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About Rural cabinet. (Warrenton, Ga.) 1828-18?? | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1828)
VOL. 1. Tilt: V A BINE T Is published every Saturday , by P. L. ROBINSON, ffarrenton , Geo. at three dollars per annum , which maybe discharged by two dollars and Jijty cents if paid within sixty days of the time of subscribing. From the Southron. ANTI TARIFF MEETING. At an adjourned meeting of the ci tizens of Baldwin county, held at the Court House, on Friday the 3d day of JulyTto take into consideration the Tariff Art. passed at the last session es Congress, Seaton Grantland, Esq. was called to the chair, and Dr. C. J. Paine appointed secretary : when Mr. Holt, from the committee, made the following report, which after undergo ing slight amendments, was adopted with great unanimity. The meeting consisted tApore than an hundred persons, tMfc whom were many of the substauW planters of the county. The committee appointed on the 27th ult. to consider the evils imposed upon our Stale by the operation of the late Tariff Law, and to rep rt such measures as they may deem best a dapted to counteract its pernicious tendency, beg leave to offer their fefo low-citizens the following REPORT: The object of every government is by the institution of general and e qual laws; and by an impartial exe cution of those laws, to promote the honor and interest of every component! part of that government. When men associate together for the purpose of social and government, this is the; grand and sacred principle of their j compact—that, each one is entitled to receive from, and bound to the whole, protection and safety in the enjoy ment of his natural and civil rights.! The veriest despotism, as weii as the most carefully nrgannized govern-j meat, owes its existence and power to j the adoption of this fundamental prin- ; ciple. It is, in fact, one of those in *fmi five sentiments that nature has Oppressed upon the human heart, and which is inseparable from its exis tence.- Any law which violates this principle; which operates to the ex clusive benefit of one section, and to the ex lusive injury of another sec tion of an empire ; which directly takes the substance of one man, and gives it. to another, is a manifest vjo fence to that natural ligament which binds man to his fellow man. In this point of view, even in the absence of any special contract, defining with the utmost, exactness of language, the I terms of our association, we believe; tariff for protection to bead-p rhire from the very rudiment of govern | ment. We care not which garb the title and language of this law may bear ; it is most unequal in its opera tions—it is certainly destined to en rich one portion of this Republic, to impoverish , almost to ruin , another— j this too in a time of profound tranqui lity, of national prosperity, when not the least public emergency calls for the least sacrifice. A system of op pression, thus engendered, surely owes its origin to the most selfish feel ings of the human heart. But when we refer to that sacred, yet abused, charter of our liberties, consecrated by the blood of heroic an cestors, it is with feelings of despair, that we look for some delegated au thority to give this deed of some of their sons, another name than tyran ny—usurpation. The unconstitutio nally of this law has been so often asserted, so clearly demonstrated, and ao eloqaently enforced, that argument! upon it now, would be but vain repe tition.—But there is one view of the Rural Cabinet. subject so vital', iliac your c mii.iuUco cannot retrain from presenting it to j your consideration. The ground as sumed by the advocates of 4highlyß - to give it the stamp unconstitu tional currency, is the p<Wr of re gulating commerce with foreign na tions.* It is true that if the constitu tion went no further, however unjust and oppressive, and impolitic, these restrictions upon our foreign com me re might be, yet congress would have exercised on** of us iigitimate powers. But, as if governed by a prophetic foresight, conscious that it required the strongest barriers to re sist the strides of power, that it would seek some outlet in the. and fi iency of language, its framers not only defined the special powers of congress, but enumerated certain powers which it should not possess. They not only said ‘so farslialt thou g<>, but* also ‘no further.’ Though they gave con gress the power of regulating com merce with foreign nations, they ex pressly denied them the right to ‘ lay a tax or duty on articles exported from any State.