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MARCH 10, 1828.]

Tariff Bill.

(H. OF R.

used the same arguments in defence of the position which abroad 8 cents, will, by the present law, and the proposthe manufacturers apply to cloth-that the qualities of the ed amendment, be 1 32-100 cents; and the duty proposwool, differing so little in price, cannot be distinguished, ed by the committee upon the same pound of wool, will and that the true quality may be disguised for the pur-be 10 52-100 cents. The highest duty, therefore, which pose of importation. will be charged upon any pound of wool proposed to be admitted at a duty of 15 per cent. ad valorem, if the amendment is adopted, will be 1 32-100 cents-a duty, as will readily be seen, merely nominal as relates to a check upon those importations. But take the next step of the comparison. A pound of wool, costing abroad 9 cents, pays, under the present law, a duty of 1 485-1000 is adopted, 10 96-100 cents; and, if the amendment of the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. MALLARY] is adopted, 20 cents; nearly double the duty proposed by the com. mittee. From this point to about 50 cents, very little wool is now imported; and, if either the proposition of the committee, or the proposed amendment, be adopted, I have supposed none would be. I have not, therefore, compared the relative duties between those prices. After 9 cents, therefore, as the assumed price of a pound of foreign wool, I have taken 45 cents, and from that to 1 dollar I have compared at every 5 cents' increase of the invoice value. The comparison will be found to show, that, after you pass the point of 60 cents as the invoice value of a pound of foreign wool, the proposed amendment of the honorable chairman [Mr. MALLARY] will operate as a rapid reduction of the present duty. This reduction, at 65 cents, will be 1 45-100 cents; and, at 1 dollar, 13 cents upon each pound of wool im. ported. This position must then be conceded as applicable to the amendment now under consideration, and which has been advocated by the honorable chairman Mr. MALLARY]: 1st, That it does not alter the present duty upon wool costing 8 cents and under in the foreign market; and 2d, That it does operate as a reduction of the present duty upon wool costing more than 60 cents per pound in a foreign market.

I next attempted to establish the fact that the present importations of wool are, nearly all, invoiced at and below ten cents per pound, or fine wool costing fifty cents and over, in our markets; and for this purpose I also had reference to the testimony in relation to the qualities of wool imported, and to the prices paid for imported wools by the manufacturers. It only remains for me, Mr. Chair-cents; it will pay, if the bill reported by the committee man, to compare the duties on wool, as imposed by the existing law, with those proposed by the bill reported by the Committee on Manufactures, and also by the amend ment of the honorable chairman of that committee. To do this, I have prepared a tabular calculation of the duties, according to the three several rates, setting each in a column by itself, in such a manner that the comparison may readily be made. In making this table I have assumed certain prices as the invoice value of each pound of wool, and to arrive at the correct ad valorem duty in each case, I have added ten per cent. to the supposed invoice value, as directed by the law, but have made no addition to the assumed invoice value for charges before the addition of the ten per cent. This, I believe, should be done to make the table technically correct; but the difference upon a single pound of wool would be very trifling, and I had no means of ascertaining what that addition should be. I am now told by a gentleman near me, that it should be 74 per cent. upon the invoice value, and another gentleman says it is 24 per cent. upon merchandise generally. I do not know, sir, what it is, but I have made no allowance at all for it, nor is it material to my purpose that should have done so. I feel sure the table will be found correct, with that single trifling exception. It is as follows :

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But, sir, I have made a calculation of this reduction upon the wool actually proved to have been imported within the last three years, for the purpose of testing the practical effect of adopting this amendment, so far as rerelates to the fine imported wools. The calculation is made upon the basis of a reduction of one-third of the value here, as the difference between the cost abroad and the selling price in this country. The results are as follows:

Names of witnesses Selling prices deduct- Foreign cost
in the United ed for dif- of same wool.
-Page of testi-
ference.
mony referred to. States.

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8.76

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the importa tion of coarse wools, but which does and will operate as an actual reduction of the present duty upon fine wools?

