APRIL 16, 1828.]

Tariff Bill.

[H. OF R.

| the square yard, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, a duty of one dollar on every square yard.

5th. All manufactures of wool, or of which wool shall be which, at the place whence imported, shall exceed two dola component part, except as aforesaid, the actual value of lars and filty cents, the square yard, and shall not exceed four dollars the square yard, shall be deemed to have cost at the place whence imported, four dollars the square yard, and a duty of forty per cent. ad valorem shall be levied, collected, and paid, on such valuation.

leng, Carson, Carter, Claiborne, Conner, Crockett, Culpeper, Davenport, of Va. Davis, of Mass. Davis, of S. C. Desha, Dorsey, Drayton, Everett, Floyd, of Va. Floyd, of Geo. Fort, Gilmer, Gorham, Gurley, Haile, Hallock, Hall, Hamilton, Haynes, Hodges, Holmes, Ingersoll, Isacks, Lea, Livingston, Locke, Long, Lumpkin, Marable, Mar tin, McDuffie, McIntire, McKee, Mercer, Mitchell, of S. C. Mitchell, of Tenn. Moore, of Alab. Newton, Nuckolls, Oakley, O'Brien, Owen, Pearce, Plant, Polk, Randolph, Reed, Richardson, Ripley, Rives, Roane, Shepperd, 6th. On all manufactures of wool, or of which wool shall Smith of Va. Sprague, Taliaferro, Thompson, of Geo. be a component part, except as aforesaid, the actual value of Trezvant, Tucker, of S. Carolina, Turner, Varnum, Ver which at the place whence imported shall exceed four dollars planck, Ward, Washington, Weems, Wilde, Williams, Win-the square yard, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, a duty of forty-five per cent. ad valorem. gate-91.

So the bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, in the following form:

7th. On woollen blankets, hosiery, mits, gloves, and bindings, thirty-five per cent, ad valorem.

8th. On Brussels, Turkey, and Wilton carpets and carpet

"A BILL in alteration of the several acts imposing duing, seventy cents per square yard. On all Venetian and in

ties on Imports.

Be it enacted, &c. That, from and after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, in lieu of the duties now imposed by law on the importation of the articles hereinafter mentioned, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, the following duties; that is to say:

1st. On iron, in bars or bolts, not manufactured, in whole, or in part, by rolling, one cent per pound.

2nd. On bar and bolt iron, made wholly, or in part, by rolling, thirty-seven dollars per tou

3rd. On iron, in pigs, sixty-two and one-half cents per one hundred and twelve pounds.

4th. On iron or steel wire, not exceeding number fourteen, six cents per pound, and over number fourteen, ten cents per pound.

5th. On round iron, or brazier's rods, of three-sixteenths to eight-sixteenths of an inch diameter, inclusive; and on iron in nail or spike rods, slit or rolled; and on iron in sheets, and hoop iron; and on iron slit or rolled for band iron, scroll iron, or casement rods, three and one-half cents per pound.

6th. On axes, adzes, drawing knives, cutting knives, sickles, or reaping hooks, scythes, spades, shovels, squares of iron or steel, bridle bits of all descriptions, steel-yards and scale beams, socket chisels, vices, and screws of iron, for wood, called wood screws, ten per cent ad valorem, in addition to the present rates of duty.

7th. On steel, one dollar and fifty cents per one hundred and twelve pounds.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, on the importation of the articles hereinafter mentioned, the following duties in lieu of those now imposed by law :

grain carpets and carpetings, forty cents per square yard. On all other kinds of carpets and carpetings, of wool, flx, hemp, or cotton, or parts of either, thirty-two cents per square yard. On all patent floor-cloths, fifty cents per square yard. On oil cloth, other than that usually denominated patent floor-cloth, twenty-five cents per square yard. On furniture oil cloth, filteen cents per square yard. Ön floor matting, made of flags or other materials, fifteen cents per square yard.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, there be levied, collected, and paid, on the importation of the following articles, in lieu of the duty now imposed by law:

until the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and 1st. On unmanufactured hemp, forty five dollars per ton, twenty-nine; from which time, five dollars per ton in addition per annum, until the duty shall amount to sixty dollars per ton. On cotton bagging four and a half cents per square yard, until the 30th day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twentynine, and afterwards a duty of five cents per square yard.

