ON THE COMPROMISE TARIFF.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 18, 1842.

[MR. CLAY, in presenting a memorial from citizens of Pennsylvania, in relation to the tariff, and in opposition to the tariff act, took occasion, as requested by the memorialists, to express his views in regard to the subject, briefly, as follows.]

Two motives had operated on my mind, and I believe on the minds of others, to induce them to concur in the passage of the law, (of 1833.) The first was, to avert the calamity of civil war, the fire of which having been lighted up in South Carolina, threatened to extend its flames over the whole union; the second was, to preserve from utter destruction the system of protection which Pennsylvania favored, when the law was passed; and I will repeat here, although it will not be long before I shall have an opportunity to go into an examination of the whole subject, that if the compromise act had not been adopted, the whole system of protection would have been swept by the board, by the preponderating influence of the illustrious man then at the head of the government, (general Jackson,) at the very next session after its enactment. With regard to the operation of this act, it is a great mistake to say, that any portion of the embarrassments of the country has resulted from it. Other causes have contributed to this result, and it is to be attributed to the experiments which have been made upon the currency. The embarrassments are also to be attributed to the action of the states, which, by plunging into schemes of internal improvement, have contracted debts abroad, and thereby given a false and fictitious appearance to the prosperity of the country; and when their bonds depreciated, the evils under which they now suffer, as a consequence, ensued. As to the compromise, I have already said, that it is my purpose, as long as I shall remain in the senate, to maintain, that the original principles of the act should be carried out faithfully and honestly; and if, in providing for an adequate revenue for an economical administration of the government, they can at the same time afford incidental protection, I shall be happy if both of these objects can be accomplished; but if it should be necessary,

for the interests of Pennsylvania, to go beyond a revenue tariff, for the purpose of obtaining protection, then I hope that every senator and representative from that state, and those of other states, and other interests, who think it necessary to transcend the revenue, will take up this subject of protection, and carry it to the point which their local interests demand.

In reply to Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Clay combated the idea of that senator, that the tariff had created the embarrassments which had existed for a long time in the country. He referred the senator to the discussions upon the tariff acts, for the purpose of showing that the reverse was true. If the senator would look to the tariff acts of 1824, '28, '32, and the compromise act of 1833, he would find that the revenues of the country had never been more from these acts, than the expenditures of government. The whole surplus revenue, about which so much had been heard, and which was attributed to the protective policy, originated exclusively in the extensive land sales, which had swelled in one year to the enormous amount of twenty-six millions of dollars. These excessive sales alone, had exceeded the amount of the surplus revenue which had ever been brought into the treasury.

Hereafter, I shall be able to show, that it will be impossible to stand by the twenty per centum, even by withdrawing the whole of the land fund from its appropriated purpose of distribution, and placing it in the treasury.

THE TARIFF, AND OTHER MEASURES OF PUBLIC POLICY.

IN SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MARCH 1, 1842.

[HAVING previously announced his determination to retire from public life, by resigning his seat in the senate, Mr. Clay submitted for the consideration of that body a series of resolutions; which, being taken up at this date, he supported in the following speech, in the course of which, the resolutions are recapitulated and explained. They relate to the tariff, and other measures of public policy, which, in his view, should be adopted, to restore the prosperity of the nation. Although these views, and the prospects of the whig party which supported them, have been but partially carried out under the administration of president Tyler, owing to the adverse position in which the president placed himself towards the party which elevated him to power; yet, it is interesting to observe the line of policy marked out by a statesman, of the enlarged views and great experience of Mr. Clay-a line of policy worthy of being transmitted to posterity, as a guide and landmark for the future legislators of the republic.]

MR. PRESIDENT,

The resolutions which have just been read, and which are to form the subject of the present discussion, are of the greatest importance, involving interests of the highest character, and a system of policy which, in my opinion, lies at the bottom of any restoration of the prosperity of the country. In discussing them, I would address myself to you in the language of plainness, of soberness, and truth. I did not come here as if I were entering a garden full of flowers, and of the richest shrubbery, to cull the tearoses, the japonicas, the jasmines, and woodbines, and weave them into a garland of the gayest colors, that, by the beauty of their assortment, and by their fragrance, I may gratify fair ladies. Nor is it my wish-it is far, far from my wish to revive any subjects of a party character, or which might be calculated to renew the animosities which unhappily have hitherto prevailed between the two great political parties in the country. My course is far different from this; it is to speak to you of the sad condition of our country; to point out not the remote and original, but the proximate, the immediate causes which have produced, and are likely to continue our distresses, and to suggest a remedy. If any one, in or out of the senate, has imagined it to be my intention, on this occasion, to indulge in any ambitious display of language, to attempt any rhetorical flights, or to deal in any other figures than figures of arithmetic, he will find himself greatly disappointed. The farmer,

if he is a judicious man, does not begin to plough till he has first laid off his land, and marked it off at proper distances, by planting stakes, by which his ploughmen are to be guided in their movements; and the ploughman, accordingly, fixes his eye upon the stake opposite to the end of the destined furrow, and then endeavors to reach it by a straight and direct furrow. These resolutions are my stakes.

