Newspaper Page Text
VOL, IX.—NO. 52. :
CONGRESS.
SPEECH OF MR. BLACK,
OF GEORGIA.
In the House o1‘ Representatives, February 2, 1911—
On the Treasury Note Bill.
Mr B \rnako’s motion lo strikeout llic en-
shall be done to the South. She does not urge
the comparison; but when Northern irenlie-
men ore making these unprofitable estimates,
lei me ask them what would all their boasted
commercial importance amount to, without the
agricultural productions of the .South. If the
article of cotton was stricken from their com
mercial vocabulary, what would they export?
Could they freight their ships to .Europe with
acting clause lieing under consideration,
Mr. BLACK said : He deemed it iuciint- japples, potatoes, onions, and wooden nutmegs?
bent on him, at this late period of the discus- Let the production of cotton hp destroyed nttlie
si on, to detain the committee for as short a j youth by .actual legislation, or the prevalence
time as the importance of the subjects intro- of the Abolition inauia, and what would the
duced into the debate would permit. If the
honorable gentlemen who preetded him had
confined themselves to the merits of the bill
on tlie table, he would, in all probability, have
given a silent vote: lint the mere question
wtu ili. r we shall authorize the-ifcsne'of five
millions of Treasury notes to enable the Gov
ernment In anticipate a portion of its reve
nues, had been wholly lost sight of. It seem
ed to tie conceded on all hands that the bill
tuns! pass; lie double J whether the gentleman
himself, u ho>o n;oii« u was now pending to
strike out the enacting clause, would vote
against its final passage; nay, the great dilli-
cn tv with the reforming and retrenching
Whigs who had marshalled them ;<-lv< s in ap
parent op|tosition to the hill, v\as, that instead
of loo much it gave ton little. But the issue
of Treasury notes, whether considered with
tc end to the constitutionality or expediency
of the measure, bad baldly been mentioned for
the last week — Ihetarrif. internal improvements
ly the Government—the distribution of the
proceeds of the public lands among the Slates,
— a public debt (winch they denominate a
“loan') and a National Bank, are f;e vital
and important questions which have absorbed
us. since the commencement of ibis discussion.
Never himself a great stickler for “ relevancy
of debate,” lie was rejoiced that thu leading
friends of General Harrison had seize] this oc
casion to show their hands to the people—pur
lieu ally lo ihe .Southern people, who had great
interests at slake upon the po| cy and rueas-
uiesol tin* incoming Administration. He had j
never before, from the commencement nf the:
struggles I cl ween tin* rival parlies, heard or
State of Maine do with her ships? Instead of
employing them, ns she now does, in export
ing the produce of ihe South, and in br.nging
back the manufactured goods with which our
raw material is purchased, her merchantmen
would freeze in her docks.and rot at her
‘wharves;Unless, inde.d, she .embarked them
in the commendable employment nfuhdiicting
our slaves from their lawful owners. She
couid send a few “ long,•low, black schooners”
lo Savannah, and down the Southern coast, in
command ofsuch men as P.ulhrook and Kelle-
ran, who, under pretence of taking lumber to
the East, might stow away a few negroes l»e-
twi!Cti the interstices of their timber cargo.—
But however this sort of “traffic in human flesh”
might approve itself to the philauthiopic senti
ments ot the advocates of “human rights,” vet
I apprehend that in a commercial point of
view, the profits of the voyage would iPot be
quite ns larg#as if they had been honestly em
ployed in carrying our cotton to Liverpool or
Havre. ,
[Here Mr. Albert Smith of Maine interposed,
and said that so far from employing “long,
low, hl«.ek schooners” in the abduction ofslaves
Iroin Georgia to Maine, he would be vety
thankful if the* gentlemen from Georgia would
abduct the 100 negroes from Maine who had
voted against amt beaten him in his own dis
trict at ihe last Congressional election.
[Mr. Black assured his friend if he would
deliver tliese negroes to him at his plantation,
on the Savannah river, at any time after the
phy (which 1 mean to do, if providence per
mits me to return) to the people among whom
1 live, that they may see and kuow the means
which have been resorted to out of Georgia, for
the purpose of effecting me at home.
1 shall not attempt, said Mr. Black, to fol
low the three gentlemen who led off this de
bate on the Whig side of the House through
the confused ana discordant mass of figures
with which they sought to impeach the ac
curacy of the official estimates. The fate,
which awaited them at their own hands, ad
monishes me of. the impracticability of making
estimates in detail,without access to the Various
sources of fiscal and statistical information
with which .the Secretary of the Treasury
must necessarily be most intimately conversant.
The functionary ij'^itt daily intercourse not
only willi the different revenue officers ofhis
Department, but tvitli the inostextensive and in
telligent merchants ol oitrprincipaimnporiums.
