Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1830-12-15

small portions OF their nominal territory, the
Indian title 10 which had at the time been
distinguished.
II is, therefore, a duty which this Govern.
mcnt owes to the new States, to extnguish,
as soon as possible, the Indian title to all
lands which Congress themselves have in.
cluded within their limits. When this is
done, the duties of the General Government
in relation to the States and Indians within
! their limits are at an end. The Indians may
leave the State or not, as they choose. The
| purchase of their lands Goes not alter in the
least, their personal relations with the State
| Government. No act Of the General Gov
ernment has ever been deemed necessary to
give the States jurisdiction over the persons
of the Indians. That they possess by virtue
| Of their sovereign power within their own
! limits, in as full manner before as after the
purchase Of the Indian lands; nor can this
| Government add to or diminish it.
May we not hope therefore that all good
! citizens, and none more zealously than those
who think the Indian oppressed by subj ection
to the laws Of the States, will unite in al
! tempting to open the eyes Of those children
! Of the forest to their true condition, and by a
spccdy removal to relieve them from the evils
real or imaginary, present or prospective,
with which they may be supposed to be
threatened.
n Among the numerous causes Of congratu
! Ilation, the condition of our impost revenue
! deserves special mention, inasmuch as it
! promises the means of cxtingushing the
! public debt sooner than was anticipated, and
/ furnishes a strong illustration Of the practical
effects of the present tariff upon our CONNER.
cial interests.
The object of the tariff is objected to by
| some as unconstitutional ard it is considered
! by almost all as defective in many of its parts.
/ The power to impose duties on imports or
| jliginay belonged to the several States. The
! right to adjust those duties with view to the
| encouragement Of domestic branches Of in.
dustry, is so completely incidental to that
power, that it is difficult to suppose the exis
Itence of the one without the other. The
States have delegated their whole authority
over imports to the General Government,
without limitation or restriction, saving the
very inconsiderable reservation relating to
their inspection laws. This authority hav-
ing thus entirely passed from the States, the
| right to exercise it for tho purpose OF protec
,ion does not exist in them; and consequent
IIly, if il be not possessed by the General Gov
| crnnent, it must be extinct Our political
system would thus present the anomaly of a
people stripped Of the right to toster their
own industry, and to counteract the most sell
| fish and destructive policy which might be u.
| dopted by foreign nations. This surely can.
| moi be the case: this indispensable power, thus
surrendered by the States, must be within
the scope of the authority on the subject ex-
| pressly delegated 10 Congress.
H In this conclusion, am confirmed as wei.
| by the opinions of Presidents Washington,
| Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. who have
each repeatedly recommended the exercise
| of this right under the Constitution, as by
the uniform practice Of Congress, the contin-
ued acquiescence of the States, and the gen.
eral understanding of the people.
The difficulties Of a more expedient adjust
| ment of the present tariff, although great,
are far from being insurmountable. Some
are unwilling to improve any of its parts, be.
cause they would destroy the whole: others
fear to touch the Objectionable parts, lest
those they approve should bo jcoparded. ]
| am persuaded that the advocates Of these
conflicting views do injustice to the Amcri
can people, and to their Representatives.
/ The general interest is the interest of each:
and my confidence is entire, that, to ensure
the adoption of such notifications Of the tar
if' as the general interest requires, it is only
necessary that that interest should be under
stood.
/ 1t is an infrmity Of our nature to mingle
our interests and prejudices with the opera
tion Of our reasoning powers, and attribute TO
! the objects of our likes and dslkes qualities
| they do not possess, and effects they cannot
| produce. The effects of the present tarifare
doubtless ovcrrated, both in its evils and in
its advantages. BY one class of reasoners,
! the reduced price Of cotton and other agricul-
tural products is ascrbed wholly to its inhu.
ence, and by another, the reduced price of
manufactured articles. The probability is,
! that neither opinion approaches the truth, and
that both are induced by that influence Of in.
terest and prejudices to which have refer
red. The decrease ofprices extends through
out the commercial world, embracing not
! only the raw material and tho manufactured
! article, but provisions and lands.-The cause
must, therefore, be deeper and more perva-
. ding than the tariff Of the United States. 1t
/ may, in measure, be attributable to the in.
creased value Of the precious metals, produc.
ed by dlminution of the supply, and an in.
| crease in the demand, while commerce has
rapidly extended itself, and population has
augmented. The supply of gold and silver.
the general medium Of exchange, has been
greatly interrupted by civil convulsions in the
countries from which they are principally
drawn. A part the effect, too, is doubtless
! owing to an increase of operatives and i'm.
provenents in machinery. But, on the whole,
| it is questionable whether the reduction in the
price ofands, produce and manufactures, has
been greater than the appreciation Of the
| standard Of value.
While the chief object Of duties should be
revenue, they may be so adjusted as to en-.
courage manufactures. In this adjustment
however, it is the duty of the government to