Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-04-08

Wou remember that during the late war, direct tax
was Levied by Congress- with reservation TO the oi'
rsrsn States to assume the payment OF their respec-
tive quoas-Virginia promptly assumed hef s. IL was
sd ,est question between the Republican and Fede.
VI a,,;ss in our Legislature that 1t was wsest and
for The States to select their subjects OF taxation
>, boo, ownv Federal officers and Federal patronage
from among us-and to legsiae as lar as practcaoie
e., on,sslves So also, especially as 10 taxation noU.
~ a want money! do not let Us take II from the Gene
81 Covernment merely TO enable that Government to
no and. BY it's officers, get It back again three
fod If we do not tuke the money, Then, so lar there
No eycuse for the exercise of thus delicate and often
dangerous power Oy he M"s to- u.s. Let
80 ce for ourselves what shall be the subjects OF tax
linn tor the State Government, how and when col
ected and the extent to which our people sna De
t,red will not trust such power and such discre-
,;on TO any Government, over whose action we have
80 crs.,s1 control than that of the United Sates-Cer-
,,nv will not trust it, further than the exactions OF
the Constitution demand OF me.
.Tar;t or no Tariff" is then the true issue before
the People For every dollar which the State receives
from the Land Fund, the people WIZ nave 70 pay OF
dollars or more in the shape of duties. II is idle to
that this is not the case, because the w. s. have
moi cent of surplus to spare-on the contrary, they
re run TO the eyeashes for money TO carry on the Co.
yernment Their six per cent Treasury notes are SOLO
at discount of or per cent Their STOCKS are Ia
mentally pdr-anO
to contract is to be hawked about for the highest price
it can command-and the highest will necessarily be
low enough because the loan is not to be made upon
the best guarantee, the faith oil the pubic anos IL 10
idle them TO saw that the distribution will not augment
the duties on foreign goods-becanse the vacuum lnus'
ultimately be supplied by the tariff Ii is idle then to
acge that the money is not raised upon the people,
for The purpose Of Dstrbuon-for in the present con.
dtion of the Treasury, every cent that gwen 10 Inc
States, must be raised upon the people. Nor does the
evil stop here!-Mr. Allen proves in his speech, why IL
is that for every dollar which Virginia receives her
shape Of the customs. Every addition TO the Tariff
with much greater force upon the South for
the benefit of the North. The manufacturing States are
therefore, in favor of the Distribution because it leads
to the augmentation of the Tariff. The true issue is
them not "Money or no money!" as the Wings would
make il, but "Tnrif or no Tariff? 1t is rather, not
some dollar or dollar" but it is "whether for one
dollar received shall pay two or three dollars to be
raised by Federal taxation"
Blu, the evil does stop here tits the fruitful
mother of brood Of monsters. IL leads TO violation
of The Constitutions Ii prostrates the Compromise Act
Ii subsdzes the States 1t teaches them to look up to
the Federal Government for the means OF supporting
their expenses. The next step may be the creation oil
or per cent stock Of 81 or 100 millions, based upon
the public lands; in other words, the assumption OF The
debts of The States If Virginia submit TO the one,
may she not acquesce in the other? If she grasps al
the Distribution Fund, will she not clutch 10 millions
worth of stock?
The whole scheme indeed is mischevous, we'll as
absurd. If it proper TO distribute the pro-
ceeds through amendment of the Constitution, this
is unquesonably the very worst time for carrying It
out. The Federal Treasury is almost bankrupt; GER
tanly dsgraced 1t wants the money, even more than
the Stat-s-and it wants the fund, not only Tor the
money it produces, but the basis and guarantee OF It's
own necessary loans Look at The gloomy condition oil
The Treasury as por yed in the following picture
from the last money article of the N. Y Herald:
alt appears the Loan Bill has passed the House of Re-
presentatives The bill it stands authorizes the
loan of S12 0O00 600 for twenty years, with The privilege
of 5000 900 if the President requires it, making ST.,
COO 900 10 be put upon the market without the appro
priaon fone dollar to meet either principal or inter
est. or course such stock could not be negotiated at
any reasonable rate and therefore the Secretary
thorized TO sell for ehatecer he can get This runous
step has been taken agant the express desire OF tue pre
sGen 10 appropriate the of the public lands 10
the redemption of the debt Every motion TO effect this
was crushed by the domination of faction in the nation
al councils and the credit of the U. 5. and its mercan
tile character may be considered eectually damned.
"The Government has no prospect of any revenue
whatever during the present year, and will go behind
ha nd to the full amount of its expenditures which will
moi be less than 500, ,O0O The present debts $2o
OOO O0O which will be diminished by the absorption Of
the Treasury notes for the customs O0O Coo leaving
the debt the expiration Of the year it no extra ex-
penditures are incurred at least S360O0,OO0, bearing
So 900 annual interest If then through the ope-
ration Of the tariff the for the succeeding year
is even raised the level OF expenditures, nothing will
remain for The payment of the interest," or The creation
of @ o;oL.- fond; to borrowing will be the
only alternative, and fearfuy rapid accumulation Of
debt the inevitable result-a debt too for which
equivalent to be received This prospect Of 6tars
,cu prerent the stock from being sold unless at reryo,o
prices In Europe it cannot be sold at ALL pithout
some specifc pledge There is upon the market
but little more than S. 100000 Of u s. stock and the
highest price offered for it is 90; 10 per ceDtum
discount. The new stock put upon the market with.
out pledge or guarantee, will not bring ~, if in
deed it could be sold at all; but will suppose it can
be sold so. In that case for issue Of Sl7,O00O0O
the people will receive but $l3600 600 at annual
charge of 81 100000. This is giving bonus Of 49,
100000 for the money, equal TO the land revenues
for two years. according 10 the receipts of last year
Now, the Recommendation Of the President SIM
ply that the land revenues should be pledged as of
yore for the payment Of the interest on the loan,
in which the stock could at once be negotia-
ted at par, making clear saving of S3,4OO,0O0 to
the Treasury There now visible means for
the payment Of the Government interest, however
good the will may be, and amidst the universal dis
credit il is in vain TO expect capitalists to take such
risks. The State Of New ork wants money, and she
has taken the proper course to get that is, to con-
vince lenders that she has not only the ability but the
will to pny She has levied and pledged tax TO meet
her interet-her credit is above suspicion, and
~ far above that of the Federal Government and yet
the discredt arising of the depreciation Of the U.
States stocks may prevent her stock from rising States,
corporations and individuals in the remotest channels
of trade will feel the parasDg effect ofthe disgrace OF
the Federal Government 1t is impossible for the ira
vellers the base to escape the avalanche that thun.
dering from the summit of the mountain.
"The money wasted and thrown away out of the
National Treasury cannot be supplied by import du-
ties for the that in the present low state of the
currency here, any material increase in the tariff will
become protective, and diminish the 1t will
be with the utmost skill in the adjustment OF the tariff,
with view only TO producing the greatest amount
of revenue, that sufficient be obtained to meet
the most economical scale of current expenditure,
and the late refusal TO appropriate any fund TO meet
the interest and principal Of The loan created is,
on the part of the Clay faction, unequivocal
avowa Of The doctrine of reputation! They have
created debt and peremptorily refuse to appropri-
ale any thing TO meet it. What can the most
ultra regulators do more than this? His policy is
backed by the high Tariff men, whose desire 10 to