The Tea And Coffee Bill

In tho House, on Momlay, undor the suspension of the rulos, tho bill ot' Mr MuiiCül?, of Pa., repoaling the duty on tea and offoo, was passod, by a Vote o: 153 to 38. We havo not the vota beforo ns, and therefore do not know tho liamos of tho mombers who wero shxewd ciiouí;1 not to fall into tho trap set by tho protccüonists, or in other words had buckbono enough to vote NO. We havon't tho least objection in tho world to putting tea and cofToe on tho fve ligt., if doing ao was not to inaure the perpetuation ol moro obnoxious dutios or taxes ; duties and taxes levied not, as was thnt on tca and coffee, lor tho support of tho governïnent, but for the benefit of manufacturors already grown woalthy and arrogant by means of forced contributions lovied upon the consumers of their fabrics. Tho duty collocted on tea and coffoe amounts annunlly to about $20,000,000, every dollar of which goos into tho treasury ; and as no teas or coffees aro grown in this country the duty is strictly what all duties should bo - a duty for retentie atul not for protidion. To please Mr. Meucur and his Pennsylvania friends, tho advocates of revenue reform, tho opponents of protection, votod to release these $20,000,000. And what will bo tho rosult ? This is it : tho $20,000,000 taken off frora tea and coffoo must bo rotained on iron and steel, in the produotion of which the shrewd Mr. Mercur's constituent are immodiately interostod ; on copper and salt, in tho mining and manufacture of which the constituents of Mr. Sutiieuland (of Mioh.) fancy thomselvos inleiosted ; on woolen and cotton ftibrics, boots ;uid shocs, etc., largely produoed in New England. The consumption of iron in 1870-1 is estimated - see World Almanac, page 21 - at $160,000,000; the duty collected during the same fiscal year was $15,600,000; the ncroa8ed amount paid by consumers was 568,000,000 : or for cvery $1 paid into the ireasury, $4.30 went to the manufacturers Eadn't the farmer and inechanic and laaorer botter pay the tea and coffeo tax to íhe government and be rclieved from the iax on his tools, lovied to increase tho jains of the rich iron manufacturers, and ;he eost of the rails ovor which his farm produce and unprotocted manufactures iro ciirried to the markets of tho country ? During the samo period the government realized from the duty on stoel, $1,Í00.O00, whilo the protocted manufacturers increased the prico of their fabrics (6,700,000: or .f 1 to the goverument and f3.72 to the manufacturar. Wouldn't tearei tea and ooffec - tho government getting the increase - and cheaper spades and shovels and hoes and rakes and mowors and reapers - tho manufacturer ng thereby - bo for tho interest of the 'ariuing and producing classes u In the same fiscal year tho government collectod from tariff on wool and woolen fabri.cs, $28,000,000, while the manufac;urers reccivcd an increasod prioo amountng to the enormous sum of $94,000,000 : ?1 to the treasury and $3.36 to tho manu'acturer. Wouldn't the poorlaborer with a large family, for whose ostensible interest tca and ooffee have been placed on the "ree list, be the gainer by paying a little ïighcr prico for the few pounds of tca and coffee ho uses in a year, and be privileged o buy his coats and vests and pants and )odding and carpets, etc, without pajing m average duty of 70 per cent. ron the samo for the benefit of the uianufacturer 'i From materials used in the manufacure of boots and shoes in the samo period, tho government collected import duties aggrugating but $3,500,000, while the manufactured fabrics were increased in cost to the public in the sum of $18,000,000 : 1 for the support of Unció Saín and lis great army of greedy office -holdors and $5.10 to the manufacturer of leather boots and shoes. Wouldn't the father of a dozen children, doing day's work for a iving, or the widowed mother of a large amily, makc money by paying a fraction more per pound for a few pounds of tea and coffee, in liei of otJier taies, and a less rice for the boots and shoes ho or she must buy ? And this list of oomparisons we might extend indefinitely : say on cotton fabrics. 