Virginia advocate. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1827-1860, 1830-12-10

""u 'S'D UNDERSTOOD That
/; they were To- be confined forever to
those small portions of their nominal
territory, The Indian title to which had
at the time been extlnguished.
IL Is, therefore, duty which this
. government owes the new States, to
n extinguish, as ,oon as possible. the
Il Indian title TO Hands which CONGRESS
d themselves have included within their
j limits. When this is done, the duties
oil the General Government i'm relation
to the States, and Indians within their
: limits, are at an end. The Indins may
ieave the State or not, as they choose.
Inc purchase OF their lands dose no,
alter, IN the least, their personal reIa-
> tons with the State Government No
; act OF the General Government has
ever beer deemed necessary to give
the States jurisdiction over the persons
OF the Indians. That they possess, by
virtue oil their sovereign owe within
T their own limits, in as full a n be-
r lore as after the purchase Of the Indian
land; nor can this Government add to
or diminish it.
May we not hope, therefore, that all
good citizens, and noue more zealously
than those who think the Indians op-
pressed by subsection to the laws of
the States, will unite in attempting to
open the eyes Of those children oftbe
forest 10 their true condition, and by a
speedy removal, to relieve them from
the evils, real or imaginary, precent or
prospective, with which they may be
supposed to be threatened.
Among the numerous causes of con-
graduation, the condition of our i'm
post revenue deserves special mention,
IN as much as 1t promises the means of
extingulshing the public debt sooner
thah was anticipated, and furnishes "A
strong illustration ofthe practical effects
OF the present tariff upon oul CONNER
c'al interests.
The object of the tariff is objected to
by some as unconstitutional; aud it is
considered by almost all as defective in
many of its parts.
The power to impose duties on inn
ports originally belonged to the everal
States. The right to adjust those du-
"o ~" Wow W tuc encouragement
OF domestic branches of industry is so
completely incidental to that power,
mat 1t Is Difficult to suppose the exis-
tence OF the one without the other.
The States have delegated their whole
authority over imports TO the General
Government, without limitation ur re-
strictIon, saving the very in~considera-
Die reservation relating to their inspec-
ton laws. This authority having thus
entirely passed taOm the States, the
right to exercise it for the purpose of
protection dose not exist In them; and.
consequently, fit be not possessed by
the General Government, it must be
extinct. Our political system would
thus present the anomaly of a people
stripped Of the right to foster their own
industry, and TO counteract the most
selfish and destructive policy which
might be adopted by foreign nations.
This surely annot be the case: this
Indispensable power, thus surrendered
by the States, must be within the scope
oil the authority on the subject expressly
delegated 10 Congress.
In this conclusion, | am confirmed
as well by the opinions of Presidents
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Mon.
roe who have each repeatedly recon-
mended the exercise this RICH, under
the Constitution, as by the uniform prac-
tice oiCongress,th continued acquies-
cence otthe States, and the general
understanding of the people.
The difficulties IF q o,,oI-.
adjustment OF the present tariff, altho'
great, are far from being insurmounta-
BILE. Some are unwilling to improve
any OF ITS parts, because they would
destroy the whole others fear TO
touch the objectionable parts, lest those
they approve should be jeopatdised. |
am persuaded that the advocates of
these conflicting views do injustice to
the American people, and to their
Representatives. The general inter-
est the interests of Teach and my conf
deDce is entire, that, TO ensure the a.
doptlon of such notifications OF the Ia
riff as the general interest requires, it
IS only necessary that the interest
should be understood.
1t is an infrmity of our nature to
mingle u interests and prejudices
with the operation of our reasoning.
powers, and attribute to the objects or
our likes and disllkes qualities, they do
not possess, and effects they cannot
produce. The effects of the present
tariff are doubtless oyerrated, both in
its evils and in its advantages. BY
one class o! ~reasoners, the reduced
price OF cotton and other agricultural
products is ascrlbed wholly to its inhu-
ence, 'and by another, the reduced
price of manufactured articles. The
proPababllty is, that neither opinion
approaches the truth, and that both are
induced by that influence Of interest