Under the system of ad valorem duties, the English
exporters got their goods through the United States custom-house by
such under valuation as gravely diminished even the protection
afforded by the tariff of 1824; and the unloading of large
quantities of woolen goods by auction sales brought a cry of
distress from New England. This led to an agitation to substitute
specific duties in place of ad valorem, and to apply to woolens the
minimum principle already applied to cottons. At the same time
sheep-raisers were demanding increased protection.
Early in 1827, therefore, Mallory, of Vermont, a state which was
especially interested in wool-growing, brought into the House of
Representatives a report of the committee on manufactures, proposing
a bill which provided three minimum points for woolen goods, with
certain exceptions, those that cost less than 40 cents a square yard
were to be rated as though they cost 40 cents in imposing the
tariff; those which cost between 40 cents and $2.50 were reckoned at
$2.
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