The North-Carolinian., 1853-04-02

Gxxr1smss la. camy lAnce .ssth the
SOLICITATION 81 friensis resisIl.s in siy9crent
.e<1ipns ofsthe district. I.hase .co,sFnted
- Sc ! candidate for ve-el1lainn. u vas
~ i s,1;;;; = ssss poelishx. MI ss,S
the various measures that have been acted
upon by Congress since bave been your
Representa- alive, but the heavy pressure Of
business for the last two or three weeks
of the session. in connection with a serious
indisposiiion. prevented my doing SD. l
must now content myself with bare
allusion to such as affect more directly
your interest. The old p"liticol issues.
which for the last quarter Of a century
have divided public "pi"i"n in our coun-
try. are now in great degree at rest
Our national currency Is sound aud abun-
dant hence commercial confidence per
vades our wide spread Republic, and
national and individual prosperity rs rn
full measure with US.
The Democratic Tariff Of 1916 has more
than realized i its operation the highest
anticipatiuns Of its friends aud not with
standing our national expenses have been
exorbitant, it has yielded US more revenue
than was sufficient to meet these expenses.
| leaving surplus Of some millions each
year with which to pay Oft our national
| debt. Statesmen OF note and character
who heretofore have belonged to the high
tariff party. now av"w themselves advo-
Gates Of equal and low taxes. The tariff
! of 1916 has not been mat crially changed
since it's enactment, nor. in NY opinion,
will any such change take place for several
years to come, unless the article OF irOE
| should continue to increase in value. in
which event ustice to the great a2ricul-
tural intere st will demand its m"di tic ton.
This tax is now felt as oppressive on the
various schemes Of internal improvements
in our country. aud in order to aba'e it to
some extent, there were several attempts
made to postpone the payment OF duties
on railroad iron. aud authorizing its ulii
mate discharge by the perfor.na" OF mail
service; all of these attempts. exceptin.
IN two cases, were abortive: one was the
Wilmington aud Weldon Railroad. the
other was the Wilmington ani Manches-
ter road. As our State will have to pay
upwards Of $500, 900 in duties on iron for
the Central Railroad, the whole delegation
made a strong effort to take "tf this duty
entirely, but we could not succeed.
During the first session Of the present
Congress a bill was introduced and passed
the House of Representatives. but was
finally lost in the Senate. distributing +"
the several States Of the Union certain
aIlotments OF the public lands. 1t was
generally known rs Benefits bill. Sew
eral reasons compelled me to vote against
it. The distribution proposed was u"equal
and unjust. One instance will show this.
The State Of Arkansas. having but one
Representative OH the floor oi Congress,
was allowed three millions Of acres Of land
in addition to every 10th section for
educational purposes, as also 5OO.OoO
acres previously allowed for internal i'm
p,ovements. Our State, " ith nine Repre-
seutatives, was allowed only one milio
six hundred thousand acres. could see
nothing but the grossest injustice in this
arrangement The bill also restricted the
different States in the Of t.le none Y
a, rising from the sale Of their respective
warrants. appropriatiDg it exclusively tn
the cause of education This was covert
attempt the part of Congress to dictate
to the States Legislation Of particular
character such dictatI0n could not APP
prove Of. No one values more highly than
l do the advantages Of general education,
believing that its promotion should be the
dearest object Of solici'ude in the bosoni
Of every legislator. but let it be confis!ed tn
the wistlom ot its proper guardians, the
State Legislatures. Congress has no con-
stitutionai power to lesisIate ON the sub
ject. Independent Of these serious objec-
tions to sonre Of its provisions. considered
the principle of the bill as entirely wrong.
Whether our vast public domain was ac
quired By donation or purchase. It Is the
common property Of the States, to be used
for their joint be"cft. and Congress, has ne
more right t" give away the public lands
than to give away the public money. One
is as much property as the other. Blu
who would not consider proposition tina
Congress should collect. by taxes on tb,
people, money for distribution among th'
States. as monstrous What would suc'
a policy end in ?-The great security tha
you now have ag inst the wastefui extrava
gance Of your State legislators. cons's'in!
in their direct and immediate responsible
ty to the tax-paying community. what be
comes of this responsibility if The Genera
Government acts as the tax collector. ant
the State Legislatures do the squander'ns
1t ceases to exist The principle Of dis
| 1T ,x-ar with the theory al Oh