New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, aye—7; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, no—4.
Mr. Baldwin, in order to restrain and more explicitly define, "the average duty," moved to strike out of the second part the words, "average of the duties and on imports," and insert "common impost on articles not enumerated;" which was agreed to, nem. con.
Mr. Sherman was against this second part, as acknowledging men to be property, by taxing them as such under the character of slaves.
Mr. King and Mr. Langdon considered this as the price of the first part.
Gen. Pinckney admitted that it was so.
Col. Mason. Not to tax, will be equivalent to a bounty on, the importation of slaves.
Mr. Gorham thought that Mr. Sherman should consider the duty, not as implying that slaves are property, but as a discouragement to the importation of them.
Mr. Gouverneur Morris remarked, that, as the clause now stands, it implies that the Legislature may tax freemen imported.
Mr. Sherman, in answer to Mr. Gorham, observed, that the smallness of the duty showed revenue to be the object, not the discouragement of the importation.
Mr. Madison thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in men. The reason of duties did not hold, as slaves are not, like merchandise, consumed, &c.