n 3 h'c ar linagazette vol 9 saturday june j 17 04 (*** 43p a meafare thoirgh that attempt wire ro far would injure the foreign credit cf america adverting to ther*i~dtance with which tax es were granted mr fitziimons faidf that it was not the mere palling ot an aft to for tiry ports and harbours ot to build fleets • that would do fervice a&s muft likewife be patt for the railing of money hdirttt taxes had been highly cenfured but in the prefent pofture of affairs they were ab folutcly neccflary the irnpoft as he had before obferved uas bat a precario s re fuurce as to the land tax which had been fpoke of it was oufhed in the committee by the whole members at once w;rh an excep tion of eight or ten gentleman if thefe taxes were firuck out it would frill be ne ceflary to recur to a land tax y\x s smitfi faid vhat the member from virginia was mifinformed as to the number of the american army they were confi derab'y higher than two thoufand ke ap proved of moft of the taxes already voted if the fum produced by them fhculd happen to exceed the expenfes of the current year he law nothing wrong in that a furplus in the treafury was a good thing if it fliou'd chance o exift.lt would jie hoped be appli ed to diminifh that bugbe.ir the national debt as to what had been remarked by the member from pennfylvania mr fiizfi mons with 1 efpect to the dimunition of imports this year they were not fo great indeed as in 1793 but greater than they were in 1792 at i\ew-york there had this year been i prodigious importation he would not controvert the aftertion with regard to the port of philadelphia but a month ago a friend of his had bought in this town an hundred and fifty hogfheads offugar at twelve dollars per hundred weight and the gentleman himfeif had two days ago ftated in this houfe that the price of fugar was only ten dollars per hundred weight ot confequcme the fup plies muft have been confiderablc fince the commodity had funk fo confiderably in its value . to baltimore vait quantities of pro duce had been imported from he weft-in dies of eritifli goods greater fupplies were coining over from england than had been ever knswii he had ftated the aug mentation ot impoft under the imprefiion of there being no war he was quite a ware that if fuch an event took place there was an-end to thnt profpech mr w pmith we ought not to de pend on thi exining revels of impoft whatever he importation of this spring maybe thofe of the fall muft come iar fhorr of them he recommended a ftate of readmefs for contingencies , and he en tered into a variety of official details to af certi;n the propriety of adopting effe&ual meaiures to rai;c money for the public fer ice mr nicholas apprehend no danger of a war 1 hecondua of the american govern ment had been fo moderate and pacihe that it held out the greaieft encouragement to foreign merchants for fending their pro perty to this country the executive had ihewn that no outrages on the part of britain would drive the united states into meafures that might lead to a war mr sedgwick obferved that there had this day been fome repetition of arguments formerly ufed he was not fure if he was free moie than others from this imputa tion ; but at prefent he fhouid not engrofs muci of the time of the committee he had heard two extnodinary aftertions one was that if the congrefs were to pafs this tax on carriages the people of virginia would no fubrrit to it ir there be fuch a diitrict in the united states it was t : me that the houfe fhouid now it hr was not to be deterred by talk of that kind from doing his duty republicans and not ub mit to a majority ! he did not believe any fuch thhtp he had a better opinion of the citizens of virginia ; mi he was fatisfied that it any body die had advanced iuch a thing the member himfeif would not have iuftcred it to pals whhont animadverfion lhe fecond furprifing information which ha had heard this day came from the jame gentleman mr nicholas tie had fpoke ot the national debij that price o our liberty in a very exceptionabe ftyle { i his was in the ferft o r the two fpeedie ' of which tucre has already been given a fketch in this part oi it we were prevented by an accidental noife trom heaiii.g e actw what mr nicholas faid ; a circumftance that mult ferve as an apology for numerous omiffionsinthe detail of theie debates mr sedgwick concluded with declaring that ne couiri fee no harm in having a fur pluffage in the treafury to difcharge a part oi the public debt j if there mould hjocn to be luch a thing ** 1 he queftion a to ftriking out this refo lution for the taxation of carriages was laid afide for this day without any divifion rhere was then read a refolution that after the day of there hall be paid a uarhp d*iy for hcenfes certificates o admiflnonofiojicitors attorneys clerks advocate projors and other officers of courts live dollars mr ames recommended this tax ; «< the moit of us laid he » are lawyers this tax on ourfelves will ferve as fomctort of an atonement to the public for the reft ot the bitter pills that are going through the houfe in fad the burden wjj not fall upon us but upon our clients as every duty is ulti mateiy paid by the coniumer : for this is a tax on the con umpiion of juftice mr mierbourne