BY DAVID OVER.
SPEECH
OF
|[l)\. SI 110,\' fiMRO.I
OUST THE TARIFF,
In the Senate of tie U. States, Jum 15, 1860.
Mr. CAMERON. Mr. President, corning
from a State deeply interested in the subject
uuder consideration, 1 may be expected to dis
cuss it somewhat at length. Nothing, however,
ean be further from my intention at this time.
My colleague has iu his able aud lucid speech,
consuming more than two hours, entered so fully
iuto the details of the measure, that nothing 1
might be able to add would sensibly affect the
result. Resiles, upon a motion to postpone,
an argument from one whose opinions upon this
subject are so well known would be superfluous.
My views in regard to the great question of
protection have undergone no change from the
beginning. As it seemed to be the neoessity
of the country then, so it appears to my mind
now. \Y iih my colleague, however, it is other
wise, he cjnSe.vscs to a change of sentiment
touching the policy of Government toward the
industrial interests of which it is, or should be,
Dae jealous guardian, aud 1 hail the change as
au omen of further changes for the better ou
his -ide of the Seuate Chamber. 1 regret that
so few of his political associates thought pro
per to remain in their seats during his argu
ment; for until I discovered but five of those
Senators in their places, oue of whom, if I mis
take not, was asleep, 1 had confidently expect
ed sufficient aid through his iufluenee to carry
the hill which has received the support of the
House and meets his cordial approval. If
changes are to be made in favor ot the measure,
they must be looked for ou that side ot the
Chamber, for it may be considered a settled
que.-tien that Republican Senators only wait
opportunity to vote agaiust postponement for
tne bill when it comes upon its final passage.
Mr. HAMMOND. It the Senator will allow
me to iiiturrnpt him, I would like to make a
count ou his side ot the House.
Mr. CAMERON. That is not my business.
Besides, the Senator from South Carolina will
allow rue to say, that the other tide is the one
oil which the impression is to be made. 1 had
for a ljug time believed and truMed that the
workirigmeo of my State were to get some re
lief during the administration of Mr. Buchan
an. Son t>f Pennsylvania as be i<, aud raised
to the high, I may say, proud, position he now
bolus by the votes of the laboring classes, it
was not too much to expect of him that be
would have advantaged himself of that high
position to benefit the i-tate which has honor
ed him so much, iu the various messages he
has sent to us, he has declared himself iu favor
of that sort of protection which we desire in
Pennsylvania. But, sir, 1 begin to fear that
we shall get nothing from him; and if uiy col
league should fail to secure the five or six ex
pected votes from among his political associates,
J shall despair of obtaiuiog any measure of le
lief for the induMtrial iuterests of the country
until the Senate and the Administration shall
cease to he controlled by the present Demo
cratic party. Those five or six expected votes
woutd, it brought to the aid of this side of the
House, carry prosperity and happiness to the
three millions ol people my colleague and my
self represent. Nor will the regrets which
must follow the defeat of the beneficial mea
sure under consideration, be narrowly selfi-b
in their nature; because we hold to the doctrine
that P< nusy lvania caunot be prospered except
hor sister States in the Union shall eujoy that
prosperity in common. We believe that tbe
advautage of one part must redound to the ad
vantage of every other pait. While you ; gen
tlemen of the South, are protecting your pecu
liar institutions, you ought, at least, not to j
forget that we of tbe North have a peculiar
institution to protect am! encourage—our free ,
white labor. But 1 will not pursue this sub
ject further, aod would say Dothiug more were
it not for the purpose I have to correct some
errors iu the statement of the distinguished
Senator from Virginia, the cbaiiinan of the Com
mittee OD Ftuauce.
