The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1844-07-22

ad valorem; and containing certain binding stipia-
lions or pledges the part Of the authors OF that law
that no higher rate Of duty should AFTER that day,
DO collected by the general government This sup
position, preposerous as is you have doubtless OBJ
served, is an opinion quite commonly expressed, aud
that TO not unrequently by grave Legislators the
! floors Of Congress. That the enemies Of Mr. Clay
should have expressed themselves is matter 10 be
regretted; bat when the friends OF tho Tariff aud the
very men who profess the utmost confidence la the
rectitude and consistency of that great statesman, f
into the same error, it is high time the mistake should
! be corrected
1t is perfectly true that the first section Of the net
fixes 2O'per cent Ad vaorem, the lowest rate at
which dutinbe articles should be admitted nfler the
Both of June, 1926 but the third section Of the act,
provides that, from an after that day, 'dutes upon
imports shall be laid for the purpose Of raising such
revenue as may be necessary TO an economical I'D.
mnistation of the government" and also dat. such
dulles shall be assessed on the home Sstpdi9a and
payable in cash. The lead ing principle ed
by the act were first that after the 3kh of I&at2,
a sufficient revenue should be raised Y ~ NJ = 11u-
ties alone to defray the expenses OF government;
secondly, that no revenue should be collected
more than should be demanded by an econom-
ical administration of the government; thirdly,
that the best possible guards against frauds the Tar
if should DO established by the adoption of tbs new
system OF assessing the duties the home instead OF
the foreign value, and making those duties payable
in cash. Whether these duties, from which all the
revenue for the support of government to be de-
rived, should be Fixed at 20 per cent or at 80 per
cent at any other rate, was, of course subject
lell for the future consideration and action of Con-
gress, whenever il should be discovered that the
minimum ratio Of 20 per cent adopted by the first
ton of the bill, was Insufficient for the support OF
Government. Nothing further from the intention
of those who passed this law than 10 attempt to pre-
vent future, Legislation, discriminating with view TO
protect Home Labor in the contingency OF defect oil
revenue from duties of 20 per cent have ever re-
garGed the Tariff passed by the Congress Of lS42
substantial compliance, in most respects, with this
pledge in the Compromise Act, with this exception
only;-thnt law, while it evies duties imports TO
support the government looks the proceeds of the
sales Of the public lands auxiliary for that pur
pose; while The Compromise Act Gavo, 10 me, as ]
Thought when voted for it, and every other friend
OF the protection system, and at the same time SOL
assurance that, after the Goth of juno, 1912 the
Land Fund should cease TO be regarded a source
Of revenue, and that all the real wants of the govern
ment should be supplied exclusively from duties
imports assessed prevent frauds, and payable
in cash.
To understand this subject, as il was really under
stood by those friends wt'I whom | acted in tho
Compromise Act, il is necessary to recur TO some
other proceedings contempordneous with it.-Mr
Clay public bills to distribute the proceeds oil the
sales ofthe public Lands among the States, which
passed both Houses Ct Congress about the same time
with the COMPROMISE sef, was by us regarded as pdIf
ami reel OF ore great financial system which we dc
sired establish for the benefit Of the whole country.
While temporarily surrenderng the Land Fund to the
States to which righfuIy belonged IN the judgment
of the Congress Of 1888, we provided in the Comprom
Use Act that there should he day fixed, at which IN
accordance with IA suggestion previously made by
Gen. Jackson himself the Land Fund should forever
cease to be regarded a source Of Revenue by the
General Government 1t is true that we should
have acted more wisely, the event proved, by M
cooperating the provisions of Distribution Bill in the
Compromise itself But who could have supposed,
n, that day that President Jackson would have vetoed
Il bill which carried out his own suggestion Never
the less he defeated that great and snutay measure
,,cn ,t,t lich r.
tfy. lie refused to the bill with his ohIec-
tons, to the House in which originated - unqucs.
tonnbly because he had reason to believe, that, had
he complied with this, his constitutional duty each
branch of Congress stood ready, Ivy "A vote OF two
thirds to make the bill law, in spite Of his veto.
have said that the Tariff of 1912 is in my view
substantial compliance in most respects with the pr-
cipes Of the Compromise Act, and the pledges gwen
in that ac the subjec, of the regulation OF DUTIES
from and after the 80 Of June, 1912. But 1t was not
n compliance in all respects. In my humble judgment,
had the Tariff of 1912 been passed strictly IN the spur
it of the Compromise itself would have been bet
ter Tariff for protection than the law now in force
II would have better guarded the revenue against
frauds in the foreign valuations and it would more ei-
fecually have checked excessive importation winch
is Of the greatest Of our country HE DIS
trbution of the Land Fund among the States contem-
plated bv the Compromise, and temporarily provided
for by the Land Bill, would have put an end to the
agitation of the question Of protection for ever; the
principal avowed and sustained by Mr. Clay, that, IN
laying duties for revenue, discrimination should al
ways be made in favor of protection as an incident to
revenue would have been the settled doctrine Of The
country.
To show that this opinion is well founded, let us
suprose that Congress on the 30th OF June, 1912 had
resolved to make tariff strictly in pursuance of the
compromise. The latter directed that after that day,
and not until after that day, that duties should de-
sccnd by rapid reduction, not of per cent but OF
the last half Ofhc whole above 20 per cent,
left after the 3lst Of December, 1889, and that
reduction DO 20 per centon the value of the imports,
unless at that time the from that rate OF du-
ty should be inadequate to support the administration
Of the Government. Now how stood the facts on
that day. We had actually national debt OF more
than 1920 900 900 at that very time under the oper-
alton of higher tariff than 20 per cent and that too
with the aid Of all the land fund.- and bank stocks and
bank dividends besides Our revenue had sunk SO
low that the nation at that moment in the most
deporabe condition. We had borrowed on credit
till foreigners would not lend another dollar, and
in market the six per cent certificates oil the
loan redeemed in twenty years, could not be sold 10
any considerable amount for any thing like their vare
We had approached the verge Of national bankrupt
cy, and but for the Wing revolution of 1870, which
had elected Wing Congress to decide our fate, we
81, flintn