The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1806-04-01
cotintry will be inundated with whicssy and The
.ietruttve vices which How sro,n tue free uis Of

Although Important, this is far from being
| the NOT important 9;esV which NAV be taken
ofthis fubjett. II is conceded point, thai
our government nu!t by forne rneans;or ether
have revenue. The grcatef fta,efnen and pa
tnots OF this Country, have united, believe, Ia
conhdsnng commerce ss orr mott p5oral and
mot fruitful fource OF revenue and riahss; II
pretents mode of ffcsl exaefion, tif mott in
unifon with the fpirt and Feelings as Frlt as the
'nterefts " the American people, tFt of infi-
re9t taxation. By this mode the c&,fau1rrs of
articles of foreign growth and nfuufstture,
coatdt,ute freely and copiouny TO he fhppoft
, OF onr government, and to that fluid which Is
defined to the payment of the uaiippa. debt,
ahd this too without feeling 10 s. krtsl degree
the weight Of the contribution. But. the mo-
meut, fs, we give up rhisffource OF reseaue,
Or espofe TITO the cupidtY and ranacityof TO-
rergn powers, a refort to modes of taxation
lcfs congenial With the .fpirit of freedom, mutt
be inevitable. Let thofe :pho are for giving up
this, look about and fee what other fousces Of
revenue our cpuntry can fufnifh. Experience,
that mother of wifaom, hss already infsrutfed
US, that excite Jaws are too odious in mapy parts
OF our country, TO be borne; Indeed this
iource of revenue would at bef be trIfling. Per-
ional property is OF nature too occult and too
liable to Unfit and change to become. fate and
permanent fource ofrevenue. The fale, of the;
public lands, rel I'd on by fonie, is an expedi-
emit, which on many accounts will be low and
inefficient bit if the fentiment prevails of leav-
ing commerce to take care of itleif, and my no.
tons are correct that fuch a meafure will paral-
lie the indoitry of the farmer, it may very juft-
ly be doubted, whether our wild lands will meet
with ready market. What then would ak,
remains but aFland tax, to fuppIya fund to
meet the necefary calls of our government !;
tax fo odious in many parts of our country, az
to be one Of the powerful caafes Of the over
throw of one naturalization, and ii again refort-
ed to, may politely produce the deitruaion of
another.
Should considerations like thefe, thoroughly
purified, prove Insufficient to convince gentle
men, that the commerce of this country iswor.
thy to be ihielded by her protecting arm, may
defpair of doing it perhaps, by any further ar
guments within my power to adduce. But it
ills certainly deierving the remembrance ofthis
honorable body, that our government by the
courfe it has taken, has long free pledged it,
fef to fupport the rights and intercits of our
merchants upon the ocean. Aide of the im-
meme revenues drawn from their enterprise
and fnduttry, we may conlider the n,eafures a.
lone, adopted by our government to protect
and guarantee their interefs, by compatts With
foreign nations and armaments for their defence,
as having the dire1 effect of urinr them TO en-
bark their properly upon the feRa, with TIE
mott implicit fecurity, and with sLrnoit GER
tain affuranCc that this protection fhould be
continued. In fhort, do not fee, how it can
be denied, that thete privileges are as much en-.
titled to the protection o. government, as thofe
equally, though not more iacred, which are
| enjoyed by our fellow citizens upon land. TIC
relinquiih any of them would be taking rep
| towards dafardiy abandonment of our indie.
| penderce as nation-and would be aniiounc.
| ing to every people on earth, that have become
| TO tame and fubmiiye that we are willing to be
| converted into fimple too's and intruu,ents foI
| their tie and profit, and TO defert the defence
of our own facred rights. Whatever COURT
| policy or widom might have dictated to this
| nation p;'iori reipecting commerce, it is evi.
IDENTIFY too late now to retracc our fteps; nay
| we cannot Do it, fhoft of treachery toward.
| the mercantile intereit, and without rendering
onrfelves iuhject OF derifion and contempt tc
all Europe. If we fhrink on the prefent coca.
fion from that bold and energetic courre which
| the times fcem to call for, what Respectable
figure we flall ca. in hifory! This will be
! our tory. The American nation finding hei
commerce in the Mediterranean peaered by the
petty barbarous powers surrounding that fca
b'ufcred and talked manfuIly like Bobadii r
| the play. Now this hero was invinrible, o,
| he would not have talked 70 valiantly. Tween.
ty more, kill 'em Twenty more, kill them
too W But the moment their rights upon the
ocean were alfaiied by nation at ouce reipec.
table and powerful, they meanly ihrunk from
the coDtef, and in vain did their admired exc.
cutive endeavor to rally the representatives oil
the people, in fupport of the firm aud dgnifed
meafurss which he recommended.
If therefore it is clear, as truft it il, thai
commerce is the great supporter Of agriculture
that it is at the fame time the mott rational and
mott prolific fource of revenue and riches &c
our country, and if in addition to this, govern
ment has pledged itfelfto await body of ref
peGtable citizens in every part of the Unitct
States, to protect their property legally EN-.
ployed in commerce; to fay that this commerce
fhall now be left to take care of lelf, of all tht
infulting mockcries ever offered to this nation
this appears to me the mott infutiDg. But witt
many, and do not f',fFer myfe!fto doubt, with
a great majority of this committee, this quefti
on may be confidered as at reft--commerce i.
worthy Of our protection. Our natural Gitua
ton aud the Iaudable enterprise of orr citizens
which leads them into every fea and to every
land, have made it ours, and We cannot absn.
don il without being guilty of the nor plpa
bic folly.
Should any gentleman here really believe
notwithstanding the volumes of evidence which
/ have loaded oar tables TO the contrary, that
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