It is his exclusive business to arrange, analyze,
and digest these facts and this information,
a thorough knowledge of which is so essential
ly necessary to au accurate calculation ofllie re
ceipts and -expenditures of this vast Govern
ment. The gentleman from New York [Mr.
Barnard] acknowledged this much, when he
admitted his information to be necessarily limi
ted and imperfect; and yet he draws largely
on our ‘generous confidence,’ for an approv
al of his counter estimates. Why, sir, they
can’t agree among themselves. They tell us
a permanent deficiency exists in the Treasury.
Well, what is it ? The gentleman from Maine
[Mr. Evans] says it is somewhere lie tween $7,-
U00,000 and $10,000,000—ihe gentleman from
Tennessee [Mr. Bell] asserts it to lie $13,000,-
"000—and the gentleman from New York [Mr.
Barnard] out figures them all, and runs it up
to $40,000,0(10. These are the doctors who
are to treat the body politic fer the next four
years! Settle your diffmences among your
selves first, gentlemen, before.you tender us
ail issue of deficiency.
Bui, Sir, 1 take this broad ground; and 1
call the attention of ihe Opposition particular-
"u mi: onviiimuii iiver, <Hiy nine uucr me can me aiiennon Ol me opposition partlClllar-
Ibiirth of March proximo, he would emphvy Tytrvip. Since 1837, Mr. Van Buren, with a
against mid defeatings<f distinguished a\ Deni, , 0 , r
wiinosed, irom the opponents ol Mr. \ an Bn-! ocral as the gentleman from Mayfie.] \ . -Hon of the Compromise act, has not only paid
rcu, so hold, candid and tearless an avowal of j But Mr. Chairman, 1 deprecate this gort.cu the de.hts nt|d preserved the credit of the Gov-
policv and principle as had characterized Iheir ! discussion, especially with ottr friends—this
I leeches on this occasion. He ventured to unnecessary comparison between the different
say, if these confessions of Whig faith had been
made during ihe la>t summer, “old Tip' 4 had
never been President—at least, if his election
had depended outlie vote ofllie State of Geor
gia
sections of the Union. All that 1 have said on
the subject has been strictly in reply. _
Sir, 1 take the liberties of this debate 'Ibd't-
gress for a moment to a topic in relation to
which much has been said, not only in this
Sir, said Mr. Black, my delegated light is House, hut in the newspapers of the day. 1
flickering m us socket, my represt illative ca- allude to thesnpposed inftucnceol'British gold
re>T is about to terminate abruptly; and the in controlling the elections which have just
trappings of office, which I have endeavored ! passed. What the extent ofthat influence was,
to wear meekly, will shortly fall from my slionl- j if it existed at all, in other sections of the Uni
fiers. They will be transferred to an abler, ted States, 1 cannot assert of mv own knowl-
bnt not more honest or zealous incumbent.— edge. The charge of corruption has been
But, while, in oh.alien e to the voice of my
cmistittfeiTTs, 1TvMfr*r»ly- resign to the hands of
another the high trust, and the representative
character with which they endowed me, 1 am
yet “one of the PKOi’i.K ;” ol that character.
made, and has been met on Ibis floor by the
gentleman Irom Kentucky [Gov. Pope] only
with silence and alleged contempt. It may hie
that in the dense atrd crowded cities of the
North, the East, and even in the West, the “ no-
aud ofthe rights which p Ttain to it, no man j ble art of pipe laying" was resorted to, to se-
cmi deprive me ; and in that character, as one cure ihe ascendency ofthe modern Whigs. It
ol the sovereign peoplcof the State of Georgia, may be true, us 1 have seen it gravely and cir-
I e’nim to he heard on this floor. I avail my-j eumstaritinlly stated, that in many of the Har-
self then, sir, of my privilege, not only as n rison counties of Ohio they have actually beat-
Ropro'eniniive, but as a constituent, to advise
my fellow-citizens at borne of what is transpir
ing here, and lo warn them that a high dis
criminating tarilf. under the specious garb of
a tax on luxuries, is lo be saddled on them, and
perhaps on their posterity. That a public
en the census at tbe late elections in that State.
But whatever n:ny be my opinion as to the
truth of tliese charges, or the manner in which
ihey have been met with regard to other and
distant parts of the Union, i arn free to declare
that so far as they relate to the State of Gepr-.
