should compel the federal government, to use the means placed at its disposal for the enforcement of the laws. Doubts indeed were entertained by many, as to how far nullification on the part of South Carolina would be resisted by the executive.

The course pursued by the federal government towards Georgia, and the doctrines occasionally promulgated as from authority by the administration periodical press, induced them to believe, that the tariff of 1828, which was by no means a favorite with the President, would be abandoned to the tender mercies of its opponents; while others supposed, that the absolute necessity of maintaining the authority of the federal government over the revenue system, would compel him to vindicate its constitutional powers, and that the difference, which already existed between him and the adherents of the Vice President, would stimulate him to act with more energy to overthrow a heresy, which, although the child of Georgia, the Vice President had now been persuaded to adopt as his own. Under the influence of these doubts, the nullifiers resolved to wait for their threats to produce the expected effect upon Congress, before they ventured upon the decisive step of nullification.

In the annual message to that body, the President recommended a modification of the tariff, but merely in reference to a reduction of the revenue.

The present session was deemed peculiarly propitious to the views of those, who sought to destroy the American system.'

The payment of the public debt was nearly completed, and the great reduction, which must necessarily take place in the revenue, would afford a good opportu nity to those, who were hostile to discriminating duties to endeavor to reduce them all to a uniform rate. With that intention various motions were made early in the session, calling upon the Secretary of the Treasury for information concerning the principal manufac tures of the United States, and the operation of the revenue laws. The committee of ways and means,' and the committee on 'manufactures' were selected with reference to that object, and Mr Adams, who hitherto had been necessarily more familiar with the higher departments of the government, than with the details of the Custom house, was placed at the head of the latter committee (a majority of which was hostile to the manufacturing interest) in the hope, that the sanction of his authority might be obtained to their views. So much time however was spent in the preliminary examinations and discussions, that the committee on manufactures did not report the bill, which was finally acted upon, until the twenty third of May, 1832.

At an earlier period of the session, on the eighth of February 1832, Mr Mc Duffie reported a bill from the committee of ways and means, which declared that after the 30th of June 1832, the duty on Iron, steel, salt, sugar, hemp, flour, and on all cotton, woollen, and iron manufactures should be twentyfive per cent ad valorem, until June 30th 1833, when the

duty should be reduced to 183 per cent, and after the 30th of June 1834, the duty should be further reduced to 12 per cent ad valorem. On all other articles, except those which were free or at a lower rate of duty than 12 per cent, an ad valorem duty of 12 per cent, was to be paid after June 30th, 1832. This bill was intended to meet the views of the ultra opponents of the American system, and the report which accompanied it, denominated the tariff system, as imposing a tax upon the South for the benefit of the North. It was not, however, at once taken up for consideration, and on the twentyseventh of April the Secretary of the Treasury transmitted to Congress, in compliance with a resolution of the House of the 18th of January, a bill, with a report setting forth the views of his department on this important topic. From this report it appeared, that an annual revenue of $15,000, 000 was deemed necessary for the ordinary expenditure of the government, and that $12,000, 000 of that amount must be derived from the customs. According to the average importations for several years, that sum would be produced from the duties proposed in the bill accompanying the report. By that bill an ad valorem duty was proposed of fifteen per cent on importations generally; while upon the protected articles it was to be higher. On woollen manufactures thirty per cent was proposed, except on gloves, bindings, blankets, hosiery and carpeting, which were to be at twentyfive per cent, and on

worsted stuffs and yarn twenty per cent, and on cloths less in value than fifty cents per square yard, on which it was to be ten per cent. A duty was proposed on wool of five per cent ad valorem, where the value was less than ten cents per pound, and twenty per cent, when it exceeded that value. On cotton manufactures twentyfive per cent ad valorem was proposed.

