Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-11-30

ufg the imposition OF taxes u a. yihg out against
Ruy maie rial eductioa "f the public b ~ ,icns!-
Does bot this extraordinary fact afford conclu-
sive evidence that high duties opera, Q as n honn
| ~ TO Northern inusicy anil that whatever
| taxes the manufactures mny pay, rs cousu tners,
they are more ihau rcuumerated Ivy The AL van-
| iage they eniny as producers! ar, in other
words, tina, they ACTUALLY receive more than they
| pay, aud therefor cannoi lao Justly said 10 he
SaErd at nil--Whrn ia adii,inu 10 all this, we
take into consideration that the amount of tl-
| ties nnDnaly levied for the pruIecti"n of mann.
factnrerS, begged The necessary wants of the
! Government, (Which cannot he estimated N,
less Than 10 or i2,000,0 O0) is expended almost
exclusively in the Norhe,u portion Of The Uuiut,,
---ran n excite any surprise, that under The ope.
ration OF the Protecting System, the manufnc-
turing States should b. constantly increasing in
riches and growing in strength, with an iuhos-
! pitahle climate aud barren SOIL while the SOUTH
ern States. tho uatUra! yar,leo of America should
he rapidly falling iuto drcny. 1t is contrary to
the general order &c Providence. that auy cvun
Try should long bear up against IL system, by
which enormous coutribu,ions, raised in one
quarter, are systematically expended iu another.
Ii the sixteen inillions Of dailars now annually
levied IN duties on the foreign goods receive ell
III exchange for Southern, productions were al
lowed To remain in the pockets OF the people, or
| by some just aud equal system Of apr opriatiou
could be restored to them, the condition of the
plantation States would un4ues'ionably be one
| oi nhexainple'! prosperity aud happiness. Snch
was our condition under "A system of free trade,
aud such would soon ngnin he our aenviabe LOT.
VI the results whirh would thereby lie proJu
| cei. some FAINT conception may he formed by
imagining what would he the effect upon the
industry al the people of our own State. If the
eObO OOO OF foreign goods now annually received
IN exchange tor our productions and paying .lu
ties To The amount OF upwards of O0D 600 cou,
be obiaiucd by us duty froe, NJ the duties thus
levied, were est'cnded within our own limits !:
Us u MOI obvious that several millions per anium
would he aided tn the ayailuhle ministry Of S.
Caroioa. tie effect OF IS bigh,weuld assaretly he
To change tho entire face OF the aifaus IN this
! State by enhancing the profits of Tire agrirul-
uralist, accommodating capital--giyiug "a fresh
impulse TO commerce, and producing n vivif, ing
iDiinence upon every department, of industry
the happy consequences of wrh would he ex-
pcrience'i by every inl,nhitant of the State
We present. this strong view uf tho subject tn
s,,"w the manifcs, justice Of The claim which
So. tn Carolina now sets up 10 have thi, system
Of rails ing revenue hy dunes ppm Imports res
ricted WI in The narrowest limits, and To show
how utterly jmuossihle it is for US to consent to
have il exteudeo ,'eyond the indispensable " ants
of the government, either f"r the purpose of
affordug protection IN the industry Of others, or
of distributing the proceeds among Individuals
or States.
Grievous, however, az the oppression unGues-
tonably is and calculated in TIE strong lan-
guage Of our own Legislature, 10 reduce the
ton, II Is not IN the aspect that the QUESTION rs
presented in its mosi dangerous aud alarming
form. 1t IL not merely that Congress have re-
sorted Tor uuwarrantahlc purposes to an oppres-
slve exercise OF powers granted TO them by the
Constitution hut that they have usurprd po,o.
err not granted. aud have justified that usurpa-
ton on principles which, if sanctioned or sub
united to, must enIrely change the character of
the Government, reduce the Constitution to
dead letter, aud on the ruins of our confedera-
ted republic erect IA consolidated despn,ism,
without imitation of powers IL this he so,
there IS no man who worthy of the precious
heritage OF liberty derived from our ancestors. or
VINO values the Lee institutinns OF his country,
who must not tremhle for The of freedom.
not oniy in this country, but tlrougho the
world unless the most prompt and efficient
measures are 1T once adopted to arrest the
downwarJ course uf our political affairs, TO stay
The hand OF oppression, To restore the Constiiu-
ton 10 its original principle and thereby to lcr-
petiiate the Union -
Ii cannot he denied that the Government of
he u States possesses no Inherent powers. 1t
was called into being by the States. The States
nor oniy created il. but conferred upon it all it's
powers, aud pre- scrihed its limits 10y written
charter called the Constitution of the u. States
Before the Federal Government had thus been
called int being. The several States unqueston-
ably possessed HI full sovereignty, aud were as
independent OF each other the most po weriul
nations of the world, and in the free and UGdis-
puteu EXERCISE Oh tiiat sovereignty, they enteTe ed
INTO solemn compact with each other, by which
II was provided, that for certain specified objects,
General Government should lie established
with strictly limited powers-the several STATES
retaining their sovereignty unitnpaired, and con-
tiDuine to exercise all powers OK pressy gran
ted to the Federal Government.
In the clear aud emphatic language of MIR.
Jefferson, The several States composing the
United States OF America, are not united on the
principle OF unlimited submission tn the General
Government, but by n compact under the style
and tile OF the Constitution of The United States,
!.rhey constituted General Government for spe-
ciai purposes, q -legaled To that Government GER
tam definite powers, reservng each State TO it.
self The resihuary miass Of right their own self
government, aud w hensoevcr the General Gov
erUment assumes nDde egatcd powers, it's acts
are unauthortatlve, void and of no force" Thai
such is he true nature of tile Federal Comuac,
cannot admit of reasonable doubt, and il fol-
lows of necessity that the Federal Government
is merely JOINT agency, created by the States
that Itcan exert nopowcr not expressly granted
by them, aud that wi,en il claims any power, il
nnst he able to refer TO the clause in the char
Ter whirh confers j.. This view Of the Consitu-
'ioD of the u. States, brings the question of the
ronsiiturIoualiiy Of the Tariff within the narrow
est iimi,s.
The regulation Of domestic industry so far as
Government may rigbtfuIly Interfere herewith,
belonged TO the several States before the Con
slit tou was adopted, or the UnoD spraug into
existence; and il still remains exclusively with
them, unless II has been expressly granted to
tile Federal Government. IT such grant has