American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-03-21

| species OF Legislative legerdemain, DC uoiie III
directly? With the admitted constitutional
truth, that the imposition of a tax OF two nun
dred thousand dollars upon the land, to the en-
clusion of other property, would be VOID, VIII
it be contended that you can accomplish the
same object, by law, that no citizen OF the
State shall plant his corn or SOW his wheat till
he has paid into the treasury dollar for each
quart Of seed used, and dollar more for every
| furrow ploughed upon his land? Would any
man of ordinary intelligence deny that legs-
lative act, declaring the entire tobacco crop OF
the State to be forfeited unless packed in stamp
ed paper, to be purchased of a stamp master, at
the rate OF 20 per cent. for every ten pounds
packed, would be palpably void? A direct tax,
| void in consequence of its inequality and inlus-
tice, can never be made valid by mere change
of its form to an indirect tax. When tax
upon merchants to the exclusion of other ctl-
zens is admitted to be void, when imposed IN
directly, by what process of reasoning can it be
shown that d scheme to attain the same object
indirectly through the means of stamp tax
can be valid? This stamp act, in effect, pro-
ydes that every man receiving note or draft,
shall pay INTO the treasury a tax varying ac-
cordng to the amount of the debt, or his con-
tract shall be void. 1t assumes the form of
! prescribing stamp as an essential incident to
the validity of mercantile paper, but in sub
stance and in fact it is a tax upon mercantile
contracts, and from its very nature affecting
only one class of citizens. Neither a court of
law nor a man of common sense, can be blind
ed by mere forms they look at the thing itself,
and see at once what is the real nature and de-
sign of the measure. Every honest man of
even moderate share of sense, knows that
this stamp act was not made to regulate con-
tracts, or furnish facilities for their execution;
but that it was made for the express purpose OF
taxing mercantile contracts, and extortng from
a particular class of citizens an unequal public
tax, and that too, in the face of the constitu-
tional requirement that such taxes shall be laid
equally upon all the people, according TO their
property. A tax upon all men over five feet
eleven inches in height, or upon all weighing
over one hundred and sixty pounds, and ex-
empting all of less height, and weight, would
not in my Judgment, be more palPably void
than is this stamp act, which proposes to col
lect revenue from the business of small part
of the community to the exclusion OF all the
rest. As public tax, cannot see even the
shadow of plausible argument in its favor
AL persons, according to their actual property,
are to pay such taxes equally, but this act says
u part are to pay it,--not according to their
property, but uneguatiy, But is it said this is a
'sfne, duty or tax, laid "with political view'
beg to ask what that political view is, other
than to collect money to support the govern
ment and pay its debts,-an object which in
express terms the constitution says shall not be
attained except by tax upon all the people.
To say that this stamp act imposes duties with
political view, within the meaning of this
constitution, is an absurdity in terms. 1t is a
revenue act and nothing else, and 10 man has
opo pratppdnI IL unc thun else. and
such, it is, beyond all controversy, void. 1t is
said, if this act is void, for the same reason Sc
vera other acts of the State are void. That is
undoubtedly true; every act unequal and I'M
Just in its terms of the same nature, is void.
do not now point out what they are-suffi-
Gent for my purpose, that this most odious,
most inquitous stamp act is void-pal pably
void.
But are our citizens to be told that "repud-
alton" is monstrous evil and therefore they
must keep quiet and pay the tax, however un-
Just it may be? | abhor reputation as much
as any man, and would rejoice to see an equal
tax laid to pay the interest and ultimately the
principal Of the debt, but infamous as regard
reputation, consider it high act of morals
compared with an effort to avoid it by means
so un ust as this iniquitous stamp act. 1t IS
founded in unrighteousness-it is oppressive
and annoying to business-it falls upon the in
dustrious, and the enterprsing-the great mid
die class of society. The man Of money, the
+ Bankers, the lenders, can protect themselves,
, but the men whose character and credit is their
all, the men in active life, are to be the chief
sufferers. So far from paying this tax, to pre-
E vent reputation, consider it the solemn duty
) of every man DESTROYS to avoid reputation,
and to pay the debts Of the state to resist this
, | h,o ;y,b ,c
There is in Maryland S200, 200, 900 of proper
ty. Assess it equally and fairly, and tax of
fifty cents on the 100 dollars, laid and collected,
! will raise 81 100000 year, sum sufficient
to pay the interest, and all the expenses of the
state, and one or two hundred thousand dollars
towards reducing the principal. Is it said you
cannot collect it? Then admit at once that
our people are opposed to paying the debt, and
repudiate like men. If they are not willing to
pay this debt, by an honest constitutional tax
upon all The people, according to what they are
, actually ,corth, then, with manly irankness say
so, but do not pretend to be willing to pay,
! and then skulkingly contrive, by such means
as a stamp act, to throw the burden of paying
= upon others But it is absurd to say you can
not collect it. The people of Ohio pay one
dollar and quarter on hundred dollars, as
an annual tax, and they have no difficulty,
: and it is strange if the people of Maryland
cannot pay fifty cents. But be this as it may
J this "stamp act, and all concerned in it, Gun
+ less they repent) must be assaled by night and
: by day till every vestige of it is driven from
Q the state. Let it be remembered that this is Q
= matter of which the Supreme Court of the
: United States may have ultimate jurisdiction.
i BEN FRANKLIN.
: COMBINATIONS AND REFLECTIONS. The U
! S. Senate has confirmed the nomination O
e Gen. Thos. Carpenter, as collector of the por
# of Providence, r. l., and of Huntington 70
: Sag Harbor. They have rejected the nomina
ton of William Shaler, of N. Y, to be Consu
:. | .t HONG KONG China: and of John III Prem