debt; disguised as a loan, is preparing foi them gin - to any of my constituents, whether Dem-
— llial iln-ir hard earnings must go to support j oernts or Whigs, they are wholly anc( totally,
a spleuJi. I system of internal improvements by false. It is true the party, with which lam
tlie Geiii-Nd Government. That tbe proceeds acting, was defeated in October and November
of die pohlie lands, instead of being made to ! last, but il was because tlie majority of Ihe
contribute to tv round ion of dutiesou imports, 1 people was persuaded lo prefer General Har
are to lie ahstraoed from that purpose, and di- 1 rison lo Martin Van Buren—because they be
veled on: among tbe Siatc-s in proportion lo 1 lieved that the administration of the former, if
their population, t*r tbe avowed purpose of elected, would be strictly conformable to the
paying the debts of tb» s ,. States. Thai this va- ! rights and interests of the South—that we
cninn. thus produced, *f between three and five ! would have no haul;—no protective tariff, open
millions annually, is tn> w supplied by tucreas-or disguised—no internal improvements by the
ing the duty on those .nicies of commerce j General Government—no distrilution of the
u liiJi depend for their •nporintiou into the j public lands for the purpose of assuming Ihe
country exclusively upon l, 0 agricultural pro-! State debts, or for any other purpose—that sup-
<1 nil j.is ofllie South. To» a National Bank, | posed abuses would be reformed, and last, not
to which they have ever bee» opposed, as mi- least, that we should have a retrenchment of
constitutional, as destructive tq|„.j r own State j the expenditures of the Federal Government,
institutions, and as hostile to thj r agricultural i Because the people believed (hat tliese would
an I commercial prosperity, is to .. fastened on be the characteristics of a Whig administration,
the country. These are the UWmres, sir,
growingand increasing country, and a tariff
of duties gradually diminishing, by the opera-
preserved the credit of the Gov
ernment, lyit' has actualy reduced the public
expenditures nearly- tetimiffiorts of dollars.-^
This ja a facl % Worth to the people pf the Uni
Slates just te.fi millions ofdollartAfiore thari f
the cvpherihg ojphese discordant arithrbett
cians. In l$38/me>«cpenditi:retfwere red n't i
carry the expenditures bevond the official es
timates, and given, too, inthe face of their dec
larations, that the Government is largely in
debt. Grant, sir, that there-ism deficiency in
the Treasury—is this the way to supply or're
trieve it? ' What makes a deficiency ? The
legislation of Congress; for without the “ au
thority of law” the Executive cannot draw one
dollar out of-the public coffers. How. shall
we retrieve this alleged deficit? By ‘liberal
and abundant appropriations’ for a wild, ex-
iravugant, and splendid system of internal im
provements ? By voting new. outfits for
partisan ministers ? By laying, mir millions
oil millions upon coasts, harbors, fortifications,
and steam ships, when there is no necessity
for it ? By. offering inducements to tlie thous
and speculators who crowd yottr lobbies to
revive their exploded claims? ‘Bv spending
another $20,(MX) to refit the White House for
the reception ot the ‘old farmer,’ whose chief
merit :t was, hut a few months ago, to live in
a log cabin and drink hard cider out of a !
gourd ?
Is this the way to fill tip an empty Treasu
ry ? Strange and unaccountable as it may seem
to tbe thousands of honest men who were de
luded into the support of the Whig party, by
professions of retrenchment and reformas
tounding as .it may lie to those who are at a
distance from the scene which is now. passing
palpably and tangibly before me—yet it is
even so. We are ill debt, they say; but with
the honorable exceptions of the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Wise and Mr. Mallory) and
the gentleman from Georgia, (Mr. Alford) who)
of the Whig party, during this debate, have
even uttered the word retrenchment, or offered
to cut down the expenditures to the receipts ?
ft would occur to plain, honest,unsophisticated
men, that this was the only practicable way,
without raising your taxes, of filling up this
vaunted vacuum in the 'Treasury. But not
content with these extraordinary demands-for
more money, when they say there is no money,
they go further. It is now distinctly propos
ed by Gen. Harrison’s friends, with the above
exceptions, to distribute thfc proceeds of the
public lands among the Suites.
Those whose occupations will not permit
them to eome here and see and know for them-
$ejv€s, are willing to believe that the Whig
Party intend to effect this distribution among
the States; much less do they believe xhuf
Gloveriimeut is about to assume indirect l yfjlte
debts of the States by this distribution.-ijrifiy,
\sir, even intelligent men in Georgia svgiry/Sly
/doubt whether this can be so. If the proof of it
six millions of dollars—in 1840 they wci.
again reduced 1*1 ween two and three millions
The President, m 4ms last annual message,
says; - =
Alabama,
Maine.
Missouri,
Arkansas,
Michigan,
Florida,
t;/f;
15.700,000 0O
’ i 554,976 00
2,500,000 00
3.100,000 00
t ,3icu>etnnr
,90(1,000 00
We are told by tlie'.getiUeman froVCtt^ln
[48
that lie will support and maintain tlie compro
mise act of March 2d, 1833-for that “ft.settles
u great conservative principle for the South.”
