The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-07-21


min its reductions To avoid the surplus revenue
which expected to under these high duties
il may he supposed that the attempt made TO re-
lieve the Government of this excess by giving the
land money during that time, TO the States. But II
is equally fair to suppose that designed to re-
store that money the Federal treasury when the act
expired, IN order TO make up the deficiency winch
was reasonably TO be pected from the great educ
ton which, by that time, TO take place IN the du
ties. The compromise act itself contains evidence OF
the correctness Of this Inference as IT was not To be
expected that some OF its main provisions could De
enforced unless the land money should be restored
after that time to the General Government. And
this brings me- sir to the consideration of that act
and particularly of that clause upon which my col
league relies confidently expressly prohibiting
the General Government from resorng to any source,
other than customs, for its support. might here ask
him whether he believes upon second thought that,
if the trainers of this act had designed stipulation to
ALLEVIATE the public domain, they would have left 1t TO
be derived only from vague nerences and mplica-
tons If such had been their design, relation to
sub ect SO important would they not have expressed
ii in direct terms2 When We ember W no framed
that act ought to give them credit, for at least,
this small degree of caution and providence. But,
sir if this clause is to be construed thds literally to
what other conclusions will it lead us This act was
to be permanent law lis provisions, unless repealed,
were to endure through all the contingencies of war
and peace. Is II to be supposed that Congress de
gned 10 restrict he Government to the use of only
one mode of raising revenue2 My colleague asks If
it would be consistent with the compromise act to
raise revenue by internal taxes ask, In RETURN II
he believes thai it designed by that 10 prevent
| resort to such taxation In any emergency, even IT
war itself should require it There was no need OF
any stipulation in this ACT, TO prevent resort to di
| rect taxation or internal duties. The state OF public
opinion gave the highest of all security against such
| measures unless necessity imperiousy demanded IT,
| And would any Congress which ever convened here
stipuate in such case, not to use these modes OF
raising revenue2 And yet my colleagues construc-
[ Ia, do auan to IA sIlt And how nrlV
TO know, that collect, and intend 10 collect,
| venue from postage upon letters? We derive annu-
| ally large revenue from this source-a revenue
sometimes exceeding that raised from the lands. Does
the compromise act require to abandon this
of revenue, and to maintain the Post Office Depart
| men! by customs also? The expenditures OF that
&c aItment the expenditures of this Government;
and If our slipulatIons require us to maintain this
last by customs alone, We must either abandon this
tax, (what perhaps, might be preferred) trans
| fer it to the States. The true meaning Of this
| clause, Mr.. Speaker, is, that we not to raise
| money by duties, for the sake of protection, when
il is not wanted as revenue. This construc-
ton accords with the general tenor of the act;
and the other is contradictory as shall endeavor to
show, to some Of its other provisions. For SO far
from it being evident that this alienation of the pub
lie domain designed by the compromise act to
give stability Cor rather certainty to the protection
which it afforded the manufacturers, it may be shown
that such measure would not have effected that
end and that the act itself expressly points out other
mems by which it might attain that object, far as
1t was practicable.
My colleague says that certainty and stability,
to the amount of protection which the compromise
| tariff was to give, of the leading cOnsidera-
tons with the manufacturers, who assened to it
He shows the fluctuations in the income derived from
the public lands, to prove how they would vary the
amount from year to year, if they were to be consi-
dered part of the Federal revenue. If he sup
poses they designed expected equate exactly or
even nearly, the public receipts and expenditures, he
imputes to them attempt to accomplish what
would be impossible without public debt nor
would they have been their object after they.
had alienated the lands, than before The amounts
of public expenditure and Of the revenues derived
from customs themselves, are both fuctuating The
income from duties varies as much as that r m the
public lands. Within few years we have seen it
vary from twenty -four to thirteen millions. The
same may be said of the expenditures; fer, within
one Presidential term, have seen it alternate from
more than thirty to about twenty-five millions
There means by which nation out of debt
can equaize precisely its income expenditure
When public debt exists, taxes may be laid beyond
the average annual expenditures and this debt will
absorb the surplus ofrevenue whilst the large
will meet those occasional excuses in the eXpendi-
ture of one year over another which sometimes &C.
cur If stability WIS this main intention which was
| to overrule all others ia the act, with much more
propriety might it have been urged that the creation
| of public debt was stipulated in the compromise
The alienation of the lands could not effect that end
and the act itself points out the means by which it
was to be reached, as far practicable. Upon all
protected articles it especially provided that for
! nine years and more, the rate of duties should be
fixed and certain, without regard to These
duties not to be affected by the contingencies
of either excess deficiency until, in nine We RS
| they reached their minimum Of twenty per cent
After that period, there was to be no duty beyond
twenty per centum upon the home valuation; and all
fluctuations either Of excess deficiency, in the
venue, either before after the 30th june 1872
L. h, ,1fo l,,t,o-
which were either under twenty per cent, or made
free by the 4h section of the act itself Thus the
compromise act provided for absolute certainty in
the rate of duties for nine years and required that
during that time, and afterwards the fluctuations in
the were to be ad justed upon the articles
which either Free or else paid duty of less
| than twenty per cent? Here then, seems to be an
express exclusion of the idea that this stability of
protection was to be affected by the surrender of the
public main for other means of attaining that end
are expressly designated. And now might ask,
how is this idea of an intention to ALLEVIATE the lands
compatible with those provisions which required
that the duties should not exceed twenty per centum
upon any arcle' If this provision can be observed
by using the land-money for Federal expenditures,
and must be violated unless it is so used does not
that state of facts itself show that the could ne
have contemplated the surrender of this fund.- un
der such circumstances The income of the public
lands had been invariably used by the General Gov
ernment in past times, for its ordinary expenditures.
1t was of revenue, which could not like
taxation, be abandoned. The lands must be settled
and, to be settled, must be sold. This therefore,
was the last of revenue which the people or
their legislators expected the General Government
to abandon. In point of fact, MIR. Speaker if the
provisions of the compromise act to be observed
the manufacturers had direct interest in applying
the lands to the uses of this Government. That act
contains two lists of free articles the 5th sec
tion which always to remain free; and an
other in the 4th section upon which the duties were
to huctuate to meet any deficiency in the revenue
This deficiency less likely to if the Gene
raj Government should the lands for its own pur-
poses and it was the interest Of the manufacturers
that it should not occur, if it to create the