Amendments to the Constitution, [8 June] 1789 — reading text

hemp would encreafe the price on Ihip building, fpikes and nails were neceflary for the coniirudtion of veflel s. Mr. Bland Thought a duty on nails an unequal tax, burthening the fouthern dates but not felt by the northern, who made on-  — A. 1789. Of CONGRESS. 8j ly enough for their own confumption he oppofed it alio ; on account of its being an article of indifpenfible necelTity. Mr. Goodhue Informed the gentlemen who were oppofed to a duty on nails, that great quantities of them were manutaftured for exportation in MalTachufetts and Pennfylv^ania, and he be- lieved fome other Hates ; and in a little time enough might be n)ade to fupply all North America. Mr. Ames Thought this a ufeful and accommodating manufacture, which yielded a clear gain of all it fold for, but the coft of the material ; the kbour employed in it would be thrown away probably in many inftances. It could not be faid that it required a large capital, or extraordinary abilities to ac- quire a knowledge of the art. It has grown up with little encouragement to an altonifliing degree of perfeftion ; it has become ufual for the country people in his itate to ereft fmall forges in their chimney corners, and in winter and on evenings when little other work could be done, great ^.quantities of nails were inade even by children, perhaps jLenotigh might be manufaftured in this way to lupply the continent. Thefe people take the rod-iron of the mer- ^cliant and return him nails —in confequence of this ealy [*mode of barter the manufafture is prodigioully great fEut thefe advantages are not exclufively in tlie hands of ^he people of MalTachufetts, the bulinefs can be proiecuted '^n a (imilar manner in every {fate exerting equal induf- Jtry. He hoped the article would remain in the bill. Mr. Sherman. The gentlemen objecT: to thefe articles becaufe they are neceflary, and cannot be furniihed in quantities equal to the demand but I am of opinion if they cannot now be ; had in fuch plenty as is wiflied for, they may in a very ihort time J every (fate can manufadure them, although they may not make nail-rods. Connedicut has excellent iron ore of which bafs are niade, but ihe gets nnil-rods from this city, others can do the like ; and until every ftate can fupply themfelves, by their own induftry, for which purpole they have every thing at their hands, it may not be amifs for the government to get fome revenue from the confumption of foreign iiails. Mr. Tucker Judged from what was faid of the little expence and great facility of manufacturing nails, that it ftood in no ueed of legiflative alhftance, why lay a duty on foreigil L 82 DEBATES A. 1789. nails when they cannot rival you if you make them as good and as cheap ? will not the live per cent, duty, with freight and lliipping charges, be fufficient encouragement ? he thought it would, and therefore was averfe to any other duty. He obferved alfo, that it would burthen fhip- building, and was confequently againfl thofe employed in that bufmefs. Mr. Partridge Obferved, that to the eaftvvard no fpikes at all were im- ported, and few or no nails except of fome particular kinds. If fpikes were not imported to the fouthward, he would join gentlemen in ftriking them out. Mr. Ames Thought it proper to add a few more obfervations. The committee were already informed of the flourifiiing fituation of the manufadure, but they ought not to join the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Tucker) in conclud- ing that it did not therefore deferve legiflative proteftioni The conmierce of America, particularly the fouthern parts, had by the force of habit and Englilh connexions, been", fetting ftrong upon the Britiih coalts, it required the aid ^ of the General Government to divert it to a more natural «, courfe. Good policy and found wiidom demonilrated the '^ "' propriety of an interchange between the different dates in the union :to procure this political good fome force was ^ ' neceflary ; laying a fmall duty on foreign manufa(^ures jnight induce, from motives of intereil as well as inclination, ; one fellow citizen to barter with or buy of another what* he had been long accultomed to take from llrangers. A.1- lowincT this remark its due weight, he had no doubt but 1 nil tne committee would concur in laying a fmall protefting duty in favour of this manufafture. Again, from the fitu- ation of the manufacturer in Europe and the one in Ame- rica, he concluded this encouragem.ent was neceffary. In Europe the artifan is driven to labour for his bread, flern neceility with her rod of iron compels his exertion ; but in America invitation and encouragement are necefl'ary, with- out them the infant manufacture droops, and its patron feeks with fuccefs a competency from our cheap and fertile foil. Mr. FiTZsiMoNS Was not very folicitous about the dutj'-. He thought the manufafturer would have but little to apprehend if the them for the faft was, legiflature ihould decide agahilt ; that nails were at this moment made cheaper, and in ths A. 1789. Of congress. ^2 opinion of feme judges, better than thofe comin;^ from England. Before the revolution the peoj)le in America were not permitted to ereft flitting mills, they now have i'everal, and are independent of all the world for the ma- terials necefiary to carry on the bufinefs in the moll exten. live manner. So far as the duty refpe^led the manufac