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

tlie coft to remove a hogOiead landed at thefe unfrequented places to the place of confumption, with the common charge for rilk, and extra one for illicit trade, and will find per- haps that the profit to himfelf is fmall and* precarious/ R 130 DEBATES A. 1789. Now, whether we fix the duty at 12 or 15 eents, it will — be equally eafy, or nearly To, to fecure our objeft revenue. The gentleman from Jerfey has recommended to the com- mittee to gain information. I have endeavoured to inform myfelf of the public opinion, and of the opinion of mer- chants, and can fay, as the refult of my enquiries, that if it was polfible to obtain a revenue of double the amount from ardent fpirits, it would give general fatisfaftion in Fennfyl- vania. I believe in fome Hates the propofed duties would be paid under almoft any fyftem of coileftion with great certainty, where it canijoc be fo obtained, the law mult aid die officer fufficiently to attain the objed:. The gentleman from Georgia fays, it will injure the trade of his {late, becaul'e they export their lumber and take rum in payrlient ; I think they have very little advan- tage by fuch an exchange. It is laid, that we Ihall, oi' ex- perience of the predicted diladvantages, be compelled to lower the duties. 1 believe it would be injurious to the governn;ent to have revenue laws that could not be exe- cuted, but that I trull is not likely to be the cafe with the prefent; becaufe the mode of coUeftion can I think, with- out great expence, be fo regulated as to fecure a faithful performance of v.hat it direcls. If the duties Ihould leffen the confurnption and importation of diflilled Ipirit, a great good is efFedled, it v/ill tend to improve the morals of the people, if it does not produce that confequence it will af- ford the more revenue. It is a proper objeft of a iump- tuary regulation, not only as it is a luxury, but inafmuch iis it is a luxury of the mofl mifchievous kind. As I think the GoUeftion of 12 or 15 cents equally fecure, and as the beit.lburee of obtaining revenue is by impoll, 1 Ihall be for the highelt fum ; knowing that if there is hot money Enough in the country to pay the necefl'ary fum for the fupport of government, that a recoarie to excife or direft taxes cannot produce n^ore. Mr. BouDrxoT Was not aihamed to confefs, that he wanted the advan- tages of commercial knowledge on a queliioo where the principles of trade were interwoven ; but he oppoled high duties on a conviction in his own mind that they could not be coUedcd. Be repeated ibme few of his former argu- ments to Ihew why he held this opinion ; but it was not the particular article of rum that he was oppofed to, it was the high fcale gn which the duties were laid generally, and that only from an idea that greater revenue might be ob- tained from lelTer diitici".  A. 1789. Of C O N G R E S S. 131 Mr. Lawrance. The gentleman from Penniylvania (Mr. Fitzfimons) has obferved, that a high duty on rum in the event tend to improve the moraUty of our citizens, at the fame time he expedls to raife a confiderable revenue from the importa- tion ; if the confumption i« lefTened the object of revenue is defeated, and the deficiency rendered uncertain. The true object I take to be this, that v/e lay our duties in fucli a manner as to produce the greateft quantity of revenue from each article which it is capable of yeilding confidering its nature and circumltances. Here then, it is worthy of confideration, whether we have laid the impoft on rum fo as to obtain the payment of the duty on the whole quantity imported, or v.'hether it will not occafion To much to be fmuggled as will leiTen the amount of the revenue below what a licrhterduty would bring into the treafury. If the faft is, that fmuggling is encreafed by high duties, the re- venue runs great rifk of lo(s. Now, feveral gentlemen contemplate, that this will be the cafe here, and they ima- gine this becaufe the duty is much higher than the mean rate of all the duties laid throughout the union ; it is higher than has been laid by any particular ftate, befide it does not correfpond in a ratio with the other articles, as the quantity already imported has paid but a fmall duty, it may be afforded at a moderate price, what will hereafter be imported, if it pays a much higher duty, cannot come in com- petition with the former, fo that the importer muft either keep the latter upon hand, or introduce it without the pay- ment of any duty at all. The fad: which was mentioned by the gentleman from Jerfey (Mr. Boudinot) has made a deep imprefficn on my mind ; from which I plainly forefee that, if the duty is laid too high, it will be an irrifiilable inducement to fmuggling, and fmuggling will take place; if fmuggling does take place, it will probably tend more to / corrupt the morals of the people than can be amended by reftrifting the ule of rum ; after they once have a habit of fmuggling, it is but chance whether lowering the duties would root out the evil ; for when once the bufmefs is ellablUhed and connexions fojmed, it will be eafy to carry it on for. a lefs profit than it was before it is got into train. It faid, tiJat the fenfe of the people, ami the combination of the merchants, will alhfl the government in the colltftiorj of the duty, and prevent fmuggling. I have a high opi- nion of the merchants of America, and believe them, to be a virtuous bo^y of men ; but I fear like every other body  