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

lefs attentive to our intereft than others are to theirs ; every advantage therefore which can be juitly given to our own Ihipping is due them. Happy efleds may no doubt be derived from the prefent policy ; but on this head I am not altogether ^^o fanguine as feme gentlemen feem to be, to be fure with this encourage- io8 DEBATES The merchant may be induced to veil more confi- A. 1789. nient. derable luins in property of this kind than heretofore, and at fomc iuture period, we may become at lead the carriers of our own commerce. In this cafe to, we have every reafon to believe the freight will be leis than it is at the prefent time in foreign veficls. A calculation of what may be tlie propter duty, made from tlie freight of a fhip, is but an indefinite way of coming at the objecl. Ke underlbjod the Gentleman from MafTachu- letts (Mr. Goodhue) to have calculated the freight of a voyage at 5 per cent, on the value of the veilel ; but fure- ly the gentleman v^as millaken ; he believed no Tnip paid a clear profit oi 5 per cent, to the owner at this time, luch was the embarrailed ftate of American commerce. The tonnage employed in the tranfportation of the pro- duction of America, he eftimated to be about 6oo,oco tons, of this two-thirds was owned by citizens, the other one- third by foreigners. From this view of our navigation, he very much doubted if any reftrictions which could be laid on foreign velTels would produce immediately, or at a very fhort period, the additional tonnage neceil'ary to fup- ply the vvhole American trade. We are limited, faid he, in this particular by not pofTeding capitals fuflicienc to do it. Jf a merchant vefts his capital in fhipping, he will want it in the operations in which it is now emiployed yet r.ever- ; thelefs, he was firmly of opinion, that good policy required a difcrimination between our own and foteign vefTels, in ()rder to sive the former encouragement. America muft, from her natural fituation, participate confiderably in the comm.erce of the world, and ought to have the means of protecting it; but Vv'hile this is gradually growing up into itrength, it would be impolitic to deprive ourfelves of the .convenience which foreign fliipping aiTords. Then we will not adopt fuch a duty as mull: deter foreigners from coming amongft us until we are in better circumltances. If we lay a duty at two-thirds of a dollar per ton on the vefTels of nations in alliance, we cannot propofe to by lefs than a dol- lar on thofe with Vvhcm we have not treaties. A fliip of 200 tons will then have to pay 200 dollars, a very confider- able cxpence, perhaps much more than our trade can bear. ]f we are to difcriminate between nations in treaty and thofe not in treaty, I Ihould prefer the loweft fum propofed on the lirfl, and the higheft on the other. There was an obfcrvaiion made by the gentleman from xVew-York (Mr. Lawrance) which thotigh it does nor A. 1789. Of C O N G R E S S. 109 apply ftritlly to the fnbjed: under confideration, it may not be amifs to remark upon. It is laid that the duty on ton- nage muft inevitably fall upon the produce of the country, and be areduclion of fo much ot' the planters profits ; thisaf- feriion is probably founded on a prel'umption, that foreigji- ers can draw their fupplies conveniently from other parts of the world ; but thefe articles are not conveniently to be had from any other cjuarter ; confequently, if they are ne- cefTary to the people of thofe nations w hich we fupply, the duty will fall upon them. Lumber and flour are neceffary to the Weft-Indies ; but the truth is, they cannot be ob- tained any uhere elfe than from America.' As cur fliip- pingare reftrained from carrying thefe articles to the place of confumption, it may certainly be thought good policy to draw a revenue from thofe veilels that carry them for us. Rice is not raifed in any other country fuliicient to fupply the European market, it is lo with tobacco, of confe- quence the confumer niufl pay what we demand ; but it would not be prudent to lay our reftraints too heavy, left we deprive ourfelves of the ufe of foreign Ihipping; 30 cents is probably enough to anfwer every good purpofe, Mr. Tucker. I am willing to give every proper encouragement to fliip-building in the United States, but I cannot conient tliat itfhould bear heavy on certain ftates, while part of their burthen is received by others as a bounty ; I mean to move therefore for a fmall duty, although I am fenfible it will be exclufively borne by a few of the fouthern mem- bers of the union. Some flates, it is well known, have more tonnage than is fufficient to carry all their fmall pj'o- dudions to a market; of courfe, a duty on foreign ihips will not affedl them ; other ftates, which have confiderable quantities of more bulky articles to export, require a great- er number of fliips ; having few or none of their own, muft confequently be fubjecT;ed to the whole of the additional duty, for whether the veflels be foreign or American, the freight will be the fame. Much of the produce of South- Carolina is carried off by foreigners, and in American iliip- ping is a confiderable quantity exported. The duty will be paid equally in either calc by the Ihipper, for the freight of American velTels will be raifed to an equality with the other ; and of all this money fo paid, there comes into the treaiury that part only collefted from foreigners, the reft, as 1 faid before, goes as a bounty to benefit the owners of American ihips. i truft it cannot be faid by the advocates no D