which the consumers and producers respective- It is a very common remark among the advoly bear of the burthens imposed, must be, in cates of the restrictive system, that duties upsome degree, conjectural. One proposition, on imports would be equivalent to duties upon however, may be confidently affirmed the the exports given in exchange for them, if it amount of the aggregate burthen imposed upon were true that nothing could be obtained all the consumers of cotton goods, foreign and abroad for our exports but the imports which domestic, does not exceed the amount of the are subject to the duties in question. But, it is revenue collected by the Government upon the said, this is not the case, inasmuch as the coteight millions which we import from abroad. ton planter may import specie in exchange for If these eight millions constituted the whole con- his cotton, which is subject to no duty at all. Isumption of the country, it is conceded that, Now, the error and delusion of this view of the even in that case, it would be difficult to trans-subject, consist in supposing that specie has a fer the whole burthen of the duty to the con- fixed and invariable value as compared with But when these eight millions of tax- other commodities; whereas, in truth, its relaed commodities come into a market where they tive value is quite as subject to the influence of meet the competition of twenty-four millions of commercial restrictions as that of any other arthe same sort of goods which pay no duty at all, ticle of commerce. Suppose, for the purpose the difficulty of making the consumers pay the of illustration, that, under a system of perfectly whole amount of the tax levied is obviously in-free trade, tea and coffee were imported at precreased. But, admitting that they can be made cisely the same price, and that, in this state of to pay it, how will it be distributed? It must be things, a duty of 50 per cent. should be laid equally diffused over the whole thirty-two mil upon tea. In this case, no one would have any millions of cotton manufactures consumed in the difficulty in comprehending the change which country. Four millions of dollars, therefore, would be produced in the relative exchangeable the amount of taxation imposed, will operate as value of these two articles, by subjecting one of a tax of twelve and a half per cent. on all the them to a duty of 50 per cent., and leaving the consumers of the thirty-two millions of cotton other entirely exempted from duty. It is perfabrics in the U. States. As it is obvious that fectly plain that, whereas, one pound of coffee the consumers of imported cotton manufactures would purchase one pound of tea previous to would only bear, in the case stated, a burthen of the imposition of the duty on tea, it would aftwelve and a half per cent., it would seem to terwards require one pound and a half of coffee follow, as a corollary, that the remaining thirty-to accomplish the same object. This remark is seven and a half per cent. of the duty paid at as plainly applicable to any other articles, or the custom-house must be paid by the produ- classes of articles, where the one is subjected to cers: for, it may be laid down as a universal rule, a duty from which the other is exempted. No that wherever a duty is levied upon any pro- one will be found to dispute so obvious a prinduction, whatever part of that duty cannot be ciple, so long as it is confined to the ordinary thrown upon the consumer, must, of necessity, commodities of trade; but the moment you profall on the producer. pose to apply it to specie, the understanding These views of the subject, which I fear I seems to be confounded and bewildered, owhave very indistinctly presented, bring me to ing, perhaps, to the habitual association by what I regard as a very important topic in this which a fixed and unalterable value is attached discussion: I allude to the embarrassment and to specie as the universal equivalent for all other confusion which results from estimating the commodities. Amidst all the fluctuations in value of every thing in money, and habitual the relative prices and exchangeable values of confounding of the money price with the change the various articles of commerce, it rarely ocable value of all commodities. If the cotton curs to any one that a change in the relative vaplanters, for example, were to carry their cot-lue of specie has had any agency in producing ton to Europe themselves, and exchange it for these fluctuations; yet, most assuredly, specie is manufactures without the intervention of com- subject to the same laws in this respect as any mercial agents, and if the Government were to other. If, for example, one hundred dollars in levy the taxes in kind by taking from the plant-specie would purchase one hundred yards of

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