Tlje only “ conservative principle” in favor of
the south which that act settles, is to be found
mi, , _ . ... jjjOf t r third section, in these words: “And
Fin Vi S Mies shall he laid for the purpose ofrais-
Futances of the United * , E..ghsV incited revenue as may he ncceLiry to an
cemhil' 1 *' g °u U ? De ' administration ofthe Government!”
cemher, 1839. 1 do not gtv^^^ exhibiting ] So fnfias that principle is concerned, 1 am will-
an accurate amount ol tliethe States iu-^fo support it tuyself, hul to the two other
-a, »C rniltn'iiiorl i,, *t, A' *. 1
tlie States
at this !in;e, because, in some instaiitcs, it prr^
tioo of the stocks authorized to lie issued hy
certain of the Suites, has not yet been disposed
of; and b sides some tijne has elapsed since Ihe
compilation. However, it will serve to show
which of ihe Slates are indetaed, and will in
dicate something like tlie ninoimt of their debts.
From the best iuforriuitibu L cun. gather, the
present aggregate of the whole debt is> consid
erably over $200,0011,000, and the annual in
terest t!iereon,as l have already shown, is near
ly $20,001,000,. .
Sir, I confess 1 was astonished and mortified
nt the speech of my houoriible colleague, (Mr.
Njshet,) who succeeded the gentleman from
South Garqlimi, (Mr. llhett.) 1 donot intend
principles contained in this section, to wit:
the cash duties, and the home valuation, I am
opposed upon the ground that their insertion
in die net was a reservation in favor of the ta
riff interest oftlre north, which ofilself stamp
ed upon tl»p law of 1833 the character of a
“compromise" \)e.iwcen the conflicting claims'
ofthe high tariff ni« n and those who 1opposed
that iuitjuifoas sysimi. } opj use them because
win n they shall con e into full operation after
the 2d June, 1842, 'they will run up the maxi
mum of 20 per pent, duties on imports, as nom
inally settled hy that act to f.O or 60 per cent.
ad valorem. 1 think the gentleman frorti New
York, (Mr. Vanderpoel) provid that these two
conservative principles which my colleague
to attack Ihe •motives of that gentleman, or to i would support and maintain, won'd have rrc-
l*Ynro« Pl'Mh ciictiininti Ilf Lie mlnnli.-tiic • luif 1 i.. .i . m . . . . . .. . 1
l, . ✓ _ . • ft \ — „ luuuuinutiiiu nits bun uc w. xi utr |uuui ui it
from those011837—in 1839they*iveipciUdodepended upon my personal knowledge of the
which have been openly advanced;,, ,1^ j,,.
bite —not hinted at or snggesTed, >u boldly
proclaimed as if •• by authority' to be», e m ea-
snres which are to char.icierize G.-neq u ar .
rison’s administration. My object, the. ; s to
give tun >lv nolice to the people of Georgy to
\Vi,i.rs as well as to Democrats, that theiq„y
of til'il is at hand- that all the evil wliic.j,
was predicted would follow die election f
Ct -ueral Harrison is
about to he realized, an.
they thought proper to sustain our opponents
and abandon ns. We told them then, as 1 tell
them now, that they were deluded and deceiv
ed hy the false professions of parly leaders.—
But still ihe peoplechose to believe, as they had
a light to do, in the truth of the professions
which were inadelolhetn. That belief, hon-
Jest, I have no doubt, to the full extent of it,
and not the appliance ofeither British or Amer
ican gold* induced them to the support ofthe
dominant party. Nay, sir, so far from the great
that all those fore! odmgs which were detionii- nMlSS ,j, 0 people of Georgia being tainted or
ril in certain quarters ns the interested nriisre-
presvntatiniis of political aspirants, are now
about to assume the unquestionable character
of passing events. Sir, said Mr. B., 1 question
the motives of no man ; l shall not he so unpar
liamentary as to deny to gentlemen here the
sa ne rectitude of intention thiit I claim for
myself: hut, at the same time, mv rig'sts and
i‘lie rests ns a constituent, my high duty as a
K’presentative, which with me are paramount,
to all otltur considerations, constrain me to
speak out plainly and andih'y, without regard
to consequences. When 1 do this, 1 shall have
done my duty ; and ihepeopleofGporgia, who
1 d mht not are equal lo any emergency, will
most assuredly do theirs.
Sir, mv friend from New York [Mr. Vnn-
derpoel] delivered yeSiterdny an able speech in
vindication of the. present Administration. 1'
listened to it with great pleasure, ns a prompt
and conclusive reply to the hlnudeiing attacks
which had l>ecn made on the official estimates;
hitMthere was one rematk of that gentleman
which I regretted to hear. He told us he had
listened to so much rant and gasconade about
Southern wealth and importance, he hncl al
most concluded that Pennsylvania and New
York were nothing more than mere colonies,
in comparison with some other Slates of the
Union. 1 cannot hut regret to hear these com
parisons instituted as to the relative importance
ofthe North and the South. But if gent lenten
will talk about it, I insist that justice at least
niched with the corruption of gold, 1 do not
Mteve that we have even a floating balance
population that could lie bought hy such
vl> means; and the charge, when made against
a,t ,party in Georgia, is false, and a slander
11 Pu the reputation of the State. Bv the way,
saidq r . B. while I am talking about bribery,
I ma pe permitted to allude for a moment to
a picriai representation of two of my col-
Jeagiipnd myseif, which is now exposed up
on yotlvavenueto tlie public gaze,-and openly
vended q the Whig print shops of this city.