2nd. On unmanufactured flax, thirty-five dollars per ton, until the thirtieth day of Jane, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, from which time an additional duty of five dollars per ton, per annum, until the duty shall amount to sixty dollars per ton.

3d. On sail duck, nine cents the square yard.

4 h. On molasses, ten cents per gallon.

5th. On all imported distilled spirits, fifteen cents per gallon, in addition to the duty now imposed by law.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, no drawback of duty shall be allowed on the exportation of any spirit, distilled in the United States, from mo1st. On wool unmanufactured, 4 cents per pound; and also lasses; no drawback shall be allowed on any quantity of sailin addition thereo, 40 per cent. ad valorem, until the 30th duck, less than fifty bolts, exported in one ship or vessel, at day of June, 1829, from which time, an additional ad valorem any one time. And in all cases of drawback of duties claimed daty of five per cent. shall be imposed annually, until the on cordage manufactured from foreign hemp, the amount of whole of said ad valorem duty shall amount to fifty per cent.drawback shall be computed by the quantity of hemp used, And all wool, imported on the skin, shall be estimated as to weight and value, and shall pay the same rate of duties as other imported woo!.

and excluding the weight of tar, and all other materials used in manufacturing the cordage.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, from and after 2d. On manufactures of wool, or of which wool shall the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and be a component part, (except carpetings, blankets, worsted twenty-eight, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, in lieu stuff goods, bombazines, hosiery, mits, gloves, caps, and bind- of the duties now imposed by law, on window glass, of the sizings,) the actual value of which, at the place whence import-es, above ten inches by fifteen inches, five dollars for one huned, shall not exceed fifty cents the square yard, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, 20 cents on every square yard: Provided, That on all manufactures of wool, except flannels and baizes, the actual value of which, at the place whence imported, shall not exceed 33 1-3 cents per square yard, shall pay fourteen cents per square yard.

3. On all manufactures of wool, or of which wool shall be a component part (except as aforesaid) the actual value of which, at the place whenre imported, shall exceed fifty cents the square yard, and shail not exceed one dollar the square yard, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, a duty of 40 cents on every square yard.

4th. On all manufactures of wool, or of which wool shall be a component part, except as aforesaid, the actual value of which, at the place whence imported, shall exceed one dollar the square yard, and shall not exceed two dollars and fifty cents

dred square feet: Provided, That all window glass imported in plates or sheets uncut, shall be chargeable with the same rate of duty. On vials and bottles, not exceeding the capacity of six ounces each, one dollar and seventy-five cents per groce.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, in lieu of the duties now imposed by law, on all imported roofing slates not exceeding twelve inches in length, by six inches in width, four dollars per ton; on all such sl: tes, exceeding twelve, and not exceeding fourteen inches in length, five dollars per ton; on all slates exceeding fourteen inches, and not exceeding sixteen inches in length, six dollars per ton; on all slates exceeding sixteen inches, and not exceeding eighteen inches, seven dollars per ton ;ron all slates exceeding eighteen and not exceeding twenty inches in length, eight dollars per

H. OF R.]

Deported Slaves.

[APRIL 16, 1828.

