Arkansas intelligencer., 1844-12-21

coffee pays $27 sc, duty; of which the Govern
ment receives, as a revenue, in the Treasury, SlS
If then SIS revenue costs the consumer S2T SO
what will the three millions cost the people II
will cost S4,644,333 33. This is the result, lay.
ing the duty on an article not grown or manufac.
tured in the United States.
We will now examine the expense of the dis
ribution law, if the amount is to be raised by lay
ing tax on articles similar to those manufactur.
ed in our country. We find by the census OF
1874, there was manufactured in the U. States
1898 ,S32,Gl5. OF similar articles, imported in.
to the United States, the report of the Secretary
shows there were 5l, ,I45, III, or about one.egh,h
of the amount manufactured To -raiso three
millions of the fifty-one millions Of imports, q
duty of per cent. would be required, that these
htty-one millions, Of goods and wares, could no,
unless the manufacturers and owners Of the $685.
e32,6l5, would raise their goods 6 per cen. also.
What, then, would Lc per cent. on the whole
sales ! 1t would be $2G,slS,699; the amount the
people of the United States would have 70 pay Tor
the three millions distributed. But the whole
three millions cannot be raised from tax on ar.
tic!cs not grown or manufactured in tho Untod
States, nor from articles similar 10 those grown Of,
manufactured among US; bu. from beth together,
neither of the two sums is the true amount but a
sum between the two. | have not sufficient data
to say, what tie true amount would be, but have
sufficient before me to satisfy me. il would he
more than twenty millions Of dollars u sum suf.
tIr 70 rafrn tIa 4
eral gov eminent for one year.
MIR. President, the loss Of these twenty millions
of dollars, is not the worst featuro of the law
If 1t was, the people could bear it without great
hardship. The products of the industry and Ia
Dor of our country are over one thousand millions
per annum. This twenty millions loss, would on.
iy be about per cent on the whole, which could
be easily borne. But the three millions dis,rbu-
ted. never find its way bac& to the tax payers.
In the last distribution, some States made bank
capital Of it. Ohio divided it among the counties.
to be loaned out en- interest; some States expend-
cd 1t on internal Improvements; while other States
expended it internal improvements; while
other States loaned i, out to companies and roal
road corporations. None of the three millions
ever got back to the tax payers. Among these
modes of disposition of the money, would en-
qure of any friend of the MEASURE, how much
would ever find itsway to the industrious and pro-
ducng classes who first earned and paid The
money.
would do the subject great injustice, were to
confne my objection TO i, TO lis pecuniary evils.
The greatest objection 10 the law, is its dangerous
influence operating on the State Legislatures
Responsibility is the power the people exercise
over their representatives. If a State Legislature
is ProdigoI in its expenditures, they have tax the
people to sustain that prodiyalily. The people
feel the pressure Of the tax, and at the next eec-
,ion select wiser and more economical representa-.
tIves. When money is appropriated by State
for any object, tax has to be laid TO raise Aha,
money, and the people examine well into the wis.,
dom ofthe measure before they acquiesce in the
burthen. But could State Legislatures appro.
pirate money without taxing their consitn~ass TO
raise it, there woud he cneck nor bound toi
their o~s'avagance. Each member try how much
money he could get expended among his consti,u-
ents. And if our State legislatures are too extra.
'agant now, fearfu! they are, TO tax their con.
'lituentS. what would they then be, untrammelled
uncontrolled? This bond selling sys-
em of some of the States, would picture their
course in legislation.
Mr.. President: Our structure Of Government is
peculiar. We have two governments, both acting
On the person at the same time. Both have to be
sustained by revenue. At the time our Federal
Government was framed, the States were raising
revenue by direct taxation; that is, a tax on pro-
perty according to its value. The States surren-
1ered 10 the federal government the power to raise
revenue by indirect taxes, that is, impost duties.
Direct tax is the fairest mode to raise revenue.
1t falls on wealth and property, and every person
pays according to MS capacity to pay Indirect
taxation falls upon labor and industry. 1t is a
lax on mposts, anG we bring but few articles from
abroad but such arc necessaries. From wool.
en cotton, goods, salt, sugar, hard ware, all which
articles are used in nearly as large a degree by
aborng men and mechanic in moderate circum.
stances, as Ey the rich and the wealthy. Indi.
rect taxation can only be justified in support of n
national government. Each citizen pays almost
ha va,no ,,nonnt r,f t,va, IIa ,l,o