The Republican journal., 1883-01-18


amendment for admitting material for ships for
foreign trade, duty free. was also adopted. 123
| to 106.
Friday the House resumed consideration of
the bill, the pending question being the COM
mittee's substitute as amended in the 18th sec
ton. Mr. Knott Of Kentucky moved TO strike
out of the substitute all the provisions for draw
backs. He stated that his intention was to
strike out the subsidy clause. Lost, % to 1871.
An amendment offered By Mr. Mills was reject
| ed The vote then required on the committee
substitute and it was agreed to, yeas 1874, nays
| sc. (lt limits the amount of drawback to the
tonnage tax collected in any one year and pro-
| yides for free Materials.
| The Boston Journals Washington cores
pondent tclegraphs Friday night as follows:
| Governor Dngley has achieved Il great tri-
| umph in the passage of the Shipping bill. He
has succeeded in passing Il measure which re-
moves the existing burdens upon the running
of American ships, and has placed American
| merchantmen on an equality with British ships
1t will no longer, for instance, be possible for
British steamships to enter the port of New
York every two weeks and to pay the same
tonnage dues as American sailing vessels enter
ing the port of Portland. The Governor has
been tonight highly complimented for his skill
in securing the removal of the restrictions upon
American commerce, while at the same time
preventing the incorporation in the bill of the
free trade amendments relative to free ships
What Mr.. Dingley himself thinks of the measure
and its effects is shown by the following inter-
view with The journal correspondent:
The BILL, said Governor Dingley. lis of
more importance than appears at first glance
1t addresses itself entirely to the running of
American vessels III competition with their
English rivals The main cause of the decline in
our merchant marine engaged in foreign trade
for the past 20 years has been the inability of
our vessels to compete in running with English
vessels. This is believed by all shp-owners to
be one If the chief causes of the decline of our
merchant marine. They attribute this to our
laws relating to mercantile marine; to the bur-
dens heaped upon them by these laws. The bill
passed by the House to-day removes these
burdens. All the Chambers of Commerce and
all of the associations relating to shipping made
their complaints i'll that direction. They said as
we go abroad and undertake to compete with
our English rivals we find ourselves burdenrd
by such legislation aS the three months extra
wages. For example. one captain complains
that he comes home with Il bill of perhaps
hundred dollars imposed by Consuls Another
captain complained that he WAS detained 50
many weeks by charges preferred against him.
which brought him before a Consul, and there
We're fees to be paid, and all his bills We're in
creaSing. Another captain brought home six
destitute >camen that were put aboard his YES
sci by an American Consul. He was obliged to
bring them home on ninety days passage. and
got SO each for them under the laws of the
nited States The cost of the provisions which
they consumed on the voyage was ten times
that Now in this bill we address ourselves to
the removal of all of these burdens. All the
shp-oWperS have said if we can have al these
burdens removed we can compete with the
English vessels. We have removed every one
of these burdens. We have conformcd our
laws to the running of vessels substantially
to the English standard. and have abolished all
charges for tonnage tax. which has been levied
heretofore annually. The result of that has been
to discriminate against our sailing vessels. Most
of our vessels engaged in foreign trade are
sailing vessels. | have in my own district forty
vessels engaged mainly in the East India trade
They make but one trip per wear. Vet these YES
sel> on entering the port of New York pay a
tonnage tax of thirty cents. which is their pay
ment for the year The English steamships pay
thirty cents for entering New ! olk ten times.
The result is we have been discriminating
against our own vessels. Now we have taken
the English standards we charge twelve cents
on each entry: thus the English steamers will
have TO pay one dollar and twenty cvntsu wear.
Just the same n they would Oh entering the port
OF Liverpool. While our sailing vessel. viii lIaAe
to pay only lively" cents. After the running
problem is solved we will then approach the
free Ship problem. In fact, thi, bin allows the
free importation Of materials used in The manu-
facture of articles for vessels such aS manila
for cordage This is Il beginning in the direction
of free ships and free materials. M belief is
that within two years there is going to be
another great revolution in vessels used in
our carrying trade. They will be changed from
iron to steel. There is going to be an invention,
in fact it is substantially well developed now.
by which steel will be made cheap As iron.
and my impression is that there will not be
many more iron vessels built. Mr. Hit of
illinois. who, in his connection with the State
Department and as Diplomatic 4 gent abroad. is
well acquainted with this subject. said to me to-
night that there had been no bill connected with
our commercial marine passed for fifty years
that had near the Importance of this bill which
passed the House to-day. | think the bill will
pass the Senate without any trouble. 1t has the
entire support Of the Senate Commerce Com
mittee and of the Senate members OF the Joint
Special Committed.
Maine has reason to feel proud of her drlega-
ton in Congress. While last week Represent
alive Dingley was carrying through the House
measure that Will be OF great benefit to our
ship builders and owners, Senator Frye was
locking after the fishing interest and senator
Hale was fighting the whisky lobby Repre-
sentative Reed may also always be relied upon
to use his eoquence and ability in behalf Of
every good measure. In ability and industry
the Maine delegation is second to none
Attention is directed TO the card of the law
firm of Hale, Emery n IIamlin of Ellsworth
The new member of the firm, Mr.. Hannibal f.
Hamlin, is a son of Hon. Hannibal Hamlin Of
Bangor. and Il graduate Of Colby University
and the Harvard Law School. The senior
members are Senator Hale and Hon. l.. 4.
Emery. former Attorney General Of Maine
All business entrusted to this firm will receive
prompt and faithful attention. We can speak
on that point from experience.
The dreadful contingency of Il second term
for Governor Butler is already causing sensi-
tive Bo>tonians to lie awake at nights. OF the
Generals declaration in his message, IL have
neither wish nor intention again to ask the >uf-
frages of the people Of the Commonwealth for
the position | hold the Transcript says
THAT isn't saying he won't take it if il is Of
fered to him again.
Apropos of the edict of the French govern
ment against American pork, and the exports
ton of drugged French wines and brandes to
this country. the American Register perinently
asks:
why should not the United States. for better
reasons, take equal thought for its citizens and
exclude French rot in return for the French
embargo on wholesome American provisions?
Hon. Schuyler ColfaX has been interviewed
on the political situation. lie is confident of a
Republican victory in 1894, but predicts COM
mercial panic in the near future as the result of
the extravaganza of the people last year, the
absorption of a large amount of money in rail
road enterprises, and OF the change in the bal
ance of trade, which is now against US.
Of the potato crop Of 1881, report from the
Department of Agriculture says: ''Small as
was the crop last year, the average price (per
| acre. was $4S.63, which has not been exceeded
in any season since 1874, illustrating the fact
that partial failure of Il crop does not reduce
the income received from it,
The Sth of January was observed in Boston
by banquet, attended mainly by Democrats
and at which merely incidental reference was
made to the hero of New Orleans. The object
of the gathering aODparS to have tpan tn rpla-