Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-01-28
SPEECH OF Mr.. EWING,
OF KENTUCKY,
on TEE SUBJECT or TONNAGE DUTIES.

In TIE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY lS, 1854
The House being in Committee of the Whole, and hay
ing under consideration the resolutions proposing refer
the Presidents Message to appropriate committed
Mr.. EWING said: desire, Mr.. Chairman to call the
attention Of the committee to that part Of the Presden
Message which refers to appropriations for the improve
men Of rivers and harbors and especially TO that para
graph in which, by reasonable interpretation he may be
supposed to recommend the levy Of tonnage duties
domestic commerce. ....
One thing is clear Mr. Chairman that whatever doubt
may hang about other questions involved in this and
other parts of the message the President
abandonment of the system Of appropriations
the part Of the Federal Government for such
those mentioned Upon this point will simply say that
It is very easy to assaii any existing system to pick
flaws in it, and prove that it is imperfect as of
sty any work Of human hands must be imperfect; but
when it becomes to suggest another system
take its place the difficulty begins.
The chief of the mperfections of the existing
system have been satisfactorily explained by the disn-
guished Senator (Mr. DoUGLAsl from illinois, who has
truly indicated that the irregular and spasmodic appro-
pratons upon the part Of this Government only
tantaze the people of the West He tells the amount
appropriated scarcely to provide sufficient machi-
nery dredge boats and the requisite materials for the
prosecution of the works of internal improvements
braced in the act of Congress- and before another
pration is made, amid the difficulties of Congressional
opposition and Executive vetoes the works already
menced will, with the machinery and materials, have
gone to ruin cannot however, enter ntoa discussion
of this matter just now nor my present purpose
show either the efficiency neicency OF the present
system for carrying works improvements
repeat sir and the remark is true and tre to
have passed into proyerb 1t is easier by far to assal
existing institutions than to construct syssms which shall
take their place. The reformation of Martin Luther
spread rapidly Europe, and at time threatened
to sweep the whole continent with its resisess tide
the waters the great deep 1t met with
interrupted long it hypothesis of ideal
arad will lmn
systems Of humanity but when tested, and found, in
its turn to be imperfect every thing must be Of which
is either the author the agent far from making
further acquisitions Of its earlier conquests
by Rome. ..-......
shall take it for granted, in this argument that the
President follows the lead of the eminent Senator from
Illinois, (Mr. DOUGLAS and intends to recommend the
imposition Of Tonnage duties upon domestic commerce
The paragraph in the message to which refer reads
follows:
I submit you whether it may not be safely anticipated
that if the policy settled against appropriations by
General Government for local the bene
fit of commerce. localities requiring expenditures would not
modes and clearly legitimate and proper raise the
fund for such constructions the safety other
interests of their commerce might require
He does not recommend that the States by the ordina
~ means of raising revenues direct tax upon all her
provide for such expenditures, do
know that any advocates such policy; but he
insists that localities requiring expenditures shall raise
the fund necessary" thus evidently indicating duty
upon commerce This to be the Interpretation Of
that passage in the message by both friends and foes Of
that system of taxation and it now becomes my duty
examine whether the modes and proposed are in
the language of the President so clearly legitimate and
proper"
/ will endeavor to show in the brief time for which
allowed to occupy this foor that the system proposed
of at least doubtful constitutionaty The Presi
dent and the distinguished Senator from Illinois, to whom
have already alluded have perhaps, in their tmid ap
prehensons about the unconstitutionaty of certain ap
preparations under the existing system unnecessarily
treated under the influence of these apprehensons and
thereby involved themselves in greater difficulties. will
endeavor to show that it is not only system of doubtful
but that it Notwithstanding the de-
claraon of the Senator that he desires to introduce
innovation into the legislation of the country new
Just and intoerabc system Of taxation against which
know the section of the country from which
revolt and that it would be the introduction of an
ment of discord which, think, there is much
apprehend would eventually result in of these
States one from another.
Now sir it will be recollected that Of the objects
the adoption Of Constitution to unfor
nifty of and prevent separate taxation 1t is well known
that the mutual irritating, and often unjust imposition
by the States upon the commerce of each other
wengh led to the dissolution of the ancient Conederacy
and that the necessity of remedyng the evils thus engen
dered eventually contributed perhaps than any
other cause to the formation of the present Constitution
l might read in support of this position numberess
passages from the writings of those who advocated
change from the old Conederacy before present Con-
stiuton was adopted, from those who assisted in the
explained the objects and meaning Of the Constitution
both before and since its adoption will, however,
tent myself with quoting two brief passages from the
father of the Constitution James Madison Writing upon
cognate though somewhat different subject he says in
the course of his letter:
No who recollecs the period when the
power in the individual States and sepa
attempts made to otherwise regulate it, need
be told TINT the attempts not only aborv but by de-
the necessity of general and uniform regulations
the original impulse to the constitutional reform which
provided for such regulations.
To refer State, therefore, the exercise of power
as reserved her by the Constitution the mpossby
exercising which inducement adopt the Constu
ton is of all remedial Devices the last that ought be
brought forward"
Speaking of certain prohbitory regulations of Virginia.
Mr. Madison says, in the same letter
The effect of her separate attempts to raise by
duties imports appeared in representations from her
merchants that the Of the State banhed by
them into other channels especially Of Maryland where i'm
ports were less burdened than in Virginia.
Such tendency of separate regulations indeed too
manifest escape attention. Among the projects promoted
by the of federal authority that of
concert first proposed the part Of Maryland, for uni
ormty Of regulations between the States and commits
roners appointed for that purpose. 1t per-
however that the Of
necessary Maryland Of Maryland to Virginia, and the
of Pennsylvania accordingly invited But
Pennsylvania could without New York than
Maryland without Pennsylvania New York without the
concurrence Of Boston, &c.
There projects were superseded for the moment by that
of the Convention Annapolis in 1885, and forever by the
Convention at Philadelphia in 1887, and the Constitution
which was the fruit Of it"
The constitutional question: Mr. Chairman, seems never
to have been thoroughly examined far as aware,
the Supreme Court Of the United States No has
arisen turning upon making it necessary for that
court examine this point specifically. can however,
quote authorities which seem to very satisfactory,
decisions upon bringing up indirectly the
tions at ISSUE of which will read to you before
leaving this part of the subject. ..