I mem tie base libel which exhihits tne as
hoiigit ovtr by Federal goid to the suoport of
Me (Tap Bttren. 1 now denounce it as a lie
in i'| inception, a lie in its execution, a tie in
;>romulg,u, on . 1 stop not to denounce the
peer artist, to «hom it may have been a matter
a indifference whether he lithographed the
tvtk or a lie, but t mean to reach the author
wbever he inay be, of the base unmitigated
trnnetion, and to tell him that not only nty
neijibors, who have known me, and confided
in tv integrity from my infancy, but tlie whole
peop« of Georgia will, ns one man proclaim it
to hoi lie. With many of the frailties of hu-
mnnit lingering about me, those with whom
I am tiily associated at home, and who know
me he\ have never suspected, nor will they
tolcrahthe charge of venality and corruption;
and ihwery surest means of vindicating my
“ The estimates«ad appropriation for the year 1838
(the first over which 1 had any control) were soi
diminshed. The expendiures of 1839 were^reduc^d
six millions of dollars. Those of 1840, rdirlusiyryof
disbursements for public debt and trust /laimsrofciW^
probably not exceed twenty two and a half- millions,
being between two and three millions less than those
of the preceding year, and nine or ten millions iesu
than those of 1837. Nor has it been found necessary,
in order to produce this result, to resort to the power
conferred by Congress, of posponing certain classes
of the public works, except by deferring expenditures
for a short period upon a limited portion of them: and
which postponement terminated some time since, at
the moment die Treasuary Department, by further re
ceipts from the indebted banks, became fully assured
of its ability to meet them without prejudice to the
public service in other respects. Causes are in opera
tion which will.it is -believed, justify a still further re
duction, without injury to any important national in
terest. The expenses of sustaining the troops em
ployed in Florida have been gradually and greatly re
duced, through the persevering efforts ofthe War De
partment ; and a reasonable hope may be entertained
that die necessity for military operations in that quar
ter will soon cease. The removal ofthe Indians frojn
within our settled borders is nearly completed.—
The pension list, one of the heaviest charges upon
the Treasury, is rapidly .diminishing by death. The
most costly of our public buildings are either finished,
or nearly so: and we may, I think, safely promise
ourselves a continued exemption from border difficul
ties.
“ The available balance in the Treasury on the 1st
of January next is estimated atone million and a half
of dollars. This sum, with the expected receipts from
all sources during the next year, will, it is believed,
l»e sufficient to enable the Government to meet eery
engagement, and leave a suitable balance in the Trea
sury at the end of the year, if the remedial measures
connected with the customs and the public lands,
heretofore recommended, shall be adopted, and the new
appropriations by Congress shall not carry the ex
penditures beyond the official estin ate.”
But, sir, what do we now hear ? Instead of
seconding the economical suggestion of the
Chief Magistrate, these retienrhinggentlemen,
who last year were for bringing down the ex
penses of the Federal Government to the point
at whicli Mr. Adams had it. ($13,000,000,) are
now taunting us with a close and niggardly
parsimony. Instead of responding affirmative
ly to the recommendation of Mr." Yon Buren
that ‘ Congress shall not carry the expendi
tures beyond the official estimates' their cry
is ‘give us more.’ The gentleman front
Maine [Mr. Evans] tells us we ought to make
* liberal arid abnudanat appropriations,' and
his coadjutor from New York, to whom ~
have just alluded, fills tip this broad and in
definite outline, by insisting on vast appropri
ations for the Northeastern frontier—for buil
ding splendid war steamers—for outfits and
salaries for a new set of ministers and charges
to foreign courts—for the payment of the -4th
instalment to the States—for French spolia
tions, and the thousand claims for money
which crowd your table. Aud strange to tell,
notwithstanding their disgusting clamor last
year about Mr. Van Bnren’s •* royal establish
ment they are now actually demanding anoth
er appaopriation to buy more furniture for the
log cabin candidate. What! are not the la
bourets, the gold spoons, the $1,500 French
bedstead, good enough foroW Tip? Is. the
l old pine table' on which Mr. Van Buren eats
his dinner, to be replaced by costly mahogany,
or must you have a more splendid plateau
than tfie one which now adorns the President’s
table, and about the cost and extravagance of
which you descanted before the election, so
economically to the people 7 lam aware, sir,
that consistency, although a jewel, is not
the question now.in order before the commit
tee, or 1 might go on to show the inconsisten
cy between the present demands and the for
mer professions of. these admirable retrench
ers.
fact, it-may be that 1 could not make ..out-
int-blank case; but so far as the proof of pajv
tytneasures depend upon the declarations of
leading fnt-n who eomposeTtfifpnrty, there can
no longer he any doubt iu the minds of those
‘ o are. willing to be convinced hy the truth.
