Clay, Speaker of the House, addressed the committee of the
whole, at length and with great ability, on the general principles of
the bill; and he was succeeded by Mr. Webster, on the 1st and 2d of
April, in the following speech.]
MR. CHAIRMAN,--I will avail myself of the present occasion to make some
remarks on certain principles and opinions which have been recently
advanced, and on those considerations which, in my judgment, ought to
govern us in deciding upon the several and respective parts of this very
important and complex measure. I can truly say that this is a painful
duty. I deeply regret the necessity which is likely to be imposed upon
me of giving a general affirmative or negative vote on the whole of the
bill. I cannot but think this mode of proceeding liable to great
objections. It exposes both those who support and those who oppose the
measure to very unjust and injurious misapprehensions. There may be good
reasons for favoring some of the provisions of the bill, and equally
strong reasons for opposing others; and these provisions do not stand to
each other in the relation of principal and incident. If that were the
case, those who are in favor of the principal might forego their
opinions upon incidental and subordinate provisions. But the bill
proposes enactments entirely distinct and different from one another in
character and tendency. Some of its clauses are intended merely for
revenue; and of those which regard the protection of home manufactures,
one part stands upon very different grounds from those of other parts.
Pages:
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301