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

fupport of our a- griculture, manufactures,' navigation and fi{heries,are obje(Ss of very great moment ; when gentlemen contemplate the filh- ery, ihey admit its importance, and the neceility we are un- der of encouraging and protecting it, elpecially if they confi- der its declining fituation, that it is excluded from thofe ad- vantages which it formerly obtained in Britilh ports, and participatesbutin afmall degree of the benefits arifing from our European allies, whofe markets are vifited under fe- Vere reftriftions, yet, with all thefe difcoufagements, it maintains an extent which entitles it to the foitering care of government. There is taken upon an average 400,000 quintals of ftfh in this branch of bufinefs, as was dated by ; my colleague, there is employed 24,000 tons ofihipping, in the tranfportation of the fifh to market, and the returns of molad'es near an equal tonnage h employed. The build- ing of thele veflels furni'.hes no inconfiderable employ- ment ro another important intereft ; the veflels it is trae are but fmall, yet after every deda<^ion on this account, the concern will be found interefting to the public welfare. If it is true, and I believe it is, that agriculture and com- merce are mutually dependent upon each other, and there is a probability that the additional burthen we have im- A. 178^. Of C 6 N G R E S S. i6i pofed will injure the latter, gentlemen ought to be cauti- ous how they peffift. If they even doubt of its efFefts being hurtful, they ought not to vote for its continuance; now, I think I can raife fuch doubts in gentlemens minds, and dare commit myfelf to their candour for the confe- quences. Notwithftanding gentlemen have exprefled an uniform defire to encourage manufaclures (and I have been with them in accomplilhing this object), they now defert their principles ; when it has been contended, that the duty ought to be low, inafmuch as molafles is a raw material, it has been replied, that the manufadlure is pernicious. It has been faid, that promotiiig our own diftillation will ex- clude foreign rum, and confequently afFeft the revenue ; but does riot the fame argument apply to every article of dome(tie manufaclure? has it not all along been contended, that it is proper in the general government to nurture thofe interefts which have haid the particular regard of the individual ftates, upon the principle that the flate Legifla- tures knew feelingly what were the belt nleans to advance their intefeft ? Has not the pofition been fully eftablilhed, that promoting the interefts of particular ftates encreafes the general welfare ? After this, can gentlemen tell us we are advocating a local policy ? that we are facrificing the intereft of 3,000,000 of people to the eftablilhment of a few New-England dittilleries? For my part, I ground iTiyopinion upon national principles ; and from thefe I con- clude, that molafles ought not to be taxed, or taxed but very lightly. The gentleman from Virginia fears the lofs of revenue from the fuccefs of this manufaiSture ; to quiet his appre- henfions, it will be only neceflary for me to remind him of what he ingenioufly urged a few days ago on this point, in order to obtain n difcriminaiion in favor of the brandy of France; he told us, that although the ftate of Virginia had impofed no duty on brandy, but a heavy one on Welt- India ram, that under this encouragement there was not more than lc,ooo gallons of brandy imported, while there Was 606,000 gallons of rum ; inferring from this fad:, that there was no probable ground for fufpecting the confump- tion to change from the one to the other article. If no danger is to be apprehended from brandy, much lefs can Ne^vv-England rum ftand a competition with Jamaica fpirit, the force of habit will not be more eaGly overcome in thii cafe than in the other ; befide it is well knov^n, that a great proportion of the people will not drink it at all ; it isakiiKi i52 DEBATES A. 17 89V of genteel thing to affeA dlfguft and loathing at the very name, much lei's will they I'uffer the defpiled liquor to po- kite their mouths ; fo far are we from having ground to dread the effect of a competition on this fide, that the contrary may be juftly apprehended, the cuftom and falhion of the times countenances the confumption of Well India rum. 1 conHder it good policy to avail ourfelves of this means to procure a revenue • but I treat as idle the vifion- ary notion of reforming the morals of the people by a duty On molalles. Weare not to confider ourfelves while here as at church or fchool, to liften to the harangues of fpecula- tive piety we are to talk of the political intereft commit- ; ted to our charge ; when we take up the fubjed; of mora- lity, let our fyftem look toward that object, and not con- found itfelf with revenue and protection of manufaftures. If gentlemen conceive, that a law will direct the tafte of the people from fpirituous to malt liquors, they muft have more romantic notions of legifiative influence than experi- ence juliilies. When it was aiked, what is the occafion of a high duty ?' it was anfwered, that it is necelTary in order to come at the proper tax on rum ; but 1 infill, that there is no fuch ne- ceffity while an excife is within our reacl>, n-nd it is in this mode only that you can obtain any confiderabls revenue. The gentleman from Virginia has faid, that the manufac- ture of country ram is in no kind of danger of deftruftion from the duty on molalFes. He has ftated to the houfe the quantity made before the revolution, and goes on to argue, that as Well- India rum paid no duty, and molalFes paid fome, if the manufacture thrived under thefe difadvantages, why fliould is not continue to