The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-06
THE DAILY UNION

two sides. The first inquiry was, were the princi.
Piles Of the bill right And having examined that
the next subject of inquiry was, were its details
nghH II was al-lmpOrtant to be fully informed
as to the details of the bill; because they had
most important coDnexiOn with its principles
he (Mr. j. could not state what was the average
rate OF duty proposed by this bill. Nor could the
chairman of the Committee of Finance, unless he
relied solely on the statements of the secretary.
And yet he was willing to pass the bill at once
He (Mr. J.) believed that the gentleman from Vir-
gina was wrong when he said that the destiny of the
bill was 10 pass He could not believe that; with
all sincerity, he said that he would consider il a
reproach to his character, as senator and man,
that on vital question like this, he would vote for
1t without knowing what would be its effect. The
bill would not pass il majority Of the Senate were
satisfied that so far from being a bill bringing in
twenty EIGHT millions it would not bring in eighteen
and that It was as nonsenslcal an effort as ever
made TO carry the principles of fTee-tTade being
protective here and freetrade there. II protective
with regard to sat-the salt would have projections
its days were not numbered In conclusion, he rdi-
cued the idea of neglecting all the proper and sau.
tary forms Of procedure for the sake Of shortening
the session He added, that as an illustration Of
the proprIety of examining the bill in detail, he
would like TO lie informed whether the duty which
II imposed on salt protective or otherwise
whether the duty was laid for protection not on
that article which, OF all Others the poor mans
Mr. SEWER inquired how long il would take the
senator from Maryland to understand the bill
Mr. JOHNSON replied that he would ask
week.
Mr. SEWER. week
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, week, with all the hight
which the chairman of the Committee on Finance
could afford him. There were reasons which he
(Mr. j. thought should operate the other side in
favor Of the reference Of the bill He knew that
there was one distinguished gentleman on the oppo-
site side who would regard the passage of this bill
as the GROWING act Of his legislative life. Surely,
then he would desire that full deberatlon would be
gwen 10 il.
Mr.. BENTON SAID that there was no disposition
on the part Of any member Of the committee to
avoid the labor Of giving to this bill the fullest eX-
animation. But he was confident that all the labor
thus bestowed would be Of little practical value. II
would be quite impossible for the committee to ex-
anime the details Of the bill IN a short time. Every
Item would require separate consideration. In his
opinion 1t would be entirely useless to send the bill
to the committee. The only practical course. be
adopted was 10 proceed at to the consideration
Of the bill item by item. He need hardly say that the
important character THE bill demanded for it the full
lest nvesgatlOn and the most serious consideration.
The most advisable course was TO name u day on
which the bill would be taken up, and then TO pro-
coed calmly and deliberately to its consideration.
Mr.. J. NJ. CLAYTON here raised point Of or
der. He insisted that when the bill was, by unanl-
nous consent, read a second time, il was with the
understanding that the usua course should be taken,
and that the bill should be referred to the commit
tee; otherwise on his side Of the chamber
never would have gwen their assent TO the second
reading He appealed 10 the President for support in
this view Of the matter.
The PRESIDENT remarked that he could not
Judge Of the motives Of senators giving their
sent TO the second reading.
Mr. CLAYTON sull insisted on his view of the
H.
side Ifthey gave their consent to second reading
for any other purpose than that of reference
Mr.. McDUFFlE then and said that having
been thus, with others, appealed TO- he felt bound TO
state his motives IN giving his assent TO the second
reading Without hesitation, then, he would state
that he gave his for no such purpose that
mentioned by the senator from Delaware He gave
that assent in order that the bill might be disposed Of
Just as the Senate thought proper.
Mr.. SEWER wished TO know what advantage
had been gained over the gentlemen the opposite
side, and described the usual practice of the Senate,
which had, he contended, been strictly followed on
the present occasion. The object OF a second read
ing was to allow the bill to be disposed of as the
jorty thought proper. Ofwhat did the gentlemen
the opposite side complaint Why, that the motion
for second reading was made to-day instead Of be-
ing deferred till tomorrow. That was the length
and breadth Of the offence which was charged; al
though, from the emphatic language used by the SEN
ator from Delaware it might be supposed that some
gross violation of right had been perpetrared. He
reiterated the arguments which had been urged
against the reference Of the bill Reference, he con.
tended, would in no way aid the intelligent ection
Of the body.
Hr. HANNEGAN next addressed the Senate
He said that he should vote this question in strict
consistency, as he took it, with the course which
he had heretofore pursued on other matters. An
allusion had been made to the attempts made to fix
day for the ad ournment Of Congress- and that one
Of the objects of these efforts had been to defeat
this bill. In making his motion to fix the day of
he (Mr. H had expressly disclamed
any such intention. Burthere had been ample time
for action on this and all the other important measures
before the body, prior to the goth of July, if the
proper disposition had existed. He still thought
that they might adjourn in three or four weeks
from this day; but now that they had this bill COM
pletey in their power, he would be unwilling to
fix day for the ad tournament until they had passed
upon it one way or the other; and he hoped that
that day would not be far distant. He would OPP
pose the reference of the bill to any committee Sc
lect or standing, for the reasons assigned by the
chairman Of the Committee Finance, and his
friends who had spoken on the same side.
He opposed that procedure, because he believed it
to be datory in all its tendencies-he did not say
intentionally So but 50 it would be in effect. They
had no guarantee whatever that if the bill were sent
to the committee, it would be reported to the SEN
ate in a month. The senator from Maryland had
asked the chairman of the Committee on Finance
very significantly indeed-if he had examined all
the details of this bill, to be able to give a
list fthe items' He (Mr. H. would ask the SEN
ator from Maryland, in his turn, if he had examn-
ed and could give in detail, all the items taxed under
the present tariff law, any other that existed
He presumed that such an exercise of memory
would be labor wasted. 1t would be very foolish
indeed, for the chairman of the committee, or any
other gentleman, to commit to memory a parcel
ofoutandlsh names, as were many of those to be
found in the bull The bill had been in print since
last Saturday morning. He had read it in the
Onion" He was perfectly satisfied with its gene
raj principles, which correspondent with his own
opinions. He had examined the details as far as he
could understand them, and had arrived at the con-
cusion that the bill should have his support with |
out amendment or alteration 1t contained one great
principle which he held to be right, and that the
exclusion of two most obnoxious features from the |
tariff systematic minimum and specific duties.
Had either Of these features been included in
the bill, it never could have received his assent.
So far as the duty on salt was concerned,
he would with great pleasure give the senator from
Maryland his construction of that item of the bill.
1t was in his opinion revenue duty. As to its OPP