ture in I'ennfylvania, it was his opinion, that refufiiig it would do no material injury, and believed it v/ould draw but little money into the tteai'ury; yet neverthelels he was willing to allow a linall one, becaufe it confcnned to, the policy of the ftates who thought it proper in this man- ner to prote(^ their manufadures. lie believed neither ipikes nor nails for Ihip-building were imported, they were generally large and heavy, and were made in the country according to the builders orders. On the motion, nails and Ipikes were taxed i cent per lb. ^ut tacks a,nd brads were {truck out. On lalt per bulhcl. Mr. Burke. I need not obferve to the committee that this article is a necelTary of life, nor that black cattle, Iheep, and horfes do not thrive without it; on thefe confiderations alone I Ihould oppofe it ; but I know likewife that it is a tax par- ticularly odious to the inhabitants of South Carolina and Georgia to whom the price is already opprelnvely great. The back parts of that (late are obliged to haul all they confume two, three, or 400 miles in waggons, for which they pay about 7s. 6d. fterling, add this to the firft coll, which is about is. though foraetimes more, and you will find the burthen fuftained by thofe who live remote from the lea Ihore fufficiently unequal. I hope therefore the committee will not agree to it. Mr. Lawraxce Hoped a duty would be laid on the article, it was in ge- neral ufe, and the confumption fo regular, that it was much to be depended upon as a fource of revenue ;but the duty ought not ro be lb high as to make it oppreflive. The ad- ditional burthen to thofe who live remote from the coall will not be unreafonable, they will pay no greater impoft than every other clals of confumers, and the tax mixing with the price will be lefs fenlibly felt. The remote fet- tler does not pay on other articles equal to the inliabitant — who relides near the Atlantic he does not confume the linen and cloath of Europe, the tea of the Eaft, the fugar and fpiritSjof the Well-Indies in any thing like fuch pro. 84 portion — DEBATES A. 1789. Can he be faid then to be opprefTed with a finail qnd equal tax upon fait, an article which is conlumed equally in the interior and exterior country ? it certainly cannot. But there is one obfervation which u)ay be urged as an objedtion, being aware of this, he would propofe at a proper time, the allowance of a drawback upon all faked filh and provifion exported. He moved to iinpofe a duty of 6 cents per bulhel. Mr. Tucker Felt an averfion to laying a duty on fait from feveral motives. It would bear harder upon the poor than upon the rich. The true principle of taxation was that every man contribute to the public burthens in proportion to the value of his property. But a poor man confumes as much fait as a rich man In this point of view it operates as a poll-tax, the moft odious of all taxes ; it does not operate limply as a poll-tax, but is heavier on the poor than on the rich, becaui'e the poor confume greater quantities of fak- ed provilion than the rich ; nor does it bear equally upon every part of the country, for it is confuined in a greater proportion by cattle at a diftance than by thofe near the fea ihores. Moreover, the duty collefted on the impor- tation will enter into the price of the article, and the countryman will pay the retailer a profit on the tax, per- haps of four times its amount. For which realons he was more averfe to this article being taxed than any other vvhatfoever. Mr. Scott Declared himfelf decifively againft the duty, although he admitted a moft certain revenue could be drawn from it, on account of its univerfal demand and utility. But he did not think thefe conliderations alone amounted to a luf- ficient reafon, why this necefl'ary article Ihould be taxed ; if they did, the argument v/ould prove too much, it would extend to the ule of water and common air. He prefum- cd the old arguments often urged by gentlemen in favour of manufadures did not apply, becaule no encouragenjent would be fuificient to eilabliih it. From the neareit part of the Atlantic coaft, where fait can be obtained to the next neareit in the weftern territory, is a diftance of 800 or 1000 miles ; all the intermediate fpace mull be fupplied from one or the other; over the moun- tains it muft be carried on packhorl'es. This of itfelf is a fafficient tax upon the confumer, how opprelFive then muft it be to encreafe the burthen. A. 1789. Of C O N G Pv E S S. 85 It has been mentioned that this t3x will be an odious one. I have no pretenfion to the gift of prophecy, TaiJ he, but I am wilhng to let my name go to poflericy, in giving it as my opinion, that if you lay a high duty on fui^h an indilpenli- ble necefl'ary of life, it will be bad policy, and go nigh to fhip-wreck the government. 1 have realons of a political nature to fupport my opinion, but I do not think 1 Ihould be juflified in mentioning them at prefent ;but I will ven- ture to lay this much, that I fear it will have a tendency to (liake the foundation of your fyttem, which I look upon as the only anchor of your political falvation. Will it not be wife therefore to let the adminiitration of your power Hide gently along, inoffenfjve to fo great a body ? let them be- come reconciled to your views, before you Itretch out the hand of oppreflion. Throw fait, if it muil be taxed, into the mafs of articles, and lay your per cent a little higher