I wftKycnture to say that there is no Senator
m 1 the o^her end of the Capitol who has; not
f nfeerd Mr. Chiy, Mr. Wel»ster, and Mr. Critteti-
deopver and often announce this assumption,
1ier directly or periphmstically. Why, sir,
it is the timden of their song; they sing it ev
ery duy, not only to their old time of distrihu-
tion, but to their new variation of“onr obliga
tions to the States.* Who doubts it in this
House? Who will rise and, in the name of
the Whig party, deny that it is one of their
measures? Did not the honorable gentleman
front Virginia, [Mr. Wise] who, even his ene
mies will admit, is first among the foromostof
the Whigs, get up here the other day 'and not
only announce it, but denounce it as such !—
Did any one of his friends or opponents con
tradict itim? No, sir. not one. Let the people
of Georgia know, then, that, this is another of
the firuifs of the tree they planted. Between
three and five millions of the proceeds of tne
public, lands are to lie annually abstracted
from a depleted Treasury, to be given to the
States, and the manner in which these gentle
men propose to fill up the vacuum (by an in
crease of the tariff,) 1 will endeavor presently
to expose to my constituents, when 1 come to
notice the extraordinary speech of my collen-
express even a suspicion of his intentions ; hut
while l willingly couccde tnis much to Inm,
and promise lo set down, nothing in malice. |
shall speak plainly and^candidiv of the posi
tion he assumed, mid-ofthe conseqneuces like-
ly to result front it. The more 1 m-o of that
gentleman, sir, the more l am convinced of his.
firmness and r< solution. 1 will now say that
he ev u r was a imllifier, eo nomine ; l.nt that he
was a State Bighjs man, ami willing to take
llitf advantages of nullification principles how
ever he may have found it convenient to shun
the odium of the name, he iiimsetl w ill not de
ny. His old associates then, for the sake of
their principles, to t!,e success of which he is
inJehted for Ins present elevation, ought to
have been secure from any detraction, either
direct or indirect, in his hands. But m iiis
haste to commend hiuispif to his new and mi -
natural allies, lie has tlie loldness tq turn upon
his old coadjutors, and, with a small hut hsitjfr
vituperation, assail them and their principles
in an unprovoked attack upon the distinguish
ed Carolinian who represents the palmetto
.State in the other endopf this Capitol.
\ Does,not that gentleman know tiiut the ma
jority of this wct hl lias not yet been able to
distinguish between measures find men ?—
Dot[s lie hot know that the eminent statesman,
against whom he burred the shafts ofhis new
born indignation, has, by his able and fearless
vindication wftlie Bights of the Slates, indenti
fied himself with the principles upon which
those rights depend ? Does lie not know that
any assault he may make against that states-
tnanpersonally, must recoil Itom the man to'the
political system of which he i< justly regarded
as the Head and front? \\horefoie the neces
sity of wandering from the question before the
House to speak of John C. Calhoun as a polit
ical comet wild and errant in his course, com
ing from whence he knew not, and going
this distribution because it lends to an assump
tion hy this Government of State debts) and I
am opposed to that because those debts amount
to the enormous mid alarming sum of $200,-
000,000—nay, even the-antmal interest on this
extraordinary debt is $20,000,000. I am op
posed to it because tf it becomes the settled
policy of this Government, I, as one of the peo-.
pie of Georgia, shall be taxed indirectly, hy
an increase of tnrifl'duties on imports, to re
place the three, four or five millions, or even
more, which are thus to he abstracted and dis
tributed. For we have now no surplus .rev
enue, and-1 hope we never shall have< There
fore every dollar that is now taken out of onr
already deficient Treasury for extraordinary
purposes, must and will be supplied immedi
ately, for the ordiuary wants of Goveruto nt,
from that only qtlier source of revenue—a tar
iff on imports. I am oppos'd to it because
this increase of the tariff, necessarily conse
quent upon the dirtrihuiion of the proceeds of
the public lands, must fall most heavily on tlie
South—the cotton growing and revenue yield
ing South. 1 am opposed to it, too, because
white Georgia owes comparatively nothing,-
she will thus lie made to contribute far beyond
4he proportion of her taxable property and
population, to the payment of an enormous
debt, for which site never- lies, and never will,
receive a cent of benefit. 1 subjoin the follow
ing table, ofllie debts of the different States,
and although 1 cannot pretend to figure against
tlie gentleman from. New York, (wlio .fqots op
(he present deficit at $40,000,000) yet my con
stituents may ascertain, by calculating for
themselves, tlie amount of their lialrilities.col
lectively and individually, if this Whig .meas-
ure is made a law of the land.
