The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1829-01-01


fhs United States aud oil such laws Shah be
suffice, ~ the revision aud control Of the Co..
srrss.
II saw nothing ofthe clear Indications n tic
Jontnai of the Convection Of 1907 thai tue
clause was Intended merely 20 piosd. for eK-
penaas incurred by particular States IN their In
tpref,gn Laws, and ia such improvements as
they nBsit choose 10 make in their hs' bors and
RIVER. with th. sanction Ut COnRress-ohjecis 10
which the reserved power has been applied, IN
several instances, nj the request Of Virginia and
Gsorgis-how could Il ever he imagined that
any state would wish to tax lis own trade tor
the encouragement Of manufactures, Possessed
OF The authority, " could, in fact. do SO, if wish
ing
! 4 tax on imports would Le tax on is own
consumption and the net proceeds going. ac-
cordng 10 the clause, not into is own Treasury,
bur into the Treasury of the United States the
! State would tar itself separately for The equal
gain of all the other States and as far as the
manufactures. so encouraged might succeed
IN ultimately increasing the stock in market, and
lowering, the price by competition, this adj
vantage. also, procured at the sele expense
of the State, would be common 10 all the 9th
srs.
Blu, the very suggestion OF snch an espedient
To any State, would have al air Of tDockery
+ "ilfb I've = pr tkfFfh 10 itttH
into view. No one, who recollects OF recurs to
the period when the power over commerce was
IN the individuals States, aud separate attempts
were made to tag, or otherwise regulate IT. need
be told iha, the attempts were not only aborli'e,
but, by demonstrating the necessity OF general
and uniform regulations, gave the original I'M
pulse 10 The Constitutional eiorm which prOyld-
I ed for such regulations.
To refer State, therefore, to the exercise Of
power, as reserved 10 her by the Constitution,
The mpossbity Of exercising which was an in
ducemeni 10 adop; the Constitution, is, Of all re-
medal devices, the last that ought 10 be brought
iofwaTd And what renders II the more extra
ordinary, Is, that. az the lax commerce, as
lar rs II could be 3rpn,alely collected, instead
of belonging 10 The Treasury OF the State, rs
previous 10 the Constitution, would be a tribute
10 The United States, the State would be in IA
worse condition, after the adoption of the
Constitution, than before, in reference TO an
important interest, the improvement Of which
Was pas ocular object IN adopting the Consti-
tuition.
We're Congress 10 make tho proposed decla-
ration Of consent 10 stnle tarlds in favor oil
STATE manufactures, aud the permitted aueDpts
did not defeat themselves, what would be the
situation OF States deriving their foreign sup.
plies through the ports of other Suites IL is
evident thai they might be compelled to pay, iii
men consumption ot particular aTisles impoi
ted, a tax Tor the common treasury, not common
TO ell thu States, with out having any mandtac-
ture or prodUot Of ther own, to phTiake OF he
contemplated beae6.
Ofihe inpraclicdhly 81 separate regulations
of uade and The resulting necessity OF general
regulations. ~ state was more sensible than
Virginia. She Was accordingly among the most
ar
guile to the object On more occasions than
one in the proceedings Of her Legislative coai.
els IT vas reciisd that the relative ,iiIauun u
the States had bees found. on hidi to require
uaformRyin ihen commercial regulations rs
the only ellectna policy for obtaining in lac
ports 81 foreign nations stipulation Of prvi--
ges reciprocal 10 thGie enjoyed by the, jccts OF
such nations in the pnr,s OF the uui.tl States
for preventing annhosuies ,.hich cannot ia
10 gr'ar among the several States .roal the
interference Of partial aud separate rpsua-
tons and ior j. rlsIns from commerce such
ald,to the public revenue a, q ought TO conri.
hu'e, &c.'
During tie delays and disc0ura pmenls pc
rieuced IA the attempts to invest Congress with
the aeerssar. powers the State Of YirG mia madr
various urls OF Vhdt could he done uY her ind.-
vidual laws SIR veltulsd On duties and im-
passed at one tune TO ge aGd ptoiec her
owl navigation and ship building and in con.
Seqaenee Of complaints and petitions from Nor
toN, Alexandria, and other places. against the
innuopnlizing nhyIga ion laws OF Great Biitain,
particularly in the trade boilresA HE United
States and M Briti4h Ec,i Indies, she dehbefa-
ted, with "A purpose controlled only by the in-
efficacy OF separa.r measures, on 'heeXperineut
o. forcing reeIpl by prohibnory rr.ula-
tons II her own. lSec Journal Of House Of De.
leeates IN 1880.
In effect OF separate attempts TO raise reYe
nua by duile. on imports. soon appeared ia e
precautions from ner tnPt ChdutS. that the COM
meIca o. the State vas ban,hed Ivy them into
other thanneis especially OF Maryland, where
imports were less buidened than in Virginia
See Do for 1886
Such tanden Of separate regulations was
indeed too manifest to escape anticipation. A.
mong the pro- pets prompted by the want of
Federal authority over commerce, WIS that of
"A concert first proposed ou the pat 0f Mary.
land for a uniformity Of regulations between
the two states. aud CUmmIs ,ioners were APP
pointed for that purpose. II Was soon petceiy-
Ell. however, that the Concurrence of PCnnS Viva
nla "as as necessary to Maryland as Of Ma
rylaDd tn Virginia. and the concur ance Of Penn
sNlYania was accordingly invited. But Penn
SglNanh toui1 no more concur WHhou New
York than MARY land without Penns ylvania
nor New York without toe concurrence OF Bos-
ton &c
These projects were superseded for the mo-
! meni lay that ofthe Convention at Annapolis in
| 1856, aud forever nv the Convention at Phnadel.
phta in 1897, and the Constitution which was
! the irui, of it.
There is passage in M. Necker's work on
the dnanoes OF France which affords signal H.
lustat'on of the difficulty OF collecting IN cont.
guous communities indirect taxes, when not the
same in all, by the violent means resoited
TO against smuggling from one to another Of
them. Previous TO he late Revolutionary war
IN that country, the taxes were OF very dififr-
cnI rates IN the different Provinces particular
" the tan ON salt which was high In the
interior provinces and low in the maritime and
the tax on tobacco, which vas very high in gen
eral whist in some ofthe provinces the use of
the article vas altogether free The ronsp.