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

the whole union into conlulior, and there will be no remedy by which we can recover what we have now m our power for a reduciion oi duties, v\hen they ; are once laid, are productive ol the tholi lerious conkquen- ces. Having, therefore, a ferious iinprtllion upon ny mind, that we hazard a great cleal in iinpoiin^ hgh liuties in the lirlt initance. 1 ihould not have been laiuficd wiih having done my duty, if 1 had not liated ny doubts and d fficulties to the coininittee; but having done this, 1 ILall CO tent myleif with their decilion, be it wiiac it may. On motion, th^ further reading of the bill was poll, — poned adjourned. May 9. Another member, viz. Jeremiah Van RanfTelaer, from New York, appeared and took his feat. A bill for collecting duties on goods, wares, and mer- chandizes, imported into the United bta es, was revd the fecond time, and ordered to be committed to a commir^ee of the whole houfe on Monday next. The following communications were received ftom the Senate, by Mr. Otis their lecretary. " In Senate, the 7th May, 1789. '' Ordered, That when a mtllage Ihall come from the Houfe of Reprefentatives to the enate, and 11, all be an- ^ nounced by the door-keeqer, the melTenger or mellengers, being a member or members of the houle, lliail be receiv- ed within the bar, the Irelident riling, when the melfage is by one member, and the Senate alio when it is by two of more. If the melTenger be not a member of the Houfe, lie fhall be received at the bar by the Secretary, and the bill or papers that he may bring, llftU there be received from him by the Secretary, and be by him deiivere-d to the Prefident." 254 Mr. Speaker, DEBATES — The A. 1789. Senate have difagreed to the re- port of a committee appointed to determine what ftyle or titles it will be proper to annex to the oflice of Prefident and Vice-Prelident of the United States, if any other than thofe given in the Conltitution, and have appointed a com- mittee to confider and report under what title it will be proper for the Prefident of the United States in future to be addrelFed, and to confer thereon with fuch committee as this Ho'jfe may appoint for that purpofe. The Senate have alfo appointed a committee to view and report how the rooms in the city-hall Ihall be appropriated, and to con- fer with any committee this Houle may appoint for that purpofe. The houfe refolved itfelf into a committee of the whole, on the impoftbill. Mr. Page in the chair. Mr. Tucker. The obfervations I made yelterday were intended to ap- ply generally againfl a fyllem of high duties. As to the particular article of I'pirits, I have no objedtion to a high duty being laid upon it, provided it can be ftriftly collected ; for I do not wifh to give encouragement to the coniump- tion of that article, though, I fear, no duty vvC can lay will tend much to difcourage it. I thought that if it was the general opinion of the Houfe to lefl'en the duties, it would be a faving of time to difcufs it on a motion to reduce the firft article. I repeat the obfervation, that high duties ai-e improper, becaufe they are impolitic, and likely to defeat the objecl of revenue, lefs will be collected on them than on moderates ones. If it be confidered as an encourage- ment to manufactures to lay heavy duties on enumerated articles, it is a tax on one part for the emolument of ano- ther. Five per cent, upon all articles imported would raifea confiderable revenue, and be a fufficient encourage- ment to manufav^ures, efpecially if we add to this five per cent, the expence of freight and other charges of importa- tion on foreign goods. The five per cent, in the bill is to be collected on the value of the goods at the time and place of importation; the value of goods within the United States is 25 per cent, more than they coft in Europe, adding this thei eibre to the other advantap-es, and it will be a coniider- able encouragement ; but, belide all this, there are many articles made here as cheap, and cheaper, than they can be irnported. Gentlemen, who have given us this informa- tion, know the faft to be fo in their refpecftivc flates, in them therefore the operation of the meafuie would bcjull  — A. 1789. Of CONGRESS. 255 and politic, but it does not apply with the fame force as it refpe£ts South Carolina and fome other Hates ; although in Bolton and Philadelphia they can manufadure certain wares cheaper than they can import them, yet they are not brought at the lame price to Charlefton hence the opera- ; tion is unequal and a partial tax upon us. Another tiling to be confidered is, even if thefe articles could be furnifhed us at home as cheap as we get them from abroad, whether we ihould have equal advantages. If a cargo of nails was to be fent to Carolina, I would be glad to know how we are to purchafe it ? Would the makers of fl:ioes be content to go there and retail them ? if they would they n)ight be brought there, but I apprehend, if they have not ellabli/h- ed conneflions in that country, they could never be difpofed of. Can they cxpedl the planters to come in a body, and take off their goods upon their arrival? it is not even ex- pelled that they could ; it muft be left to them to judge, whether they do not purchafe them in a better way, by taking them upon credit, and paying for them in crop. Gentlemen will not pretend to fay, that we do not know cur own intereft, and therefore they will teach us ? Thefe reafons will not go down with the people, they