tou; on slates exceeding twenty, and not exceeeing twenty-four duty of fifty per centum, for a variance between the bona fide inches, nine dollars per ton; and on all slates exceeding twenty-invoice of goods produced in the manner specified in the proviso four inches, ten dollars per ton. And that, in lieu of the present duties, there be levied,collected and paid, a duty of thirtythree and a third per centum ad valorem, on all imported cyphering slates.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacled, That all cotton cloths whatsoever, or cloths of which cotton shall be a component material, excepting nankeens imported direct from China, the original cost of which at the place whence imported, with the addition of twenty per cent. if imported from the Cape of Good Hope, or from any place beyond it, and of 10 per cent. f imported from any other place, shall be less than thirty-five cents the square yard, shall, with such addition, be taken and deemed to have cost thirty-five cents the square yard, and charged with duty accordingly.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where the duty, which now is, or hereafter may be imposed, on any goods, wares, or merchandises, imported into the United States, shall, by law, be regulated by, or be directed to be estimated or levied upon the value of the square yard, or of any other quantity or parcel thereof; and in all cases where there is or shall be imposed any ad valorem rate of duty on any goods, wares, or merchandises imported into the United States, it shall be the duty of the Collector within whose district the same shall be imported or entered, to cause the actual value thereof, at the time and place from which the same shall have been imported into the United States, to be appraised, estimated, and ascertained, and the number of such yards, parcels or quantities, and such actual value of every of them, as the case may require: And it shall, in every such case, be the duty of the appraisers of the United States, and of every of them, and of every other person who shall act as such appraiser, by all the reasonable ways and means in his or their power, to ascertain, estimate, and appraise the true and actual value, any invoice, or affidavit thereto, to the contrary notwithstanding, of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, at the time and place from whence the same shall have been imported into the United States, and the number of such yards, parcels, or quantities, and such actual value of every of them, as the case may require; and all such goods, wares, or merchandises, being manufactures of wool, or whereof wool shall be a component part, which shall be imported into the United States in an unfinished condition, shall, in every such appraisal, be taken, deemed, and estimated, by the said appraisers, and every of them, and every person who shall act as such appraiser, to have been, at the time and place from whence the same were imported into the United States, of as great value, as if the same had been entirely finished. And to the value of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, so ascertained, there shall, in all cases where the same are or shall be charged with an ad valorem duty, be added all charges except insurance, and also twenty per centum on the said actual value and charges, if imported from the Cape of Good Hope, or any place beyond the same, or from beyond Cape Horn; or ten per centum if from any other place or country; and the said ad valorem rates of duty shall be estimated on such aggregate amount; any thing in any act to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided, That, in all cases where any goods, wares, or merchandise, subject to ad valorem duty, or where on the duty is or shall be by law regulated by, or be directed to be estimated or levied upon, the value of the square yard, or any other quantity or parcel thereof, shall have been imported into the U. States from a country other than that in which the same were manufactured or produced, the appraisers shall value the same at the current value thereof, at the time of such last exportation to the United States, in the country where the same may have been originally manufactured or produced. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That, in all cases where the actual value to be appraised, estimated, and ascertained, as hereinbefore stated, of any goods, wares, or merchandise imported into the United States, and subject to any ad valorem duty, or whereon the duty is regulated by, or directed to be imposed or levied on, the value of the square yard, or other parcel or quantity thereof, shall, by ten per centum, exceed the invoice value thereof, in addition to the duty imposed by law on the same, if they had been invoiced at their real value, as aforesaid, there shall be levied and collected on the same goods, wares, and merchandise, fifty per centum of the duty so imposed on the same goods, wares, and merchandise, when fairly invoiced: Provided, always, That nothing in this section contained, shall be construed to impose the said last mentioned

to the seventh section of this act, and the current value of the said merchandise in the country where the same may have been originally manufactured or produced: And, further, That the penalty of fifty per centum, imposed by the thirteenth section of the act," entitled "An act supplementary to, and to amend, the act, entitled 'An act to regulate the collection of duties on imports and tonnage, passed the second day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, and for other purposes," approved March first, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, shall not be deemed to apply or attach to any goods, wares, or merchandise, which shall be subject to the additional duty of fifty per centum, as aforesaid, imposed by this section of this act.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction of the President of the United States, from time to time, to establish such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, as the President of the United States shall think proper, to secure a just, faithful, and impartial appraisal of all goods, wares, and merchandise, as aforesaid, imported into the United States, and just and proper entries of such actual value thereof, and of the square yards, parcels, or other quantities thereof, as the case may require, and of such actual value of every of them: and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to report all such rules and regulations, with the reasons therefor, to the then next session of Congress."

Whereupon the House adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1828.

DEPORTED SLAVES.
The motion of Mr. WICKLIFFE, to discharge the
Committee of the Whole from the further consideration
of the bill to extend the time of sittings of the Board of
Commissioners under the treaty of Ghent, on the subject
of deported slaves, coming up as the unfinished buisiness
from yesterday morning,

