[38] Could the extent to which the evil has since been carried, have been foreseen at the time, the state of the vote might have been very different.
[39] Topics of temporary interest omitted.
[40] At this commencement of the second Congress, being in the third year of Washington's administration, and when the finances had been brought to order and system by General Hamilton, and the machinery of government put into fair and full operation, a proper point presents itself to look at the expenses of the new Government, both as a fact at the time, and as a point of comparison in the future. In the annual speech which the President delivered to the two Houses, he congratulated Congress on the adequacy of the revenues which had been provided, and on the prospect that no new burthens would be required to be laid upon the people. This was a gratifying announcement, and makes it desirable to see what was the revenue at that time, and to what objects applied. The first inquiry is answered by a recurrence to the two tariff acts which had been passed—one at the first, the other at the second session of the first Congress. The first act had produced near two millions of dollars, which, though five times beyond what was necessary for the support of the Government, was not sufficient for the demands of the public debt and the Indian war raging in the North-west. An augmentation of the duties became necessary, and was accomplished in the second act, but still on a scale of moderation. The ad valorems were 5 per centum, 7-1/2, [10], 12-1/2, [15]; but in counting their product, only the two first may be considered, as the mass of the importations fell under those rates; to wit, above 16 millions under the two first, and less than one million under the three last; so that the 5 and the 7-1/2 ad valorems may be considered as the effective duties, and the actual levy upon the imports. The list of specific duties was enlarged in the second bill, (the Secretary of the Treasury wisely saying that the experience of the world showed that duties upon quantities, ascertainable by weight and measure, were the only ones capable of safe and cheap collection, and therefore to be preferred as far as possible.) and their rate increased, but still in moderate proportion. The produce of the whole was about 3-1/2 millions, which was nearly nine times as much as the support of the Government required, leaving nearly eight parts out of nine to go to the public debt, the Indian war, and other extraordinary objects. This important statement requires to be verified, which is done by referring to General Hamilton's estimate of appropriations at the commencement of this first session of the second Congress; to wit, CIVIL LIST, comprehending compensation to the President and Vice President—the Departments of State, Treasury and War—the Board of Commissioners—the government of the North-western Territory—the Judiciary—the two Houses of Congress—contingencies incident to the civil list: in all $328,653.00; to which was afterwards added $87,000 for diplomatic intercourse, increasing the amount of the annual estimate to $415,000. The public debt, the Indian war, and other extraordinaries took all the rest, amounting to about three millions; so that this small revenue, produced by such moderate duties upon the small importation of that day, sufficed for the support of the Government, for carrying on an Indian war as far off, (the distance measured by time and cost of march and transportation,) and with Indians far more formidable than any now in the world; and also for the interest of the public debt. This is a result for statesmen to consider, and to bring into comparison with the present state of things; and the reflection may be, that with the same spirit of economy which, then prevailed, the same knowledge of the objects for which the Federal Government was created, and the same determination to confine its action to those objects, the same moderate rate of duties on the large importations of this day would be entirely sufficient, both for the support of the Government and for all extraordinary objects. The cost of collecting the revenue in that early period also presents a point for retrospect and comparison; it was then about 3 and 1/3 per cent., and according to the principle of such collections, should become less in proportion to the larger amount collected. On the contrary, the increase has been inordinate! and is, perhaps, now hardly ascertainable, but cutting deep into the national income.
[41] The case of Pennsylvania goes far to sustain this view. The policy of William Penn was that of justice and humanity to the Indians, and his colony was long exempt from its calamity of savage hostility. It had been settled seventy years—from 1680 to 1753—before an Indian killed one of its inhabitants, and then in consequence of a disturbance in a neighboring province. Such an exemption, for so long a time, and while all the other colonies were involved in Indian wars from their early settlement, while so honorable to Penn's government and to the inoffensive manners of the inhabitants, goes far to show that the Indians were manageable by good treatment, and that, although savage, their savageism was not of a kind to resist the effects of justice and kindness.
[42] This speech, of Cornplanter, the famous chief of the Seneca tribe, (one of the Six Nations,) does not appear in the debates, having been confidentially read to the House; but it is found in the State papers of the time, and is, as the allusions to it implied, a plea in behalf of the Indians against the wrongs of the whites. Intrusion upon their lands, fraudulent purchases, and killing unoffending Indians, are the subjects of complaint. The speech opens with a characteristic appeal to Washington.
"Father: The voice of the Seneca nation speaks to you, the great councillor in whose heart the wise men of all the Thirteen Fires (Thirteen United States) have placed their wisdom. It may be very small in your ears, and we therefore entreat you to hearken with attention: for we are about to speak of things which are to us very great. When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you the town destroyer; and to this day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers. Our councillors and warriors are men, and cannot be afraid; but their hearts are grieved with the fears of our women and children, and desire it to be buried so deep as to be heard no more. When you gave us peace, we called you Father, because you promised to secure us in the possession of our lands. Do this, and, so long as the lands shall remain, that beloved name will live in the heart of every Seneca."
Then followed a complaint for wrongs done them in their lands; to which Washington replied that that wrong was done before the new Government was established and the management of Indian affairs given up to it; but that they would now be protected. This reply fell short of his expectations, and the Cornplanter rejoined:
"Father: Your speech written on the great paper, is to us like the first light of the morning to a sick man, whose pulse beats too strongly in his temples, and prevents him from sleep. He sees it and rejoices, but is not cured."
Of killing and robbing their people he said:
"Three men and one woman have been killed at Big Beaver Creek, and they were good people, and some of the white people will testify this. Twenty-seven men came from another State, and murdered these men in the Quaker State where they had come to trade, and took away all the horses, and all the goods they had purchased from the traders."