THE FARMERS' LUiMBER QUESTION. 



1.856, and 1857 represent the best and costliest corn in the market, 

 while the prices for 1868, 1869, and 1870 stand for No. 2 corn, 

 with the exception of 1868, for which, on the first day of each 

 month, the report gives quotations for No. i only. With these 

 explanations, we direct attention to the comparative tables which 

 follow. 



NOTE. There are no quotations in the reports from which we have quoted for April in 1855 

 and 1856, nor for April and November in 1857 for lumber. In all cases the prices are for run of 

 mill lumber. 



We confidently submit these statistics as complete disproof of the 

 Free Trade allegation that Western farmers are oppressed, victim- 

 ized, and robbed by the tariff on lumber. During the Free Trade 

 period the duty was only 15 per cent, ad valorem ; during the Pro- 

 tective period, and now, $2 per thousand feet. Yet what do we see ? 