He began by telling us that DO change was
necessary iu the revenue system from the wants
of ihe Government; that a change had not been
asked for by the manufacturers, and that this
bill is defective in all its details. He has for
gotten that he has been at tbe head of lite Fi
nance Committee of tho Senate duriug this Ad
ministration, and for many years before. That
Mr. Buchanan catne into power with a full Trea
sury, with over §17,000,000 in hand and but
a trifling debt. That the debt has been in
creased by bim over §-10,000,000. That tbe
§40,000,000 ot debt and the surplus of §17,-
000,000 makes, together, §57,000,000 squan
dered by the Administration, besides the income
of tbe present tariff, whioh the chairman of Fi
nance says is ample for the support of the Gov
ernment. Tbe chairman of Ftuance also pays
a high compliment to the ability of the Secre
tary of the Treasury. 1 have not tbe same
confidence id bim. I have no belief in bis fit
ness for the place ho now occupies. He is
doubtless a man of integrity, but out of bis
sphere. He iuaugoarated his administration
by a blunder; by buying the pubiic debt at a
premium of about sixteen per cent, in the be
lief that his income was inexhaustible, and
witlr.n the same year was compelled te ask for
o 1 ran to meet the ordinary wants of the Gov
ernment. His reports, so far as I remember,
have been a series of mistakes aud utisealcu
-atiuns. 1 shall uot euter upou details, but
(, ae striking blunder may be cited as a case iu
P'-tut. In oue of bis estimates, arguing against
the necessity of a modification of tbe tanff, be
"•aid be would receive during the then current
7 e * r *12,000,000 from tho duty ou sugar.—
hen the money was counted he found but
.4,ooo,ooo—showing a mistake 0f§3,000,000. i
A Weekly Paper, Devoted to Literature, folitics, the Arte, Scienoes, Agriculture, See.. &c—Terms: One Dollar and Fifty Cents in Advance.
I It wan an error of judgment; be should have
remembered that the year on which his estimate
was based was to all others an exceptional
year, owing to the fact that unusual frosts dur
ing the year preceding had cut off the home
crop increasing the price and causing a large
importation. The ad valorem duty ou this large
i importation at the high prices iuduced by the
destruction of the home crop, produced so
large a revenue from this source alone, that a
statesman must at once have seen that such in
crease would not be likely airain to occur. A
blunder like this by a gentleman at the bead
of the Treasury Department, should render us
cautious in receiving Lis estimates as a basis
of legislation.
\V hen the Chairman of the Committee on
Finance says that the country asks for no
change iu the revenue laws, he forgets the
hundreds of petitions with their thousands of
nauies of laboring men attached, asking for re
lief. If he has read the petitions referred to
the Committee on Finance, he must have seen,
that not only the iron and coal interests, but
every other brauoh of iudustry throughout the j
country bus been prostrated. That in my j
State, as elsewbere, ntcu were seeking vainly
for employment, while those dependent on the
labor of tbeir strong arms were asking for
broad— for the necessaries of life, indirectly j
denied to ibcui here by those to whom the lux- i
urieg of life have become common because of
their continued ahundaDee. lo all the estab
lishments now in actual operation, the laborer
is workiug at greatly reduced wages, while the j
employers are reaping no profit on the capital i
invested. He should know that the stability
of tree governments depends upon the inteili- !
gence and moral cuiiure of the governed, that j
the laborer uud the artisan should be afforded
the means of so educating their children, wiiieb
means are only to he derived from tlie protec
tion and encouragement of those branches of
iudustry necessary to the development of the
resources of Status.
Mr. Hunter. I said, "except she iron in
terest."
j Mr. Cameron. Does the Senator think he
can get along without the irou interest of Peou
, syivania and other States? Does he remember
| that the annual value of ttie mjuuf-tctured
! products of Philadelphia aloue is $250,000,-
j 000, or twenty per cent, more than the eutirc
j boasted cottm crop of the United States?
Has he not heard that the products of (he fac
tories atid workshops of the youug city of Cin
cinnati amount annually to more thau $112,-
000,000? That the commerce of the great
, northern lakes reaches every year the euor
' QJOUS sum of $750,000,000? But I do not
j agree with hiui that it is tbo iron interest alone
that needs protection. The various industrial
; interests of the country depend upon each
other. When one is suffering depression, the
others sympathize with if, and thus the wrong
becomes comm -u to all. On the other hand,
wuer; you encourage one you indirectly quick
en ail the rest. lo evidcuee of my statement
that it is not alone be iron interest that is
! asking for the passage of this bill, 1 cite the
: attention of the Senator to the fact that every
I Republican Senator stands ready and anxious
to put this measure on its final passage, and
jto record their votes iu its favor. They would
j not do so did not their constituents demand it
| at their hands iu behalf of their interests.
