Adams Sentinel, The (Newspaper) - January 24, 1832, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania At per annum m or 00 if not paid within the year PUBLISHED BY ROBERT Q HARPER Advert is per square for ets pur y for Resist tot tk care the spirit of innovation upon the principles of your Government however spacious the IN OK Till U STATES IAN 1 L 1 The following resolution submitted by Mr on Monday Just being the special der of the day was taken up for tion Resolved That the duties upon articles imported from foreign countries and into competition with similar ar- ticles made or produced within the U States i t pose Congress can hardly believe with the Secretary of the Treasury that it would be wise to pay stock of thirteen millions entitling its holders to but three per cent with a capital of thirteen millions worth an interest of six per cent In other words to take from the pockets of the people two lars to pay one in the hands holders The moral value of the payment of a tional Debt consists in the demonstration which it affords of the ability of a country to meet and its integrity in all its en- ough t to be forthwith abolished except the I That the resources of this Duties upon wines and silks and that those country increasing as it constantly is in to be reduced And that the j tee on Finance be instructed to report a accordingly The resolution having been read Mr rose and addressed the Senate in substance as i have a few observations Mr President and only a few to submit to the Senate on the measure now before vou in doing which I have to all your indulgence J am ting old I feel but too sensibly and edly the effects of approaching age and I hare been for some years very little in the habit of addressing deliberative assemblies 1 am told that I have been the most unwilling cause if J have been of ex- citing expectations the evidence of which is around us I regret for however the sub- ject on which I am to speak in other hands might be treated to gratify or to reward the presence and attention now given in mine I have nothing but a plain unvarnished and unambitious exposition to make It forms no part of my present purpose said Mr C to enter into the consideration of the established policy of protection Strong in the convictions and deeply seated in the affections of a large majority of the People of the U States it stands in the general prosperity in the rich fruits which it has scattered over the land in the ence of all prosperous and powerful nations present and past and now in that of on r own do 1 think it to discuss that policy on this resolution Other gentlemen may think differently and may choose to ar- gue and assail it If they do I have no doubt that in all parts of the Senate members more competent than I am will be ready to defend and support it My object now is to limit myself to a presentation of certain views and principles connected with the present cial condition of the country A consideration of the state of the public revenue has become necessary in of the near approach of the entire ex- tinction of the public debt and I concur with you sir in believing that no season could be more appropriate than the present session of Congress to endeavor to make a satisfactory adjustment of the Tariff The public debt chiefly arose out of the late war justly de- nominated the second contest for National Independence An act commonly called the sinking fund act was passed by Congress near fifteen years ago providing for its re- imbursement That act was prepared and proposed by a friend of yours and mine whose premature death was not a loss merely to his native State of which he was one of its est ornaments but to the whole nation No man with whom I ever had the honor to be associated in the legislative councils ned more extensive and useful information with more firmness of judgment and ness of manner than did the lamented Mr Lowndes And when in the prime of life by the dispensation of an all-wise Providence he was taken from us his country hud son to anticipate the greatest benefits from his wisdom and discretion By that act an annual appropriation of ten millions of dollars was made towards the payment of the pal and interest of the public and also any excess which might yearly be in the Treasury beyond two millions of dollars which it was thought prudent to reserve for unforeseen exigencies But this system of regular and periodical application of public revenue to the payment of the public debt would have been ing if Congress had neglected to provide the necessary ways and means Congress did not however neglect the performance of that duty By various acts and more especially by the abused 1524 public were amply replenished and we have been enabled to reach our pre- sent proud eminence of financial After Congress had thus abundantly provided funds and directed their systematical cation the duty remaining to be performed by the Executive was one simply i And no Executive and no Administration can justly claim for itself any other merit in the 1 discharge of the public debt than thai of a execution of the laws No other merit than that similar one to which it is tled for directing a regular of what as due from lime to time to the army and vy or lo the officers of the Civil Government for their salaries The operation of sinking fund of Mr Administration During its nance of years to of the the ten not to the payment of the and upon the termination of that the in to the sinking fund lh sub- sequent of four nut on- j was the ten millions faithfully j ring eich yp and nil So that when the a and by directly it sures been in term of the and wealth are abundantly sufficient to meet any debt which it may ever ly contract cannot be doubted And its and probity from the period of the sumption in 1790 of the debt of the tion down to the present time rests upon a solid and uncontestable foundation The ger that it meet its engagements but that from an inordinate avidity arising from temporary causes it may bring discredit upon itself by improvident ar- rangements which no prudent man in the management of his private affairs would e- ver think of adopting Of the residue of that twenty-four millions of debt after deducting the