Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1838-05-12
REPORT

REPORT
Df the Committee of 81, to the Merchant
Convention, presented on Wednesda,
of the session of that body, by Gen. Rob
ert Y. Hayne.
The Committee of 81, who were in
structed $50 consider and report On the
measures proper 10 be adopted by thi.
Convention" beg leave respectfully tc
Report,
That they have bestowed upon the sub
ject referred 10 them, the attention which
its Importance demands. Time does moi
permit, nor does the occasion perhaps
require, an elaborate examination of the
subject in all its bearings, and this is the
less necessary, as the able documents re-
Gently published by the Convention, have
exhibited in the clearest light, and demon
a strated in the most conclusive manner, eve
ry point whichit could be important for
us to establish. Indeed the whole ques-
ton is embraced in the single proposition,
that it is the interest and duty Of the Slave
holding states ofthe Union, to improve their
Natural advantages, by securing to them
felves that portion Of the commerce of the
: country which rightlully belongs to them;
proposition which ifitLe not selfevident,
cannot derive much support from argu-
hent or illustration. We rest our whole
base upon the fact, which is beyond all
dispute, that the Southern and South Wes-
tern States furnish three fourths of the en-
IRE domestic exports of the whole Union,
while they import but little more than one
tenth of the productions received from
abroad in exchange for these exports. 1t
has been shown in the documents publish
ed by the Convention, that when the i'm
norris Of the Unit " ,,t..;
@Iso, UUu,Uoo, those of all the Atlanlic
States south of the Potomac and the States
"a the Gulfof Mexico, amounted to only
&oo 600. 900; and while the domestic ex-
Kort Of the Union amounted to $107 ,OOo,-
hoo. the States of the South and South
West exported $78, 100000.
Il South Carolina and Georgia while iur-
nishing exports to the extent oil $24,ooo!,-
900. actually imported less than three NIL
lions and a half-The amounts have va
ried in different years, but this may 6 o.
gtaken as an exemplification OF the condl'
Nation of Southern trade.
lM The mere statement of these facts, muS'
surely convince any unprecedented mlna,
that this unnatural state Of affairs could
only have been brought about by the mos,
powerful and extraordinary causes ana
Nthat from the very nature OF Things, the
effect must have been highly injurious 70
Dhe Southern States. Without attempting
10 trace all the causes which have had an
agency in producing this result, we VIII
merely advert to one of the most obvious
Ind which is perhaps sufficient oil itlelI
10 account for it; we allude to the UNEQUAL
ACTION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, es
Especially in The mole ofIEyyING and DIS
BURsING THE PUBLIC REVENUES. II lnsleat
ofthrowing nearly the whole OF the public
Burdens, in the shape Of duties upon those
foreign goods which are received almos
Exclusively in exchange for the great stu
Piles of the South, the revenue had been le
We'd in direct tax (however largely ex
ceeding the wants of the Government, tn,
burden would have fallen, at least equally
upon the different portions of the Union
But by the system which was adopted
while the labor and capital Of the Soutl
was borne down with weight OF taxation
which in many instances amounted to on
halfof the whole cost of the articles re
ceiyed in exchange for their productions
the labor and capital Of ether portions Q
y the Union, were substantially exempt fror
taxation, and even stimulated by enoI
nous bounties Nor did the evil stop here
Under the pretext Of encouraging ''dome'
tic industry," duties on foreign goods wer
imposed to an amount greatly erceed'.i5H
qcdists of the Government. The amount
thus brought into the Treasury were az
cansuldted IN the No.thein CiiieS, and Of
pecially in New York, from whence the
we're drawn only to 10 distributed anon
the military and naval establishments
the north; the surplus being finally div
ded among pensioners, and internal IN
provements in the same quarter, and
the West Hundreds Of millions Of do
lars we're thus DRAWN FROM THE Sour
and expended north of the Potomac; an
our wealth was conveyed from US by
steady stream, constantly flowing nortl
ward, in current as undertaking and !
resistble as the Gulf stream itself, whic