6^0 THK IMPENDING REVOLUTION. 



u By the year 1827 it had been increased to 32.90. 

 Washington never lived to see the tariff half as high as 

 the rate proposed by the Mills bill. The highest tariff 

 was tinder the administration of James Madison, as was 

 also the lowest. The * ' tariff of abominations ' ' was under 

 Jackson's administrations. It will be obvious to the 

 reader that a material change in the tariff laws was not 

 made with each succeeding administration. The average 

 duty has been above that proposed by the Mills bill in 

 thirty-three years of the ninety-nine we have had a tariff. 

 The average rate collected in 1887 has been exceeded thir- 

 teen times in the history of the government; eight of 

 those times were before the war. The highest series of 

 rates collected for any term of seven years was from 1824 

 to 1830 inclusive. It averaged 52 per cent for those 

 seven years. 



u The history of the wool tariff needs to be elaborated 

 a little. Down to 1824 wool was free and cotton was 

 taxed. Then wool was divided into two classes, according 

 to value, and if valued at less than 10 cents a pound the 

 tax was 15 per cent., otherwise 20, and afterwards 30. In 

 1828 the tax on high grade wool was enormously increased. 

 For eight years it remained at four cents a pound and 40 

 per cent., and then the compromise tariff began to reduce 

 it a little. The maximum figures I have given from 1828 

 to 1842 are the highest that could possibly be collected 

 under the complex law, and doubtless far higher than the 

 average actually collected, though that was probably 50 

 per cent. In 1832 low grade wool was again made free, 

 and has never since been heavily taxed. Wool is now 

 (since 1867) divided into three classes, "clothing," 

 u combing" and " carpet," and they paid last year 55 per 

 cent., 43 per cent, and 25 per cent, respectively. 



"The first tariff was the lightest. It was gradually 

 raised until the war of 1812 broke out, and then it was 



