The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-21
An Unconstitutional and Foolish


The Alabama Legislature has passed
tax law, of which one section reads:
'l3. To keep a news depot for one
year, in any city, town or village, for
the sale of any newspaper, periodical
or magazine, not including pictorials
provided for in the preceding para
graph, ten dollars
So far, good; but the preceding para
graph runs as follows:
'l2. To sell, or expose for sale, for
one year, at any one place, any picto-
rial or illustrated weekly, or any
monthly paper, periodical, or magazine,
Published outside the limits Of this State,
and not in a foreign country, and to vend
the same on the streets, or on boats or
railroad cars, tJty dollars"
Now, in the first place this is clearly
contrary to the second paragraph Of
the tenth section of the first article of
the Constitution of the United States,
which declares that mo State shall,
without the consent of the Congress,
lay any imposts or duties on imports or
exports, except what may be absolutely
necessary for executing the inspec-
ton laws; and the net produce of all
duties and imposts laid by any State
on imports or exports shall be for the
treasury of the United States; and all
such laws shall be subject to the reyis-
ion and control of Congress"
The Alabama law leVies a duty on
imports; for the section, though osten-
sibly laying only license in reality,
diseriminates against the products of
other States, and imposes q special
burden upon them. 1t not only does
this, but it fsyors at the same time the
products of a foreign country, to the
disadvantage of our own. We advise
the Legislature of Alabama to "revise"
their law, and expunge from it this
passage, which appears to be merley a
piece of spite against certain publica-
tions in the North, like Harpers
Weekly, q journal whose faith
full, able and strenuous advocacy of the
Union cause during the war has made
it powerful organ of public opinion,
AMI has won for it the gratitude OF our
soldiers and of all loyal people North
and South. Because some of these Al
ALBANIA legislators do not like its senti-
ments they endeavor to tax it out of
circulation. This is, to be sure, somewhat
better than they used TO do before the
war, when they prohibited the circula-
ton of journals disliked by the few
Shareholders. But this act is bred of
the same spirit of intolerance, and that
is spirit which the country will no
lonCar endure The Americau raopla
mean that speech and discussion shall
be free wherever the flag flies, hence
forth. They have paid, by costly and
deadly war, for the imprudence of suf-
fering this right to be restricted in the
South. They will not tolerate any in
vasion of It hereafter. If the people of
Alabama do not like northern Journals,
they need not buy them; no one will
quarrel with them for that But the
passage of this tax law shows that
there is demand there for these Jour
mails, which these legislators wickedly
endesvor to check. OF course, the
present act is only an entering wedge
If that holds, the legislature may tax
3 newsvender one thousand or FIVE
thousand dollars for selling any of the
prohibited journals; if they may thus
prohibit the sale of an illustrated Jour
nal they may similarly forbid that Of
daily, or of all the dailies, printed out
Of the State, or in any particular State,
and if newspapers, then any other arti-
cles of merchandise may be thus kept
out-Ne'0 York Esening Post