New-York tribune., 1875-02-12

nine per cent to the fifteen already realized,
and affixing that estimate to the third year
following panic! In none of the periods OF
depression succeeding the various panics ex-
perienced by Great Britain and the United
States, with the exception OF 1872, have inc
bad effects of the crisis been discoverable IN
the imports and exports of the third year 1oi-
lowing it much less have such effects been
more noticeable in the third than in the Sec
ond or first year. On the contrary, so lar as
increased values of imports and exports are
an indication of improvement, in all the IN
stances of 1877, 1851 and 1866, In England
and of 1857 in this country, the third year mas
invariably shown q complete recovery.
The period through which we are now pass
ing is beginning to be recognized as one Oh
more than ordinary severity. People are
opening their eyes to the evns that surround
them. They see that tae currency must be
reformed, tlxes and Indebtedness reduced, and
Government purged of .hdeOus corruption and
unclcanness before the disabled machinery or
society can be made to work as smoothly as
it should. The times are still unfavOrable to
that energetic production and free cOnsump-
ton which, so far as they go, make life easy
men. Still we must be permitted to doubt
that the prospect is as blue as Secretary Bris-
tOw's estimate Of the customs revenue neces-
sarily implies. The dutypaying imports are Oh
two kinds There are articles of such extensive
and unvarying consumption as to be little
affected by business depression. Such are
sugar and molasses. wines and spirits, cigars
and tobacco, and drugs and chemicals. The
reports of the Bureau Of Statistics show that
the values of the articles above named i'm
ported and entered into consumption were
$l14,3250j1 in 1872 and 1922 2829,3jS in 1874, an
absolute increase OF eight million dollars. The
duties paid on those articles likewise increased
from %40270,4CO in 1872 to 352, 0,15O in 1874.
The tables of British commerce amply illus
trate the steadness in the consump-
ton of these kinds of merchandise. OF course
stocks in the hands of dealers may increase
or decrease to considerable extent, and
there may be greater economy among con-
sumers Mt some times than at others, but these
influences do not compensate in q growing
country for the increase OF population. We
think we are well within the mark in cstimat
ing SG0,j000)0 of the total amount of last
Years customs as paid on articles the aggre-
gate consumption OF which has not and will
not decrease under any pressure to which the
country is likely to be subjected This will
leave $100000000 as the amount paid on the
other class OF articles, the consumption OF
which is restricted in bad times. The ques-
ton at issue is, whether the importation of
these articles is likely to drop fourteen per
cent below last years consumption, as now
a.. &C -,
To answer this question it is necessary to
examine how far consumption has already
been restricted. Taking the five classes OF
wool and wooden goods, silk, linen, and cot
ton fabrics, ard the manufactures OF iron and
steel, we find that the values entered into
consumption aggregated $210,O33,2O3 in 1872,
and $1G3,0 130 in 1874, a falling off of twen-
ty-three per cent. The duties paid on these
five classes il 1874 were S73,72S,0SG or % per
cent OF the S1G000O,0O0 collected on imports
of articles of fuctuating consumption. Con-
sdering that the consumption OF these goods
is already depressed to the level of 1870; that
a large share OF them is consumed by wealthy
people and persons of fixed incomes who do
not change their habits on account of the
pressure OF the times that others enter as raw
materials into orr manufactures. and that our
population in 1876 viii be One-sixth greater
than it was in 1870, is there any foundation
for an increase of taxes through dread Of a
further falling Of of fourteen per cent in these
importatiOnsi
Finally If we are really to see the present
prostration of business continue and grow
more intense than ever, would it not be bet
ter to cut down expenses and postpone some
of the great Outlays for pOst-oilices, court
houses, ships of war; harbor improvements,
&C., &C., rather than burden the import trade
with higher duties The advance in the gold
premium has already made it more difficult
than ever to market imported goods without
loss. As mere question of revenue, we
doubt whether ten per cent increase of du-
ties would benefit the Treasury more than
ten per cent reduction. 1t would be
more than likely to make the business of
importers more Improbable than it is,
thus checking and disturbing business and
prolonging the period of depression. We tell
Congress aud the Administration, if they ex-
pect ever to get their heads above water
again, that they must abandon this insane
project of increasing the taxes and devote
their energies and the few remaining days of
the session to genuine retrenchment. People
are not so easily hoodwinked IA Congressman
imagine. They know the difference between
promises and performance, ana instinctiyely
detect q sham.