[MARCH 10, 1828.

an average equality between the cost of the wool and the cost of manufacturing, in any given quantity of wool. In proof of this, I offer a statement very generously Again, Mr. Chairman, are we not told, that, pass what furnished to me by an intelligent gentleman interested in law you will in relation to cloths, the foreigner will ac- the Steubenville factory, Ohio. The statement is in a tacommodate himself, in his importations, to it? If this be bular form, and embraces, in each column, the value of a true as to cloths, will it not be equally true as to wool? | pound of wool of each quality, and the value in separate Will not the importations of wool be equally accommo. items of manufacturing each pound of each quality of the dated to your regulations of the duty? Pass this amend- wool as assorted, the wool before assortment being worth ment, then, sir, and all that is required, is, that the foreign- 75 cents per pound. The table and results are as follows: er shall send his wool assorted. That is now the practice A STATEMENT showing the manner in which the cost of with many of the finer wools, as has been seen from the cloths is made out at the woollen manufactory of B. testimony; but pass this amendment, and the inducement Wells & Co. Steubenville, Ohio.* to adopt this practice will be direct and strong. Then you will find assorted wool imported, coming in direct competition with your own finest wool assorted; and that, too, while the finest qualities thus produced will only be subject to a duty of 20 cents per lb. : and the above reference to the testimony shows that some of this wool, now imported, sells in our market as high as $1 65 per pound. I again ask, then, sir, will the committee adopt a provision, the effect of which will be to repeal the duty already imposed upon foreign wool? Will they not only admit the coarse wool under a mere nominal duty, but reduce the duty one-half upon fine wool, and call this protection to domestic wool?

But, sir, I have done with the subject of the bill and amendment, so far as they relate to the raw wool, and now pass to the woollen cloths, and to a comparison of the bill reported by the committee with the present law, and also with the proposed amendment, as they relate to the duty upon the manufactured fabrics. And here, Mr. Chairman, it becomes my duty to remark, that, at an ear. ly period of the labors of the Committee on Manufactures, I found I could not act with certainty upon this subject, with the information then possessed. I could not obtain the means of determining what protection the manufacturers required, and therefore it was that I wished for an examination of witnesses before the committee. The power was granted by the House, and the committee have examined the manufacturers themselves. It shall now be my object to ascertain what facts have been established, by the testimony so taken, which will enable us to arrive, with some degree of certainty, at the just measure of this protection. And here, sir, I can only promise the committee that my references to the evidence shall not be as tedious as those I have formerly made. The testimony upon the points to which I shall now ask the attention of the committee, is much more precise and satisfactory, than upon many other positions before taken. I then assume, as a fact well settled by the evidence, that the cost of the wool, and the cost of manufacturing it into cloth ready for the market, as a general rule in this country, at the present prices of wool, are about equal; or, in other words, that the cost of the raw wool in the U. States, is about one-half the cost of the cloth it makes. [Here Mr. W. again made extracts from the printed testimony taken before the committee.]

This, Mr. Chairman, closes the testimony as to this proposition, and upon which point every witness, whose knowledge of practical manufacturing has enabled him to answer the question, has given the same answer very nearly. I therefore consider the proposition as fully and incontrovertibly established by the proof. It will be found, however, that while this position is true as a general rule, there will be variations in it according to the different qualities of the cloth made. The cost of manufacturing the finer qualities, will be less than the cost of the wool, and the cost of the manufacturing the coarse qualities, will be greater than the cost of the wool, while at some of the intermediate qualities, an almost exact equality will exist.

In lots of wool costing not more than 75 cents per pound, these variations will balance each other, and form

P. L. P. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5.

Wool, 75 cts. Dolls. 2 101 501 13
Dying indigo blue
Carding, slubbing,

and oil

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Warping, lists, head-
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Napping
Shearing
Picking, lettering,
steam-brushing,
pressing, &c.
Repairs, wear and
tear of machinery,
coal, engineer's
wages, &c. &c.
Total cost when
finished
Length when fin-
ished-yards
Cost per yard when

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A recapitulation of the above table, will show the cost of the wool, and of manufacturing it, of each quality, and the difference in the cost of manufacturing all the qualities taken together over the cost of the wool.

