural sections of the country,
begin to understand how enormously they are
taxed for the benefit of the manufacturers;
and, rs a consequence, the members of Con-
gress from these sections are moving for lower
duties and revenue reform. 1t is in this con-
fict of interests mainly that the difficulty rests
about reforming the tariff and cutting down
the stupendous income Of the government.
Instead of reducing the revenue forty mil
lions or SO, as Mr.. Sherman proposed, or
thirty-one millions, as the Committee of WAYS
and Means reports, there ought to be sweep
ing measure of reform to reduce the revenue a
hundred millions. Duties should be made
much lower, the free list largely increased and
a revenue raised at small cost, comparatively,
in the collection, from few articles of
luxury chiefly. There is little doubt that the
revenue this year will amount to four hundred
millions, or nearly that Three hundred mil
lions ought to pay all the expenses of govern
ment, pensions and interest on the debt, and
leave a margin Of seventy to eighty millions to
be applied to the liquidation of the principal of
the debt. In fact, three hundred millions
is much too large revenue. 1t leads to ex-
travagance and corruption. Nor is there any
|
necessity to pay off the debt so rapidly. The
great object should be to relieve industry of its
burdens and to stimulate production. The
wealth of the country will be doubled in less
than twenty years, and the population nearly
twice what it is now. 1t will be much easier
to pay the debt then. A sinking fund to
keep the process of liquidation going on at a
moderate rate is all that is necessary now, and
all that should be expected of this generation.
This tinkering with the tariff and taxation in
Congress will produce little effect A bold and
comprehensive measure of reform and relief
would give surprising impulse to the coun
try, and would be felt from one end of the re-
public to the other.
| Mr.. Disraelis Manchester Speech.