fupport itfelf in future ? I believe this matter eafy to be accounted for, though I fear it will not be in my power to make a profelyce on the occaiion, 1 fliould be vain. of fuch fuccefs, and therefore I ihall proceed. There are many very confiderable markets for New-England rum cur otf entirely by the revolution, even thofe that remain we have to encounter with rivals, who fuccefsfully contend for a preference. JVevious to the late war we had a market in Nova-Scotia,. Newfound- land and Canada, all the fourhern colonies, Europe and 'Africa'; we are now obliru^5led from going to mriny of thofe, to (>aebee and Newfoundland, and our trade gains '-no ground m others to make up the difference. Conlider -the Hate of the fifiieries — at that time we pofielled theja 'Unrivalled ; it was the policy of Britain to favor our efforts^ A. 1789. Of CONGE ESS. 1^3 believing that our fuccefs tended to encreafe her maritime ftrength ; fhe dealt out to us an annual bounty, equal to 2o,oool. fterling, for the fi(h we took ; all her ports were open to us, we could carry it to what market we pleafed, and obtain molalFes at a low price for the diftilleries ; but the prefent ftate of the bufinefs bears no oomparifon with its former fituation ; the trade is confined to a lefs channel, in which, inftead of bounties, we meet with rellrictions. Our filh pay a duty of 12 dollars a quintal, which is given by government as a premium in favor of their own filheries. This impohtion amounts to more than the value of the ar- ticle ; yet, even under all thefe difcouragements, there are but lix ports in the Weft-Indies that we can go to, St, Lucia, three in Hifpaniola, one in Gaudaloupe, and one in Martinico. This being the cafe, the duties are rigidly exadled of us, and we have no other means of vending it but by the exchange of molalTes ; nor is this the end of the evil, J fear it is ferioufly to be apprehended, that we may iliortly be deprived of this market alfo. The merchants of L'Orient have reprefented to the king, that it would be for the intereft of their colonies to diitill the molafTes in the iflands. Upon the Itrength of this idea, diftill-houfes are ere6led there, and bid fair to rival us in the bulinefs, of fupplying not only Europe and Africn, but even our own country. Now, from this view of the ground on which we ftanJ, will gentlemen fay, we can maintain and defend ourfelves as well as we did before the war ? If we even had the fame advantages in vending the rum the bufinefs would not be equally profitable, as the price of molaffes has encreafed, and our fifh has fallen. In ihort, uulefs fome extraordinary meafures are taken to fupport our hlheries, I do not fee what is to prevent their inevitable ruin. It is a fadl, that near one-third of our fiOierman are takers from their profefiion, not for want of Ikill and abilities in the art, for here rhey take the rank of every nation on earth, but from the local chilling policy of foreign nations, who Ihut us out from the avenues to their market. If inftead of protection from the government, we extend to them opprefTion, I ihudder for the confequences but I ; will not enlarge on this head, trufting that gentlemen are convinced of the importance of the interelt, and do not mean to deftroy it. Mr. Speaker, we are not to coniider raolades in the fame light as if it was in the form of rum, we are not to tax a aecefTary of life in the huis manner ss we do a pernicio'j,'; j64 ]uxur3'' ; I DEBATES A. i78(^. am fenfible an attempt to draw a critical line of diftinflion in this cafe, between what is a necefTary and what is a luxury, will be attended with fome difficulty ; but I conceive the diftinftion fufficient for our prefent purpofe, if it proves molafTes to be neceflary for the fubfiitance of the people. No decent family can do without fomething by way of fweetening whether this arifes from cuftoni of ; neceffity of nature is not worth the enquiry ; if it is admit- ted to be fequiiite for the fupport of life, a tax on it will be the fame as a tax on bread ; it is repugnant to the firft principles of policy to lay taxes of this nature in America. What is it that entitles the United States to take rank of all the nations of Europe, but becaufe it is the beft country for the poor to live in ? If we go on to taxing fuch arti- cles as fait and molafles, thefe advantages will not long coor tinue to be ours. It may be faid that fugar is aUoa necef- fary of life — true—but nioljfles, in as much as it is cheap- er, can be more eafily obtained, and enters more into the confumption, at lealt of the poor ; they apply it to various pfes ; it is a fubilitute for malt in making beer, and fhall it be faid that the general government defcends to fmali beer for its revenue ? while (trongbeer remains duty free, why (hall this difference be made between the common drink of one part of the continent and the other, unlefs it is with a view to drive the people to drinking fimple wa- ter ? The gentleman from Virginia contends, that the con- fumers of 81b. of fugar pay more than thofe who ufe 81b. of molafles this may be true, but from the variety of ways ; in which molafles is ufed, gibs, is looner cpnlumed than 6 or 4lb. of fugar, which makes up the difference. But do gentlemen mean that the pooreft and weakelf part of the community fhall pay as much for what they ufe as the rich^? ^T clafl'es is this the reward of their toil and iududry I '{ It has been Itated as a fad -by my colleague (Mr. Good- hue) that Maflachufetfs will pay more by the impolt on molafles, than Pennfylvania will on both lum and fugar. The population and Itrength of thefe two ftates are nearly equal, tlaen why ihould this diiproportion be contended for,' ]s it fupppfed that Mafiachuletts will