Stock issued, and authorized to be issued by the
c-tsely that effort, to wit: that this 20 per cent,
duty, when levied as ii must be if this com-
promise is maintained, alter the 2d June, 1842,
“in ready money.” and that too upon “goods,
wares, and merchandise,” valtnd “at the poit
where the same shall l-e t-nfeii d.” will be' in
creased to a comfortable tax o! 50 or CO per
cent, ad valorem, without limitation as to
time, l or although the act provides for a re
duction of duties “iri ihe contingency, either
of excess or deficiency of revenue,” tlie exj en-
ditnies, if we may judge of the future hy the
* liberal estimates" of the present, \\ ill always
I e made to keep pace with any “ excess” of rev
enue that may accrue.
Let me illustrate tliese conservative princi^l
pies which my colleague would maintain, and
by- the use ol a few facts and figures show the
ell*-cl tbey will have on the consiiniers of-im
ports, who, at last,it is conceded, must paythis
insidious tax. The committee w'ilb rerneh'tber {
that the imports of 1840 were rfiiiCh lower.tlian
those of' any other year since 1832, when they’ l
amounted to only $101,029,266. Ill 1836, '
they reached to $189,980,035. But take (he'd
imports of 184(1—$ 11)4,865,981 —a tariff ol 6tfoi •
per cent 011 that amount would produce'a rev- •
etute of $52.41)2,991)! is mv colleague will- J
mg to sustain a “ compromise'' that in all prob
ability will produce such a revenue ? Let no
suppose, however, that the cash duties and
home valuation will tint increase this compro
mise 20 per ceut. to more than 25 per cent;
even that tariffofdutiesou the uuiistiallv small
iin onaiiou of 1840, will yield to the Govern
ment $26,201,-195—tins added to $4,000,000
Itom the sales ofthe public lauds will give you
$30,201,105 per annum, lsany Southern man
prepan-u to support a “ compromise” that will 1
throw this Amount annually into the Trans
it ry ? (tosny nothing ofthe n-veiiue tlint would ;
accrue from a tax of 50 per cent, instead ol 25 . t
whither no man could tell ; as a politician ebo p c r cent upon an average importation.of one 3
ought to have a straight jacket; and as a lead
er whom he could not follow? Sir, 1 think
my colleague ought to be able to tell whence
Mr. Caihoun came on the State Jtighfs ques
tion, and whither he went: for the gentleman
himself, whatever he may now think of it, was.
in that celel rated progress, the travelling com
panion of the great Nullifier: Although lie
may have worn no badge hy which lie might
he marked and distinguished, yet he had onr
countersign, and was certainly M that time in
the Slate Rights camp, wherever lie may now
he. Notwithstanding ah this, lie affects to be
ext.rentely ignorant of Mr. Calhoun’s “ where
about.” Sir, as a Southern .State Rights man,
1 most decidedly object to this unprovoked at
tack upon an individual, who, iu the hour nf
our utmost need, defended ns and our rights
with an ability and constancy equalled only
hy the patriotism with which he was ready anil
willing to sacrifice himself for the good ofhis
gue, [Mr. Nishet.] Bnt.'sir, I am opposed to co, ?“ t |> r * ? ir ' “l* 5 ,,rro ' v f we * e
f ; ;i„j L well dipped, but his liow was too weak. He
may exercise his archery if he will, but his
shafts fall, as they ever must, far short of the
bright and elevated object at which lie would
Jtnrl them.
Mr. B. said he .had just alluded to his col
league’s forlilmfe; he could not l ut do so
again, for 1:0 inun as n Representative of Ihe
hundred and forty millions ? This estimate is,
made upon as reduc d a scale as any g^mleninth
could require; and ev* n at that raje we should;
have, in a short time, another sqrp[os revenue
toscram! lefor, besides the burden it would im- ,
pose upon the people. The public expendi
tures have, for the last few years, exceeded tlie
usual expenses of the GovjrmnctJibin^conse-
qtieuce ofthe extraordinary character ofllie ex-
igeiu ies which demanded them, but.jfqijf^lifct
ses now in operation, as has alrt-udy beensi)pwp r
we have a reasonable expec tation that they will r
continue to recede in amount, especially iu the
retrenchment advised by Mr. Yir» Bn let) in
his last message, and heretofor. pj mist d by
tlie Whigs, he hoinstly aud'effiti .a|y carried
out by Congress. The expenditures for 1841,
foi ordinary purposes, arc estimated at $19,250,-
000 ; with economy we may hope to find them
in a few years down t<> $15,060,C( 0, and yet,
with this prospect in view, my colleague will
support aid maintain a corn prom ire which, nt
the lowest and most r amiable calculation,
must yield, in c< njunelion with ti c sales ofthe
pnblic domain,at least $30,201.475 per annum.
Against supporting such a" compromise, 1, as a
representative, and as one of the [-eojile^of Geor
gia, do most solemnly protest.
