Register of Debates in Congress, Comprising the Leading Debates and Incidents of the First Session of the Twenty-Fourth Congress Page: 3,883
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3883
GALES & SEATON'S REGISTER
3884
H. or R.]
Fortification Bill.
[Mat 23, 1836.
there will be a balance left, of the revenue accruing in
1836, of #16,900,000; which, when added to the balance
remaining in the Treasury on the 1st of January last, of
$21,169,455, would produce a surplus of $38,069,455
on the 1st of January, 1837', without taking into consid-
eration the $7,000,000 of stock in the Bank of the United
States. But, sir, if it be conceded that the revenue of
1836, for the three remaining quarters, will not, in any
one of them, equal that of the first quarter, then, I ask,
how many millions will it fall short? For such is the
state of things, that you may deduct millions, and yet be
able to distribute among the States thirty millions of the
surplus. I do not admit, however that there will be any
material diminution in the revenue during the balance
of this, or in many years to come. There is danger to
be apprehended, and great danger too, from the number
and condition of the six hundred banks which cover the
country from Missouri to the Atlantic, and from Maine
to Louisiana. The great disparity between the paper
circulation and the amount of specie in their vaults is
such, that a sudden panic may burst the bubble, and re-
produce the scenes of 1819-'20. But the disastrous
consequences of such an event, however lasting and
fatal to the hopes and fortunes of particular individuals,
would only give a temporary shock to the onward move-
ment of this young and growing nation. The nation, as
heretofore, would soon recover from the effects of such
calamity, and the customs and public lands would again
replenish our Treasury to overflowing.
It has been said that the progressive diminution of du-
ties on imports, under the compromise act of 1833, will
lessen the amount of revenue; and it has been predicted
that the sales of the public domain will greatly decline in
a few years. I do not believe these predictions will be
verified. In the first place, a diminution of the tax or
duly on an article does not necessarily produce a corre-
sponding diminution of the revenue. The amount of rev-
enue depends upon the quantity of dutiable articles con-
sumed; and as goods are sold cheaper in consequence
of lessening the duties, the consumption will be greater,
and thus an increased consumption will more than bal-
ance the decrease of duty. Tarn your attention, Mr.
Chairman, for a moment, to the great West: ask your-
self what is it now, and what was it during the last war?
At that time, the whole, a few districts excepted, might
be considered a wilderness, in comparison with its pres-
ent condition. The farms newly settled, in many instan-
ces, did not yield a support for their owners and their
families. The dwelling-houses were log cabins, and
comfortable stables, barns, and out-houses were not to
be seen. In this state of things, whenever the labor of
clearing and cultivating new land produced something
for sale, after subsisting the family, the money arising
was necessarily expended in erecting more comfortable
dwellings, barns, &c. Thus there was nothing to spare
for the merchant, or to purchase articles of foreign
growth or manufacture, upon which more than half our
revenue is raised. How is it now' Vast multitudes, by
tlieir industry and labor, have placed themselves in com-
fortable houses, upon productive (arms, well provided
with every convenience, and yielding them annually, in
surplus grain, or tobacco, or cotton, or live stock, a
handsome income. No longer compelled to expend it
in clearing lands and building houses, they can now af-
iord to treat their wives and daughters and sons with
foreign articles; and the West now proves what has
been found to be true in all ages, that people who have
money, and who are not restricted in its expenditure by
an overruling necessity, will use it to gratify tlieir appe-
tites and tas'e for luxuries and dress. The consequence
is, an immense increase in the consumption of foreign
merchandise; and hence our Treasury will be kept fulfto
overflowing, notwithstanding the gradual diminution of
duties on imports. In proof of the now large and in-
creasing consumption of the West, only look at the heavy
business done upon the railroads and canals connecting
the Atlantic ports with the Mississippi valley; and be-
hold the increasing hundreds of steamboats which are
now actively engaged upon the waters of the West.
Sir, a survey of the condition of agriculture, commerce,
and manufactures, in the Atlantic States would equally
denote the continuance of a full Treasury. Everywhere
we behold industry prosper, generating and accumula-
ting wealth. The inevitable result is an increased con.
sumption of foreign productions, upon which the amount
of revenue depends.
In regard to the sales of public lands, there will be no
decrease in the quantity sold, so long as profitable in-
vestments can be made by purchasing them. Those
who own small tracts in thickly settled neighborhoods,
and which can be sold at high prices, will find it their
interest to sell out, and emigrate to the new States and
Territories, where they can with the money get as good
or belter land, and ten times the quantity. So long as
the value of lands in the new States and Territories is in-
creasing at the rate of from ten to one hundred per cent,
per annum, capitalists will purchase, rather than invest
their funds in stocks or in trade. The tide of emigra-
tion to the new States and Territories, the demand for
the productions of their fertile soil in market, and the
profit which can be realized in a short time from a good
farm, will operate as permanent causes to produce an an-
nual increase in the value of lands in the new States and
Territories. Men of discernment understand all this;
and hence the large purchases of public lands made du-
ring the last year will be continued through the present,
and probably for years to come. Nothing can arrest this
course of things but the entire change of the present
land system, or the derangement of the currency, and
the general pressure for money which may result from
the breaking up of the excessive issues of bank notes.
I have no expectation that either of these causes will af-
fect the sales of land during the present year. Let them
operate when they may, no argument can be thence
drawn adverse to the distribution of the existing surplus
revenue among the States.
The conclusion to which my mind has arrived is, that
there exists a large surplus, and that it will continue to
accumulate, notwithstanding the constant drain going on
to sustain all the necessary operations of the Government.
Can Congress constitutionally distribute this surplus
among the States? I will not contend for the power to
impose taxes, with a view to raise money for distribution.
Such an object does not seem to me to fall within the
scope of the delegated powers of (he constitution; but
where taxes have been imposed in good faith, for the
purposes of the constitution, and Congress finds at its
disposal a large surplus which it cannot expend with
propriety in accomplishing some purpose of the consti-
tution, I do not perceive any reason why it may not be
divided out among the States, if it be not wanted for
the use of the Government, it would certainly be compe-
tent to return it to those from whom it had been collect-
ed, if they could be ascertained. A poll or direct tax,
levied under the expectation of war, may be released,
in case of the sudden adjustment of the dispute without
war; and so, if it had been actually collected, and, in
consequence of the settlement of all difficulties, the Gov-
ernment no longer wanted the money, it could not be a
violation of the constitution to return tise money to those
from whom it had been received, and who, from the na-
ture of the tax, could be known with certainty. But in
the case of money arising from customs, and which is
paid directly to the Government by (he importing mer-
chant, and afterwards reimbursed to him by the consu-
mer, the Government cannot return it, when it is not
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Gales, Joseph, 1761-1841. Register of Debates in Congress, Comprising the Leading Debates and Incidents of the First Session of the Twenty-Fourth Congress, book, 1836; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30757/m1/26/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.