The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1832-03-27


duty OF tho friends of the administration
to meet their a;saiianis upoa the grolnd
they have selected. At the same time,
wish il Ia he understood, that neither
retort nor recriminn.ion form any por-
tion Of my design. ] will only endeayor
to do justice to those who have no op-
portunity Of being heard, or defending
themselves upon this floor.
understand the senator from Ken
tucky, (Mr. Clay MS saying, that owing
to some cause, (and he left il to be in
ferred) most probably from the equivocal
course pursued by the present chief efmag-
istrate, that his opinion on the south side
of Mason's and Dixon's line, was under-
stood to be in opposition to the tariff, or
at least, to ..he principle ofprotection /;
while on the north. side Of that line, n
different opinion. is nscribea TO him. A
charge Of this kind, never expected TO
hear. Id'd suppose the whole American
people had understood him in the same
way. Upon this, as upon all other sub
jects, when proper occasions have pre-
sented themselves, he has fearlessly and
independently advanced his opinions, re-
gardless of the consequences to himself.
He is not one Of those who change their
opinions from day to day, as some poll
ticians do-who snuffthe popular breeze,
and obey its inspiration. On great po-
litical questions, he forms his opinions
upon reflection, and he abides by them
until his judgment ;nstructs him that he
ought to change them. Upon the sub
ject now under discussion, his opinions
were made public so early as the month
Of April, 1924 and / defy any man, in
or out Of the senate, to show that he has
ever written one word incOnsistant with
the sentiments then expressed. differ
from him in opinion upon this subject |;
but that difference is no reason why l
should not place his opinions fairly be-.
fore the senate and the nation. His let
ter to Doctor Coleman, of North Caroli-
ma, of the 26th April, 1924, contains n
true exposition of his sentiments in rela-
tion to this subject. Since that letter
was written and published throughout the
United States, two Presidential elections
have taken place and the result of them
we all knew. l viii now read to the
Senate, an abstract from that letter, con-
tanning all that relates to this matter.
Mr.. Grundy then read the following:
"Providence has filled our mountains
sand our plains with minerals-with
"lead, iron, and copper, and given us soil
"and climate for the growing of hemp
sand wool. These being the grand ma
"terais Of cur national defence, they
sought to have extended to them ade-
"aua;c and fair protectipn--that our own
"manufactories and laborers may be
"placcd on fair competition with those
''of Europe, and that we may have with
Gin our country supply ofthose leading
''nnd important articles so essential in
"war. Beyond this, l look at the Tariff
"with an eye to the proper distribution
"of labor, and to revenue, and with a
"view to the discharge Of our national
"debt. am one of those who do not
"considcr national debt national bles-
"sing, but rather curse to a Republic
"--inasmuch as it is calculated to raise
"around the administration a monied
"aristocracy dangerous to the Liberties of
"thc Country. This Tariff, mean iu-
"dicious one, possesses more fancifuI
".han real danger"
now submit to the Senate, whether
what have read does not contain clear,
explicit and unequivocal expression of the
opinions Of the writer upon the subject
now under consideration, and whether
we cannot as distinctly understand the
kind Of Tariff which he advocates from
the few lines have read as we can the
opinions Of the Senator from Ike ntucky,
ironl his three days speech on the same
subject. The president declares himself
in favor of the principle Of protection
and that protection in tho articles men
toned, and some others may properly
form the primary considerations Of a
Tariff. In this, the opinions of the Pre-.
sident and the Senator from Kentucky
(Mr. Clay agree /; nor can ! discover
any difference between them except it be
in the use of the term 'Jud;cious," with
which the Senator from Kentucky seems
10 find fault.
Ifin this they differ, should infer
that the President is in favor ofa reason
able and judicious Tariff, and that the
Senator from Kentucky is in favor ofan
unreasonable injudicious one. For my
own part, l think them both wrong in
principle. Revenue, in my judgment,
should in all cases be the primary object
in tho imposition of duties, and protec-
,ion should only be incidental and SUBJ
ordinate.
The description given by the Senator
from Kentucky ofthe proceedings on the
4ih of March, 1929. and the character