FRIDAY, April 24.
_Corps of Engineers._
The House resumed the consideration of the bill making further
provision for the corps of Engineers, which had been amended in
Committee of the Whole, so as to authorize the appropriation therein
made to be disbursed "at such place as may be designated by the
President of the United States for that purpose."
Mr. GOLD spoke against a concurrence in this amendment at some length,
and was followed on the same side by Mr. SMILIE and Mr. WIDGERY; to
whom Mr. KEY, Mr. WILLIAMS, and Mr. WRIGHT replied.
The discussion principally involved the respective merits of West Point
and Washington City (to which place it was supposed, probably, that
the Executive might deem it expedient to remove the Academy) as proper
sites for a Military Academy. The question on the amendment was decided
by yeas and nays. For the amendment 63, against the amendment 56.
Mr. W. ALSTON moved an amendment contemplating the establishment of the
Academy at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, a place which he stated to be
more eligible, in point of economy, convenience, and comfort, than West
Point.
Mr. GOLD opposed the motion.
A motion was made by Mr. LITTLE to recommit the bill, and negatived.
Mr. FINDLAY spoke in favor of the motion.
Mr. BAKER suggested the propriety of locating the Academy at Harper's
Ferry; and because, if the Academy must be removed, he thought Harper's
Ferry preferable to Carlisle, he should vote against the motion.
Mr. RHEA made a motion which he said would put an end to all these
propositions to amend the bill, viz: to postpone the bill indefinitely.
The motion was negatived--yeas 32.
The question was then taken--"Shall the amendments be engrossed, and,
together with the bill, be read a third time?" and decided in the
affirmative.
WEDNESDAY, April 29.
_Relief of Caraccas, &c._
Mr. MACON submitted for consideration the following resolution:
"_Resolved_, That the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures be
instructed to report a bill authorizing the President of the
United States to cause to be purchased ---- barrels of flour,
and to have the same exported to some port in Caraccas, for
the use of the inhabitants who have suffered by the earthquake;
and also authorizing him to cause to be purchased ---- barrels
of flour, and to have the same exported to some port in
Teneriffe for the use of the inhabitants who are likely to
starve by the ravages of locusts."
To the adoption of the first clause of this resolution, there was
no objection made by any one; but a desultory debate took place on
incidental points and on the merits of the last clause.
Mr. RANDOLPH made a speech of some length in favor of the object of
the proposed resolution, but going to show that the aid the Government
could afford would be ineffectual to relieve famine, if it existed; and
that unquestionably the most effectual relief that could be afforded on
our part to the wretched and unfortunate people of Caraccas would be a
suspension, as to them, of our restrictive system. He, therefore, moved
to amend the resolution by adding to the end of it the words "and to
authorize vessels laden with provisions to clear out for any port of
the aforesaid country."
Mr. CALHOUN expressed his regret that this proposition to aid the cause
of humanity could not be permitted to pass without the intermixture
of party feelings, which the motion and speech of the gentleman from
Virginia, he thought, were calculated to excite. He was opposed to the
amendment, which he conceived would virtually repeal the embargo, and
he hoped, as there could be no probability of adopting it, he would
withdraw it. Mr. C. said he had doubts about the latter clause of the
resolution; because, as to the distress at Teneriffe, the House had no
other information than a newspaper report, whilst of the scarcity of
provisions at Caraccas they had accurate information.
Mr. RANDOLPH defended himself against the imputation of a desire to
excite party feelings, &c., and declined withdrawing his amendment,
because he believed its adoption to be essential to the accomplishment
of the object of the original motion. He also made a number of
observations on the impatience which gentlemen of the minority were
listened to in the House, and the frequent interruptions they were in
the habit of meeting with, &c.
Mr. MACON spoke against the amendment, which, if adopted, would compel
him to vote against his own motion. The restrictive system, he said,
would not be of long duration, and, when it expired, provisions in
plenty might be exported to South America and elsewhere; so that there
was very little necessity for suspending the embargo law, which was
only adopted preparatory to a different state of things. The clause in
the resolution relating to Teneriffe, he said, had been added at the
suggestion of another member.
Mr. CALHOUN again spoke against the amendment, and in reply to Mr.
RANDOLPH'S imputation of intolerance to the minority. This course of
discussion he deprecated, as not comporting with the sacred cause of
distant and oppressed humanity, &c.
Mr. SMILES made some remarks in reply to an observation of Mr.
RANDOLPH, that the donation by the British Parliament of a hundred
thousand pounds to the sufferers by an earthquake in Portugal, some
years ago, was an act almost sufficient to purchase absolution for all
the sins of that Government. Mr. S. cited instances of similar conduct
in this country, in much smaller communities; and expressed his regret
that gentlemen chose to appreciate every act of other Governments,
without allowing merit to their own for acts much more praiseworthy.
The question on Mr. RANDOLPH'S motion to amend, was negatived--yeas 30,
nays 74.
Mr. BLACKLEDGE proposed to add "corn and rice" to the flour to be
exported.
Mr. MACON thereon modified his resolution so as to authorize the
exportation of "provisions," instead of "flour," which would include
all descriptions of breadstuff.
The question was taken on the first clause of the resolution, viz: so
much as relates to Caraccas, and carried unanimously.
The question was taken on the remainder of the resolution, viz: so much
as relates to Teneriffe, and negatived--for its adoption 47, against it
57.
So it was _Resolved_, That the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures
be instructed to report a bill authorizing the President of the United
States to cause to be purchased ---- barrels of provisions, and
have the same exported to some port in Caraccas, for the use of the
inhabitants who have suffered by the earthquake.
Mr. RANDOLPH adverted to the uncertainty as to the fact, which he
supposed had caused the rejection of the clause of the resolution
relating to Teneriffe, and offered the following resolution, in a form
calculated to produce the proper inquiry:
"_Resolved_, That the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures
be instructed to inquire whether any, and what relief ought to
be extended to the inhabitants of the Canary Islands, who are
suffering by famine occasioned by locusts."
Mr. NEWTON said, as this motion only proposed inquiry, and was not,
like the other, peremptory, he hoped it would pass.
And the resolution was agreed to.
MONDAY, May 4.
_Relief for Venezuela._
On motion of Mr. NEWTON, the House resolved itself into a Committee of
the Whole on the bill for the relief of the inhabitants of Venezuela.
[The bill authorizes the President to cause to be exported such
quantity of provision as he may think proper, for the relief of the
inhabitants of Venezuela, suffering by the effects of an earthquake.]
Mr. NEWTON proposed to fill the blank for the appropriation with the
sum of $30,000.
Mr. PITKIN inquired for the official information, which might have been
laid before the committee, on the subject of the distress existing at
Caraccas.
Mr. NEWTON, in reply, said, that there were many private letters in
confirmation of the facts, and also a letter from our Consul, &c. Some
of which were read.
Mr. CALHOUN moved to fill the blank with fifty thousand dollars, which
he thought would be little enough to effect the object in view.
The question on the latter motion was decided in the affirmative, 45 to
29.
The committee rose, and reported the bill; which was ordered to be
engrossed for a third reading this day, which was subsequently done,
and the bill passed.
WEDNESDAY, May 13.