The committee are aw are that the gentleman
from New York has given notice, that iftheen-
South, could make such a speech as the gen- acting clause#this bill (4| strirketunit, he will r\\
llemail had just delivered upon the “ tariff move the imputation ofalrfx omrftx and whies, U
without utterly disregarding couse-
States.
W
These, sir, are the answers which are now
charaefr from such anonymous slander will given by the reform party, to Mr. Van Ba
be to eijbit this specimen of Whig lithogra- ten’s recommendation that Congress shall not
Massachusetts,
New York, .lot lift
Pennsylvania.-
Maryland,
Virginia, ' !
South Carolina,
Georgia,
Kentucky,
Tennessee,
Ohio, *
Louisiana, *'
Indiana,
Missistipt*,
Illinois,
*4.943.107 92
.m . ; , I3J9-U918 19
27.665,003 32 ■/
16.407,001 39
• 6,660,089 47
^6,763.77© 1*
i* 7^t |djD30.162 7J
' ‘ , >23.139:000 00
“ ; ' 14,717,000 00
> ^^669,000 00
v*.«tlJUbjM M
’ W - ? . A
• k ..J
question
qiieitces.
{Mr. Nishet explained. He had no idea
that his rollea>.ue would intentionally misrep
resent hint; lie therefore asked him to hear 111
mind that, throughout the whole ofhis speech,
lie’had protested against a tariff for protection,
and that he advocated duties for revenue on-
ly-1 ' r . i ■
Sir, said Mr. B. I repeat again, I do not ques
tion the gentleman’s motive I freely concede to
him all the benefit of “good intentions."- He
has a perfect right, as an individual, to choose
his position—that 1 shall not question; but
when he speaks here as mv representative, l
mnst be permitted lo dissent' from the docilities
he has thought proper to advance. Nor shall
1 misrepresent Jus remarks — 1 remember them
well, for they sounded ominously nti my ear.
The gentleman did say, more than once, (ahd l
thought he was umtMiufiy solicitous to nil
press it on Iris.hearers,) that he tea's opposed 10
a protective tariff, aiid advocated duties only
Ibr revenue. That was his text, but did he
stick t*»it? We shall see.
In the first place, “he advocated duties only
for revenue" \\ hat sort of a revenue? For
a revenue commensurate tvitli the demands of
the gentleman Irom New York, (Mr. Barnard.)
who estimated the deficit of the Treasury at
$40,000,000: to which we must add his esti
mate for the current expenses, not only nf 1841,
hut of 1842? If my colleitgue is willing to
raise a revenue hy means of a tariff sufficient
to cover these liberal estimates, I apprehend
he will fkid few of his constituents who would
go with him. This is an important point on
which vre.are left to groperdir way through
466.66" aq indefinite geoeralityj and I protest against
...» jiving'open any door' through which those
“liberal estimates” of avowed tariff men may
be forced upon us hereafter under the'guise of
“dutiesfor revenue only,
and other la varies ; this^syiffi the other prop
osition to tax linen fahpek and ins, loaves no
doubt on my miud,j2jErfuc settled determination
of the great majority of the Whig party, in this
House, lo fix upon ihe next atiniiuistiatiori the
policy of a high protection taiiff. To the tax
on French silks arid wines, which above all
others would l« most mischievous to the cot- r ' *
ton and to) atco glowing States, my colleague
gives Iiis llcnrtv assent; Let nssie if that ns-" !
sent co iqwirts with his declaration tbat he was
opposed to a tariff for protec tieh^m.d i.drcuued
duties only for revenue.
What is tlie lac-4, witlt regard to tberonsump-
! lion of silks at the South ? They have grown
into general, nay into almost universal use;
they are no longer to I e looked on as luxuries,
at least not as luxuries confined to (he use of
the rich. Almost every man, poor or rich, in
the region where 1 reside, indulges Iiis wife and
daughter in the use ol this eleguuUiudsubstan
tial article. To the extent tlu n, sir, to which
silks are used at the south, are tlie cotton goods
of northern manufactories excluded. The.
manufacturer si arpened by his interest, seea
ana feels this—prompted l y his cupidity, and
regardless of our rights and preferences, he is
now striking at the imports of silk by attempt
ing to tax them with a duty ofSO.per cent.—-
By your existing laws they are, fraer-oyp far
mers’ wives and daughters under this free im
portation can afford to wear them as well as tho
wives and daughters of the wealthy merchants
or the hankers ; but raise the duty 20 per eiqrt.
almost nsie-fourth of the value of the article?,
and tack 011 to it cash duties, anti a home valt/^
ation, and yon cffectitnlly deny to the pefor , t
what'the wealth of his neighbor may st ill .ena
ble him to enjoy: - The manufacturer tiitis
hopes toyxpel silks from the south mid to fill
np the Vacuum wftlrhisown cotton fabrics^’^ '
St range to say; thisexptilsion of silks Inis beet)
urged is on * unanswered and an unanswera-
