The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-06-09
BY DANIEL R. GooDLoE, OF NORTH CAROLINA

the Debate in the Virginia Legislature IN
1882; ruth vdriouS letters judicial decisions, 9c
BY DANIEL R. GooDLoE OF NORTH CAROLINA.
| lcoErINUED.l
MADISON PAPERS.
From Mr. JeferSon's Minutes Of Debates IN
1916 ON The Declaration of Independence,
published Cith the Madison Papers.
The clause, too reprobating the enslaving
the inhabitants Of Africa was struck out, in
compliance to South Carolina and Georgia,
who had never attempted to restrain the i'm
portation Of slaves, and who, on the contrary,
still wished to continue it, Orr Northern
brethren, also, believe, felt a little tender I'M
der those censures for, though their people
have very few slaves themselves, yet they had
been pretty considerable carriers of them to
others.-PGge Is.
From Dir. Jeferson's original draft Of the Dec
ldration Of Independence.
He has waged cruel war against human ma
ture itself, violating its most sacred rights Of
life and liberty, in the persons of a distant
people who never offended him captivating
and carrying them into slavery in another hemi-
sphere or to incur miserable death in their
transportation thither. This piratical warfare
the opprobrium of nfde Powers, is the war
fare of the Christian King of Great Britain
Determined to keep open market where men
should be bought and sold, he has prostituted
his negative for suppressing every legislative
attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable
commerce; and that this assemblage of horrors
might want no fact of distinguished dye, he is
now exciting those very people to rise in arms
among US, and to purchase that liberty of which
he has deprived them, by numbering the people
on whom he also Obtruded them-thus paying
off former crimes committed against the lber-
ties of one people, with crimes which he urges
them to commit against the lives of another
Page "a.
Mr. Je6erSonS Report of Debate on articles of
Confederation.
"ARTICLE XII. All charges of war; and all
other expenses that shall be incurred for the
common defence or general welfare, and al
lowed by the United States assembled, shall be
betrayed out OF a common treasury, which shall
be supplied by the several colonies in proper
ton to the number of inhabitants, of every age
sex, and quality, Except Indians not paying
taxes, in each colony--a true account of which,
distinguishing the white inhabitants shall be
triennially taken and transmitted to the AS
SemDly Oh inc UnlCeQ States.f
MIR. Chase moved that the quotas should be
paid, not by the number of inhabitants of every
condition, but by that of the "white nhabit-
ants" He admitted that taxation should be
always in proportion to property; that this
was, in theory, the true rule; but that from
variety of difficulties, it was a rule which could
never be adopted in practice. The value of the
property in every State could never be estma-
and Al
for the wealth of the State must therefore be
devised some standard referred to which
would be more simple. He considered the |
number of inhabitants as n tolerably good cri-
terion OF property and that this might always |
be obtained. He therefore thought it the best
mode we could adopt, with one exception only. |
he observed that negroes are property, and, AZ
SUCH cannot be distinguished from the lands or
personalities held in those States where there
are few slaves; that the surplus of profit which
a Northern farmer is able to lay by, he invests
in cattle, horses. &c. whereas a Southern
farmer lays out that same surplus in slaves.
There is no more reason, therefore, for taxing
the Southern States on the farmers head and
On his slaves head, than the Northern ones on
their farmers heads and the heads of their
cattle; that the method proposed would there
oio IVA tuC bOuVicln ClitttS uCCOTulTE 10 LDplr
numbers and their wealth, conjunctly whilo
the Northern would be taxed on numbers only;
that negroes, in fact should not be considered |
as members OF the State, more than cattle, and |
that they have no more interest in it,
Mr.. John Adams observed, that the numbers
Of people were taken by this article as an in
dex of the wealth of the State, and not as sub
jects Of taxation that, as to this matter, it was
of no consequences by what name you called
your people-whether by that of freemen or Of
slaves that in some countries the laboring
poor were called freemen, in others they were
called slaves but that the difference as to the
State was imaginary only. What matters it,
whether landlord, employing ten laborers on
his farm, gives them annually as much money
as will buy them the necessaries of life or gives
them those necessares at short hand The
ten laborcrs add as much wealth annually to
the State-increase its exports as much-in the
one case as the other. Certainly, five hundred
frcemcn produce no moro proiitS-no greater
surplus for tho payment of taxes-than FIVE
hundred slaves. Therefore, the State in which
| are the laborers called freemen should be taxed
no more than that in which are those called
slaves. Suppose by any extraordinary opera
ton of nature or of law, one half the laborcrs
of State could, in one night, be transformed
into slaves would the State be made the
poorer or the less able to pay the taxes That
the condition of the laboring poor in most
countres-that of the fishermen, particularly,
OF the Northern States-is as abiect rs that of
slaves IL is the number Of laborcrs which
produces the surplus for taxation and num-
bers therefore, Unfortunately, are the fair
index of wealth that it is the use of the word
property" here, and its application TO somo
OF the people Of the State, which produces tho
fallacy How does the Southern farmer pro-
cure slaves Either by importation or by
purchase from his neighbor. If he imports
slave, he adds one to the number of laborers in
his country, and proportonably to its profits
and abilities to pay taxes if he buys from his
neighbor it is only II transfer of laborer
from one farm TO another, which does not
change the annual produce Of the State, and,
therefore, should not change its tax that if a
Northern farmer works ten laborers on his
farm he can, it is true, invest the surplus of
ten mems labor in cattle but 80 NAV the
Southern farmer, working ten slaves that
State OF one hundred thousand freemcn can
maintain no more cattle than one of one hun
dred thousand slaves-thereiore, they have no
more OF that kind OF property that q slave
may, indeed, from the custom of speech, be
more properly called the wealth of his master,
than the free laborer might be called the wealth
OF his employer but as TO the State, both were
equally its wealth, and should therefore, equally
add 10 the quota of its tax.
Mr.. Harrison proposed. as n compromise
that two slaves should be counted as one Free
man. He affirmed that slaves did not do as
! .nuoh work freaman anl lo,ktal &c sua