Cost of the wool of each quality-P. L. $2 10; P. 1 50, No. 1, 1 13; No. 2, 68 cents; No.3, 56; No. 4, 45; No. 5. 38-Total, 680.

Cost of manufacturing each quality-P. L. $1 24; P. 1 18; No. 1, 1 05; No. 2, 97 cents; No 3, 87; No. 4, 83; No. 5, 81-Total, 695-Difference 15.

An examination of this recapitulation will show that the manufacturing the first or finest quality of wool, is almost half less than the cost of the wool; that at the third quality, or number one, the cost of the wool and the cost of manufacturing are very nearly equal, and that at the lowest quality, the cost of manufacturing is a trifle more than double the cost of the wool, while, upon the sum total of all the qualities, the difference of the manufacturing over the cost of the wool is only 15 cents. This practical table, therefore, while it shows the variations to which I have referred, fully supports the correctness of the preposition as a general rule, that the cost of wool and the cost of manufacturing it into cloth ready for the market, are about equal. It should also be particularly remarked, that this table and the items of cost given, are

stated that we are now manufacturing (because of our improved maAverage for 1825, 1826, and 1827, of indigo blue. I have already chinery and retrenchment) upon better terms.-Note by Mr. Wells,

MARCH 10, 1828.]

Tariff Bill.

[H. of R.

for indigo blue cloths, the most expensive in the manufac-are three; cloths and cassimeres exceeding 33 cents the

ture.

That the next principle which I consider as established by the testimony is, that any given parcel of wool can be manufactured into cloth as cheap in the United States as it can in England, or, in other words, that the difference between the cost of woollen cloths in the United States and in England, is the difference in the cost of wool, the expense of manufacturing being the same in both countries. For the proof of this position, Mr. W. referred to the testimony of the following witnesses :-Messrs Shepherd, Marland, Young, Wolcott, Clapp, Dupont, and Peirce.

square yard; cloths and cassimeres not exceeding 331 cents the square yard; and all other manufactures paying a duty of 333 per cent. I have prepared a table of the imports of these items for several years past, and will now give the amounts to the committee, including the first and last items mentioned in one amount, as those items now pay the same duty. The importations for the three last years have been as follows: 1825.-The value imported paying a duty of 33 per cent. was do

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$7,196,858 141,585

Total for 1825, $7,338,443

Here, again, Mr. Chairman, there is an entire agree ment among all the witnesses who are able to answer the interrogatory of the committee, in relation to the position I have taken, and their answers all go to establish its cor- 1826.-The value imported, paying a duty of

rectness.

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33 per cent, was do

$5,913,039 112,344

Total for 1826, $6,025,883

I next assume it to be proved by the evidence taken, that the cost of wool in this country is greater than the cost of the same wool in England by from 50 to 80 per 1827.-The value imported, paying a duty of cent. upon the English cost; or, in other words, wool of the same quality costs from one-third to four-fifths more in the United States than it does in England.

Here, again, sir,I must tax the committee with a reference to the swearing of the witnesses, and I can only cheer them with the assurance that it is the last which I propose

to make.

The following question, in substance, was put to most, if not all of the witnesses examined before the committee upon the subject of wool and woollens, and I will give the answers of such of them as we re able to give definite answers to it.

Question.-Do you know the difference in the price of wool of the same quality in the British and in the American markets?

[Answered by eight witnesses.]