did not think that the paffi g cf this tax as it iiood would be any kind of mark of difintereftednefs in that houfe ; becaufe it was only a tax on the ad miffioii of praaitioners and the gentlemen on tins floor ; frord an evidence of our fel fifhnefs in wifhing.to keep others out of the buimefs than of any t:iink eife mr sherbourne ftrong'y recommended an anl niaal tax 5 on ali pr.aitiorersof law both thufe w ho had been heretofore admitted and ihofe who ihould be admitted in future for his own part he ihould very cheeriulii pay h.s lhare of he burden •. mr scotc would vote for totally ftriking cut this refoluition he never fhouid con fent to the taxation of any lawful employ ment r ' mr kittera faw nothing in the objediou of his co league mr scott as to the tax ing of a lawful employment innkeepers are taxed ; and government has a right to tax them it would be an infrance of inde licacy in the houfe to tax others and re fufe to tax themfelves law was generally confidered as a lucrative profeffion and as fuch might afford a tax in reality it was not fo much a tax on the cxercife of a pro feffion as certificates of a right to exercifc if jn the fame way a farmer muft pro duce a title to his land : before lie begins to work them ; and for this he muft pay the cafes had fome relemblance mr courne informed the gentleman from new-hamplhirc mr sherbourne that it was intended by the feled committee to be a tax on prefent practitioners as well as on others who were to be admitted in future mr boudinot confidered the tax as an ex-p oft facto law with regard to gentle men who were now entered in the cours of juftice it was a tax upon fomething al ready in one's poiteflion mr s smith only rofe to notice the difference between the ft le of the gentle man's arguments of this day and of ycfter day 1 o-day he would not tax ny thing that was already in our poftefron but yef tcrday h made no fcruplesof taxing carri age though they had been long enough proceedings of con^refs house of representatives of the united states thursday may 8 mr w smiih laid that it would be im proper to take off the embargo as to vcffcls or the weft-indies but in regard to otlurs lie thought that they might be fuffered to go mr giits faid that from what he had heard referring perhaps to what had fallen from mr s smith he was more than e ver convinced of the impropriety of lofing the embargo we had lent an agent to the v^dl-indks it would be wrong to rake eff the embargo till we had at leaft fome hue'h^ence from him iv;r fitzii'.nons re.cmmended a delay of a few days till we fhoum hear from lome qu irter farther on the n-atter mr l man was forry that the refolution had been laid on the table it would lead to an idea that the embargo was 10 be taken off an i of this he had no conception mr heifter wjs of opin ; on that the em bargo fliouid be taken up at a very early day he faw no reafen why it hould be delayed at a'l the queftion mould be decided in fuflkient time to let intelligence be convey ed to the extremities of the union by the common way withou the expenfe of fend ing expreiles jt required thirteen days to and notice to georgia ; and if people did not receive pofltive noticethat it was to continue they would confideritaslaidafide air s iilhoufe mr bourne and mr kit tera fpoke rach a few words mr i race y ended he converfauonby obferving that the who'e day would be fpen in talking whe ther or not this bufinefsfhould be taken up i his was mere trifling put it to vote at once 1 he queftion was put and the refolution was deferred the houfe then went into a committee en he report of the ways and means mr lucrbourne in the clip.ir ' he difcuflion of the tax on carriages was refumedi it had citerday been moved to itri'-.c out the refo'ution mr nicholas was of opinion that an ad di ion of two and an half to the import of feven and an half per cent of impoir would be more than fufficient for fupplying all the money wanted under this head the mem ber went into a vaiitry of eflimates to prove his afiertions he likewiie faid that if the iloui'e were to pafs th:s aft the courts of juuice in virginia would not fupport or enforce ir ; and what could the houfe do in that c fe ? as one reafon why much mo ney ought not to be wanted he laid that inftead of five thoufand men the american army did not confift of more than two thoufand mr fitzfimons faid that if the houfe did not want the money he hoped that they hould not attempt to raife it bur he did not agree with the gentleman who fpoke hit as to the non exiitence of a neceflity of that fort 1 e flated a variety of reafoas for differing in opinion from the member on this point mr s smith had fatd t at the imports of 1794 woum equal thofe of 1792 1 his would not be the cafe in the portofrhilad iphia ; they were lefs than they had been formerly and they were de cre-ifin among thefe rticles the im portatron of wine both from europe and madeira was much iefiened upon the whole of this profpeel he cou'd not infer that the propofed two and an half per cent of additional import would be productive a war f it took place would put anend to the ir.oft of it gentlemen had no longer ago than yef terdav fpoke of renewing the fequeftration bulinefs the very attempt to carry fuch