The Senator has read many letters to show
that the biJ, as it coines from the House, is a
bad ooe that no change is necessary. Un
fortunately, all those letters, as I understand
them, are the productions of foreign agents ot
foreign manufacturers. I believe there were
no Americans among bis correspondents, save
the custom house officers: and who has yet to
learn that custom house officials will make
just such statements as those in authority above
them dictate? Sir, the whole system of our
revenue is in the hands of foreigners—at the
mercy of foreign capital, I might say. Fif
teen years ago there were importing merchauts
in our eities, men of capital and experience,
men of intelligence, who devoted their entire
ene.gies to the business of commerce. Thev ;
sacrificed much to insure, Dot their own pros
perity solely, but the prospeiity of our great
commercial cities, seaport or inland. Where
are they now? Driven into other pursuits, j
some ol them into hopeless bankruptcy, by a
system which permit led, aud tiil permits, the
agents of foreign capital and pauper labor to
operate fraudulently upon our commercial in
terests. Let us look at the system. Tbe
Hriush manufacturer sends hie agent to New :
\ rk; the agent establishes a commercial
house, and gives auother name to the concern
his own, perhaps; to this agent the British
manufacturer furnishes tbe goods to be sold in
our markets, iuvoiced at a price to suit hiui
s If. Oq that invoice the duty is laid. Tbe
single article of stpel occurs to my mind just
at this point. Will gentlemen believe that tbe
raw iron from which the steel is made sells in
the Liverpool market for a higher price thau i
the steel is iuvoiced for in tbe New ¥ork cus- !
torn house? Strange as it may seem, indica
tive of fraud as the transaction may appear on
its very fioe, such is the fact. The same is j
true ot all other articles of trade coming into
our ports to ooiupete with American manufac
tures. lake tho article of cloth, mentioned
b J toy colleague. Formerly we got a large
auiouut of it from England, aD d we nnoufae
tured quantities at home. But our home man
fiOturers have been driven out of the business
entirely, so that there is not to day a siugle
manufacturer of broadcloth in the United
States. The large factories erected to carry
on the business under the tariff of 1842 have
been given over to other, and in some cases,
baser purposes. Some bave gone into the
manufacture ot oarpet varus; others have been
dismantled of tbeir appliances, and turned to
some little account iu other directions. Wo i
now get nearly all our broadcloth from Ger
uaauy, where it is tu inufactureJ in accordance i
BEDFORD. PA.. FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1860.
j with a system something like this: a man has
an establishment in which he has invested a
large capital. When he is about to make up
an invoice, he goes to his clerks and workmen,
and aaoertaios the amount of cost of the raw
mrterial, and the cost of the labor put upon
it. He sums up these items, and the total is
the amount of the invoice which enters the
custom house ou our shores with the goods. It
comes here invoiced to a partner, aud is sold
for two or three tunes the invoice price. T.ike
the article of horse shoe nails. In Germany,
the country blacksmith is the manufacturer.—
He goes to the country storekeeper for his irou
takes it to his shop, and makes it into nails, at
three ceuts per pound. He can make eight
pounds per day, and on this pittance of twenty
four cents he lives, supports his family, and
finds his own fuel. The nails are seui here
iu voiced at six cents a pound, and sold at a
price just low enough to ootumaui the Ameri
can market
These, sir, are but a few of the articles up
on which frauds aro committed agaiost the
revenue laws, but they are fair samples of the
working of the system. One ot the great
benefits we shall derive from the passage of
the bill now before us, will be the destruction
of the system of false invoices and public
warehouses, by which the foreign manufacturer
is entitled to control our capital—that is, be
sends goods here and stores them in Govern
ment warehouses at no expense to himself.—
1 here they are suffered to remain until prices
rule to suit his interest. In this wav he saves
the interest on the duties, not paj ing them until
the goods are taken from the warehouses, and
is always ready to glut the market with the
surplus ot unsaleable and uufasbionable pro>
ducts of Europe, whenever our own manu
factures are prostrated by an alteration of our
ever cbaDgiug revenue laws.