These answers give as the extremes of difference in the price of wool in the two countries, 50 and 80 per cent. upon the English price; and one witness says, "this (50 per cent.) is the lowest price at which it can be sold to cover all expenses; thus plainly giving us to understand that this will cover al! expenses, and leaving the equally plain inference that any further advance is the importer's profit, whatever that advance may be. In corroboration of this idea, also, the witness, Mr. Poor, is asked-"Is importing wool a profitable business, and do the importers find ready sales for it?" And his answer is, "It has been a profitable business for some time past, say at least for 1827; but it is attended with uncertainty, like other mercantile pursuits. During the past year the sales have been very ready: we have sold, as auctioneers, about 360,000 pounds of foreign wool and about 108,000 lbs of domestic wool." Yet, sir, as the witnesses do not exactly agree as to this difference in the prices of wool between England and this country, and as I wish to put this subject upon at least a safe footing, for the American manufacturer, I have assumed the medium between these two extremes of 50 and 80 per cent. to be the correct difference between the price of wool in the two countries, and shall make my estimates upon a supposed difference in the cost of wool in favor of England, of 65 per cent. which is that medium.

Before I proceed, however, to examine the question whether the duties proposed by the bill, as reported by the Committee on Manufactures, do furnish sufficient protection to the American manufacturer, I will see what those duties are, upon what they are to operate, and compare them with the duties imposed by the present law, and with those proposed by the amendment of the honorable Chairman, (Mr. MALLARY.)

The items as found in the Executive tables of imports, upon which the proposed amendment, and consequently the corresponding provisions of the bill, are to operate,

Do

33 per cent. was do

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$5,527,567 251,175

Total for 1827, $5,778,742 ed by the committee, are woollen blankets, hoisery, mits, The other woollen goods affected by the bill, as reportgloves and bindings. Of these the importations for the last three years have been as follows: 1825.-Blankets, paying a duty of 25 per cent. $891,197 Hosiery, gloves, mits, &c. do 33 do 369,747 Total for 1825, $1,260,944 1826.-Blankets, paying a duty of 25 per cent. $527,784 Hosiery, gloves, mits, &c. do 33 do.

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These last subjects, however, not being embraced in the proposed amendment of the honorable chairman, are not now the subjects of my consideration, and I only give them to enable the committee to take at one view, the whole amount of importations upon which the bill can operate, as well those embraced in the amendment as those which are not. From this view of the importations of the last three years, it will be seen that the whole amount of importations of woollen goods into the United States, upon which the amendment, or that part of the bill proposed to be amended, is to operate, varies very little from six millions of dollars, and is less for the last two, than for former years. This, then, shows us upon what the bill of the committee, or the proposed amendment, is to operate.

What, then, are the present and the proposed duties? The present duties upon these goods, as will be seen by the amount of importations just given, is 25 and 33 per cent. ad valorem. The bill reported proposes a change in the manner of levying the duties from an ad valorem to a specific form, by adopting the minimum principle, as it is called, and thus recommends an increase of the present rates of duty in two ways: 1st, by a direct increase of the ad valorem duty; and 2d, by the regulation of the mini mums; so that by the provisions of the bill a square yard of cloth, costing in a foreign market 20 cents, and one costing 50 cents, will pay the same duty; a square yard of cloth costing 51 cents, and one costing 100 cents, will pay the same duty a square yard of cloth costing 101 cents, and one costing 250 cents, will pay the same duty; and a square yard of cloth costing 251 cents, and one costing 400 cents, will pay the same duty; and all

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intermediate values in each case will pay the same duty with the highest extreme of the minimum. All values above 4 dollars the square yard, are, by the bill, to pay an ad valorem duty of 45 per cent. The amendment of the honorable Chairman, (Mr. MALLARY) proposes to make a square yard of cloth, costing in a foreign market 20 cents, and one costing 50 cents, pay the same duty; a square yard of cloth costing 51 cents, and one costing 250 cents, pay the same duty; a square yard of cloth costing 250 cents, and one costing 400 cents, pay the same duty, and a square yard of cloth costing 401 cents, and one costing 600 cents, pay the same duty; and fixes upon the lower priced cloths a somewhat higher rate of duty than that proposed by the bill, but a rate of duty not so high upon the fine cloths, it proposing 40, and the bill reported by the committee 45 per cent. I have prepared a table showing the duties which are imposed by the present law, and which will be imposed by either of these propositions, if adopted, as the only means of presenting the comparison in an intelligible form, and I find the result as follows:

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[MARCH 10, 1828.

are cast by the same rule, the table will be proportionably accurate.