But, before I proceed to examine them, let me first meet and obviate certain objections, which, as I understand, have been or may be urged against them generally. I learn that it is said of these resolutions, that they present only general propositions, and that, instead of this, I should at once have introduced separate bills, and entered into detail, and shown in what manner I propose to accomplish the objects which the resolutions propose. Let me here say, in reply, that the ancient principles and mode of legislation which has ever prevailed from the foundation of this government, has been to fix first upon the general principles which are to guide us, and then to carry out these principles by detailed legislation. Such has ever been the course pursued, not only in the country from which we derive our legislative institutions, but in our own. The memorable resolution offered in the British house of commons, by the celebrated Mr. Dunning, is no doubt familiar to the mind of every one that the power of the crown (and it is equally true of our own chief magistrate) had increased, was increasing, and ought to be diminished.' When I was a member of another legislative body, which meets in the opposite extremity of this capitol, it was the course, in reference to the great questions of internal improvement, and other leading measures of public policy, to propose specific resolutions, going to mark out the principles of action which ought to be adopted, and then to carry out these principles by subsequent enactments. Another objection is urged, as I understand, against one of these resolutions, which is this: that, by the constitution, no bill for raising revenue can originate any where but in the house of representatives. It is true, that we cannot originate such a bill; but, undoubtedly, in contemplating the condition of the public affairs, and in the right consideration of all questions touching the amount of the revenue, and the mode in which it shall be raised, and involving the great questions of expenditure and retrenchment, and how far the expenses of the government may safely and properly be diminished, it is perfectly legitimate for us to deliberate and to act as duty may demand. There can be no question but that, during the present session of congress, a bill of revenue will be sent to us from the other house; and if, when it comes, we shall first have gone through with a consideration of the general subject, fixing the principles of policy proper to be pursued in relation to it, it will greatly economize the time of the senate, and proportionably save a large amount of the public money.

Perhaps no better mode can be pursued of discussing the resolutions I have had the honor to present, than to take them up in the order of their arrangement, as I presented them to the senate, after much deliberate consideration.

The first resolution declares,

'That it is the duty of the general government, for conducting its administration, to provide an adequate revenue within the year, to meet the current expenses of the year; and that any expedient, either by loan or treasury notes, to supply, in time of peace, a deficiency of revenue, especially during successive years, is unwise, and must lead to pernicious consequences.'

I have heard it asserted, that this resolution is but a truism. If so, I regret to say, that it is one from which governments too often depart, and from which this government especially has departed during the last five years. Has an adequate revenue been provided within each of those years, to meet the necessary expenses of those same years? No; far otherwise.

In 1837, at the called session, instead of imposing the requisite amount of taxes on the free articles, according to the provisions of the compromise act, what was the resort of the administration? To treasury notes. And the same expedient of treasury notes was ever since adopted, from year to year, to supply the deficit accruing. And, of necessity, this policy cast upon the administration succeeding, an unascertained, unliquidated debt, inducing a temporary necessity on that administration, to have resort to the same means of supply.

I do not advert to these facts with any purpose of crimination or recrimination. Far from it. Far from it. For we have reached that state of the public affairs when the country lies bleeding at every pore, and when, as I earnestly hope and trust, we shall, by common consent, dispense with our party prejudices, and agree to look at any measure proposed for the public relief as patriots and statesmen. I say, then, that during the four years of the administration of Mr. Van Buren, there was an excess of expenditure over the income of the government, to the amount of between seven and eight millions of dollars; and I say that it was the duty of that administration, the moment they found this deficit to exist in the revenue, to have resorted to the adequate remedy by laying the requisite amount of taxes on the free articles to meet and to supply the deficiency.

I shall say nothing more on the first resolution, because I do hope that, whatever the previous practice of this government may have been, there is no senator here who will hesitate to concur in the truth of the general propositions it contains.

The next three resolutions all relate to the same general subjects -subjects which I consider much the most important of any here set forth; and I shall, for that reason, consider them together.

The second resolution asserts,