Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-01-11
CONGRESSIONAL.
SENATE,

| bIlO lU pass tllO Uell III SO4iA'
mission bill, and also, with an ad-
verse report, the Garland commission
bill, He said he favored the mode
of constituting the commission pre-
scribed in the former, namely, from
among civilians, as tending to re-
move the tariff question from the
arena of sectional or partisan feel>
| ing, of the existence of which Con-
gressmen were fully conscious.
Proceeding to argue the necessity
for immediate action TO correct the
incongruities and ineficiency of the
Hasting tariff he characterised its
class legislation for the benefit of
few as a perversion of legis-
lation. He repudiated the doc
trine that what is wanted is
tariff for protection, with incidental
revenue, and argued that taxation to
be just must be uniform, and to be
uniform must be universal para
mount purpose in tariff taxation
should be to provide for the expenses
of the government, and the incidental
result Of this unfostering of our in
| dustries might be wisely considered
not as a controlling motive in laying
taxes, but as one of its inevitable
results. He did not propose now to
discuss The principles of tariff tax
alton at any length. They were soon
to be acted upon by the representa-
tives of the people. War taxes of
the present tariff were out of date in
time of peace. In illustration of this
he referred to the duties on various
articles.
Upon the conclusion of Senator
Bayard's remarks-the morning
hour having in the meantime been
extended informally-the Sherman
funding bill came up but was tenn
porarily laid aside withouta vote, and
Senator Beck took the floor and de-
livered long speech in opposition
to Morrill's bill. Senator Beck OPP
posed the bill as cunning scheme
of monopolists for delay, to
which they had resorted, not onl y as
the means of preventing Legislation
by the present Congress, but of
which was all the enormities Of the
high protection system. He wanted
to have immediate action upon
tariff, and asserted that all that COM
mission would find out as a
basis OF a judicious reduction of tax
alton could be presented by the com
mittee of the Senate and furnished
to the ways and means committee Of
the House within six weeks. The
nine men whom it was proposed to
have the President select might re
fuse to hear whatever did not suit
them, and would not be accountable
for misrepl esentations in their res
port for the evident purpose of the
so called protectlonists-as shown
by the declarations of their
organs and conventions-was
to have commission which would be
committed to their interest. The
declaration of the Senator from Yer
mont, Morrill,, that changes should
be made by friendly hands and not
by Ill informed and reckless revolu4
tionists, was easily understood. This,
however, was an impeachment of the
integrity and capacity Of Congress,
one house of which was charged by
the Constitution with the duty Of or
iginating bills for the raising Of rev
enue or changing taxation, upon the
theory that the accountability of It's
members every two years would
make them careful. The success of
the infant Southern cotton industries
demons trated that it was only pro
lection that such Industries require
to compete with the old and estab-
lished ones, and a proximity for the
raw material, and market for the
product. Georgia, in this direct. on.
was more successfully competing
with New England, than would the
latter in a free contest in the cotton
product with Great Britain, and he
would cheerfully vote to exempt all
cotton machinery from tax,
by the way of encouraging
home competing industry, and he
would also make iron and cotton be
free; he would do this in compensa-
ton to the cotton planters, for the
$50, 100000 of which they were
robbed by the unjust cotton tax Of
1865 and 1866, and to make then
even with the New England manu-
factures, who had, for ffteeI
years, had the benefit of the
war tariff. After detailing at mucf
length, incongruities and inequalities
of the epresent system, and advocating
tariff for revenue framed so as tt
be readily understood, and adjusted
upon advalorum principles as far al
practicable, Senator Beck closed by
} criticizing, with some severity, the
recommendations of the Secretary O.
the Treasury, for the withdraw O
, silver certificates, and the placing O
currency in the hands of nationa
banks. He incidentally referred to
, what he called the absurdity of an,
effort to abolish internal taxation il
view of the present wants of the treas
ury. Senator Beck occupied the foo
tor nearly three hours, closing at Alt
p. M. He was attentively listened t.
throughout by an almost full Senat.
! and some members of the House.
Senator Morrill,, rising to reply tt
: a few points made by Senator Beck
, said he had not been ignorant of tina
Senator's intention to deal sharpl,
with his argument, He (Morrill) nov
: wished to say that he was about a
} well as could be expected; that h
} needed neither to haul off for re
pairs nor wait to find ammunition
/ The Senator seemed to have iumpet
:, into the controversy for the purpos
= of heading off the growing prosper
f ity OF the South which had now tt
E some extent of laask ap,horLad :,