Part 176

Mr. J. CLAY observed, that since the House had agreed to strike out the provision for completing the barracks, he had understood that more money had been applied to this purpose than had been appropriated, and that it had been drawn from the private funds of one of the officers, under an understanding with the Head of the Department. He, therefore, moved to restore the item “for completing the marine barracks at the city of Washington, three thousand five hundred dollars.”

Mr. D. R. WILLIAMS said he should not make any objection to this motion. He would only call the attention of the House to the regard they had heretofore manifested to specific appropriations, under the hope that something would be done to circumscribe contingencies. He believed that this particular sum had been expended much to the interest of the country.

Mr. LEIB said, he was not very fond of making appropriations in this way--for particular officers to run into unauthorized expenditures, and then to call on Congress to make good the deficiency. Is this a provision for completing the house for the commandant? Is that the marine barracks? If not, then under what appropriation is it made? Is it under that of contingencies? Look at the buildings at the navy yard; is all this expense incurred out of the contingent fund? If it is not, it is not authorized by law. Mr. L. said, he did not know that he should make any objection to this item; but he thought it full time to check this loose mode of procedure.

The question was then put, and the motion of Mr. J. CLAY was agreed to without a division.

Mr. D. R. WILLIAMS said, he wished so to modify that part of the bill which appropriated four hundred and eleven thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars “for repair of vessels, store rent, pay of armorers, freight, and other contingent expenses,” as to separate the items; to give the Department all it asked, but fix a particular sum to each item.

Mr. CONRAD opposed the motion, and remarked that the expenditure under one item might fall short of the sum appropriated, which would require that the deficiency should be made up from the surplus of another.

Mr. DANA said this amendment was warranted by the former usage of the House, and the message of the President of the United States. At the first session of the seventh Congress the President had observed that--

“In our care, too, of the public contributions intrusted to our direction, it would be prudent to multiply barriers against their dissipation, by appropriating specific sums to every specific purpose susceptible of definition; by disallowing all applications of money, varying from the appropriation in object, or transcending it in amount; by reducing the undefined field of contingencies, and thereby circumscribing discretionary powers over money.”

This opinion had been given five years ago; and they might now infer that it had been found that it could not be carried into effect, as to the military or naval service. Mr. D. said he considered the gentleman from South Carolina as bringing up this question directly before the House: Will you adhere to specific appropriations, or will you abandon them? Mr. D. said he had never been in favor of them in relation to the Navy or Army.

The question was then taken on the motion of Mr. D. R. WILLIAMS, which was disagreed to--yeas 32, nays 51--when the committee rose, and reported the bill, which was passed without a division.

MONDAY, April 14.

Duty on Salt.

Mr. J. RANDOLPH said he was about to call the attention of the House to a subject which he should not have probably brought into view, but for the change wrought in the state of the revenue, in consequence of the peace with Tripoli. Among the different articles from which moneys were drawn, there was none so heavily burdened as salt; and it would be recollected that it was one of the necessaries of life, and an article, the free use and consumption of which was of material importance to the agriculture of the country. Two acts had been passed laying a duty on this article. It was no new thing to wish--it was, indeed, extremely desirable to diminish, if not to take off this duty, and for that purpose he submitted the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee of Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of repealing so much of any act as lays a duty on salt; and to report such provision as may, in their opinion, be calculated to meet the deficiency occasioned by that repeal.

Mr. THOMAS said the Committee of Ways and Means, of which the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. J. RANDOLPH,) who has made the motion, was and still is Chairman, were instructed by this House in the early part of last session, on a motion which he had the honor then to submit, to inquire into the expediency of reducing the duty on salt, and, if he recollected right, they were directed to report by bill, or otherwise; but, from some cause or other, to him unknown, that committee had never yet made any report on that subject. Courtesy might induce him to impute this neglect to the multiplicity of business put into the hands of the members of that committee.

He, Mr. T., always considered the duty on this article too high, and falling particularly heavy on the agricultural part of the community. It was now, and always had been his wish, to reduce it as soon as our revenue would permit, if consistent with the provisions made for paying off our national debt, and meeting the other exigencies of Government. For his part, he was at a loss, however, to discover that the present situation of our revenue, and the calls on Government for expenditure, together with the present aspect of our foreign relations, warranted this measure more now than last year. It was true that the war with the Barbary Powers up the Mediterranean had ceased, but it was also true, that the two and a half per cent. additional duty on goods paying ad valorem duties has likewise ceased with the peace concluded with Tripoli. This duty was laid for the support of, and was more than adequate to the expense of that war.

Mr. J. RANDOLPH said he certainly did not deny the existence of such a resolution. He had only observed that he did not recollect having received it from the Clerk.

The Clerk read the resolution offered last session by Mr. THOMAS, on the 7th of December, 1804, which was such as he had stated, and which appeared to have received the sanction of the House.

Mr. ALSTON then moved that the resolution should be referred to a Committee of the Whole, which, after a few words in opposition by Mr. LEIB, was disagreed to--yeas 22; when the original motion obtained without a division.