Among other things, the Senator from Vir
gioia produced a letter from soma foreign im
porters of iron in New iork in opposition to
this bill. Their argument is based upon a
false statement, made for their own purposes,
by which they mike it appear that the duty,
charges, and commissious are an actual protec
tion of fifty-three per ceot to the American
manufacturer. An American statesmau should
not go abioad for arguments to build up„
revenue system. The foreigner, comity
only to make a fortune out of the depression of
our trade and business; to return Lome to en
joy it, Cau have no sjmpathy with the prosper
ity of our country, and ought not to be per
mitted to legislate for us, uor, in fact, to ex
ercise any coutrol whatever over our legisla
tion. The statement purports to he the cost
of importing railroad and common bar iron
from Wales at the present time. In opposition
to that statemeut, I desire to present another
trom one of the most intelligent iron masters
in Pennsylvania, as thoroughly educated an
iron manufacturer, perhaps, as there is iu the
world. He is, besides, a man of learning and
veracity, and is mere extensively engaged iu
the business at this time than any man iu the
country. His statemeut is iu reply to a letter
I addressed to him the other da}', after Iho
Senator from Virginia bad exhibited bis state
ment from a foreign importer > New York.
He says :
"The objeet of presenting such a statement Is j
palpable on its face, it is to make it appear liiat
certain expenses in the purchase of Iron are pe- j
culiar to importations from foreign countries, from ;
which American iror is free; also, in quoting the I
lowest priced common Oars at the period of great j
est depression in value, and at the highest rate of '
insurance and freight, with exhorbitant commissions j
for buying, shipping and inspecting, and auother
throw-in of bankers' commission and interest. i
(Why did they not also add a charge for profit 1) 1
All these items produce on a low value a high per- j
centage, viz : 29£ per cent. This added t< the 24
per cent, duty, the present tarifT, he argues, is 53
per cent, protection to the American manufacturer.
"I wish it were frue that we American uianufac
turers had none of these cuarges to pay ; but let us
see how we stand in relation to the Welsh iron
masters.
"The Welsh works can deliver rails and bars at
Cardiff at a cost of ss. and 6d., are at Cardiff not
exceeding Is. per ton, or 25 cents, making a total
on shipboard of $1 50 per ton.
Receiving,
. American Mill j. and shipping.
Danville to Philadelphia, $3 75 25 cents.
Safe Harbor to Philadelphia, 200 25 •'
Cambria to Pniladelphia. 500 25 "
Pottsville to Philadelphia, 200 25 "
Phoenixville to Philadelphia, 100 25
Scranton to New York, 375 25
Trenton to New York, 175 25 "
Mount Savage to Baltimore, 300 25 <
8)22 25 8)2 00
Average, 2 78 25 ets.
Maxing a total of $3 03 per ton on shipboard, or
double what it costs the Welsh masters.
Insurauc: and Freights frcm Cardiff.
Per ton. Insurance.
Northern & eastern ports, 12s a2os. 1 per cent.
Southern Atlantic ports, 125.a225. 2tolJperct.
Gulf ports, Bs.a22s. 2\ to 1J p. ct.
Average freight A insurance, $3 75 1| percent.
Insurance and Freight from Philadelphia.
Freight. Insurance.
Northern & Eastern ports, $2 50 1 per cent.
Southern Atlantic ports, 226 1 per cont.
Gulf ports, 400 14to2|p. ct.
Average freight & insurance, 275 1} per cent.
Comparison.
Cardiff. Jmtncan.
Expenses Imm mill to ship, $l6O S3 00
Freights to ports of entry, 879 275
Primage on freights, sp. c. 19 14
Total average, 689 p. t. 6 51 p.t.
Difference in favor of Cardiff 62 cents per ton.
••Thj charges of commission for buying, ship
ping;, and inspecting, are o.ily incurred when inter
mediate parties come between the buyers and manufac
turers, and are as applicable to American as ihey
are to the foreign iron, interest is also a matter of
negotiation, hut generally very largely in favor of
the British manufacturer. •
Condensed Comparison.