*” If these two clauses of the constitution conflict, they ought to be construed so that both may be ef fectual. If congress then, in regulat ing foreign commerce, does lay a tax upon the exports of a particular State, does it not exercise a power expressly denied by t|ie constitution ? That this is the case, can be clearly demonstra ted. Commerce among nations con sists in an exchange ot commodities. Suppose then that a merchant of this place sends to a foreign market one hundred hales of cotton, which he ex ! changes for the manufai tured fabrics <>r that country, say woolen cloths. B> lore he is permitted to land them in | this State, he must pay the govern ment, for its gra ions permission, fifty per cent, on the value of his goods: so lie brings home to his own use hut one i half of his merchandize, whi h is but | another sign for hupcVlftn. Suppose now that orpassiog the tariff, congress* irftfie plenitude of its pow er, had an act laying a <lu ly of fifty per rent, upon the exporta tion of Cotton, In this case the merchant pays to the government fif ty of hundred hales >f< ltoiu previous to exportation. He sends the remaining fifty to that foreign market, and brings bat k their vain in woollen fabric 8, lear of the duty on importation. M .rk the eff t: It either case he looses one half of the value of hi* entton. This last act wo'il-i he clearly unconstitutional; n w |wh it and fF'C'h, r does it mk“ to hint. ; whether he p -.>s this duty by virtue of a law inhibiting the Importation of j foreign merchandize, or one prohib iting the exportation of cotton, un der the same penalty. ’ Rot it may be said, that this rea Snipeg is idle, since the merchant, in stead of exchanging his cotton for i foreign inanufa< tures. can find a con venient market at home. Hut all competition being extinguished, and the growing of cotton and rice being the “staff'” which supports the South, those brethren of the north can dimin ish the value of these staples forty Jive per cent. And from the example of brotherly love and patriotism, of which this tariff bears testimony, we place too much reliance upon their cu. pidity not to give full faith to the probability. There is one circumstance connect ed with the passage of this law, which is calculated to arouse within us the warmest feelings of indigoa ; tion. This law was intended to pro j tect the nothern and western manu ; facturers. It was established upon 1 their urgent & repeated Solicitations. Warrenton, July 11828. Ai.dycl, wmn a southern memoer, with the view to test its constitution ality, proposed to give it its proper title, with a timid, yet open hypocri sy, its advocates profanely baptised it a legitimate offspring of the constitu tion, in the appellation of an act reg ulating imports on foreign importa tions. Fellow-Citizens, we have remon Htratod HgainsX the passage of this Uw, We i.uviMloue every thing -but servilely’ implore the mercy of our northern and western brethren. We have rniresented to them the calam ities tiiit would befall this fair por tion of pur common country, by the annihilation of our foreign com merce; hat they would change the whole aipectofour States—from op ulence iu want, from long establish rd habit* of national industry, to ein ploymerjt new ami adventurous; and yet with the ruthless hand of a ‘stran ger, ’ they have not only disregarded these appeals, but as if desirous to sharpen our calamities, have made them present and certain. It is this shameful departure from j the constitution, for the purpose oFa-| varice; it is this total disregard of <e feelings, the •interest, and political tenets of the South—tenets which we adhere to the anchor of our. political safety—which were originally intend ed, and are alone competent to se cure to these United States, that un ion which is the life blood of its exis tence. It is for these reasons that we deprecate the passage of this law. These tenets consist in an interpre tati >n of the constitution, consistent with its language and the intention of its framers, at the time of its adop tion. We believe that this, and eve ry nation if right or power, except those attrihstes of sovereignty which we have expressly delegated to Con gress. Tint Congress have no im plied powers except such as are ub solute!y necessary to carry into exe (Mjtion those specific powers granted it by tiie <o stitutiun; That under the pretext of regulating foreign on metre, Congress h ive iti effo, | impo sed a tax. and a grievous one, upon the products of this Ssate, and there by excr is-oi a power prohibited bv the constitution. Fellow