thirteen lions of three per cent less than two millions are due and of right payable within the pre- sent year to that sum be added the ty which becomes due on the of ber next of the crea ted by the act of May 1824 we have but a sum bout four millions which the public creditor can lawfully demand or which the ment is bound to pay in the course of this year If more is paid it can only be done by pating the periods of its payment and going into the public market to purchase the stock Can it be doubted that if you do so the lant holder of the stock taking advantage of your anxiety will demand a greater price than its Already we perceive that the three per cents have risen to the extra- ordinary height of 96 per cent The ence between a payment of the ble portion remaining of the public debt in one two or three years is certainly not so important as to justify a resort to highly dis- advantageous terms Whoever may be entitled to the credit of the payment of the Public debt J late you sir and the country most cordially that it is at hand It is so near being totally extinguished that we may now ly inquire whether without to any established policy we may not relieve the consumption of the country by the repeal or reduction of duties and curtail considerably the Public revenue In making this inquiry the first question which presents itself is whether it is expedient to preserve the ing duties in order to accumulate a surplus in forthe purpose ofsubsequentdis- among the several States i I think not If the collection for the purpose of such a surplus is to be made from the pockets of one portion of the people to be ultimately re- turned to the same pockets the process would be attended with the certain loss arising from the charges of collection and with the loss also of interest whilst the money is ing the unnecessary and it would therefore be unwise If it is to be collected from one portion of the people and given to another it would be unjust Jf it is to be given to the States in their corporate to be used by them in their public ex- I know of no principle in the Con- which authorizes the Federal to become such a collector for the States nor of any principle of safety or which admits of the States becoming such recipients of gratuity from the General Government The Public Revenue then should be re- and adapted to the proper service of The General Government It should be ple for a deficit in the public income ways to be deprecated is sometimes ed as we know well from history and from what has happened in our own time with fatal consequences Jn a country so rapidly ing as this is with diversified interests new wants and unexpected calls upon the public treasury must frequently occur Take some examples from this session The State of Virginia lias presented a claim for an amount but little short of a million which she presses with an earnestness demonstrating her con- viction of its justice The Slate of South Carolina lias also a claim for no ble sum being of which she urges with equal from Pennsylvania Mr brought forward a claim arising out of French Spoliations to the tion of which is perhaps not short of live millions and lo extent 3 have no doubt it has a foundation hi any sion of a Public lo fix it as to payment of honest and proper which injustice reject evade public or woold be p in the appropriation of public lands and ion will he for such internal is be sanctioned by is due American due to the of Ihc it of the whole and that they ever sympathise in the distresses and rejoice in the happiness of the most distant quarter of the And to demonstrate that they are not less or indifferent to interests not directly their own they may triumphantly and ly appeal to the gallant part which they bore in the late war and point to the bloody fields on which some of their most patriotic sons nobly fell fighting in the common But they will also that these fraternal and just sentiments ought to be reciprocated by their Atlantic brethren That these ought not to be indifferent to the welfare of the west and that they have the same eral or indirect interests in its success and advancement that the west has in That it does not ask internal improvements to be exclusively confined to itself but that it may receive in common with the rest of the Union a practical benefit in the only form compatible with its interior condition The appropriation of the proceeds of the public lands or a considerable portion of them to that object would be a most natural and suitable disposition And t do hope Sir that that great resource will be cherished and dedicated to some national purpose worthy of the Republic Utterly opposed as L trust Congress will show itself to be to all the wild to that latest but maddest and wildest of all recommended by the Secretary of the squandering the public domain I hope it will be preserved for the present generation and for posterity as it lias been received from our ancestors a rich and bountiful inheritance In these halcyon days of peace and plenty and an overflowing sury we appear to embarrass ourselves in de- vising visionary schemes for casting away the bounties with which the goodness of dence has blessed us But Sir the storm of war will come when we know not the day of trial and difficulty will assuredly come now is the time by a prudent forecast to band our resources and this the greatest of them Let them not be hoarded and ged with a embrace but liberally u- sed Let the public lands be used with a erous spirit and especially towards the States within which they are situated Let the of tiie sales of the public lands be plied in a season of peace to some great ob- ject and when war does corne by ing that application of them during its uance you will be at once pnc in possession of means for its vigorous prosecution More than twenty-five years ago when first took a seat in this body I was told by the fathers of the government that if we had any thing perfect in our institutions it was the system for disposing of the public lands and I was cautioned against rash innovations in Subsequent experience fully satisfied me of the wisdom of their counsels and that ail tal changes in it ought to be resisted Although it may be impracticable to