chais in any way to authorize this Government to debit him with the amount, or hold him responsible for its application.

This opinion of your committee has not been hastily formed; the interesting and important character of the claim, originating in transactions immediately connected with our Revolutionary struggle and independence, and attended with such peculiar circumstances, induced your committee to give it a patient and thorough investigation; and they feel all that confidence in the result of their labors which the most diligent examination and impartial consideration can give.

They therefore recommend that provision be made by law for the payment of one million of livres, with interest, to the daughter of Beaumarchais, and for that purpose they ask leave to report a bill.

JOHN POLEREZSKY.

On motion of Mr. HERRICK, the House resumed the consideration of the report made at the last session, unfavorable to the petition of John Polerezsky. The report, and the petitioner's papers, having again been read

Mr. HERRICK moved to strike out from the resolution annexed to the report of the Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims, the word (6 not," so as to reverse the report.

H. OF R.

way to so many other subjects, the House would not be surprised if the friends to the bill for the repair of the Cumberland road should to-morrow press its consideration on the House.

The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, on Mr. CoсKE's bill. Mr. TAYLOR moved to amend the third section of the bill, by inserting at the end thereof the following words: "That all other pensions hereafter to be allowed shall commence from the time of completing the testimony."

On this proposition, the motives and object of which were explained at large by Mr TAYLOR, a debate arose, in which Messrs. TAYLOR, COCKE, HOBART, REED, of Massachusetts, and MALLARY, engaged.

On the question to agree to the amendment, it was determined in the negative.

The Committee then rose and reported the bill to the House.

Mr. CANNON then proposed to amend the bill, by adding thereto the following section by way of amendment:

"And be it further enacted, That the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates, soldiers of the Revolutionary war, who shall have performed service to the amount of nine months, in one or more tours of duty in militia service, shall also be placed on the pension roll of the United States, under the same rules and regulations and restrictions, and shall be entitled to the same bounty from the Government, that is or may be extended to those who served in the re

This motion gave rise to a debate, in which Messrs. HERRICK, MALLARY, RHEA, WRIGHT, ALLEN, of Massachusetts, LITTLE, HILL, and REED, of Maryland, engaged, in which a good deal of earnestness and feeling were displayed, in behalf of this individual, the peculiarity of whose case is, that he was a soldier, not in the Ameri-gular or continental army." can army, but in the French auxiliary army.

Finally, the report was reversed, and the committee was instructed to bring in a bill for the relief of the petitioner.

REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONS. Mr. COCKE moved that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill concerning Revolutionary pensions.

Mr. TRIMBLE wished to know what was the pressing necessity for taking up this particular bill in preference to other bills on the table.

Mr. COCKE explained that this bill contemplates providing for those persons whose applications to the War Department for Revolutionary pensions were rejected in consequence of the largeness of their property and who have since become poor indeed. The bill proposes to authorize an examination into their claims agreeably to the rules laid down by law, and to do away the effect of an opinion of the Attorney General (which Mr. C. contended was contrary to the actual laws) which determines that, when a claim for a pension is once rejected, no circumstance will justify a reexamination of it. He added, that a bill on the subject, precisely similar to this, passed this House at the last session, by a large majority. The 4th of March is the day of semi-annual payment of pensions, and, if the bill be not soon acted on, its effect will be postponed for six months longer.

Mr. TRIMBLE waived his objection to taking up this bill; observing, however, that, after giving

Mr. CANNON, in support of his amendment, made some observations; this, Mr. C. observing, not being the first time a similar proposition to amend this bill, had been made by him. He, however, felt himself bound, by considerations which he deemed important to the interest of the country, not to make any discrimination in the citizens of this nation; all, who embarked their fortunes in their country's defence, militia as well as regulars, having borne an equal share of danger, fatigue, &c., incident to war. He called upon gentlemen to show some good reason why the militia of the country should not be entitled to the confidence and liberality of their country, and why a discrimination was to be made in favor of the regulars? Mr. C. urged further arguments to prove the propriety of this amendment.

Mr. COCKE conceived this proposition to be a new principle, to which he was not disposed to accede. He thought the gentleman offering the amendment had better propose it in the shape of a distinct bill for the militia, &c.

Mr. RHEA moved to amend the amendment, by striking therefrom the words "nine months, in one or more tours of duty in militia service," and insert in lieu thereof "nine months, in the service of the United States, in the Revolutionary war." Mr. CANNON opposed this amendment. Mr. WRIGHT also spoke upon the question.