E B A T K S A. 1789. for high tonnage, that the ftates molt likely to be afFedied by fuch a meafure, do not bear a proportion to the other taxesj becaufe it is flagrant that they bear more than their proportion. Where then^ let me aflc, is the juftice of ex- tending it i So far as I can make a calculation in my own mind, I con- clude, that the duty on tonnage propofed by the gentleman from MafTachufetts (Mr. Goodhue) would amount on what is employed at the port of Charlefton alone to 40 or — 50,000 dollars annually One-third of the whole tonnage is foreign, the other two-thirds American. The firii: is all that could come into your treafury, the latter goes, need I repeat it, into the pockets of individuals as a extri reward for ferving us. I think a bounty of 30,000 dol- lars to our eaftern brethren, would be no inconliderable one from the port of Charlefton alone, but I fear it is — more than it is able to aiford But belide drawing this to themfelves, you are to coniider they are exempt from contributing any part of the duty on foreign tonnage. I willi gentlemen alfo to confider that there remains ano- ther addition to be made to the duty on tonnage, I mean that of nations with whom the United States have form- ed no treaty. If we lay 60 cents now and contemplate a ftill higher fum on the other, it will certainly be infupport- able to thole ftates which have no ihipping ; 1 think the loweil fum that has been mentioned, is as much as can be required by any itate : 1 am fure it is more than fome are able to bear; being convinced in my own judgement of this, I will move 20 cents, and think it fully fufficient to effect what gentlemen have in contemplation ; it will be a libera! encouragement to an intereft which I wilh fuccefs to, and though it is at the expenfe of a few ftates, I Ihall be fatislied with the meafure, under a hope that it may e- ventually promote the general welfare. Mr. Benson Wifhed a previous queftion to afcertain whether there fliould be a difcrimination in the manner propofed or not ? For his part he did not difcover from any thing that had been faid, the principle of policy or intereft, which was to guide us on this occalion, heiuppofed it was intended that Dutch and French Ihips ihould be preferred to Englilh. Now if this policy was for the intereft of America he was content, but he law nothing that pointed out the neceffity. Are we bound by treaty or compact to make this difcrimina- tion, if wcare it is certainly proper to make it? But his  A. 1789. Of CONGRESS. iii did not know of any treaty which directed our conduct in this affair; he knew our treaties mentioned that they fhould be entitled to the fame advantages, as the mofl favored na- tion,but this does not, even by conftruCVion, mean that we ihould prefer them to every other. If it is for the advan- tage of our country to give this preference, ahhough we are not bound to doit, he would be content it ihould be fo ; but he wilhed gentlemen would decide this point be- fore a queftion was taken on filling up the blank. Mr. Burke Thought 60 cents a very extravagant inipofi: upon the tonnage of foreign fliipping. Did gentlemen fee the extent of the mifchief, or were they unacquainted with the pre- feiit ftateof the llaple produdions of Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia, which if carried to market, are fallen in price fo as not to reward the planters toil, whilfl great part of our tobacco and rice, for want of velFels to carry them, are now decaying in our ware-houfes ? Will not reflrictions therefore tend to hurt thofe prodndions? if they will, he trufted gentlemen would be moderate in laying them ; he was fatisfied that the citizens of the ftate he came from, con- fidered a high tonnage duty as a great evil ; he faw it in the fame light alio, and was therefore oppoled to it. Mr. Sherman Would trouble the committee no further than juO: tore- mark, that the policy of laying high tonnage on foreio-n .n whether in treaty or not in treaty, was at beft but vefiels, a doubrful point ; the regulation is certainly intended as an encouragement to our own fliipping, but if this is not to be the confequence of the meafure, it muft be an impro- per one. If a large duty is laid on foreigners coming into our ports, they will be induced to counteraft us, by increaf- ingthe reftraiuts which our vefTels already labour under in theirs. But 60 cents will lurely be too high in the prefent cafe, if it is propofed to lay more on foreigners not in trea- ty. Not feeing therefore any advantage refulting from high duties on tonnage, he Ihould voteagainfl the 60 cents. Mr. Madison. Some gentlemen have feemed to call in queftion the po- licy of difcriminating between nations in commercial alli- ance with the United States, and thofe with whom no trea- ties exill for my own part, 1 am well fatisfied that there ; are good and fubftantial reafons for making it ; in the firft: place, it may not be unworthy of conlideration, that the public lentiments of America will be favourable to fuch dif- 112 crimination. I DEBATES am A. 1789. with refpcd to that part from fure which I came, it '.vill not be a pleaiing ingredient in your laws, if they find foreigners of every nation put oji a footing with thofe in alliance with lis. There is another reafon which perhaps is more applicable to fome parts of the union than to others one of the few nations with which America ; has formed commercial connexions has relaxed confider- ably in that rigid policy it before purfued, not fo far to be fure as America could wlHi, with refpeft to open- ing her ports