_Recall of Absentees._
Mr. WILLIAMS said he rose to make a motion, the object of which was
in itself so clear, that he believed there was no necessity for
illustrating it. There was but one objection that he was aware of, and
that was, that there was no precedent for it; but if that should be
urged, he would reply that there never was before a crisis requiring
it. The motion was--
_Resolved_, That the Speaker be directed to address a letter to
each member of the House now absent, requesting his attendance
prior to the first day of June.
Mr. GRUNDY, said the object of the motion, no doubt, was a correct one.
He should, therefore, vote for the motion as it now stood, but would
prefer a modification of it. On what particular day it would be proper
to have every member in his place, could not be foreseen with certainty
by any one. To fix on a day, however, would be as much as to tell the
members we do not want them earlier, and would put it out of our power
to act prior to that day. But, on the other hand, should we not be
ready to act on that day, is it not pledging ourselves that we will
then act, whether we are ready or not? It would be as well to request
the attendance of members immediately, and then we shall not stand
committed either to act on or before that day. He hoped there would not
be an absent man on the occasion of voting the final measure; though he
should consider such a vote as a completion of what was already begun,
and not a determination of the course to be pursued, which question he
considered as decided in the anterior measures already adopted.
Mr. ROBERTS said the call of the House met his perfect approbation;
but, in its present form, he should be constrained to vote against it.
He was not afraid that it would be considered a pledge to act on a
certain day; but the members near home, after it was passed, would take
the opportunity of the interval to visit their homes, and leave the
House without a quorum. He, therefore, moved to amend the resolution,
so as to request the attendance of the members forthwith.
This motion was agreed to--ayes 47.
After some objections by Mr. STANFORD to the phraseology of the
resolution, it was passed without a division, there not being more
perhaps than five dissenting voices.
FRIDAY, May 22.
_Judge Toulmin._
Mr. POINDEXTER, from the select committee, made the following report:
The committee to whom was referred the letter of COWLES MEAD,
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Mississippi
Territory, enclosing a presentment of the Grand Jury of Baldwin
county, in said Territory, complaining of the conduct of
Harry Toulmin, Judge of the District of Washington, in said
Territory, beg leave to submit the following report:
That the charges contained in the presentment aforesaid, have
not been supported by evidence; and from the best information
your committee have been enabled to obtain on the subject,
it appears that the official conduct of Judge Toulmin has
been characterized by a vigilant attention to the duties of
his station, and an inflexible zeal for the preservation of
the public peace and tranquillity of the country over which
his judicial authority extends. They therefore recommend the
following resolution:
"Resolved, That it is unnecessary to take any further
proceeding on the presentment of the Grand Jury of Baldwin
county, in the Mississippi Territory, against Judge Toulmin."
The report was read and concurred in.
WEDNESDAY, May 27.
_Renewal of Whitney's Patent Right to the Cotton
Gin Invention._
The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill
"for the relief of Eli Whitney."
Mr. BIBB avowed his opposition to the principle and details of the
bill, and moved to strike out as much as provided for renewing
Whitney's patent right to the machine for ginning cotton. Mr. B. said,
that, although the bill assumed the character of a private act, it
involved considerations of great national concernment. If, sir, said
he, the committee will take the trouble to consider it attentively, in
all its relations, I am persuaded the motion submitted will not have
been made in vain. The object of granting patents is clearly defined
by the constitution to be the promotion of science and useful arts.
The effect of such promotion is obviously the advancement of public
improvement and prosperity. All the authority which Congress possesses
over this subject, is derived from the following provision: "Congress
shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by
securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive
right to their respective writings and discoveries." Here are two
distinct propositions: 1. The delegation of power to promote science
and useful arts; 2. And a description of the _mean_ authorized to be
employed. The benefit proposed to inventors is evidently not the object
in view, but the _mean_ whereby the _end_ may be accomplished; it is
the incitement offered to genius and talent, for the purpose of general
advantage; it is the price paid by the people of the United States
for the _disclosure_ of useful inventions. To legislate, therefore,
correctly, on the subject, it is indispensable that this distinction
between the _mean_ and the _object_ should be kept constantly in view.
So long as patents are granted for the promotion of science and useful
arts, the intent and meaning of the constitution are fairly pursued;
but whenever they are allowed with any other view, there is a manifest
departure from the limit of authority to which Congress is confined.
Sir, the framers of the constitution were sensible that monopolies
were odious every where, and that they would be particularly so to the
people of this country. Hence the limitation imposed, which permits
monopolies only in an expressly-defined case, and for a limited time.
The constitution declares, that "all powers not delegated to the United
States, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States or to
the people." It is also the rule of construction, universally admitted,
that the enumeration of powers excludes all powers not enumerated. I
maintain, then, that the constitution having clearly designated the
object for which, and the parties to whom, exclusive rights may be
granted, for limited times, Congress is restrained within those precise
bounds. If there can be a legitimate departure from them in one case,
the restraint becomes wholly nugatory. The doctrine which deprives
Congress of the power to establish banking monopolies, equally forbids
them in every case, and for every purpose, other than those specified
in the clause to which I have adverted.
If, therefore, I establish the position that the proposed renewal of
Whitney's patent is neither intended nor calculated to promote science
or useful arts, I shall have succeeded in showing that this bill ought
to be rejected.
Permit me to inquire, in the first place, how the object of the
constitution may be attained? By pursuing the principle which has
heretofore governed the Legislature. The statute securing patent
rights must be general in its application, holding out inducements to
the inventive faculties of all, and prospective in its operation. It
must grant monopolies for a limited time to _future_ and not _past_
discoveries. The term during which the exclusive rights shall continue,
should be sufficiently long to afford the necessary incitement to
the exertions of genius, to promise an adequate reward for the labor
of invention. Whether fourteen years, as now fixed by law, be the
proper term, is a question on which gentlemen may rationally differ
in opinion. It is worthy of remark, however, that under the existing
statute, the progress of invention in the useful arts has been more
rapid in the United States than in any other country on the globe.
Still, if necessary, Congress is competent to extend by a general
provision exclusive rights to _future_ inventors for a longer time;
but the renewal of a patent for a discovery already made and in use,
stands on distinct grounds. In the one case, the progress of science
and useful arts (the object for which alone patents are constitutional)
would probably be promoted; but in the other, the invention being
already made and disclosed, public improvement cannot possibly be
advanced by taking away its benefit from the community. Is the object
of this bill to promote science or the useful arts? The candor of its
advocates will answer the question in the negative. It is to promote
the interests of Mr. Whitney at the public expense--to convert the
_mean_ prescribed by the constitution into the _end_. If the renewal
of a patent in a special case would furnish an adequate stimulus to
the exertions of other ingenious men, it might be urged with some
appearance of plausibility; but no man will assert that one or two
accidental cases of this sort, out of the many thousand patents which
are issued, would have any influence on the expectations of others.
It follows, therefore, that the passage of the present bill will be a
departure from the intent and meaning of that instrument, which is the
fountain of our authority.