Mr. RHEA then modified his amendment, by substituting three instead of nine months, and again explained his motives for so doing. He spoke at some length on the signal services render

this bill, he presumed the House would not presume to act upon the bill without some minute information as to the effect of its provisions upon the present rates of duty, &c. The Committee of Manufactures had, indeed, presented a statement upon the subject, which had been printed, but Mr. C. proceeded to state the reasons why it was, in his opinion, not to be relied upon; one of which was, that it stated the amount of duty on woollens, proposed by this bill, to be thirty per cent., when in fact, by fixing a minimum price at which they shall be valued, (eighty cents per yard,) the lowest descriptions of plains universally worn by the poor, would be taxed 93 per cent., amounting to a prohibitory duty. If it was the will of a majority of this House that the nation should be charged with the support of this branch of industry, he must be content to be in the minority; but, before either majority or minority could act upon the subject, it was necessary they should understand it. He invited the chairman of the committee, therefore, to withdraw the statement he had presented, for the purpose of correcting it. If not, Mr. C. said, he should present to the House a statement which he had made, better entitled to its confidence. He did not impute to the chairman of the committee any intention to deceive the House; the gentleman himself had probably been deceived by those who gave him the information, who well knew that this provision would be an absolute prohibition of the importation of a large class of woollen goods.

JANUARY, 1823.

the country, they could never be injurious to the interest of any part.

We possess, said Mr. T., the materials, inexhaustible, of iron, lead, glass, and the almost unlimited means of producing wool, hemp, flax, and cotton, and surplus provisions to feed workmen enough to supply manufactures for a whole continent. Yet, disregarding all these advantages, we have paid, or must pay, to foreign nations, for the last two years, taking both together, one being probably a year of importation about as far above, as the other has been below, the common average— For woollen manufactures

$19,044,014

14,716,613

6,084,954

3,892,262

8,259,698

1,102,341

2,354,069

$55,453,951 $27,726,975

Exceeding, by above eight millions of dollars, the yearly expenses of Government, and the interest of the national debt-and which sum is exclusive of all re-exportations. This enormous tribute, said Mr. T., we pay for articles that we might have at home without any cost to the nationarticles, to the composition of which, a portion of the cottons excepted, not one shred nor particle goes from our country, fabricated by workmen Mr. Top, of Pennsylvania, observed, that he who are not permitted to eat, drink, or wear, any was not disposed to take the advice of the gentle- produce of our soil. And we, robbed of our moman from New York, (Mr. CAMBRELENG,) and ney by foreign industry, contending with all the withdraw the bill for the reasons given; that the mischiefs of a diminishing and beggarly supply proceeding was a novel one, and this call for in- of the circulating medium of commerce, some of formation by the gentleman, not because he want-our people even petitioning against the grievance ed it himself, but because he thought he could give it to others that there could be no getting on with business, if such reason was sufficient to stop its progress. It may every day happen that a gentleman, not a member of the committee, introducing a bill, may know more of a subject than the committee themselves; and as possible it may be for a gentleman to suppose himself capable of setting right the ignorance of others, in a matter known as well to them as to himself. Mr. T. said, that the duties proposed on the coarse goods pointed out by the gentleman from New York, (Mr. CAMBRELENG,) were supposed by the committee to amount to a prohibition, and so intended. Mr. T. said, that, on the part of the Committee of Manufactures, he would attempt a brief exposition of the reasons which weighed with them in proposing an increase of duties on some foreign

articles.

It was not solely nor chiefly for the benefit of the manufacturer, that they wished to give an efficient preference to domestic industry, at least as far as respects articles of common indispensable use, the materials of which are the product of our own soil. He would not say that all parts of the country were equally interested, but he believed that, while the provisions of the bill were of vital importance to some great sections of

of paying postage on letters, and struggling with all the evils of debt and dependence, in order to give wealth and power to foreign Governments, profit and employment to foreign manufacturers, and to supply a market to foreign farmers for their provisions, while one-half of our own are absolutely worthless, and perishing on our hands for want of consumers. The immensity of amount of the necessaries of life requisite to sustain the workmen, with their families, employed to fabricate the foreign goods which we consume, it would be superfluous to attempt to calculate. But the inevitable distress and ruin consequent upon a system like ours, and falling upon those sections of the country whose only surplus production worth mentioning is grain, and whose only means of paying for foreign manufactures is with grain and its immediate products, may be made evident; as may, also, the necessity of applying some considerable part of the surplus productions of our soil to the only profitable use they can be applied to; that is, the support of the home manufacturer. It may be assumed that the case mentioned is the case of one-half of the Union, whose only surplus production of the soil worth naming is grain. Whether this estimate of one-half exceeds or falls short of the fact, cannot be material to the validity of the inference. Then, from the

JANUARY, 1823.

New Tariff Bill.

