Alabama state intelligencer., 1831-04-06

selves and therefore m avor through Congress, of forcing the other Stat, into joint contribution
 out of which they 10 receive-not in proportion to what they are to pay-but in proportion to what their numbers will entite them in general scran- ble on the floor of Congress. The southern States have much to lose and nothing to gain by game in | which they furnish two thirds of the stakes-whout possibility from their want of numerical strength
 Of receiving equal share of the spoil Those
 States who really pay nothing to the revenue over and above the bounties they receive by high dutes
 and who prove it by the pertinacity with which they
 beg for taxation have nothing to ose but every thing to gain. Hence, every State south of the Potomac,
 with the exception of Louisiana, (which consider
 as a tariff State, and completely bought up by the
 duty on sugar and molasses) have entered their so- lemn protest against this system on the contrary,
 tariff State in the Union has failed to affirm the
 constitutionaty and expediency of this power. On what side fellowcitizens, shall Alabama be found
 Will she be found under the banners of her oppres- sors marching in unholy crusade against southern
 rights and interests shall she be found with her sister States Virginia, North Carolina South Caro- 1 lima, Georgia and Mississippi, boldly stemmng the tide of Federal roachmeht--disdaning to beg the | crumbs which fall from the federal table--and pre- ferrng to be free rather than the pampered menal of
 federal fayor7 Not only our pride but our interests must answer this question. l do not deny thai by l dint of begging we may sometimes get appropria- tion to construct road or a canal. A majority in
 Congress sometimes udicously grant these favors as the reward of subservency, and are willing at expense, to buy up State to their own opinions:
 but would be like giving man five dollars for the
 privilege of robbng him of fifty or perhaps more
 like the conduct of an experienced gameser, who, in
 playing with youth, suffers him to win the first l game or two and then cheats him out of his whole Now, feow-citzens, can we justify support of
 this system, by plea of inability to make our own
 roads and canals1 It would indeed be humating,
 for Alabama to say she was not able to make her own roads and canals, and therefore she wished them made at the expense of some one else We
 are able felow-citizens we can arrest the progress l ofa system which takes from our money to make
 roads and canals in other sections of the country
 This is the true cause of any inability which may | lst. There IS not a man among us who has paid
 merchants bill. who has moi paid tax upon his su-
 gar, his coffee, his iron, his salt in fact, every
 tice which be entered on the ledger to construct | some splendid work out of his State, and yet the oldest man among us has scarcely ever hation- al road Our money flows from us in a continued stream to enrich other sections of tfe country If every dollar we pay into the treasury branded we should find but few of them recrossing tine Poto
 mac. This, fellow-ctzens, is the only reason of our inability to construct our roads and canals. 1f by reduction of duties. the money pay to this system was suffered to remain with us half of it drawn out by the State Legislature, would in ten years pave our most important roads with granite- Were ten times more enthusiastic in road making than its most frantic advocate, would say that it would flourish most in this State, under the auspices of the Legislature.
 Before closing my remarks cannot omit, fellow citizens two circumstances which occurred just be- fore the close of the last session of Congress- cacu- lated to shed bright ray of hope over the hitherto couded prospects of the soutl refer to the reduc- tion of the duties tea, coffee, cocoa moasses and salt and the of the President on the Maysyile and Rockville road bills. No political occurrence for the last ten years has given much qualification sl-. .I.l. the system of oppressive taxation the one hand
 and of profignte expenditure the other were en. tailed on us and our poserity national scouIge We had in vain attempted modification of the ta- riff. The combined strength of manufacturing mo- nopoly was too great to be shaken until an attack was made upon the system in detail. By detach- ed effort and by rallying strength to single point
 we were able to effect reduction of the duties on two important articles, (sugar and salt which gave much strength to the main system. By destroying the protection which is given to any branch orindus
 try we moi only release ourselves from much taxa ton, but detach all interested in that particular | branch from the support of the main system. The salt manufacturers now say you have reduced the duty on salt we will go for taking off all other dutes
 In other words. as we cannot be allowed to rob, we will let no ono else punder This will be the result | wherever reduction takes place. The duty on salt has been the strong interest which has hitherto bound the State of New-York to the tarifi-and there is every reason to hope that after the next election that great State will be found acting with against the whole system. r-r
 The veto of the President, fellow-citizens con- slider as practical check to internal i'm pavement While he goes farther than the southern politicians, in admitting the constitutional right of approprating money to works in their character national he ex- pressly says that he does not consider the time nor the fiscal condition of the country suspicious to the prosecution of such works; and he further says that the bare right of appropriating money hc only power which he admits can never be benefcially exercised until further powers are conferred on Con- gress by an alteration of the Constitution. Hence, | though he signed bills approprutng money for the completion of works already commenced under the preceding administration part of the ordinary appropriations for the government he refused to sign every internal improvement bill which was present. ed to him during the session. The Portland and Louisville canal bill, entirely national according to the advocates of this sysem failed to receive his sent. So conclusive was the course of the President considered on this subject, that upon the reception of the Maysvillr message, he was denounced on the floor of Congress enemy to national internal improvement; and already has Henry Clay been announced candidate for the Presidency, on the express ground, that he is the unqualified advocate | of the system. Those who enraptured with internal improvement, have now a consideration before them who will push the system to their | hearts content, with all the necessary concomi- tants of taxation and oppression. Should, however | the great body of the American people sustain the President we shall witness a speedy discharge of the national debt, and speedy deliverance of the
 planting interest from the present burthens | of taxation That will be sustained by the in- tellgence of the nation have no doubt. Many
 persons who have heretofore voted for appropriations to this object. have done under belief that it was the settled policy of the country and that opposition
 was useless. It is different question whether the
 policy shall he continued now that there is an op- p0runity Of arresting it. As to myself avow that tO hav fpl ia Q m utv v,ndar a