Mr. SCHENCK. Mr. Speaker, I hope that this bill will not be referred. It is designed to correct one of those manifest instances of injustice which, it seems to me, need only to bementioned to be corrected. The Gentfrom Pennsylvania has stated the circumstances of the passage of the act which embraced the error designed to be corrected by this bill. The act, as passed by the House, levied a tax of 4 dollars per 1,000 upon all cigars valued at prices rangin from 8 to 12 dollars per 1,000;.; on all cigars valued at more than 12 dollars there was to be imposed on the excess an additional tax of 40%. advalorem. When the bill was brought back from the committee of conference it was found they had reduced the 40%. advalorem tax to 20%. No one objected to that because it did not disturb the principle of a gradual increase; but instead of putting the 20%. upon the excess over 12 dollars, they put the 20%. upon the whole 12 dollars. had already paid 4 dollars and upon the excess in addition, that is upon the whole value of the cigars. How does it operate, and why has there been so much complaint? On the 12 dollar cigar you pay a 4 dollar tax. On the 13 dollar cigar you pay not 4 and 20, that is 4 dollars and the addition of 20%. advalorem, making $420, but you pay $660; leaping from $440 to $6 60 at once, for the 20%. advalorem is charged upon the whole value. How does it operate in practice? The man who manufactures a 12 dollar cigar and pays a 4 dollar tax has 8 dollars left for himself; but if he makes a 13 dollar cigar he has to pay $660 and has but $640 left for himself. It is better, therefore, for him to make the 12 dollar cigar. And so it goes on. The 14 dollar cigar instead of paying $440 as we intended, putting on the 20%. in addition to the $440, pays $680. The 15 dollar cigar pays $7 instead of $460. By jumping from $4 up to $6 60 and making that addition to be paid by adding 20%. advalorem, not upon the excess above 12, but on the whole value of the cigar, you actually leave a man who makes the 13 dollar cigar but $640 after paying the Government tax while the man who makes the 12 dollar cigar gets $8 after paying the Government tax. } say it is clear from this, why over the whole country those connected with this cigar interest are complaining, and justly complaining; but as it went through as I must conceive by some sort of blunder, certainly by a misunderstanding so far as the gentlemen connected with this interest, arising out of an explanation to us by a member of the committee, I think the least we can do is to correct it and not sufter this interest to be longer oppressed as it now is. demand the previous question.