The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-07-21
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h,ch s an sc,ed 10 accrue under these high duties
il NAV he supposed that the attempt waa made to re-
| ieye the Government, of this excess by giving the
land money, during that time, To the States bu'
is equally fair to suppose that il designed TO re-
store money to the Federal treasury when the sc
| expred in order to make up the deficiency which
was reasonably to be expected from the great Iednc
ton which, by that tune, was to take place IN tue uu
ties The compromise act itself contains evidence OF
the correctness of this Inference as it was not to DC
ca pecled that of its main provisions coud DC
enforced, unless the land money should De fo''oeu
| aft er that time 10 the General Government, hhu
this brings me- sir the consideration OF ha' ac,
and particularly Of that clause upon when my COZ
league relies confidently as expressly prohio'ns
the General Government from resortng to any source
other than customs, for its support might here ASK
him whether he believes upon second th"ueh', 'a''
If the trainers of this act had designed stipulation 10
ALLEVIATE the public domain they would have ieft II to
be derived only from vague differences and imp'Ica-
tons? II such had been their design, In relation To
subject important, would they not have expressed
IL IN direct terns2 When ember who framed
that act we ought to give them credit for al least,
this small degree of caution and providence but,
sir if This clause is to be construed thds literally, to
hat other conclusions will It lead US This act was
TO be permanent law its provisions, unless repealed,
were to endure through all the contingencies of war
and peace. Is it to be supposed that Congress de
sig ed restrict The Government to the use Of only
one mode of raising reVenuel My colleague asks II
it would b. consistent with the compromise act to
he believes thai designed by that act TO prevent
re ort such taxation, in any emergency, even u
war itself should require There was no need OF
any stipulation in this act, to prevent resort to di
rect ia alton or internal duties. The state OF pubic
opinion gave the highest of all security against such
measures, unless necessity mperously demanded H.
And would any Congress which ever convened mere
stpulate, in such case, not TO use these modes OF
raising revenue And yet my Colleagues construc'
ton leads even TO this result And how Is 1t, pray
that nllec anil nd ID a
venue from postage upon letters We derive annu-
ally a large revenue from this source-a revenue
,metmes exceeding that raised from the lands Does
the compromise act require to abandon this source
of revenue, and to MAINTAIN the Post Once Depart
ment by customs also The expenditures OF that
apartment the expenditures OF this Government;
and, IT siipuations require US to maintain lbls
last by customs alone, we must either abandon TINS
tax or (what, perhaps, might be preferred) Trans
fer it to the States. The true meaning VI 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 constTuc'
ton accords with the general tenor OF the act !
and the other is contradictory, 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 was designed by the compromise act 10
give stability Tor rather certainty to the protection
which it afforded the manufacturers, it may be shown
that such a measure would not have effected that
end and that the act itself expressly points out other
by which it might attain that object, as far as
1t was practicable.
My colleague says that certainty and stability, as
to the amount of protection which the compromise
tariff was to give OF the leading considera-
tons with the manufacturers, who assented 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 to be consi-
dered part Of the Federal revenue. II he sup
poses they designed expected to equae exactly, or
nearly the public receipts and expenditures, he
mputes to them an 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 huc,uating The
income from duties varies as much as that frJ IN 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
Presidential term, have seen it alternate from
more than thirty to about twenty-five Millions
There are. no means by which nation out of debt
equaze precisely its income ami expenditure
When public debt exists, taxes may be laid beyond
the average annual expenditure and this debt will
absorb the surplus ofrevenue whilst the large
will meet those occasional in the expend-
ture of one year over another, which sometimes
cur. If stability was this main intention which
to override all others III the act, with much more
proprety 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 as practicable. Upon all
protected articles, it was especially provided that for
nine years and more, the rate Of duties should be
fixed and certain, without regard to revenue These
duties were not to be affected by the contingencies
of either deficiency, until, in nine years,
they reached their minimum of twenty per cent
After that period, there to be duty beyond
twenty per centum upon the home valuation; and all
fluctuations either of deficiency, in the
venue either before or aler the 3Oth June 1872
to be adjusted by altering the duties upon articles
which were either under twenty per cent, made
free BY the 4th 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 revenue were to be adjusted upon the articles
which were 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 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 intention to ALLEVIATE the lands
| compatible with those provisions which required
that the duties should not exceed twenty per centum
upon any artice' 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 act could ne
have contemplated the surrender of this fund.- I'm
der such circumstances The income of the public
lands had been invariably used by the General Gov
eminent, in past times for its ordinary expenditures.
1t was a source 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 source of revenue which the people or
their legislators expected the General Government
! TO abandon. In point of fact, Mr.. Speaker, il 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 in the 9Th Sec
ton, which were always to remain free and an
other, in the 4th section, upon which the duties
to nuctuate to meet any deficiency in the revenue
This deficiency less likely to if the Gene
raj Government should use the lands for its own pur-
poses and it was the interest Of the manufacturers
that it should not occur if it was to create the
sty for duties upon the free articles They had, and
have deep interest in free list, under all protec-
tive tariffs. Without it, indeed no tariff could long