Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1840-1842, 1841-03-26
SPEECH or MIR. WISE.


OF messenger, was upon the floor exclaimng-
the author of Modification (Mr. Calhoun) and IN
author Of the American System, (Mr Clay,) the au
thors Of the compromise act, sitting near and look
ing on-i was exclaiming-"Therc goes the mrs
blow at the compromise act-there goes the heavc,
blow ever yet stricken Mt the legislative power Q
Congress over the public money-there goes dl
rect sanction Of Executive usurpation-there goes
heavy blow at the land ordinance OF l7SI-ther
goes a bargain and sale Of the public deposites AM
of their safety-there goes the death-warrant o
State rights; and il Gen. jackson will only vet
that one bill, taught with more mischief than AM
or all other acts put together, will forgive HIM tn
multitude OF his sins" And, Sir, the next day
hearing that he was inclined 10 put his veto upoI
il, came very wear going to him in person to I'm
plore the exercise of his constitutional interposI
ton.
Such is the history of the dcposite act OF 1886
stead ola deficiency Of revenue. A permanent cIcts
tor IL is not with an excess as with deficiency. A
deficiency may be temporary, as have shown, bu
an excess is necessarily permanent-that is, 1t may
be husbinded and kept; It is IN the Treasury, anC
may be continually, far Us its amount will 20, up
piled TO the future wants OF the Government. AnC
do gentlemen now wish in the face OF this rightful
ess, and the terms of the compromse 10 r,ss the Ia
riff in advance, and are they now sezing on tempo
rary, uota permanent deficiency in revenue TO do Sc
IN order to make preext for another distribution
Sir, believe this to be their object, and cannot g,
hem. 1 must separate from them on TIN
onos,;on NJ. heretofore, and they must pardon my
Consistency ask hem EN- S SsSln-what does th'
compromise establish | answcr-t.lsif.."" uusie'
shall be laid for revenue alone-that all rev. uu'
shall be raised for the purpose of"an economical al.
ministration OF the Government" and that none,
of course, shall be raised either Cor protection or
for distribution, or for any other purpose under
Heaven.
Sir, put n case to gentlemen. Suppose that an
economical Administration required but 5000 10
000-suppose that the whole OF that sum, enough for
the Governments own purposes, was raised from
customs alone, would gentlemen then contend that
they could lay on another cent Of duty for protec-
lion and striLutionl-Wo uld not another cent be
protection per SCI presume that no one will diff
fer from me in saying, in such a case, there could
be no increase Of the tariff, and that additional du.
ties would be protective duties per sc. Admit that
case, and will trust TO the argument afterwards
Admit that only, what presume every man will
admit, and put you another question following in
order:-What is the difference between the case
put and that where the Government needs bu,
S2O, 900 900, and you have that amount of revenue
raised-in part, say $4,000 900 from customs, and
$4,000, 900 from lands; and where you give away,
distribute the S5,O0OO00 ofrevenue from lands and
raise duties to supply the deficiency" of So 600.
600 thus caused by distribution 1.-The only diffe-
renee is, that in neither you have deficiency
but IN the latter case you make deficiency unne-
cessarlly, not for revenue, but for dstrbuIon-Ars
not the additional duties in both cases equally pro
iective per SET They are, because in neither case
Congress to make deficiency by giving away rev.
enuel What power has Congress TO lay and col =
lect duties TO supply any such deficiency so made7
For what may Congress lay and collect dutIes7
The Constitution provides specifically: "to pay
debts and provide for the common defence" and
for no other purpose whatever revenue he raised
and when revenue is raised cannot constitu-
Iionally be applied to any other purposes whatever.
