Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-03-24

duced
What good can refult from repealig
the duties on fills, or pleafurable car-
rizges, and on fales a. auction Is not
the tax on Ellis good one; and has it:
nor been approved by experience, eve"
iince it came into operation in the yea,
1890! Have any Inconvenience been
experienced Have not, en- the other
hand, the dittillerjss ihcreaied to the enor-
nous number Of $1,000! Has not the
revenue likewiie increaleds And are not
thete ftrong evidences Of the proprie,y
Of the tax Suppofe it lhonld refrain,
the in,moaerase ute Of fpiri;ous liquors.
Is not tire reiult beneficial to the morali-
ty ct cut citizens.
:, But the articles Of tea and coffee are
different in their nature. They are pro-
motive of morality, and refrain the uie
OF ardent fpirits. The gentleman from
New. Jerfcy has informed Us, that the
lower claG Of citizens in his fate, do not
in general coaflne tea and coffee. But,
however, j. may be in New herfsy, l will
inform that gentleman that in Chareaon
the lower ciais of citizens, the very Car.
men, ido Genuine thefe articles, which,
after the fa,igues Of the day, are their
evening folacc.
The gentleman from New Jerfey has
told US, that the people Of this country
have never been opprefIed BY taxes.-I
am happy to hear gendemen on that
Gde Of the Hioufe make thi, confellion.-
Ibel;cve they never have been opproG-
ed by our predeceaors. | will not FAY,
they have never felt the burthen of tax
alton, becaule I believe they have fele
it. But they have conGdered the taxes
laid, neceaary for the fecurity Of the 60
vernment.
TIL: tax upon coffee appears to me
to be unneceaary, impolitic and opprel-
five. 1t was laid when we were fub-
jeded to. the deprcdations Of foreign
nations, and menaced with hoailisy
and get it is to be continued after the
location, for which it was created, has
ceaisd. The people will feel it. They
will discriminate between the tax, and
the price of the commodity; and they
will underAand from what quarter the
taxproceeds.
There is another pernicioas COME
quence that will refult from the CONT
nuance Of this hig duty upon coffee.
1t will hold out dangerous temptation
to the merchants to fmuggle. Coffee
ana fugar are articles, of great value and
fma!l bulks. The day is not diaans
when the circumstances of the country,
the great extent of the iea coat, and
our numerous ports, combined with this
temptation, will induce the Pernicious
practice. Hope for theie realons, the
Houle will agree to reduce thefe taxes
and to hold out to the country thofe en-
joymen,s which have been heretofore pof-
iefIed.
MIR. Elmer iaid, that as to thcle ar
ticles which are necetlaries and thofe which
are luxuries, gentlemen will differ. He
thought it, however, extraordinary that
it fhould be infffed thar bohca tea and cot-
fee are neceaaries of life, ard carriages lux
urics. He certainly ccnddered plea!uyable
carriages as of this description yet many
carriages, and more than one half of ,hols
in New Jerley, were Of the hrft neceaity.
He would feel very happy in reducing the
,iuties upon tea and coffee, If our circum-
itances hsll admit it. But though they
mar be extenivcly uied, it by No means
follows thar it is good policy to encou-
rage the confump,iou of them. He be.
lievea fome of our own products would
form a very good fub!itute for coffee.
With regard bath 70 tea and coffee, he
knew tina. 70 far from being neceharies OF
life they were continued by the citizens
generally in proportion 70 their wealth:
MIR. Elmer laid be had not exprefed
the fsntiment afcribed to him by the gen.
tler,an from Sor,h Carolina. He had
neither faid thar the people had been, or
had not been oppreGsd by taxes. tie
had tsidthat tea and coffee were not ne
ceifarie, Of lite. As we'll might tobacco,
which was in as general use, be called a
neeeaary Of life. - - -