Mr. HOWE. Wine is not exactly an agricultural crop; I suppose grapes arc, however. I think molasses is quite as essential as wine, though I do not object to either; they are both good in their place. But if we can raise our own molasses, think we shall do quite as much for the public good as by raising our owa wine; and if wine should be protected, I think the manufacture of molasses or sugar from sorghum should also be protected. But I shall also vote against this whole amendment as reported by the committee. I dissent from the correctness of the statemenb made by the Senfrom Maine, that the agricultural communities are especially protected by this or by any former tax ill. If t icy have received any such protection, I never have been able to discover it and I do not think they have ever felt it. I do not know of anything that you put a tax upon, that they do not buy; and it is the almost inflexible rule, I believe it is the principle which guides all this taxation, that you will not put a tax on anything that cannot be chargedover to the consumer and the purchaser. the very argument which is used mm for putting a tax on this kind of machinery is that the manufacturers are protected by patents, so that they can inevitably charge over whatever you assess on it to the consumer. That is the rule, as I understand, which governs all this taxation. You tax nothing that the farmer does not buy. True, the manufacturer advances the tax to the Government, but he gets, in consideration of that advance, a sort of roving commission by which he is authorized to levy it back again on the community, with just such commissions as the market Will enable him to charge for making the advance, and he does it. This manufac turing, I know, is generally in the eastern sections of the Union; but the West does its own share of the wearing out, the purchasing, the consuming. I have heard it said before that all these tax bills were peculiarly lenient upon the farmers. I have had occasion to deny it before, and I feel bound to deny it as often as I hear the statement. You tax their incomes, if they have any, ustas you tax other incomes, and to preciselyt 0 same amount, and you exempt, I believe, preciscly the same amount. You have done so heretofore. I have not looked at this bill; but I suppose it is done here. Wherever they buy an article that is taxed, they my the tax just as others do.