Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-08-05

ia. ,or,d bo,,sv If necessary. s5O0OoOoO upon ,ne
Isdrc of The public lands, in order TO meet any su
rna5genoy And why, then, should The mahuiac.u.
mn interests and those Senators VINO were 'n.ei ~.
in their favor, cling with the grasp oil oea'H - VIC
| tr:hu,ion ,;,h ha would
n,esent the subject and he would then close MS '
marks The bill proposed TO raise between !" o.
and ,wenty seven millions of doars-be,ween twenty
,o and twenty three Of which was supposed 10 ps ~
"ss,y FIR the current expenses of the Government
lis remainder 10 he applied TO the extngolshmen' OF
The existing national debt. 49,.
No trusted he had never attempted 10 play the dema
orue on that floor; could he he trusted, by any Pos
ib,lity be brou ght do lie wouio say .his
howeyer if YOU restore the land fund, you may ake
The lax off tea and coffee whereas, II Inc lana iu"u
continues 10 90 TO the States, you must impose 'aA
,non tea and coffee. The inference was rres'slioie-
one or the other must be done. tie (Ar' bucna"aho
Ind procured return last fall the ten and coffee I'M
o,tea during the year 1870 1t amounted to 81 ,oioo'
worth In the wear 1882 it 509 II was falr
10 infer then, that the tax upon tea and coee "onio
10 two millions and quarter OF dollars ne ahu
fund if we should be prosperous year or Two nehce,
a. sunnosed would amount to about three Millions
| Now (copnued MIR. b y if you will withhold the lano
fund from the States will take of this tax oil TWO mi
lions and quarter from the people OF THIS country anu
The question must Inevitably be decided between the one
cruative and the other. Strike out The twenty-se
venth section of this BILL and shall immediately move
10 make tea and coffee free articles.
/ Let us examine the matter for single moment
Though not old man, can remember the time wheh
| those were considered articles of luxury But now
their use is uniyersa-cvery man, woman, and ch'ld'
| ns,s tbem-the poorest man III the country uses as
much as the rich-ay, MORE perhaps-ior, being ue-
prved of luxures more expensive, he INDUCES Tue
more in those within his reach There IS no article
that YOU can conceive of except bread, the TAX upon
which will operate so much like polltaH as the ar'i'
res of lea and coffee The cotager in Indiana uses as
much coffee John Jacob Astor, the richest caPhas'
in America and consequently pays as much duty upon
that article as paid by the Notwithstanding ihereofe,
saw thai INK is more like polltax than any other
Well now if this tax could be restored-(and let me
he understood on this well all other SUBJECTS
call tax because we cannot produce mis- article. vi
any thing similar to il; if we could, admit Tie ehec'
ropld he as in all cases reduce the prce)-we can
not by any protection, make the article one OF none
producton And what il the effect of this: The land
fund goes to the States in their sovereign capacity 10
relieve the capitalist from taxation, to relieve the pro-
perty holders from direct taxation' ior the support
The State Government And 10 enable you 10 MAKE
1 this distributions you levy poll tax upon the mhoie
country As regards the article OF sugar, the case u-
erent II much necessary OF lie MS tea or eoee
hut we have large interest in lis manufacture IN LOUISE
, nna-an interest which | would never abandon, ue'
c,use i ia connected with agriculture We must, how
ever levy duty sugar. else we must destroy us
culture But there such reason for laying duty
upon lea and coffee; there is reason that can be INA
gined which is not in favor OF relieving tea and coiee
eres,s of the country be not huzarded by deficiency
Of revenue | would do il without moments heslta.