15,000,000 to the government and $75,000,000 to tho manufacturer ; on coppor $27,000 to the government and $5,250,000 ;o the protccted miner ; on salt, $1,3(55,000 to the treasury and $4,200,000 to tho aoilers at Syracuse, East Saginaw, Bay Dity, and in Virginia ; but if these figures will not open the eyes to the cheat and swindlo of free tea and coffee, nothing will, and tho sohemers and deluded, the knaves and fools who voted for the bilb jiving the peoplo who asked bread a etone, will go unrobuked. In the Senate, on Monday, Mr. Scott, "rom tho Ku-Klux Committee, reportcd a 3Í11 to extend tho operation of the law of May 1870, - araended and extended April 1871, - authorizing tho suspension of the writ of habcas corpus in certain countie and States at tho will of and by the Presidont, until tho ond of tho next session of Congress. This is tho law enactcd to enable tho Prosidcnt, by a declaration of martial law and the suspension of the people's writ of frocdom, to supervise, control and oarry tho clections in the several States, North and South. By liinitation, it oxpires at the closo of the prosent eession, at least so far as the authority to suspend tho writ of habeos corpus is concorned. When the extending act of 1871 ■was passcd it was charged by the Democraoy of the country that nuother extensión would be made at tho prosent session, in order that Grant, by a suspension of tho writ of hateas corpus and the uso of the military, eould re-ehet liimnelf. This charge was indignantly repudiated, but its trutli is now proven. Without soiuo such scherao or devise, soino sucli high-handod outrage - for legislation may be as much an outrage as a violation of law - the Itadicals fear that tho roconstructed States will vote alinost in a body against GitANT and defeat his ro-eloction. Desperate ends require desperato means. A St Petersburg letter to the N. Y. Ecening Post gives curroncy to a ieport that tho Grand Duke Alexis liad been niarricd in America to Mllo. Jonkofsky, a Russian maid of honor who had been exiled to Switzorland on h8 account, but suw:t'fili;d in following bim to this cuuntry. Fornky baving ome to the delibérate Conolusioo, after Beveral trials, thut holding offico, cspocially under Graut, is itl- Compatible with " independent journalism," has rcsigned theí lucrativo offico of Collector of the port of Philadolplna to give liis vvliole timo to thu Vr., Not so with E. O Boas, of thu IMgRapid Mag .■', wlio has just exohanged a warm corner in tin? editorial sanctum for the post of Itouto Agent on tho Grand liapids and Indiana Kailroad. - For the benefit of Bro. KoSE let us " teil a littlo story " about imother editor win) was iromoted('í) to a " route agency." Ia liSd.'j, aftei' the iiuiuguration of President PlERCE and while paroeling out the offices was the order of business, B. G. Bennett, then editor and publisher of a Democratie paper at Ccnterville, St. Joseph County, oonceived tho idea of 6orving his country in an official oapacity, asked for, and, by the aid of his friendo, sticured the appointnient of route agent on the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad. % And he laid down stick and rule and steel pen and entered upon duty, a " happy man." W'oll, Time ran on and so did Bknxett, but not quite as smoothly as " old Time " should have done. Eailroad accidenta would happen then as now, and Benneït's car went tluough sovoral smash ups, bruising bim more or less, and oonvinoing him that to be a route agent was not to sleep on a bed of rosos. A week or so after one of theso accidents, a run off tho track Just oast of tho Adrián depot, in which Bennett was both bruisod and burned, we met him making his trip, and, - with patches on his face and lamo arms and limping legs, - he was mourning his hard lifo on poor pay. Wo inquired if he owned his office yet, and, receiving an affirmativo reply, asked why he didn't rosigu and go back to it. AVith a look of intenso disgust, ho responded : " I teil you what it is, Pond, 1 havo been all my lifo wanting an office, and now, I swear I'vo got bne! " He would have given all his old clothes to get out of it, but was ashamed to cry enough and resign. Bro. KoSE, of tho Matjnet, will sooner or later flnd himself in exactly Bennett's fix.