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• w r 3t SATURDAY, August & f 17^9.] THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE .AND GAZETTE of the STATE. FREEDOM of the i? RES S, and TRIAL by JURY, to remain inviolate forever. Ct uaton cf Gtorgia • AUGUSTA: Printed JOHN E. SMITH, Pk inter to, the State; Etfays, Articles of Intelligence , Advertijements, &c. will be gratefully and every kind of Printing performed. PROCEEDINGS of CONGRESS I* the HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES. (Continued from our Iff.) Saturday , May 16 , 178 p. MR. Tucker confefTed, that he was in flue uced by the calling of the yeas and nays; it would induce him to give his vote and his reafonsfor the amendment w»th still more freedom* He was glad they had been called, and if the gentleman had not called for them, he should have done it him felf; bccaufe he did not confider himfelt at liberty, but on special occasions, to give his consent to a law without any limitation. He hoped to fee it established in practice uevet to perpetuate laws but under extraordinary cir- Nothing, he thought, could juftify fuchan aft but the neceflity, simplicity, Jnd the immutability of the circuraftances which related to it; circumstances whKh would render a law equally nctcfTarj, aud On all future wccUiojjs. If tbc House pafled a perpetual aft but in fuefa a situation, it Would injure itfelf and abridge the privileges of the people. Every aft of this kind nar- Towcd the power of this HoufC; and tranf ferred it to the Executive, and a minority of the Senate. If the Representatives went on to pass perpetual laws, there would be no power remaining in their hands; all would be given up; the Senate would have it in their power to retain the advantages that were given them; they might refufe a fur render of the power, or make use of it in commu tation for some privileges. A change of circumstances, he said, might render a change of measures ncccflary ; re volutions might happen in trade and in raa* nufafture®, which might require eflential al terations. Suppose these should take place in two years, and a new House having as sembled should And that this House had put the power of alteration out of 'their hands, would they not fay that it had betrayed the rights of the people, by transferring to the other branch of the government those powers which the Constitution had veiled here ? Mr. Syivejier was in favor of the amend ment. He thought a few years experience would afeertain the defefts of the law; and, if the House had it then in their power, they could make it as perfeft as the nature of things would admit.' Mr Ciymer suggested that- gentlemen were mistaken as to the perpetuity of the bill. In his opinion, it could not be considered so unless there was an express declaration to that effeft. H© thought the aft should be cotn jnenfurate to the objeft, which was various and unlimited. He was of opinion that pub lic credit could only be perfeftly supported by providing funds at all events fufficieut to aofwer the demands of the creditort. Mr. Sinnickjottt New-Jersey, said he had ao idea of a perpetual law incapable of alte ration. He wiflied, however, to fee a per manent system eftabliflied. He thought that revenue fyftem* should not be temporary, the mere breath of an alterably, limited to two, three, or flve yean, but should be fomathing substantial ; that aft ought to stand until al* tered by tha wifdoin of the Lfgiflature. Mr, J3cudiHot rose to fay a fsw words to juflif; ’he pail he should take in the diyiflun G E OR Gl4. of the House. He conceived tint the mao uer in which this clause was introduced after the bill was supposed to be perfected, and the argument to which it had giveu rife, had shewn that ihere was still further room for difeuflion ; and that all the light had not been thrown upon it which was necelfary. But lie was confident, that, when the law was car ried into execution, it would be found that all the purposes, and all the eflential advan tages intended to be accoinpkfhed by it, would be defeated by this very clause. Sir, said he, if in all our public proceed ings we are to have the Parliament of Great- Britain hung about our necks, and observa tions from their praftice perpetually founded in our ears, it would be worth wbi:e to exa mine what that praftice is, and. to have it clearly defined. I believe that, in the whole body of their statutes, there cannot be found a Angle revenue law with a limitation. I be lieve that laws pafled fifty, sixty, and near an hundred years ago, are now in etiflence. Are we to rivet- the infirmities of the old confiitution upon the present government ? Are we never to (land ou a certain and folic) foundation ? Has not public credit almost abandoned us? Ought we not to confider ourselves so deeply in debt, that a long pe riod will be necessary to extricate outfelves ? And is it not absolutely neceflary that we eflablifh such a certain and permanent fund as would make the public creditors easy ? If we confider it of any importance that the pulic creditors should have a certain and per manent ftcurity ; if we with that the evi dences of our debts should be of any value, it is our duty to eflablifh a funding system that will be commensurate with the objeft. I ask whether the proposed clause will be con fident with such a system ? I ask whether our public debts are of so trifling a nature, that we should leave them in so trifling a situation ? As to the law being perpetual, he said he should be as much opposed to that as any man $ but could a law be called perpetual which was constantly in the power of the Legislature ? It appeared to him to be trifling with langu age. If the clause was annexed, the law would then partake more of perpetuity than if it were omitted. Suppcfe it was declared that the aft should exist teri or fifteen years, could it be altered or repealed before the ex piration of that time, without a breach of the public faith ? He was sorry to fee an opinion prevailing of difference of interest between the two Houses, but he conceived that, if gentlemen meant to support the superiority which they seemed to claim over the Senate, the amendment would have a tendency to defeat thi3 purpose. If the House were defirom of holding the power in their own hands, it could be more effeftualiy done without the amendment than with it. , An idea was held tip that the House were giving the purse ftriuga out of their hands ~ He was furry to here :t—Had th»s Houle the purse filings any more than the Senate ? It was true that Body could not originate a mo ney bill; hut it could amend it, it could »»•• gaiive lU . ~ ~ . . He ellowed that if the only obji't of the est wa* (JiffuppoM of government, he should have no objection u> a limitation I bin when it was confideied that the bill befm* «hf Houle wav fh| fwwuduuou of • fuud.ng nud fmattsf IVot. 111. No. CXLIX.J system, the amendn>-j;it would inevitably de feat it.' principal «vjeft—The language of gentlemen, he said, seemed to be greatly al tered —Now the system was a mere tempo rary experiment. But gentlemen would re member that, in a previous ftage'of the busi ness, he himfelf brought forward a quertioa whether it should be a temporary one or not, which was decided in the negative. He could fee no benefit rcfulting from making mere experiments. Congress would have it in their power to make alterations in the aft at they pleated; toes mvc parts of it, to pro vide substitutes, a:. k , supply deficiencies. A, gentleman had observed, he said, that fo reigners never would examine in detail the afts of Congress—He though: differently He believed th :y would examine lufficiently to fee whether the government had laid fucli a foundation and had provided such means as were ueceiVar'v o create a confidenceaind give them proper l urrty. would it be told him, he a'ked, that, ’f lie Was 'ending money to a man, he Wvali iWi roqu.re ’.nto the borrow er’s circumstances, and the means he had pro vided or would provide for the payment ? People had seep enough of public faith and public virtue, tor the future they would be sure before they trusted. He agreed that the JLegiflatuie ought not to make a perpetual law, that is, one which could never be repealed. This was the true idea of a perpetual law. Bat gentlemen had said that they wouid not confect to any per manent unlimited law, then he undertook to fay that there was an end of the government. Did gentlemen mean that the law eftabliihing the judiciary ought to be temporary and un limited } Did they mean that ertabliihroent/_ to exist only for a certain term of years ? No, it would be abfu-rd. Mr. Madison then withdrew his motion, in order to introduce another byway of ac commodation, to this effeft : That the Im port Aft ihould expire on the day of unless continued by the aft which fliould ap propriate the revenue arising therefrom. Mr. Sherman was more in favor of this motion thun the other, though he disapproved of them both. Mr. Aims opposed it 5 he did not think it* varied the quertioa in reality. Mr. Firxftmcm was in favor of the limita tion on constitutional principles. He had no objection that the law should continue in force till the debts were paid ; it ought to !»eco/n --mrnfuratc with its objeft; he could not join with gentlemen who talked so much of the imperfeft on of the fyrtem ; he- believed ic wjS from defefts as could portibly be expefted ; if it was not, he could fee none of those difficulties in making alterations and amendments which the gentlemen apprehend ed. He hoped the appropriations would be made before they left their feats, and that, if the funds were net found fufficieut, otbec funds would be provided. Mr. HouJinot said he would acquiesce in the motion lad male for the fake of accom modation, Mr. in moved to fit ike our the excepting cUufe m Ihe motion, and was fetouded b f Mr. Livermore. This qucAioo wai pur, and the word* (truck out. Mr, A**"#*" then moved for the priel oue u'isAtvuj wiecii v # a* negmved,