Sir, there is another view of this subject in relation to policy,
to which I beg leave to ask the attention of the committee. In this
widely-extended country, the pursuits of the people are various and
diversified. In one section cotton is cultivated, in another hemp,
and in a third wheat. Suppose patents are obtained for valuable
improvements relative to these articles, either in the instruments of
cultivation or of preparation for market. The patentees are entitled
by law to exclusive rights for fourteen years. For the improvement
concerning the article of cotton only, the patent is extended to
twenty-one or twenty-eight years, as now proposed, while exclusive
rights to the other inventions are permitted to expire. What is the
consequence? The people of one section of the Union are subjected in
their pursuits to the privations incident to monopolies, for that
term; while those of another section similarly situated are exempted
from all restraint at the expiration of the first patent. I appeal
to the candor and magnanimity of this assembly to determine whether
such a course of proceeding be not manifestly unjust, and utterly
incompatible with that equality of rights guarantied to the respective
States. The constitution imposes uniformity of taxation for the purpose
of avoiding the injustice and oppression towards particular States,
which the extension of patent rights, in special cases, is calculated
to produce. The fact cannot be disguised, that the operation of this
bill will be to levy a tax on the people of Georgia, the Mississippi
and Louisiana Territories alone; and if it passes, it will be owing
to that circumstance. I know enough of human nature, and have seen
much in the course of my acquaintance with legislative proceedings,
to satisfy my mind, that if cotton were cultivated in a few large
States, this bill would certainly be rejected. Does any man believe
that if the large States of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and
Massachusetts, were concerned in this thing, as are those portions of
the Southern country I have mentioned, the application of Mr. Whitney
for a renewal of his monopoly would be successful? No, sir; and I urge
this consideration for the purpose of showing the impolicy of extending
patents in special cases, inasmuch as it puts it in the power of
Congress by such a regulation to give a preference to one section of
the Union over another, and because the power will never be exercised
in cases affecting a particular and comparatively small portion of the
community. Enact a general law on the subject of patents--make what
provision you please in relation to future discoveries, and none can
complain. Whether improvements shall be made interesting to this, that,
or the other section of the nation, will be left to chance; when made,
the monopolies will be equal in their duration, and all will be equally
exempt from partiality or oppression.
There is another aspect, Mr. Chairman, in which the provisions of the
bill now before the committee are manifestly unjust. The Legislatures
of Tennessee and the two Carolinas purchased, during the term of
Whitney's late patent, the right of using in those States his invention
for ginning cotton. The fact will not be denied, that the price paid
was proportionate to the extent of time for which the patentee held the
exclusive right. Now it is proposed to re-grant to Whitney the monopoly
for an additional term of years, so far as relates to my constituents,
while the three States I have mentioned are expressly exempted from
its operations. It is true, the Legislature of Georgia did not enter
into any arrangements with the patentee on the subject, but it will be
perceived that all persons who erected machines without permission,
during the fourteen years, are left by the bill subject to prosecution.
The effect, therefore, will be to impose a restraint relative to the
same object on one State for twenty-one or twenty-eight years, while
other States are exempted at the expiration of half that term. I know,
sir, that unfavorable impressions exist on the minds of many gentlemen
concerning the conduct of Georgia in this affair; and I fear they
may have much influence on the decision of the question. Whether the
Legislature ought or ought not to have followed the example of the
legislatures of other States, is a question which belongs exclusively
to that body to determine. Your patent law imposed no obligation on
the subject, and they had the right to do so or not, as they pleased.
Having done nothing which they had not a right to do, and omitted
nothing which they had not the right to omit, I cannot consent to any
unauthorized control of this House over their proceedings. That Mr.
Whitney's invention has been highly important to the Southern country
I freely admit, and that he deserves much for his useful labors, none
can deny; but, if the conduct of Georgia has not been so liberal
towards him as some gentlemen think it ought to have been, an apology
may be found in the resentment which his conduct was calculated to
excite. When his machine was first erected in Georgia, as I have
understood, he refused to sell his patent right upon any terms or for
any price. It was determined to monopolize every pound of cotton at an
enormous premium, and arrangements were made for that purpose. To that
circumstance, and the opinion which prevailed, that the invention was
not new, is to be attributed the course of proceeding, now made the
subject of complaint. The imprudence of Mr. Whitney, or, perhaps, of
his partner, could not fail to have produced feelings of resentment
rather than of liberality towards them. I repeat, however, that the
conduct of Georgia has no connection with the present question. The
United States never guarantied to any patentee the receipt of any
given sum for his invention, nor gave any pledge that his exclusive
right should in no instance be violated. They have enacted laws for
the security of patentees, provided a remedy for violations of their
rights in all cases, and a tribunal before which that remedy may be
sought. To that tribunal--the courts of the United States--Mr. Whitney
should be referred for redress. This is not a time for exciting State
jealousies and individual resentments among ourselves. Policy, and that
conciliatory spirit which ought to guide our deliberations, unite in
prescribing a different course, and I do trust that prescription will
not be disregarded on the present occasion.
But, sir, there is still another and more important view of this
subject, on which alone I probably might have relied. The patent of
Mr. Whitney expired about four years ago, and an unqualified right
to the invention was thereby vested (as I shall show) in the people
of the United States. Under such circumstances, it is my purpose to
prove the proposed renewal manifestly unconstitutional. I presume it
will be admitted, that, without the provision of the constitution on
the subject, and the law pursuant thereto, no exclusive rights would
belong to inventors. It is true the inventor would be entitled to his
particular machinery, but other persons would not be prohibited from
imitating it, and consequently his right to his discovery would not
be exclusive. In a state of nature, occupancy gives a right to soil,
upon the ground of supposed labor on the part of the occupant in taking
possession. The right and the occupancy, however, are inseparable. If
the latter be abandoned, the former ceases to exist--the soil becomes
common to all, and may be appropriated to another's use. The natural
law in regard to inventions is the same. So long as the inventor is
alone in the possession of a knowledge of his discovery, he is the
occupant, and has an exclusive right. But the moment he _discloses_
that knowledge to the public he abandons his occupancy, and the
invention becomes subject to the use of others. This principle is
recognized by the constitution itself, and fully established also in
other countries. The express delegation of power to secure to inventors
the exclusive right to their discoveries, admits that without it no
such right would exist after disclosure. In Great Britain the doctrine
is perfectly settled. If gentlemen will turn to the famous case of
literary property, Millar vs. Taylor, which was argued with great
ability, and decided with unusual deliberation, they will be satisfied
of the fact.
