Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1868-08-06


ton Of the gentleman l would say that 1
deny urtering the right Of one Congress
70 prohibit all succeeding Congresses from
iir posing tax. either upon GoTern-
ment bonds Or any other species ofpropeF-
IT,
Mr.. BURLEIGH The gentleman
does not quite understand me
Mr.. STONE. l think I understand
the gentleman perfectly
Mr. BURLEIGHs | Will state what !
mean
Mr.. STONE. I think understand
tho gentleman perfectly. Every citizen
or forei gser or whoever he may be, who
advances his money to the Government
is presumed to know, and docs luow-for
men who make these advances Of money
understand the workings aud the authorl-
" Of the Government as well as, and per-
haps better, than any other class of men
in the world-they know that the power
Of the Government 70 tax is inherent and
inalienabe. And they take the loan al
ways subject to the Inherent right Of tax
alton possessed BIZ the Government.
Mr. BURLEIGH Let me interrupt
the gentleman again for moment.
Mr. STONE Very we'll
Mr.. BURLEIGH The Government
makes a contract with me, for instance; it
asks me for my money, and give it
The Government then executes bond to
me, and puts It's seal upon i. Now, after
having received my gold, can 1t tear that
( seal from the bond without my consent ::
| want 70 know if the Government posses
scs any such power as that. lit does,
/ than have yet to learn it.
Mr.. STONE. l have already answer
ed tn question Of the gentleman. | re-
peat again, that no government was ever
instituted among men that did not possess
this inherent and inahenable right. And
no man scarcely out Of . luEatic asyI um
ever supposed that this Congress, or the
/ Parliament Of Great Britain, or the Cham
Der OF Deputies of France, or the Diet of
/ Germany, with all their Executives COM
bined could strip the Legislative Depart
| mcnt Of the Government OF this inherent
and nalicnable right And these men
/ took the bonds of the United States know :
ing that the Government always reserves
to itself that power. But the Government
never did promise not to tax these bonds;
! they only declared that the States should
not tax them | will read from the act
, on that subjcct
"All stocks, bonds, and other securi-
ties of the United States, held by individ-
uals, corporations, or associations within
the United States, shall be exempt from
taxation by or under State author
~ I.
That. l believe. is the utmost extent to
which any of these laws go--that the
( bonds shall be free from taxation under
State OF municipal authority. Congress
never for q moment attempted even to
make them not taxable by the United
States.
But Mr.. Chairman, the funding bill
IS simply bill to exchange bonds payable
in currency for bonds payable in gold I;
nothing more or less Whether 1t is wise,
when it is impossible to have full discus
sion upon 30 important measure, to
and thus to impose burden upon -ilo
people of this country otccrtainly between
i've hundred and one thousand million
dollars, notwithstanding the lower rate Of
interest on the new bonds, | must leave
the majority OF this House to determine !
myself, deem it both unwisc and unjust
to the people that they should be called
upon to perform more than they agreed
to do at the time they incurred the debt ;
and when every interest in the country is
now SO heavily taxed.
But, Mr.. Chairman in the few minutes
allotted to me | feel inclined TO adopt an
expression used by General Blair in his
late celebrated letter, in which he says the
financial question is subordinate to the po-
litical one This letter of General Blair
seems to have created a great deal of in
tcrcst in this House and out of it. 1t has
been termed revolutionary and warllkc.
Now, | agree with and most cordially en-
dorse every word in that letter. 1t Is be
cause | believe it is not revolutionary,
that it is not warlike in the slightest de-
gree. that | do endorse it, /, is plain
statement of question which he desires
to Submit to the people, and to take their
deliberate judgment upon 1t at the ballot
box. you can term any question that
is submitted to the people at the ballot
box, ana upon which their deliberate
Judgment is evoked-it you term that war,
then what DO YOU term peace
That letter Of General Blair's simply
declares that the governments set " III
the ten rebel States were not warranted
by the terms Of the Constitution Of the
United States, and it proposes to submit
to the deliberate judgment of the people
whether tile Executive should or should
not be called upon to undo what the VIII
ter Of the letter believes ans what be
licye 10 be an unconstitutional usurIatI0n
Of power
is impossible that any revolution or
nar can come of any deliberate appeal to
the ballot box. 1.-THE people declare ~
the election that those State governments
arr. Unconstitutional and that they deslle
tL,ir Executive to command the army to
uudo what the srny did. surely that
cannot bc termed revolutionary mea-
sure
But there is small cloud on the hori-
ION. The bill 50 recently passed BY both
Houses Of Congress III relation 70 counting
the electoral votes q the reconstructed
States Is. in my Judgment. measure
fraurLt with danger to the country Tor,
* | conStruc that bill, It certainly claims
for the two Hoa>es Of Congress the right
- receive or 10 reject the vote If any one
1T The ten Southern States. As Congress
may choose. The Constitution Is explicit
up6n that subject Il gives 70 tongress
.a.,4,.