out by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. BUCHAN-
Mr. TALIAFERRO protested against the idea_thrown
AN] that the discussion of the bill would lead to an inter-
minable debate, in which the Representatives from Virgi-
nia and Maryland would be ranged on the one side, and
those from Georgia and Louisiana on the other. He could
assure the House that there was nothing in the bill that
called for any debate at all; and promised, that he, for one,
would not debate it. He then replied at length to the re-
marks advanced yesterday by Mr. WILDE, of Georgia, and
insisted more fully on the arguments which have been al-
ready reported in the former part of this debate. He in-
sisted that the bill operated as a stumbling block to the
proceedings of the Board, and an injunction to their pro-
ceedings. If this were taken out of the way, they would
proceed in the discharge of their duties, and the House
would be no more troubled on the subject. The bill ap-
peared very innocent upon its face, but carried a sting in
its tail, in the shape of a paper marked No. 1, of a very
curious kind; whether it was to be considered as a letter,
a note, or a memorial, he was unable to say. He forebore
to discuss the merits of the claimants from Virginia and
Maryland, not out of the smallest distrust of those merits,
but from a regard to the time of the House, and some lit-
tle respect which he felt due to himself. The bill would
never have been here unless the claims from Virginia and
Maryland had been considered strong and dangerous in
their character; and the memorialists from the South came
knocking at the door of this House, only because they
feared to trust their cause to the authority of the Board of
Commissioners.

Mr. GILMER replied. He should have been better satisfied if the gentleman from Virginia had taken up the time of the House in discussing the merits of the question, rather than in supplicating the House not to have respect to the merits. The memorial from the Georgia claimants was now printed, and on the tables of the mem

H or R.]

Deported Slaves.

[APRIL 17, 1828.

But the fifteen or twenty amendments offered in Com- of this bill to which I have very serious objections; a mittee of the Whole, and afterwards stifled in the House principle by which one amount of duty in name, and ano. by the previous question, do not constitute the only evi-ther and much more exorbitant one in reality, is imposed dence of the immaturity of this bill. There is another upon the article. I mean the minimum principle, by irrefragable proof-a_matter-of-fact demonstration, that which a variation of one cent in the price of a square admits of neither doubt nor cavil. The last hurried act yard of cloth may vary the impost duty upon it one hun of the Committee of the Whole, in the confusion of a dred per cent. 1 object to this, because in such cases, protracted night session, and amidst the irritable impa- the duty is unreasonable and oppressive; and I object to tience produced by the exhaustion of eight hours of con- it for a still stronger reason, because honesty is always the tinued attention, was the correction of a newly discover- best policy, and so is truth. It can never be good policy ed blunder of the Committee on Manufactures. 1 allude to deceive the People by our legislation, or suffer the to the amendment, offered by the gentleman from New statute book to hold out false appearances. I and my York [Mr. WRIGHT] to diminish the duty proposed in the constituents are not deeply versed in mercantile calculabill upon imported flax. That gentleman was an active tions; and, with these minimums in the bill, it is next to member of the Committee on Manufactures, and one of impossible that the great mass of us should find out what the most zealous supporters of the bill in its original form. duty we really pay upon the articles we consume. He stated in his place that the only design of the amend I have no constitutional scruples upon this subject: for, ment was to correct a mistake of the committee in ying if there be any one question, which, above all others, a much higher impost upon the article than they intend presents to us a consideration purely of interest and polied, notwithstanding the long and elaborate investigation cy, it is this very question of the tariff. I am willing to which eventuated in their report of the bill, and the no vote a safe and adequate protection, in the form of a di less long and elaborate arguments by which several mem-rect ad valorem duty; a duty which every one can under. bers of the committee have susta ed it on this floor. stand, and the amount of which may be ascertained by When the question was about to be taken, another mem the simplest process of calculation. If the object be to ber of that committee, [Mr. CONDICT, of New Jersey,1 exclude the foreign article from our market, why, say so and one of the most intelligent and respectable mem- in plain English, and if it can be produced at home in bers of this House, stated that the gentleman from New sufficient abundance, and of equal quality, I will go York was not aware of the full extent of the mistake into with you. If the object be really a good one, I see no which the committee had fallen, and offered an amend reason for concealing it from the People, and wrapping ment to cover the whole ground of error. But he, too, it up in the mystery of minimums: and if it be a bad was silenced by the previous question. No attention was one, we ought not to impose it upon our constituents paid to what he said, and he was voted down with the merely because we have found out how to envelope the amendment in his hand. evil in clouds and darkness. I will not say I would vote against the bill for this cause alone; for, although it be a serious objection, the bill might be so amended in other particulars, as to make me feel it a duty to yield it my support.

I have done, sir. I did not rise with the vain hope of changing any one vote in this hall. I am too entirely conscious of the defects which disqualify me to teach even the youngest here. I have spoken for myself alone, and with the sole object of shewing forth to this House, and to my constituents, some of the reasons in justification of the vote which I intend to give, for the indefinite postponement of this bill.