The court were divided on the particular question pending before
them, and gave their opinions separately and very much at large. On
that occasion it was determined that the publication of a literary
work did not of itself divest the author of the exclusive right, nor
authorize others to republish it for their advantage without his
consent. But it was admitted, as a point fully and entirely settled,
that the principle did not apply to mechanical inventions; that the
disclosure of a mechanical invention did divest the inventor of his
exclusive right to such inventions, and that the public became entitled
to all the benefits which could be derived from it. A later decision
of the highest courts of the Kingdom on another case, has placed the
question of literary property on the same footing with the mechanical
inventions. The principle of these decisions is, that the disclosure
of an invention amounts to a relinquishment of exclusive use, it is
an implied right to the public. And if such be the doctrine in Great
Britain, under a Government the foundation of which is monopoly and
exclusive privileges, it cannot be otherwise among this people, the
fundamental principle of whose Government is, equality of right and
exclusion of monopolies. I contend, then, sir, that if the disclosure
of an invention vests in the public a right to use it without
restraint, much more strongly is that right vested after the expiration
of a patent. In the one case the public are invested with a common or
equal right by an implied gift, and in the other by contract. The very
condition on which patents are granted is, that, at the expiration of
the term authorized by law, the people shall be entitled to the free
use of the invention; and, to secure this right to the people, such
a specification of the machinery employed is required at the time of
issuing the patent, as will enable others to understand and imitate it
with success. Need I undertake to prove that, from the moment Whitney's
patent expired, his exclusive right ceased to exist? None will deny
the fact. Is it necessary to show that the right which was exclusive
during the patent, is now the common right of all? It will be admitted
that every man in the United States has at this moment as perfect a
right to erect gins on Whitney's plan, as to build a house or make
any implement of agriculture. The question then presents itself,
has Congress the power to divest the people of that right? I say no,
sir; to renew a patent after it has expired, is to establish a new
principle unauthorized by the constitution. To secure a pre-existent
right is one thing, but to divest the people of the United States of
their right, and vest it in an individual, is quite a different affair.
"Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and
useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors,
the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."
What is the import of this provision? An inventor while in the sole
possession of the knowledge of his invention has the exclusive right
to it, without the intervention of law; but when that knowledge is
disclosed to the public, the exclusive right would cease to exist.
Therefore, for the purpose of affording a stimulus to ingenuity, and
of obtaining disclosures of useful discoveries, Congress is authorized
to provide by law for securing that exclusive right for a limited
time after disclosure, which previously existed in the inventor, and
which enabled him forever to withhold his invention from the public.
The disclosure is the great object to be attained; the security of
the exclusive right before existing, but which would be lost without
such security, by the act of disclosure, is the mean authorized to be
employed. Is there no difference between protecting an existing right,
and taking away a right from one party for the purpose of vesting it
in another party? The States composing the Union are now entitled to
the benefit of Whitney's invention, and may make whatever regulations
concerning it, within their territorial limits, they please. Will it be
said that because the power is delegated to Congress to promote useful
inventions and to obtain their disclosure to the public, by holding
out the inducement resulting from the security of a monopoly for a
limited time, therefore the States may be constitutionally deprived of
their unquestionable rights? Surely not. Hence, I conclude that the
power of Congress over this subject has terminated by their own act,
and that to resume it would be an unconstitutional encroachment on
the rights of the respective States. Sir, the power given to Congress
on the question of patents is similar in extent and in every other
view to that which in England is vested in the King. He is empowered
to grant patents for new and useful inventions for a limited time,
but it is held that when that time expires, such inventions belong to
the public. "If a patent be granted in case of a new invention, the
King cannot grant a second patent, for the charter is granted as an
encouragement to invention and industry, and to secure the patentee in
the profits for a reasonable time; but when that is expired, the public
is to have the benefit of the discovery."--_10 Mad. Rep. 110_. It is
also laid down in _Bull N. P. 76_, that among the general questions
of patents, the first is--"Whether the invention were known and in
use before the patent." Such is the English law, and the statutes of
the United States heretofore passed are founded on the same principle.
The existing statutes make it an indispensable condition to securing
an exclusive right, that the invention shall not have been "known
or used before the application;" for a patent itself reads thus:
"Whereas A. B., a citizen, &c., hath alleged that he has invented a
new and useful improvement, being [here insert a description of the
invention] which improvement has not been known or used before his
application," &c. It is then perfectly clear, that our predecessors
who have legislated on this subject considered a public disclosure of
an invention an abandonment of all claim to the exclusive use; that
they understood the object of the constitution to be the advancement
of national improvement; and that when the public are in possession
of any important discovery they could not be divested of it. Suppose
the inventor of that useful instrument the screw-auger, who was an
inhabitant of New England, and who never solicited a patent for
it, should now make application. Your law excludes him because his
invention is known and in use. And I call on gentlemen to show how the
progress of science or useful arts, or individual justice, would be
less promoted by granting a patent in that case, than in the present
application. Certainly a man is not less entitled to the bounty of
Congress who has given to the public the results of his labors, than he
who has enjoyed the benefit of a monopoly for fourteen years; nor will
it be asserted that the right of the community to an invention is less
complete from the expiration of a patent, than from the bare act of
disclosing it.
Mr. SEYBERT said he did not know that the bill for the relief of Mr.
Whitney could be acted upon this day; indeed, it was not his intention
to make any observations on the subject, until the motion for striking
out a portion of the bill was made by his friend from Georgia, (Mr.
BIBB;) he therefore hoped the House would pardon him for the desultory
and confused remarks which he should impose upon the patience of the
House. He came from a State whose interests were nowise concerned in
this question, and therefore he stood as an impartial advocate in favor
of the patentee; his feelings could not permit him to remain quiet
on the question; by him the machine of Mr. Whitney was viewed as a
stupendous monument of human invention--great mental exertion alone
could produce results like this, and he appealed to the House as to
the propriety of granting the prayer of the petition as reported in
the bill. It was, he conceived, not a favor, but justice, which the
passage of this bill would render to Mr. Whitney. If he was correctly
informed, Mr. W. received but a trifling compensation for his labors;
that, in the case of the State of Georgia, he expended $20,000 more
in prosecuting law-suits, than he had ever been paid in that State.
Mr. S. continued--he was informed that in South Carolina Mr. Whitney
had met with some persecution; the assembly of that State originally
purchased the right to use the machine for the sum of $50,000, which
was to be paid by regular annual instalments. In the following year
Mr. W. visited South Carolina for the purpose of receiving the second
instalment, when, instead thereof, he discovered that a Legislature
lately assembled had repealed the law formerly enacted on the subject;
and, instead of receiving a second instalment, the Legislature ordered
that he should be prosecuted for the recovery of that which he had
before received. Mr. W. was saved from prison by the interference
of some private gentlemen. [Here Messrs. WILLIAMS and CHEVES rose,
and in conversation explained to the satisfaction of Mr. S. that the
statement made was not accurate; that the delay and difficulties
caused by the proceedings of the Legislature of South Carolina, were
owing to well-grounded suspicions, at that time, that Mr. W. was not
the inventor of the cotton gin, and that he had in some respects
failed to comply with the conditions prescribed by the law.] This
explanation was satisfactory to Mr. S., and he observed, had he known
in time that he would have taken a part in this debate, he should have
considered it his duty to consult his friends from South Carolina on
this subject. He further stated that Mr. W. had informed him that, in
the final adjustment of this affair, the State of South Carolina had
rendered him ample justice. He regretted the necessity of mentioning
States in debate--he would quit this part of the subject, and proceed
to communicate those facts which had made an impression on his mind
in favor of the bill. He would first quote the authority of Judge
Johnson in his decision of the case of Whitney vs. Carter. Here Mr. S.
read as follows, from page 128: "With regard to the utility of this
discovery, the court would deem it a waste of time to dwell long upon
this topic. Is there a man who hears us who has not experienced its
utility? The whole interior of the Southern States was languishing,
and its inhabitants emigrating for want of some object to engage
their attention and employ their industry, when the invention of this
machine at once opened views to them, which set the whole country in
active motion. From childhood to age, it has presented us a lucrative
employment. Individuals who were depressed with poverty, and sunk in
idleness, have suddenly risen to wealth and respectability. Our debts
have been paid off; our capitals increased, and our lands are trebled
in value. We cannot express the weight of obligation which the country
owes to this invention; its extent cannot now be seen." These were the
sentiments of a gentleman residing in the State of South Carolina;
from this their justness may be estimated. Mr. S. continued--he could
not stop here. Foreign writers prove the absolute necessity of this
machine, to bring the particular species of cotton to market, which
constitutes nine-tenths of that which the United States could furnish.