WEDNESDAY, April 16.

Duties on Salt.

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill repealing the acts laying duties on salt, and continuing in force for a certain time the first section of the act, entitled “An act further to protect the commerce and seamen of the United States against the Barbary Powers,” as follows:

SEC. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That from and after the ---- day of ---- next, so much of any act, or acts, as lays a duty on imported salt, be, and the same hereby is, repealed, and from and after the day aforesaid, salt shall be imported into the United States free of duty.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the first day of January next, so much of any act, or acts, as allows a bounty on exported salt provisions, and pickled fish, in lieu of drawback of the duties on the salt employed in curing the same, and so much of any act, or acts, as makes an allowance to the owners and crews of fishing vessels, in lieu of drawback of the duties paid on the salt used by the same, shall be, and the same hereby is, repealed.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act, passed on the 25th day of March, 1804, entitled An act further to protect the commerce and seamen of the United States against the Barbary Powers, as is contained in the first section of the said act, be, and the same hereby is, continued in force until the end of the next session of Congress, and no longer.

Mr. QUINCY moved so to amend the first section as to repeal the act laying a duty on salt, additional to that originally imposed, so as to take off at present the duty of eight cents a bushel. He said he was of the opinion that taking off the whole duty on salt would have an injurious effect. A difference of twenty cents on the bushel would operate very seriously on those who had already made shipments. It was part of the duty of a legislator to avoid making such sudden changes as tended to destroy the confidence of the mercantile world in the stability of the laws. Whenever changes were made, they ought, in his opinion, to be gradual. Although he considered the general effect of this measure most important, yet, by too sudden an operation, it might affect a respectable class of individuals very injuriously. He would state the effect which he apprehended it would have. Suppose the repeal should take effect on the first day of July. A cargo of salt generally averages about four thousand bushels; the prime cost at Liverpool was about eleven cents a bushel. The cost of the cargo would, therefore, be only $440; the duty would amount to $800; the freight, &c., to about $1,000; making an aggregate of $2,240, which would be the cost in this country, on a mercantile calculation, supposing the present duties to remain in force. The present price of salt in this country was about fifty-three cents a bushel, which would produce something less than $2,240. The reason of the sum for which it is sold being less than that it costs is, that salt is merely made use of, in most cases, as a return cargo. Taking off the duty of twenty cents, would reduce the price to thirty-three cents a bushel, which would detract $920 from the value of the cargo, and would be more than double the prime cost of the salt. To so great a reduction, so suddenly made, Mr. QUINCY said he objected. He had, he said, another reason for being against the section as it stood. The duty on salt was among the duties pledged for the payment of the national debt. At the time this pledge was made, the duty was twelve cents. The additional duty of eight cents was afterwards imposed. His object was, to reduce the existing duty eight cents, and to let the original duty of twelve cents stand, at least, until some notice had been given to the mercantile world. He believed that a reduction of the duty was highly desirable, and would be very popular. He might not, perhaps, object to an entire repeal if time were allowed him to consult his constituents, some of whom might possibly be ruined by it. All things considered, he thought it would be best to reduce the duty at present eight cents. This would leave Congress at liberty, at their next session, to take the entire repeal into consideration, which might be done in case they considered it eligible.

Mr. J. RANDOLPH said he should prefer the taking off eight cents, rather than suffering the duty to remain as it stood at present; but he hoped the whole duty would be taken off. One of the objections of the gentleman to taking off the whole duty was, that the merchants who have imported salt may be injured by it, and will not be able to compete with those who have imported it duty free. But this argument operated two ways. Did it not apply differently when the duty on salt was first laid? At that time, the very man who now loses, gained in a correspondent ratio. To his mind, Mr. R. said, it was the strangest reason on earth, if this nation were in a situation to give up all its taxes, that it should be said by any gentleman, don’t repeal the laws imposing them, because my constituents, the merchants, have paid duties on some of them. If so, your taxes, so far from being diminished, may go on increasing ad infinitum. But, the truth is, we have the same right now to take off the duty on salt as our predecessors had to lay it on.

But it seems that the original duty of twelve cents was put into pledge for the payment of the national debt. We were told the same thing five years ago when we proposed to repeal the internal taxes. They were, however, repealed without any violation of the public faith, and wherefore? The nation has contracted a debt to the public creditor, and so long as the Government finds funds wherewith to pay it, the public creditor has no right to ask whether we take it from our coat or breeches pocket? whether from a land tax, an excise, or from duties on imported articles? The pledge on our side is, to find money. If, after the repeal of this duty, the ways and means for the payment of this debt are found deficient, I agree that we are bound to make good the deficiency. But what do we propose? The amount of the duty on salt is less than $600,000, and at the same time that we take this off, we impose a duty which will produce a million. We take off a duty on a necessary of life, which falls peculiarly heavy on the poor, and on agriculture, and lay an ad valorem duty on gauze, catgut, and the Lord knows what, which produces from three to five thousand dollars more.