On rolled iron in bolts and bars, $30 per ton, and when not rolled ninety cents per cwt. Pig iron fifty cents per cwt. On hemp $50 per ton. On sail duck ten cents per square yard. On cotton bagging three and a half cents per square yard. On brown sugar two and a half cents per pound, and on white three and a third per pound. On salt five cents per fiftysix pounds. On coffee half cent per pound, and on teas one cent per pound. There were some other departures from the general duty, but such were the duties proposed by the administration on the principal articles, which had been deemed worthy of particular encouragement. The reduction on woollen and cotton manufactures the staples of the Eastern States--was so much greater than on iron, hemp and sail duck, that the administration was suspected of a design to use its influence with the view of fostering the interests of Pennsylvania and the Western States, at the expense of the Eastern; and the proposed continuance of the duty on wool, which amounted to nearly fifty per cent ad valorem, was deemed an additional proof of an unfriendly disposition towards a sec

tion of the Union, that had not recommended itself to the executive by any marks of political attachment.

With this suspicion attached to the bill, it did not strongly recommend itself to the favorable consideration of Congress. It was however referred to the committee on manufactures, but the chairman of that committee (Mr Adams) being appointed upon the committee to investigate the affairs of the United States Bank, and the majority of Congress being unwilling to excuse him from acting upon the committee on manufactures, the business of the committee was suspended during his absence, and the report and accompanying bill were not brought in until the twentythird of May. The majority of the committee did not concur with the Secretary of the Treasury, in reducing the revenue beyond the annual appropriation to extinguish the national debt. On the contrary they thought, that at the present time the reduction ought not to be so great as $10,000,000.

They however recommended abolishing the system of graduated minimums upon woollen manufactures, and imposing a duty of five per cent ad valorem on blankets of less value than seventyfive cents, and upon woollen manufactures of less value than forty cents per square yard; of ten per cent on worsted stuffs; of twenty per cent on worsted yarn; of four cents per pound; and thirtyfive per cent ad valorem on woollen yarn; of twentyfive per cent on gloves, bindings, blankets, hosiery and carpeting, except

Brussels, Ingrain and Venetian, which were to pay fifty cents, forty five cents and twentytwo and half cents respectively the square yard; of thirtyfive per cent on flannels, baizes and coach laces, and of fifty per cent on all other woollen manufactures. Wool of less value than eight cents per pound, was to be free of duty and above that four cents per pound and thirtyfive per cent ad valorem. On cotton manufactures a duty of twentyfive per cent ad valorem, and all plain cottons not exceeding thirty cents the square yard in value, were to be valued at that rate, and all dyed colored cottons at thirty five cents. On hemp a duty of thirty five dollars per ton was proposed, and ten cents per fiftysix pounds on salt. On iron and the other staple manufactures of the United States, the bill of the Secretary of the Treasury was adopted as a guide, except on silk, oil cloths, olive oil, side arms, quills, brass plates and various drugs, which being exclusively manufactured in the United States, the committee proposed a higher duty than that in the secretary's bill. They also proposed, that the pound sterling should hereafter be rated at $4,80, which is near the par of exchange, and that the duties on woollen manufactures should be paid in cash or stored, subject to an interest of six per cent on the duties and customary charges. Other provisions were proposed for the purpose of preventing frauds, and as a compensation for the burdens imposed upon the shipping interest, a bounty or drawback was to be allowed

of two dollars per ton on registered vessels and twentyfive cents per ton on licensed vessels, and fifty cents on steamboats built in the United States. The chairman stated, that the members of the committee did not consider them selves bound by the details of the bill; but that it was reported upon the basis proposed by the Secretary, for the purpose of bringing the subject before the House.

Before the report was printed, Mr Mc Duffie, on the 28th of May, had forced on the discussion of the bill reported by him at an earlier period of the session. He had, however, scarcely concluded his introductory remarks, when in order to get rid of his bill with the view of taking up the bill reported by Mr Adams, a motion was made, June first, to strike out the first section, which was carried, 81 yeas, 41 nays.

Mr Adams's bill was then taken up, when Mr Stuart proposed an amendment increasing the duties on woollens; restoring the minimum system; and diminishing the ad valorem duty on various articles ten per cent annually, until it should be reduced to twenty five per cent. An amendment was also proposed by Mr Crawford increasing the duty on iron, and one by Mr Davis of Massachusetts augmenting the duty on woollen manufactures, all of which were rejected. Various other amendments were proposed, and after a long examination, and several modifications in committee of the whole, the bill was reported to the House on the 21st of June.