say what the exact amount of the public revenue should be for the future and what would be the precise produce of any given system of imposts we may safely assume that the re- venue may now be reduced and bly reduced This reduction may be ed in various ways and on different ples Only three modes shall now be ced 1st To reduce duties on all articles in the same ratio without regard to the principle of protection 2d To retain them on unprotected cles and augment thorn on the protected ar- ticles And 3d To abolish and reduce the duties on unprotected articles retaining and cing the faithful collection of those on the protected articles To the first mode there are insuperable objections It would lead inevitably to the destruction of our home manufactures It would establish a sort of bed of Procrustes by which the duties on all articles should be blindly measured without respect to their nature or the extent of their And it would be derogatory from ciple of theory or practice on which the has hitherto proceeded The second would be still more ble to the foes of the Tariff than either of But it cannot be controverted that bv the duties on the protected class so as to carry them to the point or near to the confines the object in view nf effecting the necessary reduction of the public mav be accomplished without touching the duties on the unprotected class The of such nn would he a diminution in she importation of the article and of Bourse in on it entire prohibition except perhaps in -j few instances I have been rind still am opposed lea van if the door open to rival the red of Ifil he closed the danger is incurred of The third mode is the equitable fid and it presents tn Ground on which I bad could ill safely 3 if tb American it 01 the of its friends before yoi] It is simple and nil from th of arr It to of pi- nw nt as certain as you iM in that or the be if ijf A au of th yon not divides the hat nnt to o maybe controvert part of the South In- hitherto that it -i a- it once d mid lo rind he s nn lja 333 Of of 3 per cent by of v the at lime but il suits own ny of our common country On it be done by the payment of j trary that every portion of the is fur dollar I cannot think indirectly 21 Ics-at in the direct iu tlie the fortifications the army those greatest of the public That they are not enU indeed to the and of a- If bv it v iL at a- from n of jS in uni- form of from its and with the professions of j all of the South until of It the of i merit in the assessment to nate those articles which sound icy requires it to and those which it need not encourage bus in- variable which the Government from the of 4th of July down to ilie present time And has it not been admitted by almost ry prominent Southern politician J J las it not been even acknowledged by the fathers of the Free trade Church in their late address from Philadelphia to the people of the United If we never had a tem of foreign imposts and were now called upon fur the first time to originate one should we not discriminate between the objects of our own industry and those produced by for- eigners And is there any difference in its the modification of an ex- isting system and the organization of a new one If the gentlemen of the South opposed to the Tariff were to obtain complete sion of the powers of Government would they hazard their exercise upon any other ple J If it be said that sonic of the articles which would by this measure be liberated from are luxuries the remark is ly true of some of the articles remaining sub- ject to duties J n the present advanced stage of comfort and civilization it is not easy to draw the line between luxuries and ries It would be difficult to make the ple believe that tea is a luxury and the article broad cloths is a necessary of life In stating that the duties on the protected class ought to be retained it has been far from my wish to preclude inquiry into their or propriety If it can be shewn that in any instance they are excessive or on any section of the Union for one 1 am ready to vote for their reduction or modification The system con- templates an protection beyond that it is not necessary to go Short of that will be injurious to all parties The people of this country or a large of them expect that the system will be preserved And its abandonment would duce general surprise special desolation over the land and occasion as great a shock as a declaration of war forth with against the most powerful nation of Europe But if the system be preserved it ought to be fairly and faithfully That there do exist the most scandalous lations of it and the grossest frauds upon the public revenue in regard to some of the most important articles cannot be doubted ron objects really belonging to one tion to which a higher duty is attached arc imported under another to which a lower duty is assigned and the law thus ded False invoices are made as to woollens and the classification into minimums is con- stantly eluded The success of the can manufacture of cotton bagging has been such as that by furnishing a better and cheaper article the bagging of Inverness and Dundee has been almost excluded from the consumption of the States bordering on the Mississippi and its tributaries There has not yet been sufficient time to fabricate and transport the article in necessary quantities from the Western States to the Southern At- Stales which therefore have been most exclusively supplied from the Scottish manufactories The payment of the duty is evaded by the introduction of the foreign ric under the name of burlaps or some other mercantile phrase and instead of paying five cents the square yard it is entered with a duty of only fifteen per cent ad That this practice prevails is demonstrated by the Treasury report of the duties accruing on cotton bagging for the yea rs 1828.1829 1830 During tiie first year the amount was the second and the third it sunk down to The time has arrived when the inquiry ought lo be made whether it be not practicable this illegitimate course of trade and secure the faithful execution of the laws time could be more suitable than that at which it is contemplated to make a great reduction of the public revenue Two radical changes have presented