Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-01-28


ceded to State to levy tonnage duties is limited to ht
imposition of those duties upon foreign commerce, anc
that the power is not given TO levy such duties upon DO
sstie This must be the case, and the more
especially as we told it Of the great prnc
pies thatay the foundation Of the present Constitution
But let US take another view Of this matter In the
ninth section Of the Constitution just preceding the last
clause which have read, it is said, "no duty
shall be laid on articles exported from any State"
Now, by comparing that clause with the which
first read it would appear that far any autho
ry is given levy upon the exports of any State
that is duty upon vessels bound to foreign porteyen
in that the tax imposed must be simply in the
of port duties duties for the support of quarantine
health laws harbor regulations and matters of that
sort
What has been the history Of the levy of tonnage du-
ties, shall endeavor to show that clear precedent
be established for the general levy Of such duties
upon domestic commerce by the examples which have
gone before and in tracing this history ask gentle
to draw and bear along with them two distinctions
first that between domestic and foreign commerce, which
have just taken and, second between a tax in its
widest sense, the exercise Of great power and ar
butte of Government by which revenue may be raised
for general purposes and simple imposition Of port dd
ties such wharfage duties for the support Of quaran
tine health laws, and tolls upon locks canals sc.
Chief Justice Marshall says in the great Of Gibbons
Ogden, that inspecton laws, quarantine laws health
laws of every description well laws for regulating
the internal commerce Of State and those which re-
spec turnpike roads, ferries &c. component parts
of the great Of legislation not surrendered by the
States" ".s ."'
With these two distinctions will give brief and
cnct history of the legislation upon this subject by class
es rather than by individual cases Maryland began
before the formation of the present Constitutionfom
1888 down, in 'S8, '9l '93, &c-to levy duties gene
orally, without drawing in her acts the distinction be-
tween foreign and domestic commerce. for defraying the
expenses incurred by tn. wardens Of the port of Bat
more in clearing out the harbor basin, and in port
regulations.
The consent of Congress given after the forma-
tion of the Constitution these acts and they were re-
vved and extended from time time general TERMS
the titles alone being quoted, and without limitation
The acts OF Maryland OF all those in the history of the
legislation Of the country, to than any
others that have been able to discover furnishing
sort of precedent for the exercise Of this doubtful
and dangerous power But may tpresume-although
the consent of Congress is not limited in specific terms
to the levy Of duties upon domestic commerce. yet since
the acts Of the State quoted simply by their titles
without further description or imitaon-that the oms-
sion simply from the fact that it was deemed
necessary to state that the authority conferred be
bounded by the restrictions of the Constitution That
there was but little domestic in the port of
Baltimore may have furnished another why was
deemed unimportant to draw the distinction.
In tracing the history of the legislation upon this sub
ect by Congress certain themselves where
private companies had been incorporated by the Legsa
lures of the States whom money to be expended
in digging canals erecting locks deepening channels
basins and to whom the power of levyng tolls was given
to reimburse them for the outlay and them
reasonable profit; in the Of the acts of Rhode
Island and Massachusetts, in the of the act of
Georgia of 1856 for the improvement the navigation of
the Savannah river where lock be erected the
falls and tolls to be collected on the tobacco of South
Carona as also in the Of the Virginia Of 1904
to incorporate company deepen the channel of James
river aso in the case of the Virginia of 1916 and
the act OF North Carolina of both States here unit
ing to incorporate company for the improvement of the
navigation of Roanoke river which purpose locks
to be erected and canals dug and tonnage duty
vessels but tolls levied produce and merchandise and
also in the of the two acts Of Alabama of December
80 and 81, 1928, incorporating companies for the i'm
provemen of the navigation of Limestone and Flint rivers
for which purpose locks to be erected and tolls
allowed by way of indemnity and profit. The of
Congress given in the have cited for various
reasons sometimes, in the of Virginia and North
Carolina, to sanction a compact between States as re-
qured by the Constitution sometimes because Of the
conflict of jurisdiction which might arise, in the
of South Carolina and Georgia. the Savannah river form
ing the boundary between them sometimes for no other
conceivable reason, so far as see but simply be-
cause in the earlier legislation of the country when
doubts may naturally have existed the relations
Of the State and Federal Governments and the limitations
of their respective powers the proposers of the different
laws thought it might avoid all possible question and diff
fcues to secure the sanction Of both Governments Up
such principle frequently act and legislation is
sometimes founded even in this day.
In many cases, and, with one exception, far as
have been able to discover wherever the law of Congress
undertakes to describe the duty levied it limits the
levy of the duty to foreign have found but
one act of Congress which at first view specifically
to authorize duty domestic commerce. and that is
the act OF 1876 which gives consent to of Georgia
providing for the expenditures of the health officer and
harbormaster and it would that this act might be
brought within the puryiew of the distinction drawn by
Chief Justice Marshall ...
This is succinct account by classes of Congressional
and State legislation upon this subject Is there prece-
dent established for universal tax upon the domestic
commerce OF the country general system Of policy
by which revenue is to be raised and which is quoad
hoe to be substituted for the tax by tariff upon foreign
imports
tits too late in the day for any one here or elsewhere
who denies the constitutionay Of the United States
Bank, which than chartered, after tho
rough investigation by the political fathers of the coun-
try and which, from time to time, received the sanction
of the highest in her history late such
persons contend that there is here established prece
dent which is to override the apparently decisive Ian
guage of the Constitution Sir if the Constitution, rs
have Interpreted it, had been clearly violated by more
than act of Congress- it would their turn
Let me now recur to some of the decisions of the Su
preme Court, where, although the question comes up
only incidentally yet the distinction between foreign and
domestic is drawn and the clause Of the Con-
stitution upon which have relied is applied have in
terpreted it.
In the celebrated passenger cases from New York and
Boston, (Vll Howards Rep in which the levy of duty
had been imposed by laws Of the States on alien
passengers and also by the law of New York upon pas
sengers and citizens Of other States of the Union Justice
Wayne in enumerating the points which he understands
to be decided by the Court presents the following the
sixth point:
6 That the fifth clause Of the ninth section of the first
article of the Constitution which declares that preference
shall be given by regulation Of
the ports OF one State those another State shall
vessels bound from State be obliged enter clear
pay duties in another is limitation upon the power of
Congress regulate for the purpose producing
entire commercial equality within the United States and also
prohibition upon the States destroy such equality by any
legislation prescribing condition upon which vessels bound