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

be thrown out of ufe, and 30,000 tons of Ihipping would be unemployed — for which reafou I hope the houfe will' join in reducing the duty. Mr. Thatcher. I did not intend to rife oh this occaHon, becaufe com- inerce is a fubjed: with which I cannot preteiid to be well acquainted ; yet as the intereffc of my conftiiuents are ar flake, and the impolicy of the mealure is i'o glaring as not to reqaire any very deep refearclres — 1 may venture to give rny opinion without being deemed prefumptuous be- — lide,.I might not give my fellow citizens that fatisfaftion, in the performance of my duty, which they have a right to expeft, if I was to pafs the fubject over with a iilent vote. It has, on former occafions, been argued by the memberr of this houfe, that a duty which is in itfelf either unrea- fonable or partial in its operation, ought not ro be laid, unlefs for the purpofe of eqLi'U!7.ing the fyltem. Now. that a duty of 6 cents on molafl'es is unreafonable, will ap- pear if we only conlider it as a necellary of life, or as a rav/ materia] requilite for the well being of an important manufaftare. It is a necelFary of life ; the people in the eadern itates have been fo long in the habit of ufmg it in their food and drink, that it would be little leis than a revuUion of nature to change them fi'om it. We have done fomething on this occafion to tavor the bi-eweries in the middle (tates, then why ihonld we deprive our eaftern bi e- thren of a iimple licjuor which they equally approve. It has been proved that the futcefs of ilie navigation and' filheries of Maii'achufetts depend upon this trade; 6 cents' will amount to a prohibition, then the queftion will re- gard the policy of producing fuch effects by our regulations.' This article conlitlercd as a raw material for a well efta» bliflied and profitable manufacture, ought not to be prohi- bited ; but wlien it is dillilled into rum, it is faid to be Injurious to the health and morality of the people. 1 fiiall not take up the tinse of the committee with an exaniinatioii of this pofition ;but fuppolingit to be admitted, 1 will alk the fventlemen, if molaire.s ou>iht on this account to be taxed, any more than other materials tiuit are worked up. into more pernicious liquors fuch as, rye, apples, and ; peaches ? what would be the opinion of the gentlemen from Virginia, if a member was to propofe a duty on thofe articles, equal ro 6 cents, and urge as a reafon for fo doing, that it was necefl'ary. in order tu keep up the ratio bttweea' A. 178^. Or C O N G R E S S. 153 whifky and Jamaica fpirits? I conceive they would deem the propofiiion and argument abfurd, they would never con- lent to its being done. What then ought to be the lan- guage of the people of New-England on a propoi'al for tax- ing an article equally as tJfcful to them as fruit is to ihei fouthern ilates ? I will place the fubje(tt in one other point of view, with the leave of the chair, before I con- clude the fubje6l. How is the molalTes brought into the ftate? It is the exchange procured by the hard labour and induftry of the eaitern inhabitants ; they toil late and early,i day and night, in a bullnefs befet with danger and difficul- ty ; they go in fearch of filh to the Banks, remote fromt their home, and when thefe are procured, they cannon confume them, they mull difpofe of them to foreigners ; but no market oifers unlefs by barte/-, it is of necefflty that they bring back molaiTes in exchange j this then becomes the produce of their induftry, as much as the rice and tobac- co of Virginia and Carolina become the flaple article of the labour of thofe ftates. Can any reafon be afligned why the induftry of Maffachufetts fhould be impofted while that of the other ftates goes free, and tO my mind it is equal whether the produce itfelf, or the returns for it, are iub- jecled to a duty, the efFefts are the lame, it operates to! dilcourage the purfuit ; but the returns for tobacco and rice are not impofted in any thing near a proportion with inolafTes. Let us compare it in one other point of light. Suppofe a niember from Maflachufetts was to propofe an impoft on negroes ; what would you hear from the fouthern gentlemen, if 50 dollars was the fum to be laid ? and yet this is not more than the proportion laid upon molafles. If the pernicious efteds of New- England rum have been jutHy lamented, what can be urged of negro-flavery f certainly there is no compaf ifon, bat 1 will avoid the enu- meration of its evils and conclude with a hope, that if the ; houfe will not condefcend to ftrike it out, they will reduce it to 2 cents. It will be unneceflary to recapitulate the immediate connecflion between this article, the fifheries^ and our navigation ; I truft it is clearly feen by the houfe,- ifa high duty is flill infifted upon, you will have to gc' further and provide energetic means foi" the execution ? for the people will hardly bear a tax which they cannot but look upon as odious and oppreilive. If gentlemen are' determined in perfifting on what was earned in the coip^ mittee of the whole, they ought to know, with as muefaf precifion as poflible^ what they are to expeit 5 if the fup« U  154 port and good DEBATES will of 400,000 citizens is worthy A. 1789. of culti- vation, tlie houle will decide the prefent quedion with candtvjr and moderation ; they will ever confider, that their