These arc the old and the true Republican doctrines
of constitutional construction.
nrpf he's rad nd
1t Is not in order to allude here what passes in
Senate; but the other day, | went to a certain
place-no matter where-we will say, for supposi-
ton sake, TO the Lco-Choo islands, as a friend of
mine, now dead, used TO say. There found birds
of every feather-sea-gulls, crows and curlews ali
hocked Iogether-l will not say vultures nor geese
for am merely using figure for the sake OF order
and do not mean to call hard names.-They were
not birds of prey, and being in high debate found
them very knowing birds
Twas certain."-
Lands they could measure, terms and tides presage"
There heard one old bird, whose physiognomy is
the very phiz of the bird of wisdom, answer the
very argument which have just made. He said
IN answer TO this argument
lst Congress has power TO lay and collect taxes.
This IS Substantive and Independent power in it.
self
2d. Congress has power "to dispose of and make
NIL neediul rules and regulations respecting the ter.
rltory or other property Of the u. States. And
this Is substantive, absolute, and independent
power i'll itself.
Sd. And these two powers being independent Of
each other, Congress may, therefore, lay and col.
Iect taxes without reference to the from the
public lands.
Such was the argument so forcibly and strongly
put, that IT put me 10 putting on my studying can
for an answer. He told the other birds that this
sequitur must be so, "because, it, on the one hand
be eontended that Congress cannot lay duties with
out hrst eEhausng the land, so, on the other hand
u may be and is contended that you cannot sell the
land and collect the proceeds without first exhaust.
ing the CUSTOMS" And he gave examples very
striking and pertinent, concluding by saying that
I'll he was not right, the result was, that Congress
could resort TO neither power because il had both
powers, which is an absuTdtY."
Sir, this argument is really worth examining for
u IS the great and only strong which a tariff
for distribution can stand. Is this fair sequtur
is 1t an answer to the argument that you cannot
empty the Treasury of any revenue already in IL
IN order 10 make the wants OF Government reuuire
additional duties That is the question and 1
answer-No. Because when revenue is once col.
Iected and placed in the Treasury, no matter from
what source derived, one kind is not distingusba HE
from another, and the purposes to which 1t is 10 be
applied are specified in the Constituiion-"to pay
Inc debts and provide for the common defenceD Ii
lt may be given away because II is derived fron,
land, why may II not be gwen away too because II
Is derived from customsl Because we are told thai
the revenue from lands is collected under the obso.
lutte and unlimited power "to dispose of and ma Ike
all neediul rules and regulations respecting the ter.
Iitory other property OF the United States" But
J answer, this clause gives the power 10 "disposs
Of" "the other property" too, and is not revenue
from customs property II this clause then, grants
the power OF giving away distributing either kind
q grants also the power pf giving away or dstri,
buung both kinds Of revenue. This argunoentun,
40 aosuidum OF the o'Choo islands proves too
much-it is ItseIfreducedn d absurdum. II is sopbis
teal in this that II makes the words "disposs of,
100 omnipOtent and absolute and conCounds the
power 10 dispose OF lands with the power To dis.
pose OF revenue. II II is good for any thing tho
only legitimate proposition IL contains is that Con
gress is not imperatlvely bound to dispose C,dn m
raise revenue, that may raise revenue from cue
toms alone without selling the lands. And If tb,
IS al gentlemen mean, grant their position. onf
they may sop the sa'es ofthe public lands TO max,
y necessity for additional duties when they-dars
II they do sell and dispose Of" the territory 0
the United States for revenue, however, all con
tend urs, that they cannot consttutionally emptt
" out Of the Treasury again 10 make dofciencI
ior tariff or dispose Of It for any purpose whatev
ar, except ITO pay the debts and provide for tht
common defence Of the natO1.
Indeed, Sir, this new doctrine, that the power 4
dispose OF" THE territory or other property" o
the United States IL absolute and unlimited Is th
most federal and lautudnous that was ever hcar
Of, even from this "goiliks' bird Of the 90 Cho,
islands, There is no such thing as an absolute
and unlimited power in this General or Fedora
Government. There is no power without its well
defined limits and every power is limited bv ~
very objects and purposes. The grant 10 Law an,
collect taxes is limited by the objects and purpose
of paying debts and providing for the common de
fence; and the power 10 dispose Of the territory
is limited 10y the objects Of treating co.ceming il
of SurUfViHgt u, Of fsefonrng o., Of selling IT, and q