Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1876-09-07

|. SEPTEMBER !, 1876.
y evesy sge Of cur history The pros-
enty of the natiun hos borne . direct
taa,o e The prosperity Of her agricul-
Whenever the husbandman hes real
I'D bonuteous return for outlay and
] - and has not been subjected to un-
eaA taxations this great interest has
peosPered and the entire country with Il.
bot whenever, notwithstanding plen-
o1el hsrvest, the cost Of production has
been Increased and the remunerstion
dininished BY reason Of oppressive and
unequal taxation, the agricultural in
eseest has languished, tke farmer has
knrGTorichod, snd IT, whole
nation kas Been M lbet = ssshccl
Such is the condition Of affairs at the
present time.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
fruits Of the earth have been more abun-
dant than ever before in our history,
such is the increased cost to the farmer
for the means of living, and SO burden.
some has been the weight Of taxation,
direct and indirect, imposed upon him
that the entire interest is in condition
OF distressing and alarming depression,
and the whole nation feels it.
The handspring Of all the financial
embarrassment that now pervade every
section Of our country is found. be-
yond doubt, in the prostrated condi-
ton of her agriculture.
A specific tax laid upon any article OF
commodity Of trade must, in the very
nature of things, affect the traffic in tha,
article or commodity in direct proper.
ton to the extent Of the tax.
Now the tax laid upon distilled spir.
its is about six times the first cost ol
manufacture, and the tax laid upon
leaf-tobacco is almost in the same pro.
portion. With such immense exactions
upon the trade, who can doubt
that the price realized by the farmer
for the raw material is seriously affec.
ted thereby.
If the distiller did not have to pay
ninety cents per gallon to the Govern.
ment for taxes, he could afford to pay
the farmer much more liberal price
for his grain; and so of the tobacco mer.
chant and manufacturer.
A very considerable proportion of the
distilled spirits used in the country are
used in the arts and for mechanical and
scientific purposes. The increased price
of these spirits directly and seriously
affects their sale for such purposes: and
to the extent that their sale for such
purposes is diminished, the demane
for the grain from which they are made
is lessened.
But it is in respect of our foreign
trade IN these articles that our presen,
revenue laws most seriously affect the
interests Of the farmer and the manu-
facturer. With no tax upon distilled
spirits and tobacco, and none of the
complicated and protracted formalitie.
that now surround the expectation o
these articles, our country ought to sup.
ply the world. Our immense and in.
exhaustible resources for their pro-
duction, and our great facilities fol
their transportation to the seaboard, af
ford us natural advantages unequalec
in any country, and but for the embar.
easements thrown around their expor
tation by our revenue laws, there car
be no doubt that our export trade in
distilled spirits and manufactured tobac.
CO would be tenfold greater than a
present.
1t Is true there is no revenue tax i'm.
posed upon spirits or tobacco that is ex.
ported to foreign countries, but the
bonds to be executed and the formali.
ties to be complied with for the protec.
tion OF the Government against fraud:
are so numerous and so diff cult as to very
seriously embarrass and almost DESTROY
the trade.
An analysis of the tariff of duties i'm.
posed upon foreign imports will show
that in very many respects the same
principle of taxation has been followed
and that the poorer classes pay there
also by far too large a proportion OF al
that is paid into the Treasury from such
sources.
The very learned and exhaustive re.
view of this subject that has been pre-.
sented to the House by the able chair.
man of the Committee of Ways anc
Means Mr.. William R. Morrison ha.
left but little for others to say upor
this subject. will content myself b,
a reference to one or two articles only
the duties upon which, as now colIec.
ted, bear most oppressively upon the
masses Of our citizens. In round mum.
bers about $40, ,O00, 900, currency, were
paid into the Treasury last year from
duties upon sugar, molasses, and sirup.
imported into the country; near 81
each for every man, woman, and child
in the land.
Now sugar, molasses, and sirups ar.
actual neeessaries Of life. After bread
and meat there are no articles that en-.
ter so universally and so largely into the
daily bill of fare Of every individualin the
land, from the highest to the loves,
and from the cradle to the grave, a.
these.
If nine-ten,hs Of the people are poor
then the poor pay nine-tenths Of the
duty: that is, $50, ,0OO, 900 are annual.
ly added to the cost Of the sugar and
molasses with which the poor men oi
the country provide themselves and
their families. nv friends from the
sunny Soufh will claim that sh;. 1,,.,
is imposed for the protection of the su.