Objections to the Auctions 193 



These evasions were much more common in importations on 

 foreign account than on American account. The great reason 

 for this was the greater facihties offered by the agency system. 

 It is Hkely that the foreign agent also did not feel the direct 

 responsibility for moral rectitude which he would feel in his 

 own country. The agent was also concealed behind the auction- 

 eer, and the rapidity with which the latter transacted business 

 rendered it difficult to detect frauds that would be exploited 

 against the regular trader.^-' The auctioneer might or might not 

 be privy to such frauds.^^^ 



The goods which were subject to ad valorem duties were 

 mostly manufactures ; the principal articles paying specific duties 

 were iron, hemp, sugar, tea, coffee, wine, spirits, spices, molasses 

 and salt. The evasions of duties by undervaluations applied, of 

 course, only to the former group. Before 181 5 the revenues 

 yielded by the specific duty group exceeded those from the 

 ad valorem group; but after 181 5 this proportion "was not 

 only suddenly but greatly reversed" and the common explanation 

 was that the possibility of evading duties and thus lowering the 

 bar to importation stimulated relatively the importation of the 

 ad valorem group.^^^ 



In the tariff act of 1832 Congress provided for the home 

 valuation of imports, but this provision was not to go into effect 

 for ten years, and meanwhile it was repealed, and has never since 

 been passed. 



OBJECTIONS TO THE AUCTIONS. 



]\Iany of the objections to auctions have been stated above. 

 These and others will be summarized here."*^ 



(a) Auctions tended to defeat the American protective policy. 

 They facilitated dumping by foreign manufacturers, made cus- 

 toms credits more advantageous to importers, and abetted the 

 evasion of duties by undervaluation. 



(b) Auctions hurt certain vested interests, particularly the 



''■'Xiles, 27: 290; 35: 137. 



'=' Niles, 34 : 259. 



^^^ See argument, Annals of Congress, 15th Congress, ist session, p. 51, 

 There were many other factors working to this end. 



""See general statements in Niles, 34: 174; 27: 258; New York 

 Assembly Document 53, Vol. 4 : 287. 