Mr. PEARCE then announced his determination to vote for indefinite postponement on the ground that the bill, so far from advancing the great manufacturing interest in which his State was engaged, was calculated to injure, and still farther depress it. He then went into a discussion of the various provisions of the bill, and had proceeded some time in his speech, when, it being half past four o'clock, he gave way to a motion for adjournment; which motion succeeding, The House adjourned.

When the question on engrossing the bill was taken yesterday, though I was in my place, I did not vote upon it, partly because I was surprised and mortified at what I conceive to be the reckless precipitation with which the subject was pressed to its conclusion, and partly because a number of amendments had been adopted in rapid suc. cession, of the precise import and bearing of which I was not then sufficiently informed. I am now prepared to vote against the bill, unless it can be made to assume a better form than it wears at present. The only protection asked for by any portion of my people, you have excluded, without even deigning to give them a hearing. A duty on lead would redound to our advantage, but the impost upon every other article is a tax upon us. Ne vertheless, for them and for myself I would be willing to make many present sacrifices with the hope of ulterior and contingent advantages arising out of an improved and protected system of manufactures. But the bill, in its present form, pleases nobody. It awakens the jealousy and arouses the passions of a large portion of this country, while it affords no corresponding benefits to those at whose prayer it has been introduced here. The South complain that it will oppress and grind them down, and make them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the spinners and weavers of the North; and the North affirm that it will pull down their factories, desolate their pas tures, and, to borrow the emphatic language of my friend The motion of Mr. WICKLIFFE, to discharge the from Massachusetts [Mr. I. C. BATES] that "it will put Committee of the Whole from the further consideration the knife to the jugular of every sheep in the country." of the bill to extend the time for the sitting of the Board Sir, I do believe that, aside from the political excitement of Commissioners under the treaty of Ghent, on the subof the times, aside from the sinister influences and indi-ject of deported slaves, coming up as the unfinished busi. rect bearings of the subject, this bill, presented in its ness from yesterday morningnakedness, to the cool, unbiassed judgment of the House, Mr. GILMER said, that, in consequence of the resoluto be accepted or rejected as it might advance or retard tion which had been offered by his colleague, [Mr. the real interests of the agricultural and manufacturing WILDE] he should dispense with the remarks which he classes of this country, would not find in this hall fifty had intended to offer to the House in reply to those made men who would vote for it, on its own intrinsic merits. yesterday by a gentleman from Virginia, Mr. "TALLIA I may be mistaken in this, but it is my honest conviction, FERRO] an 1 would move that the bill, for the present, be and I shall act upon it. laid upon the table; which motion was agreed to, and the bill was thereupon laid on the table accordingly.

A principle has been introduced into the woollen branch

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1828.
DEPORTED SLAVES.

The resolution of Mr. WILDE was then taken up, and adopted in the words following.

"Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to lay before this House, if it will not, in his opinion, be injurious to the public interests, a copy of the opinion given by the Attorney General, on the 17th May, 1826, upon the construction of the award of the Emperor of Russia under the treaty of Ghent, and upon certain questions propounded by the President in relation thereto."

THE TARIFF BILL.

The House then resumed the consideration of the resolution of Mr. RANDOLPH, indefinitely to postpone the Tariff Bill when. :

Mr. PEARCE again took the floor, and resumed the speech which had been broken off by the adjournment yesterday. In the course of his remarks, he made some adnimadversions on a calculation submitted under oath before the Committee of Manufactures, by Mr. KEESE, which led to an unpleasant altercation between those gentlemen.

Mr. PEARCE concluded by declaring his intention to vote against the bill on its final passage, should it then retain its present form. But he would, in the mean while, vote against the indefinite postponement, in the hope, that the bill might yet be re-committed,and rendered less objectionable.

