the mechanic arts, commerce, and navigation.”  I have also declared my opinion to be “in favor of a tariff for revenue,” and that “in adjusting the details of such a tariff I have sanctioned such moderate discriminating duties as would produce the amount of revenue needed and at the same time afford reasonable incidental protection to our home industry,” and that I was “opposed to a tariff for protection merely, and not for revenue.”

The power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises” was an indispensable one to be conferred on the Federal Government, which without it would possess no means of providing for its own support.  In executing this power by levying a tariff of duties for the support of Government, the raising of revenue should be the object and protection the incident.  To reverse this principle and make protection the object and revenue the incident would be to inflict manifest injustice upon all other than the protected interests.  In levying duties for revenue it is doubtless proper to make such discriminations within the revenue principle as will afford incidental protection to our home interests.  Within the revenue limit there is a discretion to discriminate; beyond that limit the rightful exercise of the power is not conceded.  The incidental protection afforded to our home interests by discriminations within the revenue range it is believed will be ample.  In making discriminations all our home interests should as far as practicable be equally protected.  The largest portion of our people are agriculturists.  Others are employed in manufactures, commerce, navigation, and the mechanic arts.  They are all engaged in their respective pursuits, and their joint labors constitute the national or home industry.  To tax one branch of this home industry for the benefit of another would be unjust.  No one of these interests can rightfully claim an advantage over the others, or to be enriched by impoverishing the others.  All are equally entitled to the fostering care and protection of the Government.  In exercising a sound discretion in levying discriminating duties within the limit prescribed, care should be taken that it be done in a manner not to benefit the wealthy few at the expense of the toiling millions by taxing lowest the luxuries of life, or articles of superior quality and high price, which can only be consumed by the wealthy, and highest the necessaries of life, or articles of coarse quality and low price, which the poor and great mass of our people must consume.  The burdens of government should as far as practicable be distributed justly and equally among all classes of our population.  These general views, long entertained on this subject, I have deemed it proper to reiterate.  It is a subject upon which conflicting interests of sections and occupations are supposed to exist, and a spirit of mutual concession and compromise in adjusting its