Cardiff. American.
One ton of railroad iron, at £5
10., at $4 90, $26 82 SSO CO
Expenses to port of entry, as
above, 6 89 6 51
Duty, at 24 per cent., ea given, 660
_ 39 31 66 61
Difference in favor of Cardiff, 17 20
56 51
"Now, rails from Cardiff can be put iu New Or
leans at th s time for less than S4O per ton, duty
I paid. We couM not do this, unless we put the iron
at $33 60 per ton, which is simply an utter im
possibility."
I have another statement, from the same gentle
man, sh 'vinjj tlie production and consumption of
iron in the United St.tvs for the veai 16 *6, in
which, us '.'iil !* seen, the question is presented in
its ccouora las well as its statistical aspect:
Pig and forge iron,
converted into— Domestic. Foreign. Total.
j
£. ;led, b rrisered,
ana wro jnK-.ron,
of every descrip
tion, iuclaJimr cut
nails, noilcr iron,
&c., &c. 519 081 298,275 817.336
Iron fori uudiies, 337.154 55,403 3t2 557 i
Total manufactures
of iron from pig, $c. 856,235 353,678; 1209,913
A* Ote—l ho above is not tlie quantity of pie iron,
but the product of it.
Coal used in manufacturing the above iron.
Domestic. Foreign. Total.
i To. s. Tons. Tons.
Kails, bars, boiler
iron, nails, cast.
ir.gs, 4-c. 816,23 d 353,678 1,209,913
j Coal, at 6 tons per
i ton- 5 5 5
4,281,175 1,768,390 6,049,665-
Ihe coal used in j ducing the above iron, cou
| sunied in the U. •>., amounted to 6,049,565 tons. I
Of which our own mines turuished 4,281,175 "
And tlie mines of Great Britain, 1,768 390 "
iron Ore.
Tons.
856,235 tons domestic iron, at 3| tons
of ore per ton, 2,396,822
353,678 tons foreign iron, at 3 J tons of
ore per ton. 1.237,873,
1.209,913 Total. % 4,234,693 i
Men employed and persons supported.
DATA.
Twenty tons of pig iron; 8 tons of rails; 6| tons i
ol rolled bars; 4cc. J£ ich represent one nun em- '
pUyed one year, or a family of five persons sup
ported one year. I t ike as the average eight tons
of irou per man—thus :
Hands. Persons.
Dora. 856.235 divM by 8 gives 167,030, 0r535 150 •
For'n. 353,678 " 44.210, or 221,050
Tot'l. 1.209,913 151,240 756.200
Consumption of food at S3O per head, ich ich is mucJi
loicer than is usually taken by political economists.
°f food
-535,150 Amer. people,at S3O each,givesSl6,*'s4.soo
221 050 fornr sin their country, at S3O 6.631,500
756,200 22,686,000
The above figures are all inside of the actual
tacts, and will he s ife to stand on. An accurate
detailei statement, which, I take it, you do not ex
pect of nie at this time, womd add largely so some
of the aliove aggregates.
In order to show the relation existing be
tween the productive interests and ail other
branches of industry, I desire to present the
following statement of the tonnage furuished
the Heading railroad and Schuylkill cau iJ from
a single iu mufacturing establishment in one
year;
Reading ruilrowl—Tonnage to and from Pheenix Iron
; ll orks for the year ending December, 31 1859.
JN WARD.
Tons.
! Iron ore, 7.345
I Pig iron, 5,668
Anthracite coal, 62,089 tons, less 5 per
j cent, discount, 59.935
Bituminous coal, 278
Old rails, ] ,228
Fire-brick, 667
'l'otal tons, 2.240 lbs. each, 75,021
Equivalent to 84,023 tons of 2,000 lbs. each.
OUTWARD.
Total quantity of manufactured iron, Sec.,
of all kiuds, 8,513
Total tonnage, 2 440 lbs. each, 83.534
Equivalent to 91,776 tons of 2,000 lbs. each.
