The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1875-01-06
The Tariff Question.

The country is divided on the tariff question
into three classes protectionists, free traders,
and revenue tarfites. The first class seek only
such duties as will protect their industries and
capital, without any regard to the collection Of
revenue. If the duties are prohibitOry Of foreign
imports so much the better for the protectionist.
When the duty on pig iron is 50 per ton, there
can be no Importation Of that article, and the
Pennsylvania furnace men enjoy monopoly, and
can charge almost what price they please. They
are satisfied. of course. But when the duty is
only 81, there can be some small foreign imports,
yielding perhaps 100000 to the revenues, and
the proteciionists have no longer a complete mo-
nopIy. With the duty at 81 or So per ton, the
foreign imports would probably yield revenue
of several millions and the Pennsylvania monopoly
would be broken up. This is the prospect that
now alarms and impels them to make organized
resistance in advance of the meeting of Congress
to the anticipated remodelng Of the tariff The
free trader insists upon the abolition Of all customs
duties aud the breaking up of the custom-house
system. He would provide for the maintenance,
of the Government by direct taxation exclusively
and trade with all nations as freely as the States
trade with each other. He may be right but If
so, he is too far in advance public opinion, both
here and in Europe. to exert much positive inau-
ence on the present time. His party is weak.
and without power. The third class are those
who recognize the present necessity Of a consid-
cradle revenue from customs, but who believe at
the same time that no duty should be imposed
save for revenue as the principal object, and who
tolerate protection only as an incident not always
avoidable. For example: they oppose th exist
ing duty of 20 to 100 per cent on foreign wool,
according to classification, because it is prohib'
itory and against the interests of both the man
ufacture and the consumers. though protective Of
the home producer of wool, and because it yields
no revenue. They would be in favor of a mode
rate tariff on wool, because it would encourage
imports, enlarge our trade, cheaper our wooden
manufactures, and above all, would yield revenue
though it would also incidentally afford some pro-
lection to home wOOlgrowers. The revenue
tariff advocate insists upon the restoration of
the tax on tea and coffee because all OF it is re-
turned into the public treasury, and none OF it
goes for protection. The protectionists want this
tax to stand repealed, because that affords them
the pretext for other tariffs not so much for reve
nue. as for protection. On this account, the pig
iron monopoly generally voted to repeal it in
1872 The protectonist is for making duties as
complicated as possible in order to keep out i'm
ports, befOg the people, and hold on to their mo-
nopolies.
The advocates of revenue tariff are in alarge |
majority, and a growing one. 1t is generally /
conceded that the only purpose for which taxes,
direct or indirect, should be laid is to raise reve
nue. to support the Government. 1t ia seen as
clearly that when taxes are laid forprotection, the
masses of the people are feeced for the enrich
ment of favored class, and the support of Gov
erment is secondary consideration. "The cues
lion between a revenue tariff and a protective,
tariff" says the New York Erening Post, sis
not question between low duties and high duties:
nor primarily question between duties on goods
that can only be foreign grown or foreign-made
and duties on other goods but it is fundamen-
to the Government, and taxes that inure in part
70 the Government and in part to some one else.
A revenue tariff will lay such duties only as will
FIELD all their results to the Government Golfers.
protective tariff, just so far as it is protective
avs all its duties so that Government shall either
ret nothing at ALL as when the protection is CON-
,lete, or much less than all, when the protection
5 less than complete. The country demands
ariff that will yield revenue, but it also demands
IN abandonment Of the policy OF protection save
IS an incident to the primary consideration of
evenue. Congress is expected to remodel the
ariff; to restore the duty on tea and coffee,
which will. yield slTOOOOOO year to the treas
Try; to lower the duty on pig iron from 81 to
4. which will withdraw protection and increase :
evenue by some millions to modify the tax on
aw wool for the same reasons, and to utterly
bolish the duty on very many articles that yield
10 revenue whatever and is benefit only to
the tax on salt and cOal-iSac
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