[H. OF R.

the revenue should go into the treasury or not. In proportion as our taxes are increased, will the middle southern and western States become more and more tributary to that section of our country where the largest accumu lation of commercial capital exists, and where its circula. tion is most rapid; manufacturers may be here and there thinly scattered through our agricultural country, but New England must triumph over the whole Union; and it remains for the middle, southern and western States, themselves, to determine whether this American system shall perpetually drain them, not only of that which all manufacturers have a just right to-the value of their labor and the profits of their capital-but, of that addition to their profits which we are annually bestowing upon them by the uniform increase of our taxes, through such measures as that proposed. One word more to gentlemen from the interior-if they will persist in this crusade against our foreign commerce, if they will lay heavy impositions and restrictions on those who are employed in seeking a market for their produce, and in procuring in exchange the supplies for their consumption-if our At. lantic interest is gradually to decline, its ruins will fall most heavily upon the agriculture of our country. But if, under this new compact between the East and the West

if, under the salutary influence of the American system, our fisheries are destined to perish-our foreign commerce is to be cut off our naval power is to be broken and destroyed-let gentlemen from New England remember the origin of this measure-let the responsibility rest where it ought-if we will trim our canvas too close to the wind we must take the consequences.

Mr. CAMBRELENG said, that as the measure proposed would fall so heavily on the commerce and navigation of the country, he felt assured the House would pardon him for offering some ren.arks on it even at this stage of the question. He had no expectation that any argument The arguments in favor of the American system appear of his could possibly affect the fate of the bill-he rose to be designed entirely for political effect. New York rather to discharge an obligation he owed to his constitu. and Pennsylvania are particularly addressed. We are ents, and, if his colleagues would allow him to say so, the presented with alarming tables of our exports and imports, State which he had, with them, the honor to represent. and our condition is contrasted with that of the South, He was not, however, without some hope, that a majori- with melancholy effect. Our exports are comparatively ty of the House might ultimately be disposed to terminate small, while we import millions-consequently New York the excitement in which we had kept the trade and in- is in a rapid decline! Statistical arguments, though the dustry of the country for two years past, and to rescue dullest, are nevertheless the most dangerous weapons, the woollen manufacture from the injuries it must inevita- to those who are not familiar with their use. These ta bly sustain by its unnatural union with our political con- bles frequently, as in the present instance, lead us to mistest. In advocating the motion of the gentleman from take the source of our prosperity for the evidence of our Virginia, he should endeavor to answer some of the ar- ruin. It is manifest that the millions imported by New guments which had been urged in favor of the American York are destined for the consumption of the whole Union, system-to prove that we have departed from the ancient and principally for the use of the Southern and Western policy of the country-to show the injurious consequences States. It is easy to perc ive that we are bound to the of this change-to examine some of the evidence on which Southern and Western States by mutual ties of commerthis measure is founded, proving its fallacious and decepcial interest, and that this very branch of our foreign comtive character-and to urge on the House the necessity of reviving the sound principles of the acts of 1789 and '90-the two acts which formed the basis of our existing revenue system.

merce, which is argued to be so ruinous to us, is the richest source from whence we have drawn the vast capital

the accumulation of our commercial enterprize. Gentlemen who advocate so zealously the cause of manufac In commenting on the American system he must exon- tures and internal improvements do not justly appreciate erate gentlemen from the interior. He could not be sur- the value of our commercial industry to their great and prised at a proposition to impose heavy imposts on hemp, important interests. Whence, but from this source, have iron, and wool-nor should he be, at any measure, how we drawn the capital which is now employed in exploring ever extravagant, from that quarter, till these cries of and developing the wealth which has hitherto been buri. poverty and distress from our eastern capitalists were si-ed and useless in the mines of Pennsylvania, New York, lenced. Gentlemen from the interior must, however, pardon him for saying, that they were playing at a losing game-that the American system can never benefit an agricultural population that they would never be indemnified for their proportion of six and twenty millions of dollars which had been levied on the consumption of the country since 1816, under the minimum on cottons-nor of the two millions and a half which were still annually collected under the same provision. Even the measure proposed, whatever may have been the notions of gentlemen, will fall most heavily upon the agricultural portions of our country. It is substantially nothing but an addition of more than three millions annually to our taxes, and the burthen of it must fall upon consumption, whether

and Vermont? What industry originally furnished the means of establishing near three hundred woollen and cotton factories in our State? Whence came the millions which were and are still employed in uniting the lakes with the Atlantic-the Delaware with the Hudson-the Ohio with Lake Erie? Whence, but from the accumulation of that very commerce which the advocates of the American system denounce as ruinous to us and injurious to the best interests of our country? My colleagues must pardon me-I differ with them on all occasions with reluctance, but I cannot unite with them in supporting measures calculated gradually to destroy the source which contributes so largely to such valuable improvements. Nor can I believe restrictions on commerce to be favora