Year: 1870

y
everything more or less But we
have been reduci G these taxes. We
have been trying to bring them
down. Now l want to state to you
what has occurred in Congress very
recently, and that is that we have
recently passed bill to reduce tax
alton, and bv that bill we have re-
duced taxation to the amount of so
millions of dollars. Now reducing
taxation so millions of dollars is
worth a great many Democratic
arguments. Here is a great fact.
We have just repealed 81 millions
of internal taxes, and we have re-
duced the tariff % millions, Well,
now, we could not cut down alto
gether, but we brought it down
Just as low as we could, so as to
raise the necessary amount of mo-
ney to carry on the Government.
But we have by means of certain
great improvements made in the adj
ministration since Gen. Grant came
in-we have been enabled within
the last ten days or within the last
fifteen days to repeal eighty millions
of taxes. Well. how have we done
that? I will tell you frst in regard
to the internal taxes.


We have repealed all or nearly
all the internal taxes except the tax
on whisky and tobacco, and the sale
of whisky and tobacco. All the
rest have been abolished with the
exception of stamps. We have
abolished stamps too on receipts,
which was veXation to the people.
We have abolished stamps on re-
ceipts and have abolished stamps
on all notes under $10O. We have
brought down this kind OF taxation
90 the lowest point that we could,
and nearly all that is left of it is
left upon tobacco and whisky The
thousand other little taxes that had
to be levied during the war We have
now swept away.


/ Well. how about the tariff? some
gentleman may ask. We nave ta-
ken of twenty three millions from
the ta.ilf, and we have taken it off.
principally, on tea, coffee and sugar !;
from the necessaries Of life, that
are consumed by everybody in this
country. The laboring man the
man in middle circumstances, in ev-
ery condition of life, must have his
coffee. and his tea, and his sugar !:
and the most of the twenty three
millions that we have taken off has
been taken off these three articles.
We have reduced the duty on tea
from % to 10 cents pound. and
on coffee from . to 8 cents 4 pound.
We have taken 8 cents a pound off
of sugar, or about 33 per cent. And
thea to come down to the subject
of iron. We have reduced the duty
on pig iron from 50 to 81 per ton,
bringing it down to that point
where we think there will be fair
competition between the home pro
du:er and the foreign producer. A
great many articles we have put
on the free list-I don't know how
many, but great many upon which
there was small duty.


And so this Congress, that has
been so much abused and traduced,
this Congress has reduced your
taxes eighty millions OF dollars
This is q grand result. In the pres
ence of a great result Of this kind
all little orumblings and carpings
and little fault findings disappear.
There is great event, and it has
been brought about by the Republi-
can party, and without the aid of
the Democratic party.


WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE AND FOUND


WANTING.


Now l want to call your atten-
ton to & fact, my friends, that, not
githstanding our Democratic
friends are complaining continually
about the tariff and continually
about taxation, not one of them in
either branch of Congress voted for
this bill that reduced taxation
eighty millions of dollars. An
aged listener, who had been hang
ing on the words Of the Senator
ever since he reached the subject of
the reduction OF taxation, here
calculated in an accent OF surprise
an Indignation, by George !" Not
one of them. The work has been
done, but they did not do il. 1t has
been done by the Republican party
in Congress. Well, now, some of
you perhaps will wonder at that,
thai these Democratic politicians
that have been talking so earnestly
and SO constantly about the bur
dens of taxation, when they were
brought to the test, not one of
them voted for the bill on its final
passage, not one. The most of
them voted against it and some of
them lodged. But if there is one
that voted for it 1 don't know it.


The Democratic State Convention
on the Sth Of January resolved that
tea, coffee and sugar should be put
upon the free list, as the great nee
essaries of life. Well, now we
couldn't do that entirely. We have
got to have $50 millions of revenue,
and though we put as much on lux
uries as we can, we can not put it
all on luxuries There amt enough
of them. We have got to put some
thing on tea, and coffee, and sugar,
and upon nearly every thing else.
Gentlemen, it takes the taxes on a
great many things to make one
hundred and sixty millions ofmoney
But the Democratic party resolved