| From the Carolina Spartan (Spartanburg,
S. C.) |
| |
| March 28, 1861 |
| |
| A Slight Difference -- Rail Road Iron |
| The new Northern United States
Tariff of 1861, known as the Morrill Tariff, imposes the following
duty: "On all iron imported in bars for rail roads or inclined
planes, made to patterns, and fitted to be laid down upon such roads
or planes without further manufacture, and not exceeding six inches
high, twelve dollars per ton." |
| The Tariff adopted by
the Confederate States imposes the following duty: "Iron in bars,
bolts, rods, slabs, rail road rails, spikes, finishing plates and
chairs used in constructing rail roads, ten per centum ad valorem." |
| There is a slight
difference. Taking the average cash value of rail road iron in England
at $37 per ton, the duty on such at the port of Charleston would be
$3.70 -- at the port of Wilmington would be $12 per ton, and this is
only a slight specimen, railroad iron being somewhat favored under the
Morrill Tariff, other bar iron paying fifteen dollars per ton. |
| The awfully complicated
schedules with respect to calicos and other textile fabrics, under the
Northern Tariff, must immensely increase the cost of collecting the
revenue on the little sum of exports that do not find their way into
the country through the lightly taxed ports of the Confederate States.
If Mr. Lincoln would defend his authority and the organization of this
Government against dying of atrophy, he had better call Congress
together to frame a reasonable Tariff. Under existing circumstances,
he cannot collect enough revenue to pay the new recruits, let alone
find pap for the hungry veterans of the abolition army. |
| Wilmington N. C. Journal |
|