He would, in proof of this declaration, read from Edwards' History of
the West Indies, vol. 2, page 265, as follows: "Green seed cotton is
of two species; of one of which the wool was so firmly attached to
the seed, that no method has hitherto been found of separating them,
except by the hand; an operation so tedious and troublesome, that the
value of the commodity is not equal to the pains that are requisite in
preparing it for market. This sort, therefore is at present cultivated
principally for supplying wick for the lamps that are used in sugar
boiling, and for domestic purposes; but the staple being exceedingly
good, and its color perfectly white, it would doubtless be a valuable
acquisition to the muslin manufactory, could means be found of
detaching it easily from the seed." Whilst the mind of Mr. Edwards
was thus occupied in London, that of Mr. Whitney in the United States
effected this valuable desideratum. Mr. W.'s machine was brought to
perfection in 1792. Mr. S. dreaded the further fatigue of the House,
but he could not refrain from stating some additional facts. Consult,
said he, your Treasury reports, and there you will find that, in the
year 1810, there was exported from the United States 93,000,000 pounds
of cotton, of which 84,000,000 pounds was of the species mentioned
by Edwards. Without the gin of Whitney, or some machine equivalent
thereto, not a single pound of the 84,000,000 pounds could have been
sent abroad--thus would the United States have found themselves
deprived of the annual income of $15,000,000, without taking into view
16,000,000 pounds of cotton consumed in our country. Can we do too
much for this man? Let us render him but ordinary justice and pass the
bill. Let us, said Mr. S., consider the benefits resulting from the
application of useful machines in Great Britain. Take a view of that
of Arkwright. If, said Mr. S., his memory did not deceive him, in the
year 1755 the cotton manufacture of Great Britain was ranked among the
lowest of her domestic branches, and did not value more than £200,000
sterling annually; in 1809, that nation derived thirty millions
pounds sterling from her industry in this way. England well knows her
interest, and she fosters her arts. Let us in this respect follow her
example, by doing justice to the genius of our countrymen. But for the
spinning machinery invented by Arkwright, and the gin of Whitney, the
cotton manufacture might at this time remain in a state of comparative
obscurity. Very little will be observed on the constitutionality of the
question. He would apprize his friend from Georgia of an error which
he had fallen into, in confounding monopolies with patent rights. In
the United States they were distinct things; and whilst on the one
hand the Constitution of the United States has guarantied to inventors
their inventions, in its spirit and letter it is opposed to monopolies.
The renewal of a patent, said Mr. S., was not unprecedented, it was
a common thing in England and France; and, in the United States,
the cases of Evans and Whittemore furnished us with examples of the
transaction by the Congress of the United States. Mr. S. said he would
finish his remarks with the expectation that the House would pass the
bill as reported.
The committee rose, and had leave to sit again.
THURSDAY, June 11.
_Amy Dardin._
The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the
report of the Committee of Claims on the petition of Amy Dardin, that
it is reasonable, and ought to be granted. After some debate, the
committee rose, and reported their agreement to the report; which was,
after debate, concurred in by the House. For the report 64; against it
42.
MONDAY, June 22.
_Additional Duties._
An engrossed bill for imposing additional duties upon all goods, wares,
and merchandise, imported from any foreign port or place, was read the
third time, and recommitted to a Committee of the Whole to-day.
The House accordingly resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on
the bill; and, after some time spent therein, the Committee rose and
reported the bill to the House without amendment.
Mr. BIGELOW.--Mr. Speaker, it is well known that I have been uniformly
opposed to the measures which have drained the Treasury of its
money--more particularly to those measures of the present session,
which have rendered necessary such large appropriations, and laid the
foundation for an expense which no man can calculate. But, sir, as
those appropriations have been made; as expenses have been and must be
incurred; the means of payment must be provided. Sir, I hold it to be
a sound political principle--a principle from which this Government
never ought to depart--that the creation of public debt ought to be
accompanied with the means of its extinguishment. This principle was
strongly recommended in the administration of WASHINGTON, by the then
Secretary of the Treasury, in a report to Congress on the subject of
finance. He stated it to be the true secret for rendering public credit
immortal, and expressed a fervent hope that the Government of the
United States would always adhere to it. The arguments in favor of this
principle are plain and obvious. The public credit must be supported,
or the Government will lose the confidence of the people. The public
credit must be supported, or you put at hazard the best interests of
the country; you hazard, indeed, the very existence of the Government.
In popular Governments there is always a reluctance to laying burdens
upon the people. If, then, while creating a public debt, we neglect to
provide the means of payment, what will be the consequence? Will it be
less difficult or unpopular to do this after the debt has accumulated
to an enormous amount? No, sir. Depend upon it, the longer you delay
to provide the means for discharging the public debt, the greater will
be the risk and difficulty of doing it. What will be the consequence
of such neglect? Sir, the country will be deluged with Treasury notes;
these notes will depreciate, like the old continental money--the
whole history of which every one, acquainted with the history of the
Revolution, knows to be a history of public and private frauds. Sir,
the floodgates of corruption will be opened upon us. Already, sir,
tigers and sharks are feasting, in anticipation, on their prey.
Impressed, as I am, with the importance of the principle, that the
creation of public debt ought to be accompanied with the means of its
extinguishment, I confess it was with no little astonishment I learnt,
that doubling the duties on imported articles was the only means
to be provided; that, after the House had solemnly resolved upon a
system of taxation, embracing various subjects, and intended, as was
stated, to equalize upon the people of the different States, as far
as possible, the burden of taxation, that only one of those has been
selected, and that one the most unjust, the most unequal, and the most
mischievous of the whole. These remarks are not made, Mr. Speaker, from
an apprehension that doubling the duties on imported articles will
not effectually open the eyes of the people. Sir, it will be the most
unpopular tax you can impose. The people of this country--particularly
the eastern sections of it, upon whom this tax will bear peculiarly
hard--are too enlightened not to know, to see, and to feel, the
operation which an additional duty of 100 per cent. upon imported
articles will have upon them. They are too enlightened not to know that
this will be but the beginning of sorrow. Neither, sir, are they so
ignorant as not to know that the five millions of dollars which it is
calculated to raise by doubling the duties, will not discharge a loan
of eleven millions, and Treasury notes to the amount of five millions
more; much less that it will defray the expenses of the war. Yes, sir,
they will at once see, that, sooner or later, other taxes must and will
be resorted to. The true policy, then, of the United States is, in the
outset, to lay the foundation of a sure and certain revenue, and not to
depend, in a state of war, upon a revenue to be derived from a source
so uncertain as that of commerce. My objection is not that revenue
ought not to be raised, but to the present mode.
