Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1825-01-28

previously gone over the moantains. Belt SO.
ain, Its practical effect was to produce incon-
venience, if not distress, by absorbing the money
! OF the people. 1t was as true of the Yves, as OF
all other parts of the country, that the consumer
pays the tax. The public revenue was not
! raised IN Boston. or New York, or Charleston.
ne west paid as much of that revenue as the
i1as', III proportion TO IFS consumption, nay, on
a strict calculation, something more. They nav
the lax and a profit on transportation. Trne
inaeed, the money was collected in tue custom
mouse vel 1t was first paid where the imported
articles were consumed. 1t could not be paid
Ia the sea ports, if it had not first been received
III tue interior. Some gentlemen said we must
want, tn system is formed-that is. some svs-
Tern OF internal improvement, so equal in its
bearings, aud SO satisfactory in IFS de.,;Is. thai
all shall agree in adoptingit. He feared ifaen
tieinen waited Till then, they would have 10 wait
tl' they srewFery old. Hesuspected that few
! OF ihose who heard him would travel over the
roads or SAIL upon the canals constructed after
the adoption Ofthe system. How long yould il
take merely TO make the surveys for suci, sys-
tern: ras any man TO be found bold enough
to undertake TO sketch out system of internal
improvements extending for 20 years to come.
lie would venture u say that no man could
FORM plan IN which he could get five Others to
agree. The thing was iuipracticable-and i'm
pracucaoie for this reason, that our entire con-
uit'oh was merely IN a process of development
ne country was Changing every day and every
no"r-new views we're continually presenting
the'nSelVes-new wants were continually dis
tcoVered-new resources were constantly nm
folding therpselves-new connections were eve
ry day taking Piace-individuals were doing
H1uci-states were doing tnuch-and he was
satisfied that 1t Congress was never TO act on
hut,
it would never act at ALL
This road was wanted-;t was wanted now
1t was wanted more now than il would he to.
morrow and the expense of making il today
would be no more than of making it tomorrow.
10 the settlement OF a new country, roads were
al important The sooner they were opened
the greater was their value and importance 10
me settlers Ought not the road them If it is 10
be made at all, to be made now
as to the burden of this appropriation. he
| agreed, indeed, with the gentleman ON South
Carotna that II was proper TO limit the public
Expenditure within reasonable bounds and to
Keep do,yn public debt. Yet lie must be pet-
united To ask, what was likely to be the prodi-
gioas effect of this Sl50,00o upon tie public
debt II tins" as aqneston which might not be
asked now, how could II be asked when the
system had been adopted? and an expenditure,
not OF 10000, bul 81 millions of liars would
| be called Tor to carry il into effect. That IN
deei, would be a formidable subject of consider
1 alton and one which ne suspected would always
operateto preventthea adoption of such system
but Dow the amount was certainly too small to
! ne the least iegree oneroris to the public re-
sources I'm Illustration of the principle that q
genera sFstem was slow IN beng adopted, and
mat II would oe necessary 20 commence with
some Particular object, Mr.. w. referred to the
l fnr
| ihe mississippi and Ohio rivers 1t was ther
thought extraordinary BY many gentlemen. thd
! an OBJECT IN which uine different states we're
each greatly Interested sl,ouId have RENAMED SO
tionS unacconplished. But that circunytance
vas perhaps, the most operative reaso,Hwhy it
pai nol pcen done, Among SD man states IT
was difficult TO Obtain mutual COURSE and united
ci"rt, aid they tits continued % neglect an
Improvement, the want of which. lad occasioned
al different times, the loss of .alf a million of
dollars, although it was foun that responsible
individuals were now readyto undertake it for
$4,000 dollars sum wAich, at least in the
Eastern states, would MT be viewed as heavy
burden for one single county, or even for sin
| gle town. He regaLied the country as under a
| general expectation of aid from the General
Government, an respect TO the subject of roads.
| Congress had rirually said to the people of the
West, that the road should be carried on ill il
reached them ali, and though they might not
have said this in any formal act set il had virtu-
| ally been given out in the speeches made on
this floor. The people consider them as under
pledge, and the present bill in carving on the
road for SD miles, does but carry Congress so
miles farther towards the redceming of their
pledge.
Government, he believed, had received o or
20 millions of dollars from the public lands, and
4 Al,
to the change which had been introduced in the
mode of paying for them; yet he could never
think that the National domain was to be re-
garded as any great source of revenue. The
| great object of government, in respect To- those
lands, was not so much the money derived from
their sale, as it was the getting Of them settled.
What he meant TO say, was, that he did not
think they ought to hug that domain as great
treasure which was to enrich the excheuuer-
yet the consideration that government has al
ready received large sums from it, had great
weight with them when the persons who propo-
sed to settle it. came to this House, and asked a
small appropriation to aid them in doing so.
/ The debate was further continued by Messrs.
Stewart, Cambreleng and Wood.
Finally, the question was then taken, by
Yeas and Nays, and decided as follows; Yeas
| g3-Nays 50.
! So the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading.
Wednesday, Jan. 10.
IN SENATE.
YAzoo LAND CLAIMS.
The Senate took up the report of the Judi
ciary Committee, unfavorable to the Petition oil
| Ebenezer Oliver and others, Directors of the
! New England Mississippi Land Company.
The committee for the reasons which they
set forth, declare the prayer Of the petition IN