themselves to my and which J will now suggest for consideration and investigation On such a subject J would however seek from the cantile community and practical men all the light which they are capable of affording and should be reluctant to act on my own tions however strong The first is to make a total change in the place of valuation Now the valuation is made in Foreign Countries We fix the ties and we leave to foreigners to assess the value on articles paying ad valorem That is we prescribe the rule and leave its execution to the foreigner This is an aly I believe peculiar to this country It is evident that the amount of duty payable on a given article subject to an ad valorem duty be affected as much by the fixation of the value as by the of the duty And for all practical it would be just as safe to retain lo the of the value and leave to the for- eigner tu nbe the duty as it s reserve to the and allow the privilege The died of this vicious condition oi the law to throw almost the whole import trade of the country as to some important articles the hands of foreigner I have been informed that of the im- of woollens into the port of New more is received than in alJ the other parts of the U Stales together arc in bis hands This has not proceeded from any vaul of or capital on part of American for in these he surpassed hy the merchant of no country It has resulted from his probity his ter and to the law sand in- of his respect which does not influence the foreigner 1 am aware that it is made by Jaw the duty of the appraiser lo ascertain the of the goods in certain cases But is his chief guide It the foreign invoice made by he knows not certainly by no person to our laws And if its J ness be contested they will bring you i cartloads of certificates and affidavits i from unknown persons to verify its ex- and the first cost of the article Now sir it seems to me that this is a slate of things to which we should promptly apply an efficacious remedy and no other appears to me but that of taking into our own hands both parts of the operation the ascertainment of the value as well as the duty to be paid on the goods If it be said that we might have in ports different rules the answer is that there could be no diversity greater than that to which we are liable from the fact of the valuation being now made in all die ports of reign countries from which we make our importations And that it is ter to have the valuations made by sons responsible to our own ment and regulated by one head than by unknown foreigners standing under no responsibility whatever to us The other change to which I is to reduce the credits allowed forthe payment of duties and to render them uniform It would be better if not in- to commerce to abolish them altogether Now we have various of credit graduated according to the distance of the foreign the nature of the trade These credits op- crate as so much capital on which the foreign merchant can sometimes make several adventures before the arrival of the day of payment There is no re- advantage afforded to the A- merican merchant I believe in any reign port As we shall probably a- bolish or reduce greatly the duties on all articles imported from beyond the Cape of Good Hope on which the longest credits are moment would seem to be propitious for re- the other credits in such ner that whilst they afforded a able facility to the merchant they should not supply the foreigner at the instance of the public with capital for his mercantile operations If the laws can be strictly enforced and some such alterations as have been can be carried into effect it is quite probable that a satisfactory reduction may be made of the duties upon some of the articles falling within the tem of protection And without im- pairing its principle other modes of re- lief may possibly be devised to some of those interests upon which it is sed to press most heavily There remains one view to present to the Senate in respect to the amount of reduction of the revenue which will be produced by the proposed measure if adopted and its influence upon the payment of the public debt within the time suggested by the Secretary of the Treasury The estimate which I have made of that amount is founded upon Treasury returns prior to the late re- duction of duties on tea coffee and coa Supposing the duties on wines and silks to be reduced as low as I think they may be the total amount of nue with which the proposed measure will dispense will be about The Secretary of the Treasury mates the receipts of the present year from all sources at and he supposes those of the next year will be of amount He acknowledges that the past year has been one of ex- commercial activity but on what principles anticipate that the present will be I The history of our commerce demonstrates that it and that a year of rate speculation is usually followed by one of more guarded That the importations of past year have been excessive 1 believe is ally confessed and is demonstrated by two unerring facts The first is that the imports have exceeded the exports hy about seventeen millions of dollars Whatever may be the qualifications lo the theory of the balance of trade may be liable it may be safely affirmed that when the of the tations from all foreign countries ex- the of the to foreign countries considerably the unfavorable balance must be made up by a remittance of the precious als to some extent Accordingly we find the existence of the other fact to which I allude the high price of of exchange on England It is fore to be anticipated that the duties this year will amount than those of the And 1 think it be unwise lo rely our present information as to the income of either of two years as furnishing a guide for the future The 1829 and 3830 wiH supply a surer is coincidence in She amount of the into the during those two years it having been the first from all sources IS and the 16 Ail difference only about The recommended by the cretary for the modification of the lo reduce no part of the duties on the unprotected and then 10 retain a considerable portion of them And ns to the pre- class he would make a gradual but prospective reduction of the duties The effect of this would be lo destroy