I have stated, sir, that this is an unjust measure. Let us for a moment
look at its operation. There is, probably, at a moderate calculation,
seventy millions' worth of imported goods now in the United States,
which have paid only the present rate of duties. Taking the calculation
of the Secretary of the Treasury as correct, that thirty-five millions
of imported goods yield a revenue, at the present rate of duties, of
five millions, the seventy millions now in the United States have paid
duties to the amount of ten millions.
What then will be the consequence of passing this bill? The owners of
the imported goods now in the United States are men who understand
their own interest. The moment, therefore, you pass this bill, and
impose double duties upon goods to be imported, the owners of goods now
on hand will increase the price as much at least as the amount of the
present rate of duties. The purchasers of these goods, therefore, will
have to pay to the owners ten millions of dollars more than the present
value. You will of course lay a tax of ten millions of dollars upon
the purchasers and consumers of these goods, without benefiting the
Treasury a single cent.
Does this, sir, comport with the principles of justice? Is it right
to take from one part of the community ten millions of dollars and
put it into the hands of another part? In opposing this measure, I
am not advocating the interest of the merchant, but of the farmer,
the tradesman, and mechanic. I am not willing that the people whom I
represent, in addition to the taxes they must pay to carry on the war,
should also pay such an enormous tax to the merchant.
Mr. MITCHILL expressed his sentiments as being favorable to an
augmentation of the duties on imports; though he was quite unprepared
to give his assent to such increase in the terms proposed by the bill.
It is therein proposed, sir, to double the existing customs. I think
this is not the best way of accomplishing the object intended. The bill
is brought before us for the avowed purpose of raising money. The mode
proposed is, by an addition of one hundred per cent. on the sums levied
upon imported merchandise. Now, although I am friendly to a revision of
our tariff, and to such an amendment of it as will materially increase
the receipts at the Treasury, I am very far from believing the method
now proposed for that purpose is the one we ought to adopt.
I object to the plan, because it takes for granted that the rate
of duties now extant in our statutes is precisely what it ought
to be. This I humbly conceive is not the fact. A brief recital of
our commercial system inwards, will show it. The impost, until the
adoption of the constitution of 1787, belonged to the respective
States. When the Government went into operation in 1789, it took the
direction and the profits of the custom-houses. One of the earliest
acts of the legislators, which, on that occasion, assembled at New
York, was to fix the sums which each denomination or parcel of foreign
merchandise should pay on being admitted into our country. This was
done, in the first instance, with all the skill which the patriotism
and intelligence of the members of the first Congress permitted.
From session to session, and from time to time, it was altered and
improved. The last memorable amendment, was, if I recollect right,
in the year 1804. Then, a variety of articles which had paid an _ad
valorem_ duty were _specifically_ enumerated and charged with duties
conformably. At that time our tariff was admirably calculated to answer
its several purposes. Much thought and profound knowledge had been
bestowed, to mature it, and render it as complete as possible. It was
at that time peculiarly and happily calculated for the good of the
nation.
But eight years have elapsed since that table of duties was arranged.
During that term, prodigious changes have taken place in the commercial
world. The principal part of the European Continent, from the Baltic to
the Mediterranean, and from the Atlantic to the Adriatic, have bowed
to the sovereignty of the Emperor of the French. He has published his
modern and enormous tariff, and caused it to be enforced throughout
his extensive dominions. Tobacco, cotton, and other great articles
of American produce, have been subjected to excessive and almost
prohibitory imposts.
Memorable alterations have been made, during the aforesaid period,
in the insular tariff--I mean of the British dominions. Their
regulations, as relate to lumber and the heavy materials of our growth,
as well as to the exportation of their own manufactures, have been
materially tightened and straightened. Their charges for convoy, port
accommodations, light-houses, and quarantine, are exceedingly heavy. It
is high time they should be examined, and thoroughly understood.
A great change has also taken place in the colonial system. France
has lost Martinique, Guadaloupe, and the Isle of Bourbon. Neither the
East nor the West Indies contain any provinces owing allegiance to the
Corsican Emperor. All the rum, sugar, coffee, and molasses of those
productive regions, were now English--and with the English nation
we were now at war. In like manner, the Batavian colonies had been
forced to submit to the Mistress of the Seas; and Guiana, the Cape
of Good Hope, Batavia, the Spice Islands, and all the other foreign
possessions of the Dutch, had yielded to her conquering power. All
their productions were now Anglican; and we could only obtain them from
or through an enemy.
Our own country had been transformed, during the last eight years,
into a situation exceedingly different from what it had ever been
before. It has taken many strides towards independence. The soil has
been more profoundly explored, and found to contain innumerable and
invaluable productions, which the mineralogist examines with pride,
and the economist turns to profit. The forest and the fields have been
proved to rear more indigenous plants, and to be capable of maturing
more exotic ones, than any observer had supposed. And the arts, trades,
and manufactures, which have arisen among us, have progressed with a
thriftiness of which I can cite you no example.
Mr. M. then took a survey of the three great purposes intended to be
furthered by the duties on imported merchandise. The first of these
was the collection of money for the Treasury; the second, was the
countervailing of other nations, by accommodating our duty to theirs;
and the third was to protect our infant and growing manufactures. He
contended that the mode proposed by the bill now before the House was
very imperfect in all these relations. It was unskilfully devised.
It did not contain those evidences of care and sagacity that ought
to beam in every feature. He was not willing to legislate in this
way--by a hop, step, and a jump. He wished the tariff to be varied in
such a manner as to suit the actual state of things, and the existing
condition of society and business. With such vast changes in the
commercial and manufacturing departments, both at home and abroad, who
could reconcile himself to a regulation, now antiquated, and differing
almost _toto cælo_, from the real _desideratum_.
Double duties on articles where great value was united to small bulk,
as in watches of gold and silver, and in precious stones, pearls and
jewelry of all kinds, might be an inducement to smuggling. Already we
know the temptation was too great to be resisted under the present
duties, and if they were augmented to the amount proposed, what
evasions might not be feared?
Mr. BLEECKER.--Mr. Speaker: I was happy to observe on Saturday that
the vote of the majority was not so uniform on this bill as usual.
This circumstance very much fortifies the arguments urged against it
on this side of the House, and proves that the opposition cannot be
referred merely to the spirit of party. Indeed, sir, the objections
to the increase of duty contemplated by this bill are so palpable and
obvious to my mind, that I still hope it will not finally pass. It will
be unequal and unfair in its operation in many respects. It will give a
vast advantage to the merchants who now have goods on hand over those
whose goods are not yet in the country, and which will be imported
after the passage of this bill. The additional duty will by the former
be added to the price of the goods, and thus an enormous profit will
be given them. But this is comparatively a minor consideration. It is
to be regretted, sir, that we have not a fair, just, and equal system
of internal taxation, judiciously devised, with a wise reference to
the feelings and temper of the people. But, in all our late plans and
schemes, we appear to go on without any reference at all to the temper
and feelings of the people. A revenue derived altogether from duties
on imports must always be unequal in its operation on different parts
of the country, and different classes of the community. There will
be districts of the country--there will be whole States--in which
manufactures will be carried on to a great extent; while other parts
of the country, and other States, have few or no manufactures. In this
respect there will be a serious inequality between manufacturing
and nonmanufacturing States. Again, sir, it is said that the duty
will be paid by the consumer. But it is not invariably true that the
consumer pays the duty. The whole of it is sometimes paid by the
consumer; it is sometimes divided between the importer and consumer,
and not unfrequently falls altogether on the importer. This depends
on a variety of circumstances--principally the state of the market.
