Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-09-15

meant TO sanction OIL, do So"'"S
,,,,ora,, nripcipIe. which scratch oil Mr.. ID
v;s, ncn shows 10 be given up entirely 10 spec,n
an,;es which utterly repudiates all adnato'sm uu
,;es whatever. and runs counter 10 every plihe'P'
! lar which Mr.. CLAY commended in his speech
Tha, the provisions Of The bili aher"a'u
broush, forward by Mr.. Simmons were az
known 10 Mr.. Clay when delivering 'his sPce1'
is nantes, from the following extract. he say
in the beeinnins of his remarks on The sulJec'
du,ies. II stall hsrc say nothing, or bus a ~o'a o
tro, on tie sudjea Of Ms home r"i"af'on-@ "'
,eet ,ca,ch Gicnd has care of (Hr. SIMMONS
than ,rhon, none IS more competent 10 ITS fuu Gu
citation. He THINKS, As | UNDERSTAND, TIA
THERE CAN BE DEVISED SATISFACTORY SYSTEM u
SUCH VALUATION, and heartily wish HIM success
in the a,,empl"-Qb, p. 532) Here is aiIec
admission that MIR. Clay did not consult MI
Simmons, and that Mr. Simmons himseh OH.
though, that a satisfactory system oil nome va
lua,ion could be devised. Yet The plan oil MI
Simmons is made by MIR. Davis 10 be the piai
OF Mr.. Clay and the features OF the Dill SuoSe
quenlly framed by The latter gentleman are h'au'
part of the resolutions introduced by The iormer'
We freely and frankly admit, that Mr.. Clay
said in SO many words, that in levying AID vALo
REM duties, the home valuation should DC 'ahe"
He expressed himself strongly on That poihI-
But, so far as specific duties are concerned h'
committed himself 10 al ratorenl duties whhou
any manner Of reservation. To be satished @
This il is only necessary 10 bear in mind that W
10 the period OF Mr.. Clay's speech in lol2 Inc az
yalorem duties which had been collected were no
levied on The home valuation; and that ne was
arguing the question as il that stale OF things
was 10 continue His words are: "UtfhoM en-!
tertng into The question Of home raluanon, ana
caring that subject 10 be arranged hereafter, lsaa"
treat tie subject as If Ms present system 81 foreign
raluation is 10 continue Qb p. $500 Ahsf max
inc this declaration, which informs MS that under
the Compromise acl the I'D ralorem duties were
levied on The foreign valuation, he argues IN Ia
vor OF snch duties in the language we have quo
led from his speech, on the supposi,ion that the
system was TO be continued. portion Of his
remarks have already been quoted. In addition
practically m joroe erer SINCE the Compromise act
,ras passed, and there has been ,o dcnitu IN admt-
niacyns The duties of The Treasusgon that Pr'net-
p't."-llb. P. 536-7l
"Aeain-whal has been The fact from the orr
gin of the Government until now? The anu
ces from which the greatest amount OF revenue
has been drawn, such as woollens, linens, silks,
co!tous, worseds, and few others, have all been
taxed on The al vaorem principle, and there has
been no difficulty in The operation believe, upon
the whole that it is The best mode. believe that
il we adopt a fixed rate al valorem, whenever il
can be DONE the revenue will lie subjected 10 fewer
frauds, than the injustice and frauds incident 10
specific duties One Of the most prolific sources
Of The violation of our revenue laws has been,
as every body knows, the effort 10 gel IN soois q
a finer quality ana higher value, admitted under
the lower rate OF duty required for those oil
lower value The honorable gentleman from
New Hampshire, (Mr. Woodbury. and the
honorable Senator from New York, Mr.. WFishi,)
both well know this. But iii the duty was laid ad
yalorem, there would be no motive Ter such ar e.
fort and the fraud in lis pressn. form would have
no pace."-[lb SIS
Thus srosc Mr. clay IN he las; speech which
ne addressed "a he Ssna.s Il NJ Unite. S;s!e>
III cuater:s5 tia. re ao-,e ya.ua;iou saoal- =
: 3o;:sl: III. j: human language means z-T
.hiog, = ia from considering ~ :oo-iao1 =
wnich ne would Sarc;ion .as 80 -1-o-Gv. sys.sT,
he demonstrated il Superiority in The abstract
tau. crsr, n lerted m ne forngn roiunt,on over
system of specific duties. lie asserts, Thai "dr0-
orcm duties are better in theory and IN practice,
hat they are entitled 10 the preference on the
score Of Justice; that they are subject TO lever
frauds than any other, and that, in their PRACTICAL
operation, they have occasioned no difficulty TO
The Treasury. Al This. 50 far from being ac-
by any qualification, is made with The
that the old system is to continue
IN the suppostion that Mr.. Simmons labor
should end in smoke. Notwithstanding this
strong language, Mr.. Davis, whose whole course
a, the last session proves the fitness oil The tile OF
Kings Own" with which he has been dubbed,
comes forward to enlightcn the American people,
and, after collecting proofs 10 refutc the position
,ha, Mr. CLAW favored ud paiorcm in preference 10
specilic duties fails TO present the only argument,
and wihholds the only remarks that MIR. Clay
ever uttered in public on the subject Ali this
may be fair but il certainly does not have that
q op.arapce 10 us: for even hasty glance
a, The specch from which We have made
the above extracts, shows conclusIyely that
Mr.. Clay, although contending for The home va
lualion in lcvyns al raiorcm duties, preferred
them, even il levied on the foreign vallialioh, y
any system Of specific duties which had been de'
yisei Ia the contest Oh this feature OF the De
he j. on The side Of It's friends. He is thoroughly
and entirely committed 10 their system OF levylns
duties, in preference 10 The plan Of specifics pro-
posed By "eycry importing merchant in The cry
Of Boston" and sanctioned by the Wing party II
the Congress Of the United States. The factions
spirit Of the Wing party led them 10 assall the
bill on every ground Blinded by party passion
they could see no good in it. The al uaIor'n
principle was one Of IL. features, and immediate
" the whole pack were in full cry. IL was de
nUunCeu as new ana ulheaIu VI, udHStIouS w tu'
hes, interests Of the country: scheme which M
man pretending 10 the character OF an American
statesman had ever advocated. They forgot tht
while that their great leader was its advocate tina
he had demonstrated its advantages, that he hat
shown that in all times past it was the principa
source OF income, and that il was less liable Il
fraud than its rival scheme. And now, when full
" committed against il, as they would have beer
In its iavor, had it not been feature in the las
revenue bill, The Wings endcavor 10 deny TO th'
language oil their chief its plain meaning, and at
tenn, to put words into his mouth which he neye
ultered-showing TO the world how contemplate
party may become when it degenerates into
faction.
The news from The South is far from cheering
The whole country will lament the unforluna,
faux pas committed by the ''righl arm Of our de
fence" the Navy. The failure OF the ST. Mary
of Tampico, the unsuccessful experiments in lht
~ IL [rzH r.rx IN-.,