The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-07-21
REMARKS OF Ma r.. NJ T. HUNTER
OF VIRGINIA,
ON THE TEMPORARY TARIFF BILL.
DELIVERED In THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY A, 1912.

follows:
Mr. SPEAKER la the Distribution bill OF the last SEES
sion proyso was inserted, which suspended The ope-
ration of the bill whenever the duties upon Imports
should exceed 20 per cent upon their value IL was
understood at he time that without this provision the
bill could not have received the assent of The Pres
dent OF The United States Indeed, the gentleman
from Indiana Mr. Lane has assured US that the
clause was introduced mainly to avoid this obstacle
which was supposed To exist, if Congress were to
pass 1t in any other form. Recent events have de-
monstraed that the impression then prevailing as TO
the Presidents opinion correct Laie, very late
in this session, bits taken up, which pro-
vided permanent tariff of duties, greatly exceeding
20 per cent, and each of which obtained a clause
repeating the suspendng proviso IN the distribution
bill. Owing To the lateness of the period at which
these bills taken up, 1t was manlfestly imp sslbe
them before the first of July, al which time
1t supposed that the compromise act could not be
carried fully into operation, without some luther le-
gislalive provisions, to give 1t complete effect These
bills were then laid aside; and, about the middle of
June this bill, which is the subject of debate
passed with the most preclpitate haste. The
Chairman Of the Committee of Ways and Means
proposed take it out Of the Committee of the
Whole on the very day of its introduction. And
when the Senate returned it W tn amendment,
that amendment concurred in, under the opera
ton of The previous question, without word OF
debate, and almost w thout examination. he bill,
it passed. raised the duties abve 20 per cent for
month, and still reserved to the States the right
TO the proceeds of the sales Of the public lands during
that month but the actual payment was also post
poned for the period. was, effect, tempo
rary repeal OF the suspendng provso in the dstribu
ton and the supplies which it proposed To raise
offered upon that condition All he circumstan-
which attended this transaction seemed to indicate
dea arce the President TO yield his honest
victons la relation this proviso of the Land bill,
and to stop the wheels OF Government, lar as Con-
gress could do it, unless he would agree to what was,
fret, absolute surrender OF the public domain
To the 5 ates ln the event of his refusing to sign
the bill, not only he, Lut the Government itsrlt was
thus to be surrounded by every difficulty and embar
which legislative ingenuity could devise
IL was To be said that the compromise act was lncom
pele, and the Ist of July at hand, that 1t
was Impossible then to perfect It, or to ADJUST any ELI
Gent nue. system in time TO meet the emergency
IL also To be said that he had arrested bill which
provide the means of ntaining the Government,
and was attempting, by the OF the Veto power, TO
coerce Congress upona revenue measure. he Veto
power Itself W as TO DE denounced arbitrary and
mschievous; and both the and the measure
were To receive the most unsparing vItuperaon. But
the other hand, these d tficutes which grew out
Of the time at which this bill passed, created not
by the Pr,sldent but by Congress itself They alone
had the power OF originating this measures and 1t was
under these very difficulties and embarrassnents that
they chose to adopt it. They were difficulties which
he did create, and could not remove, unless he
were wiling to sign the bill under circumstance
which would force hun to assent to the absolute ADD
unconditional surrender of the public domain TO the
States. 1t Known that the permanent tariff BILL
if il passed at ALL would exceed 20 per cent, and
would contain repeal of the suspending prnviso in
the distribution If he signed the first he could
not refuse his assent to the latter they were In
principle the same; and would be said al, if such
his opinions, he ought to have back the first
BILL as To notify Congress in time of his views In
relation to this subject He was, therefore, accd by
Congress itself in situation in which he could not
take the means thus offered for month only, unless
he prepared to agree The absolute repeal of the
saving clause in the distribution act What he
then 10 do He was assured by his legal advisers
that the compromise act, although not complete
legislative provisions might and should have made il,
could st be executed and the amount Of revenue
which il would furnish would not be very far dffe-
rent from that which the proposed bill would afford.
And was he to consent to the absolute alienation OF
this important of Federal enue for the ad-
dltiona pi,ance which this temporary measure would
give him He acted, in my op Mon, with states
manlke forecast, and with the frmness which became
his tatlon when he refused to accept this scanty
of relief, upon conditions luinous to public
credit and to the FEDERAL Government itself. icon
gress would consent TO separate The two measures,
there was still time to complete The provisions of the
compromise act; and the Democratic party ex hibited
It's willingness, on The morning after The Veto mes
sage, 10 unite with the majority in effectng that OBJ
ject. Such bill might have passed in hour bu,
the majority refused to permit the consideration
of This, separate measure. If difficulties there
fore, should arise, from The want of further le
gSlatIve PROVISIONS IN relation to the Compro
mise act, the responsibility will rest here, ano
not upon the President. This House has nc
right to coerce the Executive into signing an i'm
providen measure ofappro ration by lacking it to the
bill for raising revenue to carry on the Government
The President did right to such attempt If
the portion Of it which effect appropriated the pro
ceeds of the sales of the public lands to tie States
could not have received The assent of two-thlrds O
Congress, of the President it was unjust to the
minority in Congress, and to the President himself
him either to agree to such APPROPRIATION
or else to a revenue measure which, of itself
have received the sanction of all. The at
tempt has failed and it is lucky for the Executive
that the responsibility for any mischief which may
result from that failure rests here and not with him
But Mr. Speaker, the veto message has been vehe
mently assailed here, upon the grounds that the
promise act itself requires that the proceeds of til,
public lands shou MOI be applied TO the expenditure
of the Federal Government; that the lands belong L
the States and that 1t Is improper OF the
apply it to measures of mere expedieDcy, th.
was, upon The President S admission-and es
peciaIiy too, when 1t was revenue measure which
this House alone can originate. My colleague from
the Augusta district maintained the first position
with all Of the ingenuity for which he is dis nguished
lie referred 10 the history of cOnemporaneous events
to show that the manufacturing interests, in assent
ing to the compromise act, understood Of lis
dous to be the appropriation of the proceeds Of the
pubic lands to the States la confirmation Of this
view he referred to the 81 section of the compromise
act, which provides that, from and after the Both OF
June 1872 ''such duties shall be laid for the pur-
pose of raising such revenue may be necessary 10
c)nomicaI administration of the Government =
and he aIntaned that this pledged the Governmen
10 support itself 10y duties upon imports alone. The
reason for this stipulation, he thinks was that the
manufacturing interests require stability in the sys-
TEN OF Imports, which was to be obtained only by
aena ing the lands The States, and by maintanirg
the Federal Government upon customs alone. Now,
think, Mr.. Speaker, II may be shown that such q
stipulation never was made that it would not have
attained the end for which he thinks ii was desc ned
aud that, IN connexioh with other provisions of the
compromise act it would have been positively iniuri-
Gus TO the very interests which he maintains it was
designed To protect.
was much surprised, Mr.. Speaker, when l heard
Mr. CLAW uacI,re at I he eYtr hat uch