When the market is overstocked, a great portion of it must fall on the
merchant. There must often be in this country a state of things which
renders it difficult or impossible to add the amount of the duty to the
price of the commodity. What the state of things, and what the market
will be during the war, for which this revenue is to be provided, it
is difficult to foresee; for what sort of a war we are to have, no one
can tell. It will perhaps be another anomaly furnished by American
politics. I believe, however, by the way, that gentlemen, who expect
much of "the pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war," will be
much disappointed.
But, sir, admitting with the gentlemen on the other side, that the
additional duty provided by this bill will be paid by the consumers
of imported articles, if the consumption is much more in one part of
the country than in another, the burdens of the war will be imposed
very unequally and unjustly. Now it was proved to demonstration by the
intelligent and accurate gentleman from Connecticut, (Mr. PITKIN,)
that the consumption of imported articles is much greater in one
section of the country than in the other. His statement and arguments
on this subject have not been denied. Indeed, the candid and honorable
gentleman who advocated this bill on Saturday, (Mr. BIBB,) admitted
that it would not operate equally. It will impose the burdens of the
war on the Atlantic, the commercial, States. It is true, sir, that
many imported articles are consumed in every part of the Union. Tea
and coffee, as the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. SMILIE) told us,
are used in the Western country. But the great consumption of foreign
goods is in the Atlantic States; and, more than anywhere else, in the
Northeastern section, the most commercial States.
I know, sir, that this topic is regarded by many gentlemen as
ungracious and invidious. But legislating as we are for a confederated
Republic, it is worse than idle not to regard the character, situation,
and interest of the people, in the several sections of the Union; and
I ask gentlemen who are so ardent in the war, whose bosoms seem to
glow with patriotic fire, is it just and fair to abandon the internal
taxes and impose so much of the burden of the war upon the people of
the Northern and Eastern States, the majority of whom are known to be
opposed to it; whose hearts and souls are not in the business; who
are driven, and dragged, and forced into a war, in which they will
go with you no further, nor any longer, than a patriotic obedience
to the constitution and laws of the country requires; a war which
they consider unwise, impolitic, inexpedient, and ruinous; a war
which must annihilate their commerce; that commerce to which they owe
their rapid progress in population, in the arts of civilized life, in
knowledge, in literature, in all that adorns and makes society valuable
and interesting? From this people, in such a war, you have little to
expect. While we are talking of the protection of commerce and the
violation of neutral rights, they see us adopt the most effectual means
to destroy all their commerce.
Another objection of no little importance, that has been urged against
this bill, is its tendency to promote smuggling. Before the restrictive
system, which, however well meant by many, has proved so inefficacious
and ruinous, we had in this country a system of commercial morals, of
which we had much reason to boast. Such was the purity and fairness
of the mercantile character that in no other country in the world was
the revenue arising from duties on imports so punctually paid, so
easily and cheaply collected, and with the aid of so few officers. But
the unfortunate policy adopted in 1806 has destroyed the purity and
elevation of commercial morals. Evasions and violations of the laws
are no longer disreputable. And what, sir, must be the situation of a
country in which a constant evasion and open violation of the laws are
not reprobated by public sentiment. The moral and patriotic observer
will see with pain and mortification that we are about to add to the
temptations to increase the stimulus to evasions and violations of the
laws, still more to debase and degrade the commercial character of the
country.
There is, sir, another important view of the subject before us at this
moment. The increase of the duty, a reliance upon the impost as the
means of supporting the war, in connection with the abandonment of the
internal taxes, affords an instructive practical lesson on the nature
of our Government. It teaches you that it is unfit for the purposes
of foreign and offensive war. If gentlemen are now afraid to impose
the taxes, they must believe that the people will not bear them. And,
indeed, sir, few cases will occur in which the people will submit to
support the burdens of an offensive war. Seldom will the Government be
able to carry on such a war. But, sir, the conduct of those gentlemen
of the majority who are for imposing additional duties and abandoning
the taxes, proves another thing. If, when they have just entered upon
the war, they hesitate, and are afraid to exact of the people the means
necessary to carry it on, they must be conscious that the war is not so
popular as they have imagined, for if the people are so hearty in the
business as gentlemen have professed to believe, if they think the war
a wise, politic, and necessary measure, they cannot be unwilling to be
taxed a little for its support.
Mr. BRIGHAM.--Mr. Speaker, the protection and the regulation of
commerce has become a prime object of legislation. This bill provides
for the doubling of the duties on all imported merchandise.
Sir, the restrictive system has operated very severely on the
commercial part of the community--it has been the source of much
complaint. The commercial class of our fellow-citizens have been
oppressed; they have been impoverished by the policy of their own
Government, and they have been soliciting their rulers for relief.
They complained of the first embargo; what did they get? why,
non-intercourse. They complained of the non-intercourse, and you soon
gave them non-importation; when they complained of the non-importation,
they had, in addition to the evil complained of, a second embargo. They
then complained and prayed for the repeal of both these laws, and you
have given them a declaration of war--an open war against the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof.
They complain of this war, and you give them double duties on all
imported merchandise.
Sir, commerce, and the regulation of commerce, have become the Alpha
and the Omega; it is the cause of war--it is the professed object
and end of war; and by this bill, you are making provision for this
very class of citizens, who have been thus complaining, oppressed and
impoverished, to support the war by paying double duties.
Mr. Speaker, this increase of impost is a tax which, in my opinion,
will operate unjustly and unequally. It is imposing a heavier burden on
the Eastern and Northern, than on the Southern and Western States.
The former are under the necessity of importing and of consuming more
of the foreign manufactures, than the Southern States; and though
they are a hardy race, they are not able to encounter the severities
and rigors of the Northern winters without a much greater quantity of
clothing than is necessary for the people in the Southern climates.
Sir, the people in the Eastern States have been reduced in their
supplies; they have not been able to carry on their ordinary domestic
manufactures for want of the necessary means to prepare the crude
article for manufacture; and during this long session they have been
memorializing Congress, and praying that they might be allowed to
import the article of wire, and of such size as is not manufactured
within the limits of the United States, for the making of cards,
necessary to prepare cotton and wool for the making of cloth; but they
have not been permitted. Many have solicited Congress for leave to
import such goods and merchandise as were ordered and paid for before
the issuing of the President's proclamation in November, 1810; but
without success.
Mr. POTTER was in favor of a recommitment, but for other reasons
than those assigned by the mover. He wished it referred, to give an
opportunity to ascertain the sentiments of the House on the subject of
the repeal, or the partial suspension, of the present non-importation
act.