laws ought as much as poilible to be comformable to the cuftonis, habits, and fentiments of that people whole conduct they are intended to regulate. Mr. BouDiNOT. I am forry, IMr. Speaker, at this ftage of the bufinefs to hear any thing that founds like an attachment to particular ftates, when we are laying a general duty to affedl the whole. For my part, I confider myfelf as much the re- prefentative of MalTachufetts as of New-Jerfey, and no- thing ihall prevail on me to injure the interelt of the one more than the other. I profefs myfelf a friend to the prefent revenue fyllem, becaufc it is the beil way of get- tmg money to fupply our neceflities ; I am more attached to it, becaufe I conceive it will prevent an application to direGt taxes. I fay, 1 would avoid every thing which would make a difference between the flates, and therefore I Ijke the fyftem before you it goes upon the principle of ; mutual conceffion ; it would be inipoilible to impofe a duty on any article that will not affecl one ftate more than fome others, but we have endeavoured to equalize the burthens as nvuch as poilible. i confefs at the fame time, that I con- fider the duty on molafies too high, but it i? ior the fame reafon that I confidered all the other articles loo high ; I do not conceive that it is much out of proportion to rum. The objc(5i I have in view by the impoft is to produce re- . venue enough to aiifwer the neceflities of the United States, and to iiave it done according to fylfem. I have endea- voured to eilablilh foine principle by which we Ihould be governed in laying the duties I have endeavoured to do ; this in my own mind, and have hxed or^ about ^5 per cent, on the value of the articles at the time and place of impor- tation. If we infringe this principle, it ought to be in favor oi a raw material, to encreafe the manufacture of an article within the union, or fecure the collection of the revenue. 1 confefs, Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gen- tlemen from MaiTathufetts that 6 cents are too high; if we reckon the colt of .the molail'es we ihall find cents to c; be nearer the proportion of 25 per cent, which we have laid on other articles if we. coniider it as a raw nraterial ; we ought to make i'ome further allowance if we admit, on ; th;s account, the reduction of one cent more, it v/i\\ be as much as is neceilary it we then take up the idea, that ; A. 1789. Or C O N G R. E S S. 155 molafl'es of life, and that a great part of it en- is a necelTary ters into the lupport of the inhabitants, I think we may juftly lower it another cent ; by this allowance we Ihall come dowft to a proper medium, and fecure the colJedlion of the duty. If we could accomplilh our objecl of taxing rum in any other way than by laying a duty on the raw material, perhaps it might be proper to reduce it to what gentlemen have mentioned ; but as I defpair of this, I think 3 cents would be as low as we ought to go. As to the propofition for an excife to be levied at the ftill-hill, I cannot vote for it ; the very name of fucha tax is odious, nor will the multiplication of officers necefl'ary to collecl it be lefs fo, but I believe the idea has not met any counte- nance in the houfe. It has been hinted, that 400,000 people difapprove tlis meafure ; I give every weight to information which gen- tlemen lay before the houfe, but in this cafe I take it to be no more than matter of opinion. I have fo high an idea of the good fenfe and patriotifm of the citizens of MafTa- chufetts, that 1 never can be perfuaded that if this houl'e, on principle, think it expedient to lay a duty on apy parti- cular article, the inhabitants of that ftatc will rife-in oppo- lition to the meafure. I believe them to be as w.all affed'- ed to the government as any other part of thK United States, and that our afts will receive as ready attei^jtion and prompt execution among them as elfcwhere, provided we a6t on principle. I felt myfelf forry to fee a comparifon drawn between the eaftern and fouthern ftates. 1 thought the reafoning ufed on that point falacious ; the principles w'ere not true, fo of confeqnence the conclufion was erroneous. The in- ference was this, that from the labour and induftry of the eaftern people fifii were obtained, and from the labour of the louthern ftates other articles of commerce were pro- duced, the queftion was then aUced, why Ihould the articles obtained in exchange for the one be fubjedled to higher duties than the other > If this was the cafe I Ihould admit, with the gentleman, that it was a partial impofition ; but do not we lay an equal duty on the articles imported into the fouthern Hates ? let the gentleman examine the lift, and fay, if the articles taken in exchange for tobacco and rice do not pay as much as molafi'es. Some articles eflen- tial to agriculture are confiderably taxed, luch as Iteel and fait ; but they pay above 25 per cent, on the rum. ihey receive, which is more than 1 contend ought to b?  J5^ D E B A T 5; S A. 1789. paid upon tnolaffes. But gentlemen ought not to contend that all the duty paid on molafles is taken out of the pockets of the inhabitants of Maflachufetts ; they export to other parts of the United States great quantities of their fuin, the confumer of which repays the duty on molafles ; The port of Philadelphia alone in one year received of this article 360,000 gallons ; will not the confumer in Pennfyl-