will take to themfelves the right of judging what is moft conducive to their intereif. Gentlemen cannot argue from the fa<ft, that we don't confume the articles made within their itates, as readily and willingly as thofe imported from abroad, merely becaufe we do not wilh to encourage them ; fads prove the diredl contrary, we have fiiewn a difpofition to encourage articles from their dates, which can be made in our ftare in great abundance. I will mention a few of them, although it may appear difgraccful for South-Carolina to take from any country what ihe can furnifh herfelf We have imported to the city of Charlellon vegitables for table ufe which we can raife as well as any part of world, yet no complaint was made by the agricultural interefl: cf that ftate, that we imported foreign productions to their prejudice, no duty was impofed to difcourage the ufe of them, all we confidered was whether they came cheaper when broijght from abroad than whenraifed at home, concluding the cheapeft to be the- beft. On the fame principles as are now urged our citizens might have contended that we ihould impofe a duty on all articles which could he produced at home, iio impofition on the importation was laid in order to encourage the produc- tions of oui- cc?«ntry ; the fame principle ought to have in- 25^ DEBATES A. 178^. duced us to lay a Jut}'- on ihe importation of flour, we make but little of that ; our conttitucnts conlume rice in place of it. It might have been laid that a heavy duty Ihoiild have been laid in order to prevent the interterence with our ila,)le CO n nj l.ty. Tiie planters Ihouid have faid, we will coinpell you to eat rice, and after being fome time in the habit you '-vill find you like it as well as we; indeed this arannent miebt be extended to a meafure cal- culated to oblige the other Itates to ufe rice in their daily food ; it might be faid that it was neceffary in order to give encouragement to the produilions of the fouthern Itates, but I believe fuch arguments would have had no weighs if they had been ufed.yet they are limilar to what have been brought forward by gentlemen for the encouragement of domeftic manufactures. Mr. Speaker, if gentlemen are content with moderate duties, we are willing to agree to them and give every rea- fonable encourage;neat in our power, but we cainiot con- fent to very great oppreffion. once more wifli that gentle- 1 men will conlider great dijties as npoiing a heavier burthen i upon the fouthern itates as they unpolt more, the other lefs, anvl the lum we pay towards the revenue mult be in pro- portion to our imp(jrtation. I therefore move in order to begin with the firlt article that, diitilied fpirits be reduced 6 cents per gallon. Mr. Jackson. Seconded this motion, and would afTign his reafotis for itbut they had been lb fully Itated by the honorable mover. Mr. Ames. I wiOi the committee may conlider with the atttention the fubject demands, whether the duties are too h'gii or not? It is hardly poflible, I own, to contemplate this fub- je(5l as a practical queition we Jhal! find it neceffary to con- ; iider attentively, before we proceed any farther, what the objedls of our government are, and having difcovered them, we are to conlider whether the pro])ofed meafure will anfwer the purpofes intended ? I belive, in every point of view that we can poliibly conlider it, the fubjeft of revenue will be thought to be one of the priinary objects to which the power of government extends it has long ; been apprehended, that an ill adminiftration of the new Conllitution was more to be feared, as inimical to the li- berties of the people, than any holtility from the princi- ples of the Conftitution. Of ail the operations of govern- A- 1789. Of C O I^I G R E S S. 257 iiient ihofe which concern taxation, are the mofl: delicate as well as the molt important. This obfervation applies to all governments. Revenue is the foul of gt)verninent, and if fuch a (oul had not been breathed into our body- politic, would have been a lifelefs carcafe, ht only to be it buried. would wifn this foul might be acluated by ra- I tional Drinciples, that in eitabliihing a revenue iylteii), we might go on a fuperior principle to that which has hereto- fore been the governing principle in the United States; that we might conlider what was mod adequate to the ob- jet5~t, The nature of rhe revenue fyttem in this goverment is to the bil degree important for want of the foul the ; late government was found utterly incapable of invigora- ting and protecting indulhy, or fecuring the union ; there- fore tbefe f^em to be the great objects which we are to accompliili. confider the prefent qneftion as a direfl I apj)lication to the principles of the Conititurion, it will either fupport or dellroy them. If the revenue fyilem fliouid fciil with opprefuve weight on the people, if jr Ihall injure fome in their deareil interells, it will Ihake thg foundation of the government. However the newfpapers may Hand your friends, and trumpet forth panegyrics on the New Cgnftitution, if your adminiftration does not give fiitisfaction, you will find all inefleftual that they czn do, whilft the people are againll you. This being admitted, the government will not pufh their regulations too far ; they vyill conlider the weaknefTt s and prejudices of the indivi- dual members of the union; when they lay a tax, they will conlider how far it is agreeable to them, and how far thie Dieafure is wife in itfelf. If it is laid the article to be