Mr. P. said he had found more pleasure in the pursuit of many of the
things of this world, than in the possession of them; and he found it,
in some measure, so with those who had been very zealous in the pursuit
of war. They appeared to him to have taken more pleasure in the pursuit
of their favorite object, than in the enjoyment of it; and he was not
sorry to see that the war spirit had already began to evaporate, and
the cold calculating spirit, so much reprobated at the commencement of
this session, becoming more fashionable.
Mr. P. had been induced to believe from the zealous patriotism
displayed this session, that this was to be a fighting, and not a
trading war; that those who had so generously pledged their lives in
support of the present war, would have had an opportunity of fighting,
and that those who had in the same manner pledged their fortunes in
support of any measure adopted by the Administration, would have an
opportunity of paying.
Mr. P. thought we had commenced this war for the protection of our
commerce and the encouragement of our manufactories, and not for the
purpose of extending the commerce and encouraging the manufactories
of Great Britain; as by this war, with the partial importation act,
(contemplated for the purpose of revenue,) we at once destroy our own
commerce, by placing in the hands of the English the greatest part we
have at sea, leaving the remainder useless, to rot at our wharves.
We destroy our manufactories of cotton by the strange selection, in
our partial importation act. We give to Great Britain advantages in
this war, that she has not enjoyed in time of peace. We surrender
to her what many say she has been contending for--the commerce of
the world--by giving her an opportunity of supplying us with her
merchandise under the flag of her friends; and, in the first onset of
this war, implicitly acknowledge our dependence upon them; that we
cannot do without their manufactures to clothe the nation, nor without
their commerce, to raise a revenue to carry on the war. Mr. P. said,
if he had been in favor of this war, it would have been painful to him
to be compelled to acknowledge that the people in this country, who
pretended to sigh so much for war, would not bear the least privations,
or consent in any event to pay taxes, but must depend upon their enemy
to clothe them, and to furnish them with an indirect commerce to raise
a revenue to fight them with. Mr. P. said a war thus carried on must be
without an object--very ruinous to this country and of long duration;
for, if Great Britain can send her manufactures into the United States
at high prices, and purchase our produce almost at her own price, and
be the exclusive carrier, both ways, in her own ships, under the flag
of neutrals entirely under her control; she can have no object in
making peace.
Mr. P. said if the non-importation act should be repealed or suspended
in part, agreeable to the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury,
and we are to have a trading war, we shall have a revenue sufficient
to answer all our purposes, without increasing our duties at all, as
we can disband our army and reduce our expenses, as the difference of
expense between a trading and a fighting war will be so great that
the present rate of duties will answer all our purposes; but, if the
non-importation act should not be repealed or suspended, we shall have
no importations of importance for the double duties to operate upon;
for, if you double your duties under such circumstances, by which you
raise one million of dollars, what is the operation upon the consumer?
Allowing, which is certainly the fact, that the whole amount of goods
in the country at this time is equal to one year's importation, which
would have given the Government a revenue of at least fifteen millions
of dollars, the present holder of the goods in this country will
immediately add the double duties to his present price, which will be
increased in consequence of the war; so that the consumers will have
to pay the present holders of the goods now in this country at least
fifteen millions of dollars, of which the Government's obtaining one
million of dollars on future importations, you compel the consumer to
pay at least sixteen.
Mr. P. said he would for a moment examine the letter from the Secretary
of the Treasury on the subject of revenue, recommending a partial
suspension of the present non-importation act. He calculates that,
by doubling the duties on such partial importation, allowing that we
should import only half as much from Great Britain in time of war as
in peace, that the duties would amount to the same. Here again, you
have no mercy on the consumers; as the operation in the first place
will be to give Great Britain double her prices for her goods, on which
the Government gets double duties, all which is to be paid by the
consumer, when the price of his produce is to decrease in much the same
proportion.
Mr. P. had heard much, on former occasions, about the encouragement of
our manufactories, and, although he never was himself for encouraging
them at the expense of the farmer, or the depression of our commerce,
yet he could but lament that, after the commercial spirit of the
country was almost broken down, and many of our commercial and
seafaring citizens had been compelled to quit their former employment
and resort to manufacturing for the support of their families, that the
labor of that valuable class of citizens were next to be assailed; for,
in examining the bill on our tables, in consequence of the letter of
the Secretary of the Treasury, recommending the partial importation,
what will be the effect upon the cotton factories? All cotton cloth
under fifteen pence and over three shillings per square yard, prime
cost, is to be prohibited, and all between these two prices are to be
imported, so that the quality almost exclusively manufactured, and in
general use in this country, is to be permitted.
Mr. P. thought this a very left-handed way of encouraging the
manufactures of this country; but it seems as though every
consideration in time of war as well as peace, is to be sacrificed
for the purpose of collecting money from the people in a manner the
most likely for them to remain in ignorance of the burdens that the
Government imposes upon them.
A motion was then made by Mr. RANDOLPH to amend the bill by striking
out the words "one hundred" before the words "per centum" in the first
section; and the question thereon being taken, it was determined in the
negative--yeas 50, nays 75.
SATURDAY, June 27.
_Naturalization Law._
Mr. LACOCK said that he should not offer any subject for the
consideration of the House at this late stage of the session, had he
not been convinced the subject was such as required the immediate
interposition of Congress. It would be found, by an examination of the
naturalization laws, that, after the declaration of war with Great
Britain, the courts were prohibited from naturalizing any foreigners,
although they might have registered their names and resided in the
country during the probationary period required by law. To these
persons, it appeared, the Government was pledged, and the change of the
relation between the two countries, did not lessen the obligation the
Government was under to redeem that pledge, and admit those persons
to the rights of citizens. It would, moreover, be recollected that,
by the State laws, those persons were made subject to perform militia
duty, and that, as volunteers, or otherwise, they would compose a part
of our Army; and, perhaps, while in this situation, might be taken and
punished as traitors by their Government. No apprehension of danger
could be entertained by their admission to the rights of citizens.
They were, most of them, attached strongly to our Government, and
sought this country as an asylum from oppression, &c. He was, by these
considerations, induced to offer the following resolution:
"_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the
expediency of so amending the naturalization laws of the United
States as to admit to the rights of citizenship such aliens
as have emigrated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland and her dependencies to the United States or her
Territories previous to the eighteenth day of June, 1812, and
that the committee have leave to report by bill or otherwise."
The resolution was agreed to, and Messrs. LACOCK, EMOTT, and TROUP,
were appointed a committee accordingly.
MONDAY, July 6.
_Adjournment._
A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have
concurred in the resolution for the appointment of a joint committee
to wait on the President of the United States, and inform him of the
proposed recess of Congress; that the President of the United States
did, this day, approve and sign "An act respecting the pay of the
Army of the United States;" and that the Senate, having completed the
legislative business before them, are ready to adjourn.
Mr. NEWTON, from the committee appointed to wait on the President of
the United States and inform him of the proposed recess of Congress,
reported that the committee had performed that service, and that the
President answered, that he had no further communication to make.
_Ordered_, That a message be sent to the Senate to inform them that
this House, having completed the business before them, are now ready to
adjourn; and that the clerk do go with the said message.
The clerk accordingly went with the said message; and, having returned,
the Speaker adjourned the House until the first Monday in November
next.