The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-07-01

ported now free Of duty and comfortably TO the spirit
OF the compromise act we might place duty oftwen-
~ per cent and there would thus be clear melt reye-
nue. OF twenty-five million five hundred thousand dol
lars. He would say 10 gentlemen who opposed these
arguments that they must meet them They, as
statesmen, were bound not TO study how lhEy could
best suppress reduce the revenue OF the General
Government, or how they could most studiuusly alb
SOLD u all but they were bound to exercise the high
trust which had been conded to their hands as TO
vide Tor The wants and carry the objects the Ge
neral Government, without expressing the States
Here then were the articles here the material ;
mere was the subJect-maiter which their Judgment
'heir wisdom, and their lrgisali,n could act and act
as he maintained, without oppression any interest
whatsoever.
lie would press this measure on the ground that il
was States right measure. Seventy millions OF
foreign products were now received duty free, when
lheie were not seventy one millions on deposit IN all
our banks nor in circulation in the country Yet
every year seventy -one millions went TO Europe to
build up the interests of foreign industry while three
millions and half Of dollars rghtully belonging to
purposes Of the National Treasury, still further to n
poyeIsh the States, and still further TO build up the
interests OF foreign producers.
He was not in favor of protective tariff he wen,
solely for a tariff for revenue. II this should incl
dentay protect industry. much the better,
Now il was fact that we send 9S 800 hogsheads of
tobacco abroad every year II was the produce OF
veral of the States chiefly of Maryl Virginia,
and Kentucky and what did France when II got
there She lays the moderate duty of 81 per pound
upon every pound of IT, la the meantime, what duty
did we impose upon her wines3 What did Hamilton
recommend tina, they should impose What did Gal
latin advise Did they raise, as they did, mil
lion Of dollars on the article Of Madeira wine alone
No. What revenue did France derive from the 10,
3i6 hogsheads Of tobacco send her And what
do we receive from ,346 pipes of French wine 7
They received nothing-it free of duty. lie
referred to the fact that France levied duty of one
thousand per cent tobacco, and maintained
that her wines should be taxed
II might be said that the proceeds ofthe public lands
should not be divided, because the expenses Of sur
veying, &c. had never been reimbursed 10 the Gov
eminent. But in respect to this, he would refer gen
tlemen to the House Doe No l6i of the 25ih Con
gress, where they would find that the information
from the Treasury Department was this The amount
of expenses of sales, surveys commissions, &c was
1913 1856 0i7 81 cost of acquisition and management
Off lands, s2s 600 000-making in all, some = 1902
220 900; while the receipts to September 1888, are
stated al but -97 900 37s So Here was an apparent
deficit But if gentlemen would look little further
into the same document, they would find that upwards
of twelve millions of acres OF the land, instead of hav
ing been sold, were given to different States for pur
poses of education, for seats of Government for deaf
and dumb, &c; beside which, the Government has
paid large amounts of its own debts out of the same
domain, not including the amount allowed in private
land claims, or the bounty given to increase the pay
of the soldiers during the last war. Yet there have
been 5 So 095 already entered by land warrants
The debt of the Government for the pay of the army
had been in great degree iquidated by these public
lands Averaging the value OF the land at 81 so an
acre and Of it sold credit at 81 the amount
granted in pay to the army not less than twenty
five millions of dollars. Here was an argument from
the record argument OF figures better than figures
Of rhetoric
He then referred to- and answered some obi, ctions
the bill ofwhich was, that of the States
might not wish their share in the distribution for the
purposes of internal Improvement This he answered
by saying that it could be advantngeously applied to
the purposes of education for which il appeared from
the recent census that in of the States it
greatly needed. He would supportthe BILL if on this
ground alone.
Mr. CLIFFORD spoke at some length in opposition
to the bill He referred to statistical tables and es,i-
mated that under twenty per cent duty articles
duty free taking the basis of the estimate the year
1888 the proceeds Of the public lands divided,
considering that duty of about five millions of dol
lars To be deducted from the by provision
of the Compromise act in the year 1872 the annual
deficit in the Treasury would be about eight millions
of dollars. He therefore opposed the distribution al
the ground of constitulionalty, Congress hav-
ing power to appropriate the money of the Treasury
as graluity. Without concluding, he gave way at
three o clock
And the House adjourned