Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-04-01

riff of duties on foreign imports which may become
necessary the principles ard provisions CT Inc act OF
,h. % of Norrh lS; commonly called tho Conirro-
mi Act should be adhered 10 aad maintained, as lar
as practicable consistently with the necessary cs''aus
of the Government economicE'!v ADMINISTERED an"
with the equal Justice due 10 every interest ana portion
NJ PRESTON said it had .ecn his inent'on nj
some convenient time dnring the discussion upon TIE
subject OF these resolutions, TO express ms opinions &C.
neraliv upon the topics cu,braced IN then. lie had
been deprived Of the opportunity, however, ny reason
al his III health Fer did IT, feel able Ia enter upon
the discussion; he wouid rcsc.:e what he intended
10 saw therefore, until the subject cane up III ahothe
shane rs he supposed il would before long, and he now
rose merely Tor the purpose OF suggesting such mod'
tica,ion as he would desire introduce regards the
buttons themselves. In the fJs; resolution he fully
concurred, but the two subsequent ones he wonu pro-
propose 10 strike out altogether. They contained
statement which he Mr. p not prepared TO assert
or to DENY And when they were calico upon 10 act
with reference to the subject to which they relate, u
certainly seemed to hun OF the utmost importance
that they SHOULD avail themselves OF the best means
of information within heir reach lie would, therefore,
nroDose that they be stricken out, and IN lieu ,hereo
Thai the Secretary OF the Treasury b. required TO state
what amount will in his opinion, he necessary TO sup
ply the annual wants of the Government, and what
will be the probable receipts OF the treasury undef me
existing provision for raising revenue. lie would be
des;rou, that time should bc given for due consdera-
lion of these subjects, and for procuring ample 'nior-
nation before any finite acton should be taken lhs
would necessarily be the case however, IN consequence
of The very sluggish progress which the business OF the
session was unfortunately making and rs the subject,
vopd have 10 undergo consideration and discussion IN
the other House, before the Senate would have II be-
fore them 10 be acted upon, 1t seemed mol
unreasonable to presume that several months would still
clause before that could be accomplished. lie calcu-
laons contained in the resolution varied from the esti
mates and cacu ions o gentlemen on the other side 10
the extent Of several Millions and Il was hshiy neces
sary tia, thorough examination into TINS conhcuhg
H. ht arh n IL.
man for himself that those who Ike ham, desired to
rive at safe conclusions, might have II IN their power To
do go The dlnrer which attended The committing
themselves in regard TO facts, such as were asserted ~,
the resolution wllc he had referred, to had been !uiv
cxempl,f~d at the late Extra Session.
And he would confess that he had himseh been
brought the conclusIon mach too hastily formed, as
he believed would he now admitted by all, That Inc
finances of the country would be sufficient, even alter
The abstraction Of material 4 portion as The lana
rnvcnue for the purposes of Government. And he
would venture say that had they waited IN mat IN
stance until the information was procured winch they
did obtain before the end Of that very session, the bull
woud not have been passed This, he thought was OF
itself a su licent warning In teach them that 1t was
highly npoc proceed hastily upon matters OF high
importance to the interests OF the country, ana tha'
they should take sufficient time TO investigate the mat
ter he would remind the Senate that, TO certain
extent these ma,,es resting upon the iaith OF au'
fhor,y other than that Of the Senate Inc very ns'i
1ution of them indicates that Department rs the egii
ante source from which the necessary information re-
la,np subjects o ths pton is 10 be derived
In Enpland the production Of the budget every year
considered almost exclusively branch OF Executive
du,y He DESIRED then, that the Senate should be
relieved from the responsibility OF substituting the'r
computaions matters OF tins nature, Tor those OF
The Department whose duty II exclusively was
Instead OF assuming, then, that thus mnch would
he required for the annual expenditures OF The 90
yernment for particular year, and thus much would he
,erivab!e from the commerce OF the country within
III 49, FUN
upon is on responsibility, these estimates, and they
would then be able 10 act, It not with entire confidence,
nj all events, with greater approximation 10 conf
dence than any could upon any assumption oil Their
own. lie did not wish 10 be understood as oierEg
these amendments with view 10 any political effect:
his intention was entirely foreign to any such design
When the information which he proposed 10 procure
should haze been obtained, he would proceed 10 the
consideration OF the subject in purely catholic spirit,
and with single eye 10 the country benefit. And
he would here take occasion to staie that 1t was with
no small degree OF shame hnt he looked upon the pre-
sent unhappy condition of affairs He regretted that
his should be associated wjih the annals al pc
riod so dislcnofed in tie estimation Of the world
Besides the Information 10 be derived from The pabc
Department inforna ION which ne considered the
reliable, the head Of that Department WAS farther
removed ihaa almost any other tubctInnary from all
bias and his means Of collecting the desired nturma
tIon was more obyods; besides this, they would
be nut in possession OF The labors o. both the Commit
Tee ON Manufactures and the Committee on Finance,
whose attention had necessarily been directed to this
subject.
He would not, at present, enter into the other sub
lects embraced in II" .snluuon but he won!t merely
saw in regard the subject OF home valuation, that lie
for experimenting reasonable avefas" IN thus
way because upon the very face OF tho Compromise
act Il was intended that something to THIS end should
be Effected. And law which .'as passed by Con
prrss was ever intended TO be Migratory When the re-
solutions came up for consideration, he would propose
10 strike out The fifth altogether.
Mr. P concluded by moving the following as
substitute for the second and third resolutions Of Mr..
Clay
sha, the Secretary Of the Treasury be instructed to
communicate to the Senate, whether, III his opinion,
the Of duties imposed by the Compromise act Will
afford sufficient for the economical and EN-
cient administration Of the Government; and that he
also what rate ofdu,y IN his opinion VIII
he sufficient for that purpose with his reasons for such
opinion.
Mr. p also moved to strike out in the lth RESOLUTION,
the amount Of "twentysx millions, and insert alter the
word 'revenue, the words adequate TO The wants o!
,he Government.
Mr. CLAY thought bis resolutions over
shadowcd by amendments, that he should hardly be
able 10 find them 1t was not has intention TO make any
heightened remarks reply to the Senators from IT.
nina Mr.. Rrves and from South Carolina, Mr..
Preston bat he would ask what pledge 10 the public
creditors would the land fund be- when strictly examn
ed Would it not be SEEM that won'f not pay any
thing Ike the interest OF the public G,5t. estimating
The proceeds Of the pnblic lands at wha, thcy
iuaily likely be The restoration OF Nc ia"d fund,
therefore would not restore The credit ot the Govern
,nent in the money market. That cred', was affected,
by other circumstances, quite Independent; OF the alb
s,rac,on from the Treasury of the uncertain proceeds
of the public lands |, is the pressure the domestic
capital of the country that has injured the credit oi the
Government injury, in great measure, occasoned
by depreciation OF State stocks aggravated by dan
gerous aud pernciods doctrines promulgated FROM Ger
lam quarters The only eiclen, way of raising Tie
credit the Government from its present depreciation,
was, inspire confidence by energetic and etii
Gent OF policy-by laying tariff sufficient,
10 supply the Treasury with adequate This IS
the proper pledge TO give the public cred'ors-show
them that they are secured IN the payment OF their
terest and in the ultimate redemption of the stock they
hold by adequate revenue.
He entered specific review Of the different cal
culations made in this discussion with regard to the
present rate Of expenditures and contended that with
out the appropriations for Congress the expenditures
WIN xceed iMeniy even mIlons: and ILten