Year: 1861

TIE MORRILL, TARIFF IN ESGRAND--The London


Times, of the 9th has the following comments on the


new tariff Of the United States:


At the when the dcstincs of the great Ameri


Union and trembling III the balance and the repub.


lie is mcnaced with the catastrophcs of civil war


its Legislature is engaged upon measure which seems
calculated to ALLEVIATE foreign nations to cmbit


ter domestic strife, and to provide incxhaustibp
amcnt lorthc antagoism unhappily ubssting between
the two sections Of the confcderacy The bill called
the Morrill, tariff bill is act for the establishment of
protective duties most cXtravagant scale If it were
designed to condemn the very principles of free trade
and to introduce those of protection Us forming the
only true theory of international commerce it could not
be more strongly framed The duties imposed bv the
bill are not only immodcraely high but they are levied
upon imports of the first necessity The articles taxed
not mere luXureS commodities entering into the
consumption of the opulent alone. 1t is upon cotton
goods, woo.en goods and hardware that the imports
will fall and enormous are the duties proposed that
the result can be little short of absolute prohibition
Cutlery is to be talked upwards of so per cent in the


lowest instance, IN the highest nearly $50 In addition
to this, the bill enacts many complicated arrange
mentS, and throws such nterminable distractions in
way OF business that commerce will be next to imposs
blC under conditions difficult We need not enter


into the particulars of the whehs said to be scarce
Ineligible to Americans themselves :but we can
convey very good idea of its character and pposc by
observing that ifi should be passed it will almost pro
hiblt all imports into the United States from England
fFalce anu efhanE lhat, and no less, Is the effect
anticipated from the measure in New ] ork itself


1t is rather extraordinary reflection that what We
have just been edeavong do some cost regards
France, America should be proposing to undo as regards
US. friendship follows in the wake of trade it must
needs be exposed to decay when trade is prohibited
The Americans at present not only our nearest
klnstok but our best customers and whenever there


has been difference between we have always remem
bcred with peculiar qualification that commercial
interest bound us indssUublv together We should be
very sorry to lose this bond We do Suppose indeed
but what we can be good friends as before; but un


less the principles accepted this subject are altogether
false, the connection between the two countries must be
weakened, and the interchange of opinions as well as
commodities, be somewhat disturbed That. in fact
is the most dsagreeable aspect of the whole case As
to the loss OF custom, make that llp Our
trade has now attained such prodigous dimensions
that no single nation, however important can materi
ally aitect by tariffs or legislation. We had striking
Illustration OF the fact in last years returns Out of
national business offl3o, ,0000 600 upwards of $50 900
OoJ is transacted with three principal customcrs-he
United States, the East Indies and Australia Now in
1861 these customers all rather fell off together inns
much that in place of 95l 000O1O our deliveries to
them represented only fl6000000 For all this how
ever when the balance be struck it was found


at the aggregate trade of the year had been better
than that OF its predecessor and that cur fl3O 0O0 900
bad risen to el35 600. South America bought
largely OF usto the extent, in fact of nearly el 900
J0O Italy increased her demands as did Turkey also
and 1t Is obvious enough that the first two at any rate
Of these may advance rapidly in the path of progress
and trade