Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1849-02-08
selves. would be a violation of this provision


The opinion of the couIt declaring ex. rcs'ly
and unequvccal!y that under the first aose of
the article recitcd the State had no power so
10 tax the bank, Mr. c. tlcn read the proye-
ion Of the constitution Of Rhode Island ly
VIII eli the power of our Legislature to exer-
else the taxing power was defined and limited
are instituted for the protection, safety and
happiness of the people. All laws, therefore,
should be made for the good of the whole, and
the burdens of the State ought to be fairly dis
tributed among its ci,zcns.'
Mr.. G. contended that the legislative power
to tax WAS more clearly and broadly defined
in the constitution Of Massachusetts than in
ou-s, especially in the first clause of the sec
ton of the constitution of that State which has
before been recited, and yet the Supreme
Court of that State had deci ed that the Legis-
lature had no power 10 Tx the banks as in the
case of the Portland Bank and that cour sus-
tanned the conslitutionality Of that tax alone
upon the power contained in the last claus
of that section; and that power was found in a
single word, commodities" as set forth in
the opinion of tho court lie insisted, there
fore that lie was sustained in the position
which he took by the decision Of the Supreme
Court, as our constitution contained no such
provision as that Of the second clause quoted
from the Massachusetts, constitution, where
alone the court sustained the power of the
Legislature to impose that tax.
Mr.. Ames.--In all or nearly oil that the
gentleman from Newport has said concerning
the injustice and inequality Of the additional
tax, proposed by this section of the bill, to be
imposed upon the banks of this State, perhaps
he should not disagree with that gentleman /;
certainly, in his opinion, tn banks are now
taxed more, in proportion to their business
and their advantages, than the banks of other
States. and more than other property in this
State and, considered in relation to the ad
vantages and privileges they enjoy, perhaps
more than they ought 10 be taxed. II this
tax was now TO be assessed for the first
time upon the banks, he might be opposed, as
a matter Of policy, to the raising so large a
proportion of the revenue of the State from
this particular species of property but such
is no. the case already tax Of IL per cent
is imposed on every 500 of the capital paid
in. There was, hewever, one thing which
he deprecated more than this specific tax upon
the banks, and that was, the principle by
which some members seemed to be governed,
that when the State stood in need Of adj
d ticnal rcvc"uc, they arc to call Of course upon
the banks, and the banks were to make up
the deficiency
This bill proposes an intermediate course
and at the same time that il makes provision
for tax upon all rateable property, it also
prov ides TOR increasing from IS to 30 cents on
hundred dollars the tax upon the banks
He agreed that there was even in this mode an
incqusliiy, and that the banks were taxed
more than their true proportion but the gen
tleman from Newport cannot but perceive The
difference between this proposition TO increa Sc
the tax upon the banks, and at the same time
tax other raeable property, and the settled
principle of action Of some gentlemen TO inn
pose the whole tax upon the tanks. In his
opinion, the banks were Cvertaxed but other
gentlemen thought differently, and in their o.
pinion the banks arc amply able TO bear any
tax that may be imposed upon them, but j;
will be well for such TO remember that it was
the last hair that broke the camal's back, and
in taking this course, in lis opinion, they
were pursuing course that would greatly in
jurc the business of the State, which depends
so greatly upon the banks and the capital the y
concentrate. What he especially sought by
the bill before the House, was public decla-
ration in the only mode in which it could be
made with effect that it was not the settled
po'icy Of ,he State that the banks were to
supply for all time to come al deficiencies in
our revenue. If we should pass a resolution
to this effect after raising by an additional Is
the bank tax, it would be Of no avail. Our
successors, under new deficiency, would not
be bound by it, and would resort as we should
have done, to the s1me source Of reyen c.
The only mode in which we can elfectually
Unit ourselves in this respect, is by the estao-
Iishment of sufficient revenue upon some
other scheme, and looking upon the bill before
,he House, the result Of compromise Of the
views of all, in that light, however biectiona-
ble the particular section in question might be,
he should vote to retain it in the bill, in the
hope that it might aid in its passage He
entirely disagreed with the gentleman from
Newport in the views he had advanced with
resp ct to the cons,tutionality of this addition
al tax upon the bInks and as he had the
honor Of being the Chairman of the Commit
tee to whom this whole subject was referred
and as such had reported this bill, he deemed
itIh his duty to say something in answer to the
remarks ofthat gentleman upon this subject
The case was fully and ably argued at the
bar, in all its bearings and upon due conside-