The Oregon Question

by Albert Gallatin

The preparatory measures which should be adopted, when there is danger of war, are those respecting which the greatest variety of opinions must be expected. It has been repeatedly asserted, that such is the structure of our Government, that it never will or can prepare for war, till after it has actually commenced; that is to say, that, because Congress was dilatory in making effectual provision for carrying on the last war against Great Britain, and because the Administration, at the time when it was declared, was inefficient and not well calculated for conducting it, the United States are bound for ever to incur, at the commencement of every war, the disasters of one or two years, before they can be induced to put on their armor. The past is irrevocable and of no other use, than as far as it may teach us to avoid the faults that were formerly committed. When our Government relies on the people for being sustained in making war, its confidence must be entire. They must be told the whole truth; and if they are really in favor of war, they will cheerfully sustain Government in all the measures necessary to carry it into effect. The frank annunciation of the necessity of such measures is called, "creating a panic." It is not the first time that under similar circumstances the same language has been held. If there be no danger or intention of making war, those create a panic, who proclaim a determination to assert the exclusive sovereignty of the United States over the whole contested territory, with the full knowledge that Great Britain has uniformly and explicitly declared, that she would resist any such attempt. If instead of telling the people the whole truth, the attempt to conceal from them the necessity of the measures requisite for carrying on the war should be successful, a reaction in the public sentiment will most certainly take place, whenever it will have become impossible to delay any longer the heavy burden of taxation, for which the Nation had not been prepared.

I will not dwell on the necessary preparations of a military character, otherwise than by referring to some notorious facts.

The primary causes of the disastrous results of the campaign of 1812, were the want of a naval force on the Lakes, and that of a sufficient regular force. Government had obtained a correct statement of the regular force of the British in Canada, with the exception of the garrison of Quebec. This last was estimated at about three thousand men, and could not be lessened without great inconvenience and some danger. The regular force at Montreal, St. John's, and Three Rivers, amounted to 1130 men; that in the whole of Upper Canada, to 720. The act to raise an additional military force of 25,000 men was passed on the 11th of January, 1812. The selection of the officers was not completed before the termination of that year; the recruiting service was not organized in time; the enlistments for the regular army fell short of the most moderate calculation; and the total number recruited was so small, as to render it impossible to strike a decisive blow on any one of the most important points from Montreal upwards, insignificant as was the force by which they were defended. The volunteer act was also extremely unproductive. At that time the treasury was amply supplied; and the want was not that of money, but of a regular force.

Such force cannot be raised without money; and yet it will be admitted that it would be extremely difficult to induce Congress to lay internal taxes or duties before war was declared or certain. In order to provide means for having an additional regular force ready to act as soon as actual war takes place, a loan and Treasury notes must be resorted to. But it is deemed absolutely necessary, that the internal taxes should be imposed simultaneously with the declaration of war, and that provision should be made for their immediate collection. With the exception of the act for doubling the duties on importations, Congress did not pass any law for imposing any new taxes or duties, till more than one year after the declaration of the last war; nor did it even lay a second direct tax in the year 1814. It was not till after public credit was ruined, after Treasury notes which were had due remained unpaid, and after Mr. Dallas had been placed at the head of the Treasury, that at last the laws for imposing a double direct tax, for increasing the rate of the existing internal duties, and for laying new ones, were enacted. The peace was ratified immediately after; and in point of fact, no more than 3,877,000 dollars were paid in the Treasury before the end of the war, on account of the direct tax and all other internal taxes or duties. There were received from the same sources 20,654,000 dollars in the years 1815, 1816 and 1817.

The preparatory measures necessary, in order to insure an immediate collection of internal taxes, whenever the laws imposing such taxes shall have been passed, are those on which I may speak with confidence. These consist simply in a previous organization of the machinery necessary for the collection of every species of internal taxes, and the assessment of a direct tax. The proper selection of the numerous officers necessary for the collection always consumes several months. A previous selection and appointment of those officers would obviate that difficulty, and would cost nothing, as though appointed they should receive no pay till called into actual service; this would be the natural consequence of the manner in which collectors are paid, this being a per centage on the money collected. The only other necessary measure in that respect, is that the Secretary of the Treasury should, at the time of their appointment, supply the collectors with all the necessary forms of keeping and rendering their accounts.

The assessment in each State of the taxable property of every individual who possesses such property, is the only operation which requires considerable time and causes a proportionate delay. This cannot be otherwise obviated than by making that assessment a preparatory measure, to be completed before actual war takes place.

In order to facilitate and hasten the process of assessment, I undertook, in the year 1812, to apportion the direct tax on the several Counties and State Districts in each State; and the Act of 2d August, 1813, which laid a direct tax of three millions of dollars, was passed in conformity with that apportionment The process was easy for every State in which there was a direct State tax; but though derived from the best data that could be collected, it was defective and partly arbitrary for the States in which there was no State tax. As there is at present hardly any (if any) State which has not laid a direct State tax, this mode may be adopted for the proposed preparatory assessment. This will reduce the duty of the assessors to the assessment of the quota of each County or District, on the several individuals liable to the tax, and the total expense of the assessment to a sum not exceeding probably two hundred thousand dollars. A more regular and correct assessment will, of course, be provided for, with respect to the direct taxes which may be laid after the first year of the war.

The only objection is that of the expense, which would prove useless if the tax should not be laid, or in other words, if war should not take place; but certainly this is too small an item to deserve consideration.

This organization, easy and cheap as it is, is all that is necessary in order to secure an immediate collection of a direct and other internal taxes and duties, from the moment when they shall have been imposed by Congress.