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

the commmirtce would not rife, but as it had be- come a nucliion whether the impoll fylteni ilioukibe per- inanen!: or lemporary he was inchncd to favor any motion that fiioiild be made to afcertain that point, and was of o- pinion with the worthy member who fpoke hd, that the committee had not fuiHcient materials to enable them to ereiSt a permanent one at this time, he however wiihed the gen- tleman to withdraw his motion for the prefent, until this point was afcertained, and he conceived this moreover to be neceffhr}'', becaufe many gentlemen would be guideti in voting the quantum of duty upon each article, by knowing if the fyllem was intended to be continued for a longer or ihorter period. -^ Mr. Ler Was of opinion with Mv. Bland and fecordcd his motion for taking the fenle ofthehoufe on the queiticn propofcd. Mr. FiTsiMMONs, Thought it bcfl to make the fyf'tcm as perfect as pcfhble before the comm.ittee determined its duration. A defultory converfation took place on the rifing of the committee and on Mr. Bland's motion^ during which it was remarked by Mr. Madison. That thefubjccl v.-hich was imder confideration divided itfelf, as had been obierved by the hon. gentleman from Jerfey, into two parts, and hence he concluded that they might very properly be provided for by two feparate bills : And while the committee of the whole are feledling articles and taxing them, another committee can be emjiloyed in devjfuig the mode of collection; this method he thouglir more likely to reconcile the opinions of the committee than any he had heard fuggeiled. At length the queftioa was taken on Mr. Boudinoi's motion for the committee to rife, and determine in the negative. The Committee proceeded to Mr. Bland's motion, which being withdrawn, Mr. Madison Obferved, the inconveniencies to which the committee were expoied :it was imjjolTlble from the peculiar fnua- lion of Congrefs, that the fubjeft of revenue could be en- tered upon methodically, otherv/ife he fhould cxpedl; gentle- men prepared with documents ftating the naticnal wants, a::ci 36 DEBATES A. 1789, national refoiirces, and by ih? one prove the iiecefTity of the other ; but though the probable amount of a tax 011 enumerated articles and tonnage could not ncv be come at, he trufled in future that it would, and in the interim he recommended oentlenien to exert thcmfelves in aivinw and procuring information in order to get lome fylicm formed as fpcedily as polTible. With a view to this he moved, when the committee rofe, they fliould report as the opini- on ot the committee of the whole that a committee be ap- poitited for the purpolc of preparing a bill to regulate the mode of coileaing duties on imports and tonnage Then — the committee could be ready with a bill on this part of the lubjccl:, by tlie time the committee of the whole had gone through the article. This motion was adopted by the committee, Mr. Fitzsimons. n Agreed with the gentleman from Virginia, that the leado hig coniiderations in the bufmefs v;ere the necellities and wants of the union, and the belt means of relieving them, no gentleman objected to the niode of impoft, he therefore was lead to believe that it was an eligible mode. The ne- celhtiesof the (late, including the inllalments and interefts of the foreign and domeflic debt, and thecurrent expences of the government, he thought might require annually, (to ufe a round fum) about three miU'ion of dollars, thisfum he then looked upon necefiary to be raifed in the prefcnt fefhon ; as gentlemen feemed to agree a large fum ihould be obtained by impoft, they would confequently be ready to vote for as high duties as coidd be colleded, without facrihcing the commercial or agricultural intcrefts of the country ; this conlideration he hoped would be fettled in the minds of the members before they proceeded to fill up the blanks annexed to the particular articles. It will no doubt be obferved that a duty on foine articles will prefs unequally upon particular flates ; now all that can be done to equalize them is, to burthen others again which enter into theccnfumption of the ether Hates, with aduty which ihall make themfuflaia an uniform proportion of the whole iyilem. Mi^. Sherman Gave it as his opinion, that in fixing the duties on par. ticular articles if they could not afcertain the exadt quan- tum, would be better to run the rilque of erring in fet- it vin'T low duties than hip;h ones, becaufe it was lefs injuri, ous to co::iUierce to I'aiic tticin than to lowcr them; but  : A. 1789. Of C O N G R E S S. 37 jieverthelefs, he was for laying on duties v.liich fome gen- llemeri might think high, as he thought it better to derive revenue from impoft, than from dire*::! taxation, or any ether method in their power. He moved that the article of rum {liouki be charged with 15 cents per gallon — he nCed the term cents bccaufe it was a deuomination of nati. cnal coin, fixed by the late Congrefs, ten of which make a diem and ten diems one dollar. Mr. bMlTK Was apprehenfive 15 cents would be too high, and there- fore moved ten cents which he thought would raile more revenue than the other. Mr. Madison. Advifed and moved for the riiuig of the committee, in order to give gentlemen time to make up their minds re- fpeding the quantum of impoft to be laid on each article. Thequeftion on riling was put and carried, v<'herenpon the committee rofe, and reported the refolution offered by Mr. Madifon, and a committee w^s appointed iji confor- jiiity