Schuylkill navigation— Tonnage to and fr.m Pha nix
Iron IVurkt for the year ending December, Si 1859.
INWARD.
Tons.
Pig iron, 8,036
Iron ore, 3.549
Soapstone and sand, 606
Anthracite coal, 3,043 tons, less 5 per
cent. discount, 2,891
Bitumiuous coal, 763
16,845
Limestone, 12,867
28,712
Equivalent to 34,454 tons of 2,000 lbs. each.
OUTWARD.
Manufactured iron, Ac. 12,356
41,068
Equivalent to 49,996 tons of 2,000 lbs. each.
Recapitulation
Schuyikiii Reading Total
navigation. Railroad.
Inward, 28,712 75.021 103,733
Outward, 12,356 8,513 20 869
41.068 83,534 124,602
Tons, 2,000
lbs. each 45,996 93.775 139,771
In addition to the above, there was a consid
erable tonnage oi merchandise, such as oil,
brass, steel, rope, hardware, Sic., used at the
works.
The town of Piimnixville contains over six
thousand inhabitants who are dependent 011 the
iron works; and whatever transportation or pas
senger business they afford is directly due to the
fact that the manufacture of iron is carried on at
this point.
The quantity of rails and bar iron manufac
tured at the Phoenix works in the year 1859. was
24,350 10lib ot 2,240 lbs. each, so that the trans
portation 011 the Reading railroad and the Schuyl
kill navigation of raw materials (saying nothing
of the hauling done in wagons by nearly 200
horses and mules) was 5£ ions for each ton of
manufactured iron.
The freight to the Reading railroad alone on
the above 75,021 tons exceeded 898.000.
This lact will serve to show how important to
transportation companies is the development of
the iron business.
The PhiEnix Iron Works could have supplieJ
fifty percent, more ruanofactureu iron during the
pa-t year if the orders could have been obtained.
Of course, in tnat case, the tonnage of raw ma
terials would have been correspondingly in
creased.
1 also desire to submit, in this connection, a
statement of the cost of importing iron uuder
the present ta 9f, (1857,) furnished by the eld
j nd highly resi "ctable houso of E. J. Ettiog j
; & Br<>., imporf rs of iron, in the city of Phil- i
; udelphta. This iron is for an iuvoice ordered |
| of factors in Liverpool, and the statement will
be seen to conflict seriously with that obtained
lof the foreign importer, by the Senator from
Virginia. Here is the statement:
£l, at 84 44 and to pr- et. exchange. S4 88
| Commission, 2$ pr. ct, on $4 80. 12
i So 00 i
! Duty, 24 pr. ct. oil S4 80, 1 15
Total per pound sterling, 6 15
Shipp'g charges in Liverpool pr. ton, 2s. 6d.
• Freight to Philadelphia, 15 0
Primage, 5 pr. ct. on 155., 0 9
18 3_JS4 38
Price of iron X'S pr. ton, at S6 15 49 20
liisurance, 1 per cent on cost, 49
Cost, delivered in Philad'a, per ton; 54 07
UNDER THE TARIFF OF 1846.
£o 15s- (Oct. 22, 1849,) pr. ton at Si 44, 525 55
L : verpool shipping charges, 55
26 10
Duty, 30 pr. ct. on *26 10: exchange, 10
pr. ct.; insurance 1 pr. ct._s2B 97, at
30 per cent. 8 69
Other iieins, 4 cents: British exchange,
&2 61; freight, 12s. 6d—?2 92; insur
ance, 26 cents. 5 83
Cos:, delivered at Philad'a, per ton, 40 62
In concluding my remarks on this LraLcfToT
the subject, 1 will here present a tabular
statement showing the quantity of railroad iron !
imported into the United States, with the year
ly averaged price, as well as the appraised val
ue thereof:
\ ears. Tons. Price per Appraised
ton value.
1847, 13.537 So 1 Ol" 5680.348
1848, 29,489 41 38 1 219.185
1849, 69.163 32 56 2.252.246
1850, 142.036 26 32 3j738!03f!