Another tabular calculation will show the rates per cent. of the duties proposed by the bill, and also by the amendment of the honorable chairman, by which the direct increase of the rates proposed, and also the increase produced by the adoption of the minimum principle, may be seen and compared. That this comparison may be as perfect as practicable, I have made the calculation at the extremes, and at the mean of each minimum, and have also given the medium increase of the present rates of duty upon each minimum, both of the bill and of the amendment. They are as follows:

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• 2d minimum of bill not contained in amendment. Medium of amendment will be 81 50,

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51.333 1 001 10 58.666 1 001 10 66. 1 00 1.10 78.333 1 001 10 82.5 1 001 10 91.6661 00 1 10 100.8331 76 1 76 110. 176 176 119.1661 76 1 76 128.3331 76 1 76 137.5 176 176 146.6661 76 1 76 165. 2 222 64 183.3332 472 64 201.6662 7212 64 2 97 2 64

220.

Thus it will be found that the rates of duty proposed by the committee, range from 32 to 99 per cent. omitting fractions entirely, which are omitted in the table, and that the rates proposed by the amendment vary from 44 to 215 per cent. In one single instance the duty proposed by the committee diminishes the present duty. That instance is at the very highest extreme of the first, or 50 cent minimum. The now rate of duty upon a square yard of cloth costing 50 cents in a foreign market, as will be seen by the table, is 33 per cent. while the rate propos ed by the bill at that point, is but 32 per cent; or, to be better understood, as I intend to argue this question with perfect candour, the duty proposed by the committee upThis, sir, is a detailed comparison of the duties, at a on a yard of cloth invoiced at fifty cents, or at any price variety of stages, under the present law, and by the two under that sum, is 16 cents; while the present duty uppropositions now upon your table. The ad valorem du- on a yard of cloth invoiced exactly at 50 cents, would be ties, in this comparison, are cast by the addition of 10 per 183 cents, making a difference in favor of the present ducent. to the assumed value of the cloth, without any pre-ty, confined strictly to this point, as to cost, of 23 cents. vious addition for charges, which I am informed constitute a part of the dutiable value of the imports, and which, upon goods, are usually about 24 per cent. The variation, however, upon a single yard of cloth, will be extremely small; and, as all the duties in the comparison

This, upon its face and unexplained, would seem to be wrong, and contrary to the principles which have govern ed the committee. I will, therefore, ask the patience of the committee for one moment, while I examine this minimum. It is conceded on all hands that the cloths falling

MARCH 10, 1828.]

Tariff Bill.

[H. of R.

