Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-05-29


the commercial policy at Britain had been, not on
ly to promote her own prosperity, but to dcprcSS
that OF her commercial rivals and compc,itu rs.
Tins system he never III all his bcraliiy, procsScd
or pretended to discard on the contrary, he, like
his eminent associate and friend. ambitious on
ly To acquire aud leave behind him the rcmown of
British statesman. His whole system OF com.
mcrcal policy Was adjusted to the principle of adj.
vaucmg the commerce and navigation oft.rcot Bril-
tain, by depressing that ofhiS country lilo repeal
ed restrictive statutes by the hundred, because
they had been enacted against ancient commercial
rivals of Britain but who were more. His
system To favor those obsolete, vanQuishcd and
crippled advcrsarcS in tradc-to convert th"n int %
instruments OF annoyance against the new and now
only formidable rival whom she could dread. The
repeal OF these statutes gave him opportunities OF
popular defamation i'll honor Of Free Trade while
for every restriction against them which lie rave
up, he devised and put in operation new one a.
gainst To resist the action of such Statesmen
IN Europe, and the operation of such systems, a
power of providing for the common defence was in
diSpcnsably necessary and was expressly bestowed
III the very first grant of power to Congress and
coupled in tho same sentence with that for the
paymcn, ofthc Public Debt.
TO provide for this Common Defcnccwas accord
lngly, in conjunction with the payment of the ma
t"nal debt, the first object which commanded the
attention OF Congress, on the organization of the
Government, under the present Constitution. The
very first act of the first Congress ofthc United
States after that organization, (of which the for
the ad nlnistration of official oathS formed part
was an act for laying duty goods, wares and
merchandise, imported into the United States and
this act, by an exception to genera! rule, adopted
from the first and ever since observed, was prcce-
ded by preamble declaring it's objects, follows
" Whereas it is necessary for the support of Co
" Vcrnmcnt, for the discharge of the debts oG the
" United States, and the encouragement and pro-
" feci'OH OF manufactures, that duties he laid Oh
goods, wares, aud mcrchundizcS imported"
And thus the very first act of the organized
.....
by tho support Of the government just instituted,
the two objects combined in the first grant OF pow
erto Congress. tho payment Of the public debt, and
the provision for the Common DctcHcs, by the pro-
lection of manufactures. The next act pre-
ciScly of the sar"s character, act of protection
to manufactures still more than of taxation ioi re-
venue; an act imposing duties tonnage, by which
duty of six cents ton raised upon the
vessels of the United States entering their ports
and fifty contS per ton upon all foreign vessels nor
was tins the only discrimination between the du
ties OF tonnage levied upon the vessels of the u
States, and upon foreign vessels; upon all vessels
built there afterwards in the United States but be-
longing in whole i'll part to Foreigners the duty
levied was thirty cents per ton. And upon all mcr
chandize imported in foreign vessels an addition
OF ten per cont on the amount ofdutcs, was levi
od. These determinations were al protective du-
tlcs-prOtcctivc of the domestic manufacture
The argument which denies the power of Con
grcSs to levy duties for the protection of domestic
manufactures, pronounccS Unconstitutional these
two first acts by which Congress exercised their
powcrs-acts, among the most memorable, among
the most benciccnt exercises of power which have
rendered the Constitution itself blessing to the
nation. 1t cXpunIes from the Constitution the
grant of power to provide for tho Common De-
(tac".
To pay the debts Of the Nation was an object
Of more immediate urgency than even that of pro
vldinG FOR the common defence. 1t was to enable
the Nation itself 10 do Justice TO others. TO pro
vide for the common defence, was the discharge
Of debt which the nation owed 10 iself-a debt
of wider scope, OF deeper import, of moro permo-
ncnt duration. The power Of io"rIpg money to
pay the debts, a power limited by the cnnsun-
nation of it's object. The power Of contracting
further debts conferred by another grant
The exercise of these powers, would, in It's nature
be occasional and temporary; that of providing
for the common defence was permanent and un.
ccasng; debt still paying, still to owe, and lin
tied III It's duration "nlyhy that of the existence of
the nation itself The payment of tho debts is a.
bout 10 be consummated. The power Of lowing
dutlcs, taxes, impostS, and cXciscs for that pur-
pose is about to be eXtnguishod i'll its own fulfil
mcnt. There being debts to be paid the pow
or of lcvying taxes for their paymunt will for the
time cease 10 exist; but that of providing for the
common defence Will remain, not merely unimpair-
Cd, but acquiring fresh strength, and more impres.
slvc weight, from the accomplishment of the ma
tons liberation from debt swelling and expand
ing with the increase and expansion OF the popti-
la;ion and wealth TO be defended and destined
to enlarge its dimensions and gather accommodating
weight and intensity to period cocval with the
destined existence of the federal Union.
TO say that the extinction Of the Public debt will
not discharge the nation from the Obligation or d-
vest Congress OF the power of providing for the
common defence, seems TO be an observation ~
ccptionabc only for its extreme SIMPLICITY And
yet, the opinion that tho payment ofthe debt should
be seized upon the occasion for the abandon
mcnt and sacrifice of all efficient measures for the
common defence, is advanced and pressed upon the
II lIr will,
and vchcmcncc, which places it IN no small de-
gree beyond the palo ofargumcntatvc reason, and
with show Of intleXibiy which has an air of
stalking the Union itself on the question at issue.
The payment of the Public Debt has been an
object of extreme solicitudc as we'll to the PeopIe
as 10 every Administration of the General Govern
mcnt, from the establishment of the Constitution
to this day. To that the whole public domain, in
one of tho earliest acts of the Governments was
pledged. To that the proceeds of all the sales of
the Public Lands were devoted At the commecc-
incnt of the present century, millions three
hundred thousand dollars Of the annual revenues
OF the nation were applied by general act of
appropriation to this purpose. That sum was
shortly afterwards raised TO eight :iiIlions-and
considerable new dcot having accumulated during
our late war with Great Britain, the sum Of ten
millions yearly was appropriated in the year 1916
TO tho extinction as well of that, of the prior
Revolutionary debt, interest and principal. So
long as this burden bore upon the conscience no
less than upon the resources of the People, their
oXcrtons for citcctng the second object of the
grant TO Congress of the power of taxation IN pro-
ride for the common defence and gencrGE ,rclfarc
were necessarily much trammelled and confined
One great fundamental, and ncvcr-to be forgotten
maxim, was the poar star Of all the legislation of
congress upon this subject, and should he so in all
future time That is, TO lay the burden of taxation
IN such proportions should he tolcrable to every
portion Of the people; and next to that, and insc
parably connected with it, was the maxim of appnr
tioning the burden i'll such manner as to cuuazc
as Tar as possible, its pressure upon all the different