1851, 188.626 26 03 4,901'452
1*52, 245.626 25 36 6,228,794 j
1853, 298,995 34 87 10,426,037
1*54, 282.666 42 49
1855, 127.517 39 16 4.993.900
1956, 155,496 39 74 6.179,280
1857, 179,305 41 58 7.455.596
18.58 75.745 39 41 2.9c87.'076
1859, 69.966 32 49 2.274.032
Average, 1,878,167 - 34 79 65 356,879
Thirty per cent., equal to 10 SlO 43 per ton.
1854 to 1859. both inclusive, 6 vears, quantity
890.695 tons.
Price per tori, S4O 32.
Thirty per cent., equal to sl2 10 per ton.
From this it appears that §sl 01 per ton was
the maximum price of rails on shipboard be
tween the years 1817 and 1859, iasluive—
Tins, with an ad valorem duty of thirty per
cent, yielded a revenue ,of §ls 30 per tun ;
making the cost of the Iron here §66 31.
But ou referring to the table, we find the price
of iron to have fallen to §26 03, in 1851, with
a duly of only §7 80 ; thus showitig that when
we need the most protection we get the least
under the operation of ad valorem duties. A
specific duty in any one of those years would
have prevented the depressions in our business
and the prostration of the industry of the en
tire country in consequpuoe. Taking, as set
down in the statement just submitted, the
average cost of railroad iron per ton, it will be
seen that, under the ad valorem duty of thuty
per cent, the duty per ton was §l2 00 : or ten
cents more than the specific duty proposed is
the Morrill bill.
1 have many more statements of a kindred
uature among my memoranda, but will not ex
haust the patience of the Senate in reading
more of them at this time. I will only in-
I quire, if the bill is not right, why do not the
I chairman of the Committee of Fiuaoce and his
I political friends alter or amend it ? I will vote
for any bill which proposes substantial protec
tion to the prostrate and suffering labor of my
State, coute from what quarter it otay. It will
not do for thein to plead want of time. The
bill csme from the House on ibe 12tb of May,
having received the sauctioo and approval of a'
large majority of that body, composed of men
iof all parlies. Daring ail tint time, the Sen
( ator from Virginia and bis political friends have
had eutire control of the legislation of the
Senate. lam satisfied that all the Senators
on this side of the Chamber will cousent to re
main long enough to give them full tuuc to
pass a bill affording more revenue, and incor
porating the priuoipie of protection. There
may be gentlemen who are notiu favor of pro
tection, who desire a tariff for revenue purpo
ses only ; but, sir, I am in favor of protection
as the object, aud revenue as the incident 1
hold that it is but fair, that our labor should
be protected against custom-house frauds, and
against the pauper labor of Europe. I recall
two or three cases just now,goiog to show how
touch less reward labor commands aud receives
m England than hers. Until withiu the last
lew years, nearly all the wood-screws i.*ed iu
the world, and certainly in this country, were
made in our own workshops. Recently, how
ever, some one of our numerous inventors in
vented a machine making a decided improve
ment by adding a gimlet to the end of the
screw. He went to England, and disposed o
VOL. 33, NO. 33.
| bis patent there. British capitalists seized
I upon it, put it in operation, and now the wood
screw manufactories of this country are forced
to suspend, and England furnishes us with that
article. The reason is that the machine can
be worked by little girls, obtained from the
; almshouses , perhaps from the streets and
! poorhouses, aud vagrants from the lanes and
alleys are brought in to workat low wages.
They not only supply the home market, but
• eorne here and glut our market, to the exolu-
I siou of our owr. art,sans. Now this branch of
j business is a very large one, formerly giving
employment and support to thousands of our
honest laborers. Wo had a right to its cou
| ticuance, for the invention came from the
genius of au Autericau citizen, under the
fostering care and protection of one of our
former tariffs. A little protection now would
induce some oue of our intelligent artisans
: again to improve upon the machinery, and thus
enable us to reduce the price still lower.
