144 



\GRESS, UNITED STATES. 



say In candor that I Me no war of avoiding 

 the ooiwUtutional objection which hat been 

 wg*d here, first, I believe, by the Senator 

 from Wisconsin (Mr. * 'arpciiteri, and after- 

 ward sustained by other Senators on each 

 aide of the Chamber. 



The Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. 

 Somner) argued with great earnestness and 

 much force <>l' illustration, tlmt the bill is not 

 a bill in contlict with tin- provisions of the 

 :.t'.iti<>ii: tirst, that all duties shall be 

 uniform; inn! next, that Congress shall give 

 no preference by any regulation of revenue or 

 commerce to the ports of one State over the 

 port* of any other. 1 cannot agree with him. 

 What doc* thin bill dp! It provides that all 

 materials of a certain description imported 

 into the port of Boston for a certain period 

 shall be entitled to a drawback. What is the 

 result? That all that import business of tlu- 

 class and for the period specified in this bill 

 will seek the port of Boston rather than any 

 other port. In other words, nil such business 

 will give a preference to that port as against 

 any other port Why ? Because Congress has 

 given that port a preference by allowing a 

 refund of duties on all such imports brought 

 there. In the next place, how can you say 

 that you make 'duties uniform,' when the 

 same imports which pay duties at all other 

 ports, without any drawback, are entitled to 

 a drawback at Boston? When yon do this, is 

 it not true, as it was so well put by tho Sena- 

 tor from Indiana, (Mr. Morton), that you un- 

 dertake to exempt a particular port as to a 

 particular class of articles from the operations 

 of your gem-nil tarifflaw. That is just what 

 iti'n; no more, no less. Who will say that 

 such a thing can he done? 



" When you refund all duties paid on n cer- 

 tain class of imports at tho port of Boston, 

 yon do in effect make Boston as to such im- 

 ports a free port. If you can do that as to 

 one claw of import*, yon can as to all. I sum 

 up tin- whole in one word. Can yon make a 

 free port in one State of the I'nion to the 

 exclusion of all ports in the other States? 

 Unlew Congress can do that under the Con- 

 stitution, Congress cannot pass this bill." 



The I'rvtidi-nt pro Umpore : " The question 

 Is on the motion to refer the pending bill to 

 the Committee on the Judiciary." 



The result was announced, as follows: 



YBAS Messrs. Alcorn, Ames, Bayard, Racking- 

 ham. Tamcron, Carpenter, rai-sefly. Chandler, 

 Clayton. Colo, ConklW, f'noper, Corbett, l)avU, 

 Firry of Connecticut, Freiini(huysn < 

 thwalte. Hamilton of Maryland, Harlan, Hitchcock, 

 ll-ff. Johnston. Kellr, Machen, Merrill 

 Morton. Norwood, (Inborn Pratt, Baulsbury, S- 

 son, Tipton. Wrt, and Wtndom 88. 



yer, Schure, Scott, Sherman, Spencer, Sprague, 

 Stewart, Stockton, Thurman, and Wright 24. 

 So the motion to refer was agreed to. 



KTS Meaars. Anthony. Brownlow. Ci-agin. K.l- 

 BBDda, Fanton. Ferry of Mlchdran, Flanairan, Hnin- 

 lln, Ix>iran. Pattcnton, Pomarov, Bumncr, Trumhull, 

 Vlckcra, and Wilson IS. 



AMITT M.-T. Illair, Rorrman. ('.Mwdl. Uam- 

 Ihon of Tr... Hill. Kellowr, Lewla, Morrlll of M . . 

 7*, Pool, Bamacy, Kaoaom, Bioa, Robertson, Saw- 



In the Senate, on December 16th, Mr. Win- 

 doui, of Minnesota, offered the following reso- 

 lution: 



HVkimu, The production! of our country- have In- 

 creased much more rapidly than the means of trans- 

 portation, and the growth of population and products 

 will in the near future demand additional facilities 

 and cheaper ones to reach tide-water: mid when as 

 in hia recent message the President of the Uiiited 

 States invites the attention of Congress in tl.c fuct 

 that it will be called upon at its i n to 



consider " various enterprises for tin iron certain 

 and cheaper transportation of the constantly increas- 

 ing surplus of Western nnd Southern products to the 

 Atlantic seaboard," nnd further saya: "Tl.c .-ul'jut 

 is one that will force :t-i if \\\-' n the Ic^slutive 

 branch of the Government sooner or later ; and I .-.ug- 

 tliercfore, thut immediate steps be takin to 

 gain all available information to insure equable and 

 juat legislation. * * I would therefore suppest 

 either a committee or a commission to be author- 

 ized to consider this whole question, and to re] ort 

 to Congress at some future day for its better cuid- 

 ance in legislating ou this important subject : " there- 

 fore 



J{rolttd, That a committee of seven be appointed, 

 to whom shall be referred that part of the President's 

 message relating to the transportation routes to the 

 seaboard. 



Mr. Windom : "The object is simply to as- 

 certain -what remedy, if any, there is for the 

 evil mentioned in the President's message, in 

 order that the thinking minds of the country 

 who are now discussing that subject may have 

 n medium through which they may << immi- 

 nicate their views to the Senate, and that 

 some committee may have it in charge v 

 attention will be given to the subject. I do 

 not desire to discuss the resolution. It is plain 

 on its face, I think. There is no special scheme 

 or route intended by it, but it is prom pud 

 simply by a desire, on the part of m.M-clt und 

 those whom I have consulted, to investigate 

 this question and ascertain whether something 

 cannot be done to remove the evils under 

 which the people are suffering, c-pecially in 

 the inland and Southern St.it.-. I ask tho 

 action of the Senate on the resolution." 



Mr. Stevenson, of Kentucky, said : " If we 

 are going to have a commission or a commit* 

 n thN subject, let us have nil the ques- 

 tions involved in it considered. The question 

 which lies at the root of the whole thing would 

 be the constitutional power of this Government 

 to make a canal or any water communication 

 through the States, they net asking it, from 

 the seaboard to the Ohio. A great many of 

 us would desire it, deeming it important, nnd 

 would concur in the policy of it if the constitu- 

 tional power were vested in Congress." 



Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, said : " 1 think the 

 subject is of sufficient gravity to entitle it to 

 the prominence that a separate committee 

 will give it. It seems to me that the question 

 of cheaper transportation between the interior 

 and the seaboard is a question that must be 