within this minimum, must be either very coarse fulled proposed by the bill, as reported by the committee, are cloths, or the lighter fabrics, as baizes, flannels, &c. Now sufficient to give to the manufacturer of woollen cloths the first difficulty presenting itself in the formation of this that protection which he actually requires. And here let bill, was to graduate a duty which should afford protec- me ask, Mr. Chairman, what protection does the manufaction to the manufacturer upon these coarse fulled cloths, turer really need? Have we the means of answering this and at the same time should not be entirely unreasonable inquiry? I think, sir, we have, and that too, with conupon the light fabrics just mentioned. The present law siderable certainty. I have already shown, or attempted had made a distinction in the duty below this point, of 50 to show, that the cost of wool, and the cost of manufaccents, and had impossed a duty of only 25 per cent. upon turing it into cloth, at the present prices of wool in this all cloths costing 33 cents the square yard, while upon country, are equal; that any given parcel of wool can be all costing over that sum, a duty of 333 per cent was im- manufactured into cloth as cheap in the United States as posed. To this distinction flannels and baizes were made it can in England; or, in other words, that the difference an exception, and the distinction was declaredly intro- in the cost of woollen cloths in the two countries, is the duced to favor a description of the coarse fulled cloths, difference in the cost of the wool of which they are made, extensively used, and forming the heaviest item of wool- the expense of manufacturing being the same in both; and lens consumed in one section of this Union. I refer to that the cost of wool in the United States is greater than the the cloths commonly called negro cloths. These were cost of the same wool in England, by from 50 to 80 per supposed mostly to come under the distinction of cloths cent. upon the English cost. These propositions I concosting less than 33 cents the square yard, and there- sider to be fully proved by the testimony to which I have fore to pay a duty 25 per cent. If this was a correct sup,referred; and taking them to be true, I think we arrive position of the former law, I ask, Mr. Chairman, what du- necessarily at the conclusion, that the protection which the ty will these cloths pay by the proposed bill? A square manufacturer of woollen goods in this country requires, is yard of cloth costing 33 cents by the present law pays & equal to the difference between the cost of the wool he duty of 9 16-100 cents, say 9 2-10 cents. By the bill report- uses in England and in this country. The cost of his faed by the committee, the same yard of cloth will pay a du- bric is the cost of the wool and cost of the manufacturing ty of 16 cents, making an increase of the duty beyond what it into the fabric; and, as it is established that the Enis now imposed, of 6 8-10 upon every square yard. Now, glish and the American manufacturer can do the manuSir, suppose no single yard of these cloths comes invoiced facturing at the same expense, the difference at which at a less price than 33 cents, I ask, is not this a sufficient each can furnish the fabric at cost, must be the difference increase of the duty? It is 48 instead of 25 per cent. But which each has to pay for the wool of which it is made. we have seen by the calculation and table I have just gi- But it is also established that, as a general rule, the cost ven, that the average increase of duty upon this minimum, of the wool is one half of the cost of the fabric when preeven supposing 20 cents to be its lowest extreme, by the pared for the market, and that the cost of wool in this couneffect of the minimum principle, is 12 per cent. beyond try is greater than the cost of the same, or an equal quality the duty now imposed; and this is true, while at the ex- of wool in England, by from 50 to 80, the medium 65 per treme point of 50 cents, the present duty is very trifling. cent. upon the English cost. Therefore, the protection ly reduced. This is the only minimum proposed in the required by our manufacturers, is equal to 65 per cent. bill where the present rate of duty is not increased even upon the cost in England of the wool they use. If, sir, at the highest extreme of the graduated value. Thus, am understood in this position-and the reasoning seems all cloths costing more than fifty cents, and not more than to me to be plain and palpable, and to follow irresistably one dollar, are to pay the same duty, a duty of 40cents upon from the testimony, I will proceed to compare the duties every square yard. The present duty upon a yard of cloth proposed by the committee, with this standard of requircosting 1 dollar, is 36 2-3 cents; thus leaving an increase ed protection, by which I believe it will be found that at the very extreme of this minimum, of the difference be- these duties are, in all instances, more than sufficient. tween 36 2-3 and 40 cents, or 3 on the yard of cloth, while This comparison, I have also found it necessary to make at the lowest extreme of this minimum, the difference be-in a tabular form to render it intelligible, and, tedious as tween the present and the proposed duty, is a fraction I know it is to read figures, I will give it to the committee. more than 21 cents upon each yard of cloth, in favor of the latter. The average increase upon cloths falling within this minimum, is, as we have just seen, 20 per cent. beyond the present rate of duty.

I will not trouble the committee with a further recapitulation of this table, than to remark, that an examination of the calculation will show that the medium increase of duty upon cloths falling within the third minimum, is 23 per cent. beyond the present duty, and within the fourth, à fraction more than 20 per cent. increase; while the extremes will be found equally to increase the present rates of duty upon the same cloths. After this point, I presume the bill will not be objected against by the friends of the amendment, as its proposed rates of duty are even higher than those proposed by the amendment. The medium increase beyond the present rate of duty, by the respective minimums, in the proposed amendment, will be found by this table to be, upon the first, 29 per cent.; upon the second, 40 per cent.; upon the third, 20 per cent.; and upon the fourth, 19 per cent., rejecting fractions, and the extremes of increase are from 10 to 182 per cent.

Thus, having seen what the present duty is, what the duties proposed by the bill and amendment are, and what increase beyond the present rate and amount, is proposed by each, it remains for me to examine whether the duties VOL. IV-117

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