Ciuzcim. in reviewing the history of our native Btat*, no nation and misfortune attracts our attention, •f comparative hardship with this tariff. Tho war of the Revolution was one of prin ipie, in which our in fant R punlii generously offered .up her treasures and her blood, Irotn a generous syiupithy with our northern brethren. We felt comparatively no oppression—no tax —it was sufli ient fur us to know that our brethren bad been wronged. We assisted in re sistiug the right of Britain to impose a tax upon these States, without their consent. F r this return of patriot* tSm, our brethren have taxed us fifty fold greyer than Britain ever medi tated, contrary to our remonstrances. We love this union; we venerate this government; the blood of our fathers is yet fresh on the green hills of our country. We therefore reccommeod Ito our fellow citizens, moderation in resisting those encroachments upon their rights; let nothing which they do bear the m&rks of a feverish ex citement; the short lived murmuring* of discontent are feebly calculated to effect our purposes; let our rssistance be within tlje pale of the constitution —calm, even, yet powerful, let us return the shaft of oppression against the oppressor, and by the investment of our capital and labour iu manufac turers, and an ex lusion of the fob rics of tbs north* and the products of itie west, Iroin our market, show our persecutors, however unwillingly wo submit to a change of national em ploy ment, that change shall be atten ded with no benefit to them, of af little injury as possible t(? ourselves. Therefore. Resolved , Ist, That we discounte nance all intention to impair the fed eral constitution, and every measure having an immediate nr direct ten dency to bring the legislature of this state, or of any other state, lute h4~ lision with the government ot the 13- trited States. Resolved , 3dly. That we will ab stain, as far as possible, from the use of every thing produced in the tariff states, and rely as much as possible, on the productions of our own labour and industry for the articles of our consumption. Resolved , 3dly. That to retaliate as for as possible, on our oppressors, our legislature be r quested to irupiso taxes amounting to prohibition, on the bogs, horses, mules, and cotton bagging, whiskey, pork, beef, bacon* flax and hemp cloth, for the western* j and on all the productions and man ufactures of the eastern and northern states. Resolved , 4thly, That to bring hoiqe the monstrous iniquity of tho system to our people, the inert hunts throughout the Union, be requested to adopt and persevere in the plan of charging the goods they sell and tho taxes imposed on them in separate i* terns. Resolved , sthly* That Goodwin My ri <k, John Williams, A, Tor rance, J. G. Worsham, B L. Lesley J. C. Watson, John Riithvpforfl, times ILdt, Anderson Redding, D, ti. Hill and H. B. Troutman, be ap pointed a committee to collect by subscription or otherwise, a fund to be dictributed in premiums for tho best specimens of domestic cloth man ufactured in Baldwin County, and nat said committee have power to prescribe rules under whi< h such premiums shall be distributed. Resolved. 6Ally. That this meeting earnestly desire his Excellency the Governor to correspond with the Governors of different states, injuri ously affected by the tariff law, and concert with them aurli means as may seem best calculated to counteract the effects of tile said law, and pro lire its repeal, and rec ommend the same to the next legislature. Resolved , Tthly. That we sincere ly sympathise with, and applaud the patriotism of those citizens opposed to the protective tariff, but who are in the minority in their respective States, and that we will co-operate with them in all constitutional menus to procure a repeal of the system. Resolved , BtMy. That the thanks of tins meeting is due to the commit tee for the able discharge of the duty assigned them, and that the Editors of the different G< of this State* and In the United States, be request* ed to publish the Preamble and Ue- S. lotions a iopted by the meeting. Resolved, 9'hly. That our fellow* citizens throughout the state be r* quested to co-operate with us in tho present undertaking. Resolved , lOthly. That the pro* ceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary. SE iT()N GRANTLAND, CAr’m. C. J. Paine, Sec’ry. The able preamble, preceding tho above resolutions, says the Southron* is from the pen of Joseph T. WiU liams, Esq and does credit to his ta lents, and to his patriotism in defenc# of slate rights and southron interest* No. 7.