13? D E B A TE S A. 1789. of men, they may be induced to evade your laws if their interefl: is concerned in the event and their intereft will ; be concerned, if the profit from finugghng is hkely to be con(iderab!e after defraying the charge ofrifque. But there can be no abfolute reliance on circumftances of this nature, our reliance ought to be on the law, and if the lav/ does not take effedtual means to fecure the collection we are jiot to expCtSl our citizens will do it. J tliink then before we get through the impoit bill, we ought to fee vv-hat fecu- rity the one for collection will afford ;if it is not fufficient to obtain the objeft in view, no doubt can renjain but that the duties ought to be lowered ;It is at prefent the fenfe of well-informed men, both in congrefs and out of doors, that the duties are too high to be collected, and being of that opinion I fliall vote for the redu^5lio^ — on this principle I hope the amendment will take pkice. My. Tucker Wifhed the duties to be lowed, and propofed to the com- nfittee to Ifi-ike oif y cents from the i 5 by varying his ; jiiotion in this manner^ he expected the fenfe of the houfe could be taken on l^is propolition firft, notwithftanding the rule that " the queftion fnall be put on the higheft funi firft." ' He joined in the opinion, that high duties were productive of iVnugghng, that notwithitnnding the powers and vigilance of cultom-houfe officers and the whole execu- tive, contraband trade is carried on in every nation where the duties are ib high the facility with which it could be ; done in America, ought to (hew a prudent legiflature the — degree of probability unlefs this can be guarded againft, what will the law avail ? it can avail nothing. Befide, the liigher the duty is laid, the more you expolis the officer to the temptation of being corrujned — when that is done, the revenue will be very uiiprodudive. Mr. Bland would fecond the gentleman laft up, hut tliought it was not in order, to have the queflion taken firil: on the lowclt fum. Mr. Madison. The queflion is not whether the whole fcale of duties agreed to in the committee Ihall be reduced, but whether the particular duty on the article of fpirit ; I will not dif- fer with the gentlemen altogether, and fay that none of the fubfeqUent articles are too high to be collected with certainty, but I am not convinced by any thing yet faid, that 15 cents per gallon is too niuch to be laid npojs fpirit of Janu'-ica proof. The gentleman from r\evv-'ior,v A. 1789. Of congress. ,133 fays the example of the ftates has proved that high du'ies are not expedient, and that this article does not correii orid with the rate they have fixed to it. The ftate govern- ments, no doubt, collecled what duty they thoughi bcft, jbut it does not follow that the general goyerniiient can- jiot colleft more than the ftate governments have done. The people adopted the new conUitutiQn, I believe under an univerfal expectation that we Ihould colle<5l higher du- ties— we mnft do this, I believe, if we mean to avoid di- rect taxation, which was alway a mean of revenue in the particular dates. But with refped to what the Hates have jqdged expedient to be derived from this fource,, let us turn to authentic aiHis, they will neither deceive nor mif- lead us — we find in Mafuichufetts one-lixth of a dollar laid — iome years ago if it did not fucceed, was it not owing to the inaufpicious policy of the neighbouring dates? In Penn- fylvania^ the confumer of rum pays to government lod. a gallon. 'Fhe fame gentleman has faid that our laws ought to be fuch as to execute themlelves, and not depend upon the fupport of the people ; now I cannot defcern how the law can execute itfelf without the fupport of the people, there- fore I think it right to place the dependence where I have imagined it will be well fupported. It was alfo remarked that fmuggling depraves the morals of the people — if we are to conlider the efFecl of our laws in this point of view, (laying alide the corruption which the general ufe of rum occa(ions) let us confider what will be the effeft of a defi- ciency in the revenue by the propofed reduftion of the im- polt and no genileman has fuggefted a fubflitute for this ; defalcation, nor no gentleman pretends that we Ihall raife more than we want, what then will be the confequence ? lefl'ening the iinpoil will prevent the government from per- forming its engagements, and doing juftice to its creditors. Have we not feen the turpitude of fuch condud: and the confequent contamination of morals ? examine both fides, and fay which of thefe evils is mod to be depricated. But if people are difpofed to enter into a fyilem of fmuggling, they will find a better intereft in running fine goods with only 5 or 10 per cent, than in fuch a bulky and inconvenient article as rum, at 30 per cent. A worthy gentleman from Conneclicut (Mr. Wadlworth) fufpefts there is not money enough in the country to pay the du- ties; if there is any dearth of money, let us take meafures to prevent the importation of rum, and then we may get i34 DEBATES jnoney for our produce and foon fupply the vacancy. A. 1789. I cannot believe the virtue of our citizens is fo weakly forti- fied as not to refift the impreflion which a feeming intereft — may make their condudl under the Britifli government in tlie article of fmuggling, is no proof to me of a natural dif- pofition to evade a juft tax ; they conceived themfelves at that time oppjefled by a nation in