The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1842-03-01

I
Having referred to the independence which
had been acquired, and the fears they had beef
led to entertain that the country having gained
the form Of liberty, had left in the hands of thei
enemies the instruments of oppression, and tn
spirit to exercise it," they say:
"Your petitioners soon preceived, with tn,
deepest regret. that their prospects of improving
wealth were blasted by system Of commercial
usnrpation. They saw the trade of these State.
laboring under foreign imposiIions, and loaded
with letters forged in every quarter, 10 discourage
enterprise and defeat industry. 10 this situation
they have been prevented from applying to those
abundant resources with which nature has blessed
this country. Agriculture has lost its capital
stimulus, and manufacture, the sister of COM
merce, has PARTICIPATED in all lis distresses.
"Your petitioners conceive that their county
men have been deluded by an appearance of
plenty by the profusinn OF foreign articles which
has deluged tie country; and thus hare mistaken
excessive importation for a fourishing trade.
"Wearied by their fruiiless exertions, your
petitioners have long looked with anxiety for the
establishment of Government which would
have power to check The growing evil, and ex-
tend protecting baad TO the interests Of COM
mere and the arts. Such Government is now
established. On the PRONUNCIATION of the Con-
stituuon Just now commencing its operations,
your petitioners discovered in its principles the
remedy which they had 50 long and so earnestly
desired. To your honorable body the mechanics
and manufacturers of New York look up with
confidence, convinced thar, as the united voice
of America has furnished you with the means
so your knowledge of our common wants has
given ynu the spirit, To unbind our letters, and
rescue our country from disgrace and ruin"
| have beinre ME another petition from "the
tradesmen and manufacturers IF the Town of
Boston," presented on The 9Th of June, of the
same year, in which the petitioners, having re-
ferred to ''the great decrease of American manu.
features and almost total st1gnation Of American
ship building," proceed, among other things, TO
say:
s'Your petitioners need not inform Congress
that, on the revival of our mechanical arts and
manufactures depend the wealth and prosperity
OF the Northern States; nor can we foibear
mentioning TO your honors that the citizens oil
these States conceive the object of their indie
pendence but half Obtained lill those national
purposes are established on a permanent and
extensive basis, by the legislative acts Of the
Federal Government"
These petitions were referred TO the committee
OF the Whole on the state Of the Union, In which
the subject under went long and able discussion.
The result was the passage Of the first rev enue
bill, signed by General Washington on the 4th
of July, 1889, appropriate day The preamble
of which. as has been stated, expressly declared
that il was passed for the purpose, among others,
Of the Encouragement and protection of manufac-
lures.
hardly need call the attention of the House
to the facts and reasonings Of these petitioners.
The national industry had become parlyzed. The
State Government lad inerposed without effect.
The necessity OF zone uniform efficient Gorera-
ment,"-of lone Sovereign Legislature" possess
ing 1.-THE sole and ereiusiue Power Of laying duties
upon imports" had been thus demonstrated. Such
a Government the Constitution had provided
I" In ITS PRINCIPLES" the petitioners discovered
The remedy SD long desired" and without which
"the object of their independence" would, in
their opinion, have been shut half obtained"
Such was the reasoning oil the petitioners and
such was the reasoning of the whole country. II
had Just been shaken with discussions of the
Constitution and here was the common sense
construction Of II by the people. | commend il
to those who now deny that auy power exists
under the Consliru TO project The industry Of
The country. Thea, nobody 20 much as ex
pressed doubt of The existence oil the power.
10 all the discussions in the Committee OF The
Whole to whom these petitions were referred
and have heard that debite--the constitutional
power was not, that can find, once called in
question, thong h differences ofopinion existed as
10 the expediency Of exercising it. This is the
more remarkable, because Of the decided ground
taken on the subject in these petitions, as well
as from the fact that {" the encouragement and
PREDICTION of manufactures" was made, in the
preamble 10 the revenue law whose passage fol-
Owed these discussions, one OF the express
grounds of its passage. The strong vote Of f'rty-
one to eight in favor Of that bill. Mr.. Madison,
1.-THE father Of the Constitution in the afirma-
five, shows that the leading minds of that day
entertained no doubt whatever on the question Of
ron sfiurional nowPr
There is an argument in favor of the cons,itu-
tional power of Congress over this cubject, in
volved in the reasoning ofthese petitioners, which
seems TO me unanswerable. II NAV be th US
stated The power 10 regulate commerce and
lay duties on imports, existed in the States.
That power had been transferred to Congress
wholly transferred. None oft remained. With
the transfer Of the whole power Of the State to
regulate commerce and lay duties of imports,
there was, therefore, transferred the power to
regulate commerce and lay duties for all the
purposes for ,chich these acts might haze been per-
formed by The State Governments, one Of which,
undenably was the protection OF manufactures.
This conclusion results not only from The fact
that the power was granted without any restrc
lion IS 10 the purposes for which it might be ex-
eIcised, but still more undeniably from the con-
siderstinn that, if the great essential power of
protection through these indispensable means
was not thus transferred from the State to the
General Government, it was ann,hLated
In looking over the debates to which | have
referred, find this argument urged 10 substance
by Mr.. MADISON, in one of his speeches in favor
OF protection
There is said MIR. M. } another cOnsidera-
ton. The States that are most advanced in
population and ripe for manufactures ought TO
have their particular interests attended to in
some degree. While these States retained the
power OF making regulations Of trade, they had
the power to protect and cherish such Institutions.
BY adopting The present Constitution, they haze
throOn the exercise Of This pO,rer iuto their hands
They must have done this with an expectation
that those interests would not be neglected
here"
1t was upon the basis of this argument that
Gen. Jackson urged the consti,utionaliIy of