H. of R.

great extent and fertility of lands brought under discrediting our factories, and cheating our peocultivation since the year 1790, taking into view ple. The duty of twenty-five per cent. imposed the great improvements in mills, roads, canals, by the bill on manufactures of silk, flax, and and in the science and practice of agriculture; hemp, is the very same that is recommended by taking also into view the acquisition since of the the Secretary of the Treasury, for the purpose of extensive and fertile territory west of the Missis- revenue, with the addition, as to hempen and linen sippi, we may safely calculate that the capacity cloths, of 25 cents per square yard, similar to that of our country for producing grain, if not the ac- on cottons. Leghorn and silk hats are placed at tual product itself, is more than quadrupled during forty per cent., being an addition of one-third to the last thirty-two years. Probably to state the the present rate of duty, with a minimum price increase at six-fold would be nearer the fact. of one dollar each, for obvious reasons. They Yet, in the year 1790, before the general war in are chiefly articles of mere fashion. We imported Europe, we exported in wheat, rye, and corn, and during the last year hats, caps, and bonnets, to the flour, and corn meal, reducing what went in bush- amount of more than seven hundred thousand els to barrels, at the usual rate of five to one, dollars. Above six hundred thousand dollars 1,280,323 barrels. This account, as to part of the worth of those commodities came from Leghorn items, includes, to be sure, the exports for about a and Malta. All the wheat which they will ever month beyond the year; but that is unessential; receive from us in ten years, cannot pay for one the exportations of 1790 were not beyond the year's supply of the straw we get from them. On common average of the times, nor nearly equal. lead, and the manufactures of lead, an addition is Taking the average of five years, from 1790 to proposed of one cent per pound to the present 1794, both inclusive, we exported the yearly quan- duty, because we have it in our country in the tity of 1,421,325 barrels. Yet, in the present time, greatest profusion. In the vicinity of the Missiswith all our immense increase of means and ex- sippi and Missouri rivers, particularly the former, tension of territory, we have exported, in grain there are miles in extent, where, take up the earth and flour, in the year 1822, 1,098,768 barrels without selection, one hundred pounds of it will only; and, in the year 1821, 1,360,453 barrels of produce more than eighty pounds of the metal, beef and pork; the exports for 1790 were 89,006 with fuel at hand in abundance. Besides, the barrels, and the average for five years from 1790 people of that part of the country are indebted to to 1794, was 132,894 barrels a year. The same the Government for lands, or desirous of purchaarticles, in 1822, 166,962 barrels; and, in 1821, sing, and have no other means of payment; so 133,534 barrels. If, said Mr. T., foreign nations that the immediate profits of giving efficient prowould consent to take our flour and provisions in tection to this manufacture will centre in the pubpay, or part pay, for their wares, the consequences lic treasury. On hemp, the bill raises the duty of our present system might not be so intolerable; from thirty dollars to forty-five dollars per ton. yet, when they persist in rejecting every thing of It is an article which, the committee believe, must the kind from us, that equal protection which is be protected, and the cultivation of it encouraged, due from the Government to every class of citi- at any expense, for the sake of the public. It is zens, prescribes the necessity of providing them an article the skilful culture of which requires with the means of procuring the manufactured practice. Materially to increase even the quannecessaries of life in exchange for the only arti- tity raised at home cannot be the work of one nor cles they have to sell. two years. We have already built, or are building, twenty-four large ships of war. Our whole domestic supply of hemp is not sufficient to equip one of these ships, and never can be under the present system of importation. What, Mr. T. asked, would be the consequences, and what disgrace to our legislation, in case of a war with a nation that furnishes this necessary article, or with any other nation which might have influence enough to stop this importation? We might, when war comes, as prudently rely altogether upon our enemies for a supply of cannon for our Navy.

As to the particular duties, he said, imposed on foreign manufactures by this bill, the first paragraph adds five per cent. to the existing duties on woollen goods, with a minimum price of eighty cents per square yard; yet excepting from the operation of the minimum, those most common necessary articles of blankets, flannels, worsted and stuff goods. Whatever other objection may be made to this item, there will probably be none on the score of inequality; for wool is, or may easily be the production of every part of the country. The manufactures of it are used in every part. No one will say that our country is incompetent to supply itself with every description of this necessary article, even if the duty were prohibitory instead of a trifling addition.

The duties on cottons are left by the bill, as they stand by the existing laws, except a minimum price of thirty-five cents per square yard on checked and striped cloths. The chief motive for this, is to stop a pernicious fraud now perpetrated upon us by foreign manufacturers, counterfeiting our cottons, and palming upon us, under the guise of American, a most vile fabric, thereby

On bar iron, the addition proposed is only five dollars per ton, and that only on hammered iron, without touching the rolled. It would, Mr. T. thought, be hard to give a satisfactory reason why so low a duty was inserted, when it is notorious that the country is more than able to supply all that is wanted, of as good quality, and generally better than the imported.

It has been objected already, and will no doubt be repeated, that, by adding to the duties on foreign articles, we but add so much to the price to the consumer, enabling the home manufacturer