IB The Present Tariff, compared with McKay's Bill. oF whatever material composed, there shall be levied a duty of twenty per centum ad v dorem, instead'of the duty uf twenty-five per centum imnassd by the said act; and the first proviso to the twdfch subdivision of the fifth section of the said act, shill ba, aud the same is hereby, repealed. • The duty on Buttons is not merely cut down from 35 to 25 per cent, but the destruction of the minimum is a far surer blow to the American button-makers. It will let in upon them a deluge of foreign competition, by the payment of duties in practice merely nominal. XXIX. Paints and Oils. The present Tariff next prescribes: Sec 6. Jlndbeit further enacted, That from and after the passage of thu act, there sh ol Oe levied, collected and paid, on the importition of the articles hereinafter mentioned, the following rates of duty, that is to say: On white or red leads, lithaige. or acetate or chromate of lead, dry or ground in oil, four cents per pound; on whiting or Paris white, and all ochres or ochry earths used iu the composition of painters’ colors, when dry, one cent per pound when ground in oil, one cent aud a half per pound; on su'phate of biryt.s, one half cent per pound; on linseed, hempseed, and rapeseed oil. twenty-five cents per gallon; on putty, one cent and ahilf per pound. All these are changed to thirty per cent in McKay’s bill. XXX. Paper, Books-, ^c. Sec. 7. of the present Tariff imposes a variety of specific and discriminating duties on the importation of Paper and Books, all of which are charged to thirty per cent, by McKay’s bill.—We need hardly add that the high duties imposed by the present Tariff have not raised the price of Paper or Books, as every man who buys them must know. XXXI. Sugar, Molasses, ^-c. The present Tariff prescribes, (Sec. 8:) First. On raw sugir, (commonly called brown sugar.) not advanced beyond its raw state, bv claying, boiling, clarifying or other process, and on syrup of sugu, or of sugar cane,.and on brown clayed sugar,two and a half cents per pound; on all other sugars, when advanced beyond the raw stare, by claying, boiling, clarifying, or other process, and not yet refined, four cents per pound; on refined sugars, (whether loif, lump, crushed, or pulverized, and when, after beinr refined, they have been tinctured, colored, or in any way a lulterated,) and on sugar candy, six cents per pound; on molasses,'four and a half mills per pound: Provided, That all syrups of sugar or sugar cane, entered under the d signation of molasses, or any other appellation than “syrup of sugar,” or of sugar cane, shall be liable to forfeiture to rhe United States; on comfits, on sweetmeats, or fruits preserved in molasses, sugar, or brandy, and on confectionery of all kinds not otherwise specified, twenty-five per centum ad valorem: Provided, farther. That an inspection, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe,shall be ma de of.illsugars and m<!ass-s imported from foreign countries, in order to prevent frauds, and to prevent the introduction of sugars, syrup of sugar, syrup of cane, or battery svrup,under the title of molasses, or in any other improper manner. Which is thus modified in McKay’s bill: (§ 8) First. On raw sugar (commonly called brown sugar) not advanced beyond its raw state, by claying, boiling, clarifying, or other process, and on brown c!ayed sugar, there shall be levied a duty of two cents per pound, instead of the duty of two and a half cents per pound imposed ny the said act; on syrup of sugar or of sugar cane there shall be levied a duty of one and a half cent per pound instead of the duty of two and a half cents per pound imposed by the said acl; on all other sugars, when advanced beyond the raw state, by claying, boiling, clarifying, or other process, and not yet refined, there shall be levied a duty of three cents per pound, instead of the duty of lour cents per pound imposed by the said act; on refined sugars (whether loaf, lump, crashed, or pulverized, and where, after being refined, they have been tinctured, colored, or in any way adul-erated) and on sugar candy, there shall be levied a duty of four cen ts per pound, instead of the duty of six cents per pound imposed by the slid act ; and on molasses there shall be levied a duty of three mills per pound, instead of the duty of four and a half mills per pound imputed by the said act. Here we have the rare spectacle of specific duties retained by Gen. McKay’s bill, and not merely specilic but high duties. Two cents a pound on Brown Sugar, must certainly range from sixty to one hundred per cent, on the foreign cost of the article. What does this mean ? I, certainly, would not complain of two or two and a half cents a pound on Sugar, as a part of a general system of Protection; but when every thing else save Iron and Coal are cut down to thirty per cent, ad valorem, why are these staples allowed seventy per cent, specific ? Is it not plainly because Pennsylvania and Louisiana are wanted to vote for the Anti-Tariff candidate for President, and must be soothed, at whatever sacrifice of consistency or principle? Why else should seven hundred Sugar-planters in a comer of the Union be allowed a Protection which is denied to Five Hundred Thousand workers in Iron and on Leather all over the Union ? Can any one tell I XXXII. Conclusion. Here I am compelled by inexorable limitations to stop, leaving the duties on Grain, Meats, Fish, Wines and Liquors, Oils, Spices, Cocoa, &c. &c. unexamined. Agricultural Produce is changed from specific duties to 25 per cent, ad valorem by McKay’s bill. The duties on Ardent Spirits and Wines (now high) are reduced by McKay’s bill—on Wines to 30 per cent—Liquors remain specific. Salt, which is now charged eight cents per bushel of fifty-six pounds, is reduced to twenty per cent, ad valorem by McKay—a change which, if consummated, would destroy millions’ worth of property, throw thousands out of profitable employment, and not, after all, perceptibly, reduce the price of Salt to the mass of our consumers. In 1816, Turk’s Island Salt cost in this market 60 cents per bushel; in 1818, 70 cents ; in 1825, 58 cents ; 1836, 48 cents ; in 1842, 28 cents ; in 1843, 30 cents. In 1843, New-York fine Salt of excellent quality was sold in this market for $1 per barrel. Does any man believe Salt would be sensibly lower than this in the absence of any Tariff? If not, why break down our own works and subject ourselves to an unsafe dependence on others ? In 1814 (during the Last War) Salt was \ sold on our seaboard for Four Dollars per bushel. The long list of Free articles under thepresent Tariff is retained by McKay’s bill, and to these articles are added raw Cotton, Guano, and Sulphate of Quinine. Sec. 12 of McKay declares that all ad valorem duties exceeding 25 per cent, shall be reduced to that rate on and after Sept. 1st, 1845, (one year after the act is to take effect.) Sec. 13, that al! duties not expressly changed by this act shall remain as provided by the existing Tariff. Sec. 14, that Goods imported from ports this side of the Cape of Good Hope may remain in public store 120 instead of 60 days, and from beyond that Cape 150 instead of 90 days—six per cent, interest being charged from the time of entry. —Such are substantially the present Tariff and the changes proposed by its opponents in the bill reported by Gen. McKay. That bill, it is believed, cannot now pass the Senate, but it will inevitably become in substance the law of the land if the party from which it emanates triumph in the approaching Presidential Election. People of the United States! by your judgment the Tariff must stand or fall! It is a cheat to call McKay’s bill a compromise—it is full of absurdities and inconsistencies, but in the main fraught with deadly hostility to your interests and welfare 1— Shall it prevail ?
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