The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-03-10
THE NEWssUGAR TARIFF.

age, in the agt@hpllrs of it's existence, {
pass a bill amending existing tariff laws
The measure agreed upon by the join
conference committee was Substantial,
that previously adopted by the Senate
with IL few changes here and there tia
did not affect tho general character o
the bill. AS Senator Kellogg predicted
! tho only change made in the sugar seized
ule Of the Senate bill was to slightly in
crease the tariff on grades between Nos
IL and 16.
The St. Louis Globe Democrat has pub
lIshcd complete synopsis of the provis
| ions of the new law, from which we copy
the following paragraph referring to h,
| duties on sugar and molasscs:
A revolution is brought about in the method
OF assessing duties on sugar. All sugars art
now graded by the Dutch standard. The mex,
law now prescr1bes the polarlscope test up to
No. Ii Dutch standard, and provides that suga.
testing not above - degrees shall pay A cents
per pound. and that OF cents per pound shall
be added for every degree above IS. This cIassl.
fication favors the importation of hieh-graIe
sugars because it bears with diSpropOrtionate
weight on the lower grades. The average how
ever. ls not far from ~ per cent, being Il re-
dnction OF from u to q per cent. below the
is still by the Dutch standard 2.75 cents per
pound from No. 10 to No. Is, 3 cents from No 1i
to No. 20 and 35 cents above No. 20. Tho
present rates here are 7-16 i-16 and 5 cents
respectively. But the new rates on refined
sugars, Like the old. are and were intended to
be prohlbltory. The principal gamers from
the reduction of duties on sugar will be the
refiners of the higher grades of raw sugars who
get their material under Il lower duty and retain
lust as much protection against foreign compe-
titlon as they have now.
holasses testing below So degrees will pay 4
cents gallon, testing above IS degrees cents
The present rate on all molasses is Ga cents.
The obill passed tie House on
Saturday BY 153 yeas to ZIG nays, but it
had close rub i'll the Senate, going
through by the neagre majority of one
vote. Several Republican Representa-
tlves voted with tie main body Of Dem
ocrats against the bill, s.WhIe ~ number
Of Democratic members, principally from
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts
aud West Virginia, voted in favor of its
passage. President Arthur PROMPTLY
signed the act, aud it has now become
a law.
s'he new duties on sugar and molasses
go into effect on the 1st of June, those
on other articleasare 10 take effect July1.
Now that this great contest is over
orr sugar producers eau ca lmly survey
the ground and estimate the influence of
the amended tariff upon their interests.
1t was not to be expected that sugar
would come off scot free unless the pro-
posed new bill could have been defeated
IL its entirety. The well known facts.
cited " The CHIEF, that sugar
yielded the bulk OF our customs revenue,
that only a small section of the country
is engaged IN it's production and thati if
IS an article of household necessity
which the great mass of the people desire
to have cheapcned, rendered it recn-
iarly subject to attack; and, all THINGS
considered, VIC have great cause to CON
5ratHlnte ourselves that we have cscaned
with such light injury.
With the advantage derived from the
adoption of the polariscopic test, it is
calculated, as stated above, that the re-
tnction of the sugar tariff will range
rom twelve to Twenty per cent. ;, whereas
ONE OF our most hopeful friends antici-
pated an average reduction Of fully |
twenty-five per cent.
Tho general impression is that no fur
her revision of import duties will be
made for Il number Of years, and in this
vent another point has been gained
which has an important bearing upou
he sugar interest in common with all
fhors affected. Stability in such mat
CTS is Il great dcsiderat,lm. Nothjur
'orc dlscourages capital and enterprise
han uncertainty and constantly threat-
ned change i'll the conditions bearing
pom their investment and prosecutions,