Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1881-02-25

attack our major premise and deVotei
a whole column of its peculiar style of Ar
guEent to bold endeavor to prove that
no system of Intermediary inspection q
all is necessary. In doing this, cur con
temporary has gone a step farther than
my one else who has engaged in public
kussien of this question, As far as We
are 3 -, for, as we said on q previous
occasion, all those who have heretofore
written publicly in opposition to the State
system of inspection have conceded the
necessity of some intermediary inspection
of this product. If our valued contempt
rary could only prove what it set about
with SO much flourish and apparent conf
dence, it would certainly relieve the quss-
ton Of all further embarrassment, and our
unbounded admiration of the profound
genius of its able editor would be marred
by noly one regret-that our State had not
possessed genius like himself at an ear
lier period in her history before the to-
bacco planters had been taxed with such
a large sum of money to make permanent
provision for such inspection.
To our obtuse under standing, however,
its whole column of comments prove, we
regret to say, nothing. 1t says that the
same and perhaps greater necessity for in
spection exists in the case of 'corn, wheat
flour, hay or almost anything else sold in
bulk" Does not every man of any prac.
tical sense at'all know that corn and wheat
are not sent to market and sold in bulk
These products are always open to the in.
spectien of the buyer, and if either the
quality or condition do not suit him, be
does not purchase. The case of hay in
bales does approximate somewhat nearer
to that Of tobacco, but it is by no means
a parallel one. In abiding to this COM
modify our neighbor proves 1.-The absur.
dity" of its own contention" by the sd-
mission that 1--WE have been cheated by
just such false packing" We were also
cheated by just such false packing once
and the result is that We never purchase
hay in bales now unless the vendor will
warrant it to DO honesty packed, which
we find they will generally do. Most Of
those farmers whe sell baled hay generally
get their crops on the market through the
agency of some responsible factor or dealer
who is cognizant of their responsibility,
and will undertake to warrant their pack
ing. The case of hay is, however, by ne
means a parallel one, because the pack
ages are not nearly SO valuable, are not
susceptible of such nice shades of differ
ence in quality and condition, are rarely
transported but = short distance from
where it is produced and never. perhaps,
exported from the country.
Flour was until recently the subject of
State inspection, and since the abolition
Of the law regulating its inspection is sold
entirely upon the credit of the brands Of
the different mills. Obscure mills are
now only enabled to get their -four on the
market at fair price through the agency
of responsible factors, whom they indem-
nifty against the risk Of warranting their
flour. This as we have shown heretofore
tho large majority of tobacco growers ow-
ing to their great number and doubtful
responsibility, cannot do, and therefore
the inspection of tobacco ought not, like
that of -four, to be abolished.
With regard to our neighber's funny
observations about its able editors pur-
chases of fodder, and beef, and coal, and
horses in which h. was 80 badly cheated
We must pass them by as wholly Irrelevant
to the subject of discussion, merely quot
ing for our neighbours benefit the maxim
Of the law with which its able editor il
no doubt quite familiar: "cigilanti6us, non
dormienti6us, suceurunt juro."
Now We come to the hogshead of sugar
which We selected as an example, because
we thought it Appropriated more nearly
to that of tobacco than any other commo'
dity, and which our nsighbsr thinks is
an unfortunate selection because it illus
tratel "the absurdity of the contention
Our neighbor tells us with interesting de-
tail of the manner in which sugar is made
will he not also inform Us if the sugar
plantations in Louisiana and the portions
of the adjoining States whore that pro-
duct is made, are not very extensive, and
their owners, as q rule, men of wealth and
responsibility. Our reading concerning
the growth of Sugar in those States hal
led to that conclusion. This being 50 ii
would be an easy matter for their factors
in New Orleans to warrant the quality OF
the contents of the casks and assume the
responsibility, and thus get this product
on the market without intermediary in.
spection. We know that in commerce
this product is sold by samples exhibited
by the vender as representing the con-
tents Of the cask, and that in law the ven
dor is liable for any non correspondence
between the iamplss and bulks; this be-
ing so, it is reasonable to assume that the
liability over extends back in regular sue
cession to the responsible producer him
self.
Az we have said before, the producers
of tobacco, taken as q class, lack the
known responsibility necessary to get
their product on the market, and there
fore some reliable Intermediary inspection
in the case OF tobacco is necessary. But
aside from that, sugar does not furnish .
parallel, as commodity, to tobacco, be-