An amendment was here made

increasing the ad valorem duty. on woollens from thirtyfive to forty per cent, yeas 113, nays 75. The provision diminishing the duty on woollens of less value than forty cents the square yard to five per cent, was amended, so as to comprehend only milled and fulled cloth, known as plains or Kerseys and Kendall cottons, yeas 128, nays 69. The duty on manufactures of silk and worsted was put at ten per cent ad valorem, being the same as on worsteds, without opposition, and the ad valorem duty on woollen yarn was increased from thirtyfive to fifty per cent, yeas 110, nays 79. The duty on manufactures of silk was fixed at eighteen per cent, yeas 133, nays 51. An amendment, which had been carried in the committee, reducing the proposed duty on salt from ten to five cents per fiftysix pounds was rejected, yeas 87, nays 101. The duty on china, earthern and stone ware, and manufactures of marble, was fixed at the old rate, and the duty on blank books, carriages, harness and leather manufactures, cabinet wares, hats and caps, was changed from twentyfive to thirty per cent ad valorem, and on boots and boottees fixed at one dollar fifty cents per pair, yeas 105, nays 78. Mr Jarvis then moved to exempt fossil and crude mineral salt from duty, which motion was rejected, yeas 96, nays 97; and the duty was fixed at four cents per bushel, on motion of Mr Reed, yeas 93, nays 79. Mr Mc Duffie now moved to reduce the duty on cottons of less value than fifteen cents the square yard, to twelve and a half per cent ad va

lorem. Before taking the question the House adjourned, and the next day, June 23d, a motion was made to reconsider the amendment concerning fossil salt; but the House refused to reconsider, yeas 84, nays 98. The question recurring on Mr Mc Duffie's amendment, it was rejected, yeas 73, nays 115. Mr Mc Duffie now moved an amendinent abolishing the discrimination between rolled and hammered iron, but the House rejected it, yeas 73, nays 114. Mr Davis then moved an amendment increasing the duty on woollens, but the House adjourned without taking the question. On Monday, June 25th, the amendment came up again for consideration, and after an ineffectual attempt to amend it, it was rejected, yeas 70, nays 119. A motion was then made by Mr Reed of New York to reduce the duty on silk manufactures to ten per cent ad valorem and was carried, yeas 108, nays 86. Mr Adams now moved to confine the duty of five per cent ad valorem to woollens of less value than thirtythree cents instead of forty cents per square yard; but it was rejected, yeas 86, nays 100. It was then renewed on thirty five cents, and agreed to, yeas 102, nays 85.

On the 26th of June the bill being taken up, a motion was made by Mr Alexander to strike out the section allowing a bounty or drawback on vessels built in the United States, which was lost, yeas 86, nays 88. After an unsuccessful attempt to alter the duty on iron and steel wire, a motion was made by Mr Reed of

New York to reconsider Mr Alexander's motion, and it was carried by the casting vote of the Speaker. On the questions, however, to strike out the drawback on vessels it was rejected, yeas 93, nays 97. Mr Thompson then moved, that a similar drawback be allowed on all iron used in the construction of agricultural implements, which was rejected, yeas 42, nays 135. A motion made by Mr Bates of Massachusetts to restore the duty on hosiery, carpets, blankets, binding and gloves to the former rate, was rejected, yeas 86, nays 102. A motion of Mr Carson similar to the one moved by Mr Thompson met with the same fate, yeas 37, nays 124. On the 27th of June Mr Adams moved to increase the duty on hosiery, carpets, blankets, binding and gloves from twenty five to thirty per cent, but the House rejected the motion, yeas 90, nays 94. Mr Cambreleng then moved to reconsider the notion of Mr Alexander, striking out the bounty or drawback upon vessels American built. The motion was objected to as out of order, the House having already reconsidered it, but the speaker decided it to be in order, and the House upon appeal confirmed his decision, yeas 99, nays S4.

The House then agreed to reconsider it, yeas 97, nays 90, and after a proposition made by Mr White to change the mode of allowance from so much per ton to three fourths of the duty actually paid (which proposition was rejected, yeas 65,nays 119,) the section was stricken out, yeas 98, nays