The soap manufacture was formerly a very
i important interest in this country, so important
in fact, that probably few gentlemen on this
floor have an idea of the immense capital that
was invested, or of the great numbers to whom
the business gave employ. Some two or three
• years ago a gentleman of ray acquaintance, a
j chemist of great practical knowledge and skill
io bis profeession, as also of large experience,
discovered a process by which he concentrated
the alkali, and produced a substance which ho
called caustic soda. He went out to England
for the purpose of iutroducing the article and
supplying the market there. Forming a COD
nection with a capitalist in EJiuburg, Scotland,
he set up the manufacture of this caustic soda,
and had actually manufactured several tons,
when discovery was made of the fact that the
British Government had imposed a very heavy
excise upon the manufacture of soap, aud a
peDßlty, consisting of fine aud ituprisonmeut,
on persons manufacturing it without authority
derived from the Government itself. The oz
cise oo soap was .£lB pounds per ton. The
penalty for violating the excise law was fine
aud imprisonment. Not even the housewife
was permitted to make soap in her own kitchen
ou paiu of fine and imprisonment. Owing to
this state of affairs, the gentleman referred to
quit the Lusiocss and returned to this country.
what followed: directly afterward
the British Government changed its excise
laws, and enabled their ininuf ,crurers not on
ly to supply their homo market with this arti
cle of caustic soda for soap making, but also to
manufacture aud send it over to glut our own
markets, so that it now Jnaa the eutire control
of our home manufacture. In connection with
this matter there is still another fraud. This
caustic soda is put up in iron barrels by the
British manufacturer, for the purpose of evad
ing our tevenue laws, aud getting rid of the
duty on iron.
these, Mr. President, sre but a few of the
many instances of fraud practised under the
system we now have ; and this, I think, is the
worst feature of the present revenue system.
Were it not for the frauds constantly practi
ced under it, and which can only be avoided
by substituting specific for ad valorem duties,
the rates might not appear so objectionable.
in couciusion, it uiay be proper to speak of
another of the evil effects of the ayslera, which
the fcecretary of the Treasury, and the chair
man ot the Committee on Finance seem to be
so much enamored of. I refer to the excess of
specie cxportatious over importations uuderthe
present ad valorem tariff; a tabular statement
o.' which I herewith present:
, lulled Stales exports and imports of specie during a
period oj nine years, from JSol to 1859, inclusive:
and the aggregate /or a period of ticeulyseccn
years, from 18—4 to 1800, inclusive.
Specie imports. Exports.
$5,453,592 $29,472,752
5,502,044 42,674,135
4,201,382 27,486,875
6,958,184 41.436,456
3,659,812 56.247,343
12,461,799 69,136.922
Jjjfo 19,274,496 52.633.147
1859 7,434,789 57;502;305
$69,156,730 422,335,420
69,156,730
Surplus exports over imports, 1851
'°. ,8 f 9 - , $353,178,690
cpecte loss to the country.
*r c °" J P<* r e to-al exports aud imports from
15:.4 to 1800, inclusive:
Imports, $246,987,465
165,519,707
Surplus imports over exports. $81,467,758
Gaiu to the country.
Thus it will be seen that, during the ex
istence of protective tariffs, from 1324 to 1850,
in the gaiu of specie to the couotrv was
$£1,467,753, that being the excess of imports
over exports. But for the niue years next
succeeding, under the ad valorem or free-trade
policy, we uot only lost that large gain to the
country, but $271,710,932 in addi'tioa. Is ,t
any wonder, then, that uuder such a fata! drain
ot the vital elements of trade, the industrial
energies of the couutry should Dave succumbed,
aud the spectacle of closed manufactories and
si.ent workshops should be presented, where so
lately all was bustle and activity ?
The Democrats of Auburn bavo lately been
indulging in a celebration, whereof a barbaoue
was the distinguished feature. Tbe day was
fine, the assemblage was qui'e respectable, tbe
ox proved teuder, and was done not only to
death but to a turn. Only one thing occurred
to mar tbe festivities of tbe occasion. The
exact nature of this unpleasant interruption of
i>eiiJocrtie joys is not definitely giveo. It is
darkiy thrown up to us in the following signifi
cant and suggestive query, propounded by the
Auburn Advertiser :
"WHO WAS THE MAS/— We mean the cam
who put tbe tartar emetic on that 'rotst ox
whole.' Distrust Attorney, do your duty."