thereto. Adjourned till Monday. Jpril 13. The following gentlemen apppearcd and took their feats, William Floyd, from Nen'-\ork; Thomas Sinnicldon, from New-Jerfey Joihua Sep.ey, from Maryland Eda- ; ; nus Burke, Daniel Huger and Wiiliam Smith from South- Carolina. The committee on rul^s ^.nd orders made report, which was called up for a fecond readinp-, and in part recommit- ted, and the remainder was adopted as follows The committee appointed to prepare further rules and orders, report, the following rules. That any member may cxcufe himfelf from ferving on any committee at the time of his appointment, if he is then a member of two oth^r coir.mittees. That no member abient himfelf from the lervice of the houfe unlefs he have leave or be fjck and unable to attend. Upon a call of ihe houJe lor which at leail one days no- tice jball be requifite, the naii-.cs of the members fhall be called over by the clerk, and the abfentees noted, after which the names of the abfentees ihall again be called over, the doors fi^.all be ihut, and thofe by whom no excufe, ojr infufficient excufes are made, may, by order of the houfe, be taken into cvMody, 3S D E B A E T S A. 1789. A {landing committee of elections fliall be -dppointed to coniift offevcn members. It fliall be the duty of the commit- tee to examine and report upon the certificate of election, or other credentials of the members returned to ferve in this houfe, and to take into their confideration all fuch mat- ters, as ihall or may come in queftion, and be referred to them by the houle," touching returns andeledions, and 10 report their proceedings, with their opinions thereupon, from time to time to the houfe. The clerk of the houfe ihall take an oath for the tru?^ and faithful difcharge of :he duties of his office to the belt of his knowledge and abilitiy. In conformity to the lad rule but one, a committee of cleftions was appointed by ballot confiifing of Mell'rs Cly- mer, Ames, Benfon, Carroll, White, Huntington and Gilman. A petition from the committee of the {hipwrights in Charleitown (S. C.) praying the houfe to take fuch mea- I'ures as they in their wifdom Ihould think proper, to put the commerce of America on a footing with that of the other nations of the world and to encourage Ihip building. This petition was referred to the conunittee of the whple ©n the flate of the union. Adjourned until to-n)orrow'. Jjiril 14. Mr. White, Prefented according to order, a bill to regulate the ta- king the oath or affirmation prefented by the 6th cirticle of the conftitution, which was read the firll time. Mr, Boudinot, Reported from the committee to whom was recommitted certain claufesof the report for eftablilhing additional rules and orders, which was agreed to as follows : A ferjeant at arms ihall be appointed to hold his office during the pleafure of the houie, whole duty it ihall be to attend the houfe daring its fitting, to execute the com- mands of the houfe from time to time, and all Inch pro- cefs iflTued by authority thereof as ihall be direcfled to him by the fpeaker. A proper fymbol of office fliall be provided for the ferjeant at arms of fuch form and device as the fpeaker ihall direft, which ihall be borne by the ierjeant when in tiie execu- tion of his office. The fees of the ferjeant at arras ihall be, for every ar- Fell the iuai of two dollars, for each djys cuRody and re~ A. 1789. Of C O N G R E S S. 3^ ieafement one dollar, for travelling expences going and re- turning one tenth of a dollar. The houfe according to the {landing order of the day refoived itfelf into a committee On the Jl ate of the union, Mr. Fage in the chair. Mr. Bland, Thought the comniitte not prepared to enter on the bu- manner which the form of flnefs of impoft in the accurate the propofuions feemed to imply ; no gentleman on the floor could be more defirous than he was to go into the meafure of a permanent fyftem, but he could not agree to proceed at this time for want of information ; when he looked at the lift of articles, he faw fome calculated to give encouragement to home manufactures, this might be in fome degree proper, but it was a well known fa<ft, that the manufaftoring arts in America were only in their infancj'', and far from being able to anlwcr the demands of the country then certainly you lay a tax upon the whole com- ; munity, in order to put the money in the pockets of a few whenever you burthen the importation with a heavy im- poft. He was likewife apprehenfive the federal trcafury would loofe a confiderable fupply, if the neceifary time Was taken to perfed; a permanent fylleni ; he therefore wiflied a temporary one, and made a motion to obtain the fenfe of the committee on this point us well as on the mode of col- Jedlion. He adverted to the fubjeft of tonnage, obferving that it was well known that America did not furnifli a nuiuber of /liips fulficient for the tranfportation of its products, there- fore any high duty on this article would embarrafs the a- griculture which as his colleague had before obferved, was the ftaple of the country. Mr. Scott. The fubjed before us naturally devides itfelf into two heads : Firft, \V hat articles ihall be the fubjecl: of a par- ticular tax, and what lliall remain in the common n^afs li- able to an impoft ad valorem. 1 he feccnd. What the fura is that is proper for the article we felect, for both thefe points will be necclTary, becaufe it can hardly be luppoled that all articles can be enumerated, while lome certainly ought this being the cafe, it leads us to enquire what rule ;