ton But if you retain the land fund for the beneh
the States will be impossible for you 10 remove TINS
burden from the people
Under these circumstances, appeal 10 gentlemen 10
relnquish that fund; it may not be necessary to do SO
for any great length of time. Let gentlemen wait or
a short time, and they may afterwards take the land
fund.- after having relieved the country from lis emoar
, rassed and impoverished condition
In max in1 these remarks MIR Ii said he had had no
PURPOSE 10 excite party feeling There no man IN
the country more DESTROYS of adopting tariff bill than
he wns and he did sincerely hope that this exception
able clause would be stricken out lie earnestly ap
pealed to Senators withdraw it, and to 60 on and
r perfect the BILL and let it become law, and let Us 60
home after session of nearly IL months, without fur
Their delay lie sincerely hoped his friends on the
Wing side Of the House would consent TO strike out the
clause; and, with few other notifications, send The
bill without delay, 10 the President for his sanction
y Mr. CRITTENDEN observed that he was sure the
Senator from Pennsylvania had not been influenced by
r any demagoguical motive 10 allude to the taxation oil
tea and coffee He supposed he had taken these artt'
Giles for illustrations, and persuaded, IT they were
not roposed he taxed in this bill the Senator would
find other articles be taxed for his illustrations and
could thus 90 through them all, till nothing was lett
for revenue. Such would be the effect pursuing this
line OF argument. II might be said OF any articles oil
general consumption well as tea and coiiee-givc up
distribution, and to that tent you save the necessity
y Of taxing articles of consumption.
But what in reality, does this argument amount TO:
The Senator's statement shows that the land iund
10 be distributed for the past half year does not amount
to half million; and for the present half year It VIII
> probably be no more: that at the end of the year,
. there will be one million Of dollars from public lands
to stop the necessity for taxing tea and Coffee or IN
other words, million is to stand in place OF two
II and half millions Here would be a deficiency oil
" one or two millions; and on what substitute was this
. deficiency TO be placed, What articles OF general con-
sumption could be more appropriately taxed than tea
and coffee: lie knew OF none Was not the Senator
- mistaken in supposng the poorest laborer in Indiana
= or Pennsylvania was likely to consume much tea
, and coffee John Jacob Astor' 1t not necessary
. to 20 into elaborate argument TO show that he was
= But even if it true that the poorest man con-
sumed much the richest il true that the con-
suner pays the duty in the retail price: II is not true
that the consumer pays in the price at which he buys
such articles the accumulation Of both duty and price,
for he denied that duty Of 20 per cent. would make
any perceptble increase oil price, And suppose II oin
. raise the price one.fourh If the poor man consumes
FIVE cups Of tea coffee and only Afford to buy
four cups when the duty laid on il is hut small sn
crfce 10 give up the comfort of his fifth cup for the
benefit of the country If he knows that the es gen
cies Of the Government such TO require this sa
crifce he will not hesitate 10 make it, There is too
much patriotism in the country to doubt it, And when
the question is put to him whether he will surrender
his fifth oup in order to enable this great measure oil
distribution go on, he will give his answer at once,
that he ready TO make the sacrifice. He can as well,
great occasion like this, as his ancestors, Hung
whole cargoes of tea into the ocean, when principles
, of right are issue. Such not to be tempted
+ to part with their brthrgh for Of potlnge
e They are not to be seduced into the abandonment Of
any great principle right by such pa,ry seduction
4 as fifth cup Of tea or coffee.
The Senator asks will this petty, pa.ry land fund
be held on TO- in the face Of the Executive veo' The
Senator asks will it not, for the sake of relieving the
= Government and the country, be given up nj once:-
lie (Mr. CO. would answer no, not now. Mr. Bnchan-
n nm observed from his seat, mo, noac9 | am glad TO
\, hear that No, Sir, not no,r-fo at this nome nj
d it is question of the independence of Congress
o The right of saying how much, and in wha, way,
taxes shall be aised belongs to the representative
body; and it is not for the Executive to dictate the
amount the raising il 10 The Representa-
tves OF the people Even the Representatives of the
States inhibited from this nlliaory dctation; for
NO rexenue bill can consllutIonalY oIiginale in this