The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-30

of the members
John Marshall was the great judicial expounder
of the first of these theories, and. as Chief JUS
tice of the Supreme Court of the United States
for thirty-forr years, was able, by his decisions,
to mark out the foundations, and establish the
principles of strong national government, with
ample power to maintain itself against all enc
mics at home or abroad. Mr.. jefferson was the
author and champion OF the other theory, and.
no doubt by reason of his observations of mon
archy in Europe. was actuated by an honest OPP
position to what he called concentrated power,
forgetting, however, that the power OF our ma
tional government was the power OF the people
when administered by. the Nation, as well as
when administered by the State.
These two opposing theories were manifested
in every question, great and small, that ap
pea-ed in the politics Of the first half century,
though even Mr. jefferson exercised what he
thought was an unconstitutional power In the
acquisition of Louisiana, and Madison approved
the bank bill and the high protective tariff. and
Monroe asserted the highest national
power in respect to foreign affairs.
The result of the first half
century was to establish the principles of John
Marshall as against those of Thomas jefferson,
and nothing disturbed this tendency until the
question of slavery unfortunately became in
volved in party politics, when the interests Of
slavery induced the Southern leaders, John G.
Calhoun at the head, to seek to cripple, and lin
it, and narrow the powers of the national gov
local authority u was upon this dividing line
between national and State authority that the
civil war was fought, and it ended by the aboli-
ton of slavery, and should have been followed
by the abandonment of the doctrine which led to
the contest so that now it may be said in theory,
if not in practice, the doctrines of John Marshall
are the established principles of national law.
while the Democratic party still adheres to the
old theories and still seeks to belittle, to limit
and to cripple the powers of the national gov
nnr,fo fn nf fha md
objects of national policy.
Now, In these questions, Whatever may be
SAID OF the past the State of Virginia is far
more deeply interested in republican ideas than
the State of Ohio or any of the Northern States.
The two Virginias, taken as WHOLE and united
into one State. they should be, possess more
undevelopeG resources than Pennsylvania or
any Of the Western States. You have coal and
iron without limit under soil exhausted but
capable of restoration You have harbors and
rivers as beautiful as thessun shines upon. You
have proximity to market good climate, all
the products of the sea and all the productions
OF the land suited to your climate. These are
not my opinions expressed for the first time to
you in political canvass, but they were ex-
pressed five years ago, after careful study of
your resources. now repeat to you that, what
ever may have been your theories in the past,
when 1t was necessary for you to dowhatyou could
to maintain the system of slavery yet now that
every man is free and citizen, the interests of
v
just application of the principles of John Mar
shall as any State in this Union; that for Vir
ginia still to linger around the resolutions of
1898, when new elements and new life REQUIRE
for your aid the exercise of all the
powers of the national government, is mere
bourbonsm, intense and pure, forgetting moth
ing, and learning nothing by the march of time.
What you want is a government able, not only to
protect you from foreign powers, but also to de-
velop your resources. protect your industries,
improve your rivers and harbors, and in support
ing your schools, and. in cooperation with the
States, to create and regulate those great lines of
communication, both of water and rail, that
tend, by absolute free trade between fifty mill
ions of people within the United States. to in
crease the intercourse and supply the wants of
the American people
The Constitution confers upon the national
government ample power of taxation to collect
revenue for all these purposes without burden
ing the people of the States with oppressive d.
rect taxes. Congress can levy duties on i'm
ported goods without oppression. even to a
greater amount than is now collected. Expe
rlence has developed a mode of levying excuses
on a number of articles yielding large revenue
without being burden but an actual benefit by
restraining their use. Chief of these is the tax
on whisky, beer and tobacco-a tax which is as
beneficial In restraining the of these articles
as it is beneficial as source of revenue and re-
lief from other taxes. This system of indirect
taxes can, if occasion demands, be extended to
multitude of articles, which would enable the
national government, without burden to the
States, to confer untold benefits upon the people
of all the States, leaving, however. unrestricted
to the States all the powers they now possess.
Under the Constitution State can levy
duties on imported goods, and thus this Dount-
full source OF revenue is cut off from them In
effect if not expressly, all States are prevented
on production or consumption, because the i'm
position OF those taxes would tend to injure the
State that levies them for the benefit of adjoin-
ing States that do not No tax can be levied by
State upon the production manufacture of
tobacco, because such tax would only force this
production and manufacture into other States
where the tax not levied. Thereiis no longer
any ground for jealousy of national authority,
because the commerce between the States is now
so rapid and intimate that Virginia is to-day as
near to Ohio as adjoining counties were to each
other fifty years ago. The States have increased
in such numbers, distributed over a vast region
of country, that the possibility of injury to any
State by national authority is too remote to be
feared Therefore, it is that whatever might
have been the merits of the opposing theories Of
Marshall and Jefferson, certain it is that now the
interests of Virginia should be on the side of
strong national government instead of weak
one. should be in favor of national authority
rather than of local authority and the largest
possible development of internal resources con-
slstent with the revenue of the United States.
The speaker next discussed the tariff question,
showing the advantages of the new South, with
its infant industries, must reap from the main
tenance of the principle of protection of Ameri-
lean manufacturers from unrestricted competi
ton of foreign manufactured goods. He pointed
ont the fact that the Democratic party was
welded to the theory of free trade and that
whatever of benefit might accrue from the oppo-
site theory must be sought through the admins
tration of the affairs Of the government by the
Republican party. He then touched upon the
question of reform in the administration of the
government, showing the groundlessness of the
charges brought against the Republican officers
who have administered its affairs SO successfully
for the past twenty-five years, and the hollow
ness of the Democratic pretenses in that direc-
hos tilit,r 81 lI aaxa;