USA > Georgia > The bench and bar of Georgia: memoirs and sketches. With an appendix, containing a court roll from 1790-1857, etc., volume I > Part 18
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Amplifying these views still further, Judge Clayton referred to the examination of Dr. Franklin before a committee of Parliament previous to the Revolution, in which he stated that "an external tax is a duty laid on commodities imported ; that duty is added to the first cost, and other charges on the commodity, and when it is offered for sale makes a part of the price," and then proceeded :-
The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Stewart) has said such has been the improvement of machinery in England that one million of hands can perform the labor of two hundred and fifty millions. Then, sir, just mark the consequence : if labor is multiplied two hundred and fifty fold, au article must be cheapened almost in the same ratio.
But, sir, if high duties cheapen articles, there must be a point to which. if the duties are raised, the goods will come at nothing. If the gentleman will sit down, and, with his immense powers of calculation, just demon- strate that exact point to my satisfaction, from that moment I am a tariff-
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man : I will give up my opposition and fall into the ranks. I greatly fear, however, that it will turn out like the ease of the stoves. You have all heard of the Yankee who, in describing the great advantages of his stoves to an Irishman, said, among other things, not that high taxes cheapened the article, but that they saved half the firewood. "Then," said the Irishman, "I will take two of them and save the whole."
Why is it, Mr. Chairman, if high duties cheapen articles, that so many letters from manufacturers have been read upon this floor, stating that their business will be utterly ruined if the duties are reduced ? That must be a bad rule that don't work both ways. One would suppose that if you raised a duty from a given point, and the price of the article fell in consequence of it, it would surely rise up to the same price if you took the same duty off. This is a very eurious matter, Mr. Chairman. Would you believe it ? the country presents this singular aspect :- one portion is crying to be relieved of taxes, without which they must be ruined; while the other part bitterly complains that, if you take off their taxes, they will be prostrated ! I would rather guess, meaning no offensive allusion, that this fact points to the quarter where live the tax-paying consumers.
This same gentleman made another remark, at which I should have felt, if not contempt, at least indignant, if I had not believed that just at that moment he became greatly shortened of ideas, and that he did not know exactly what to say, for everybody saw that he was evidently stumped. I mean his saying that the Southern people wanted to make the Northern free laborers slaves to their free negroes. For the reason just mentioned, I will pass over this came-by-chance piece of wit, and examine his doc- trine as to the great difference between free and slave labor. Mr. Chair- man, this distinction has been mentioned frequently on this floor, and I confess it has excited my supreme disgust every time. What do they mean ? Does the offspring of that very aneestry who made not only their livelihood, but the very fortunes which now constitute the capital of the American system, by trading in human flesh,-who robbed fathers of their children, children of their fathers, husbands of their wives, and wives of their husbands, and carried them to be sold to the Southern States,-now dare to reproach me with the sin of slavery ? Oh, no, sir ! it cannot be ! They greatly mistake the matter if they think we feel the slightest emo- tion at such a censure. The only wonder is how it can be made without a blush.
But, sir, I have lately been as far as Philadelphia, (for the first time in my life,) that city of brotherly love, and wish gentlemen to explain some things which I saw there, first asking them if they make any difference there between free negro labor and free white labor,-for these two classes seemed to perform promiseuously all the menial services. If they do, then I would beg leave to have these difficulties solved. In the hotel where I stayed a free negro waited on my table and a white man cleaned my boots : which of these was the free labor? They were both equally polite, and they both made the same foot-scraping bow when I gave them a quarter of a dollar. I saw in the same city a free negro mounted on the box of a coach, and a white man behind it: the latter let out the grandee which it contained at the door, while the former sat like a lord on his seat. Which was the free labor in this case ? This is only one class of service.
Now, sir, I happen to know something of the free labor in cotton-faeto- ries. When the factory in which I am concerned first started, we had a
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good old honest gentleman from the North connected with us, and we commenced chiefly with white hands. He happened to bring with him a printed copy of rules and regulations, such as are used in Northern facto- ries, and which he wished adopted in ours. They had a striking analogy to penitentiary regulations. They required that the poor little hands should be at their work by light, should have three-quarters of an hour to eat their breakfast, an hour at dinner, should labor in winter until seven o'clock at night, should have a part of their wages remitted for any part of the machinery which they broke or injured, every skein they tangled. every five minutes they were absent,-indeed, just enough of pains and penalties to take all their wages. Besides, the strap was to be used if necessary. It is scarcely necessary to say, Mr. Chairman, such rules were scouted from our establishment. We soon told our friend the free people of the South would not bear that kind of regimen; indeed, it would hardly do for our slaves. Now, sir, where is the difference between this kind of labor and slave labor ? I can tell you, sir, it is only in the color of the skin and the duration of the service. The same capital that buys a slave for life can hire one for a day ; and, during these respective periods, the quality of the service is exactly the same.
But, sir, this very distinction serves to show what power will finally do in this matter. If, under the present tariff-system, it is boldly claimed for free labor, as it is called, a legislative privilege over slave labor, what will they not do when we begin to manufacture with our slaves ? If we should be driven to this business, which I verily believe we can more profitably conduct at the South than it is at the North, will not the same power which sets up the right of preference now exact it hereafter by some discriminating tax upon slave-labor productions over those of free labor? No doubt of it. So that, if this distinction is to last, I boldly affirm we cannot live together, and the sooner we part the better.
In the speech just quoted, Judge Clayton made a statement similar to the following, respecting the profits of the factory near Athens :-
Letter from Judge Clayton to the Editor of the Globe.
MR. BLAIR :- I notice in the Boston Courier an extract of a letter from me in answer to one asking information on the subject of a cotton-factory in which I am concerned, for the use of the New York Convention. regret the whole letter was not published, and ask now the favor to have it done, and especially to give its true date, for I know it was written iu time for the Convention, which inet in October. The letter .purports to have been written on the 7th December, 1831, and the garbled extract is intended to convict me of inconsistency. There is not, however, the slightest difficulty in this thing, and I am glad the matter is so much questioned as not only to give great uneasiness to the manufacturing gen- tlemen, but to afford me au opportunity of exposing their long-concealed impositions. In the month of January last our company purchased out the Northern partner, which made it necessary to go into a full investiga- tion of our concerns, and to take an accurate account of every thing we had done, which had never before been even attempted ; for most of our varns aud cloths had been placed in the hands of distant agents and seat- tered throughout the State, from whom we had not received regular
4.
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returns. Since my arrival here I have been advised of the settlement, and the following are some of the extracts of letters on the subject.
One of the partners writes, under date of Feb. 9, 1832 :- " The old gentleman hates to give up. He says we are making at the least calcula- tion 200 per cent. clear." My son, on the 15th of April, informs me that, after much difficulty with our Northern partner, he claimed nearly twice as much as the rest conceived to be duc. The affair was referred to arbi- trators of his own choosing, and their award gave the following uncommon result :-
"Capital, $4004 98-His nett profits, $4182 78."
This included the business from about the 1st of January, 1830, up to the 1st of January, 1832.
One of the arbitrators writes, 2d of May :- "You have no doubt been informed of the settlement of the factory-business. Thereby I had a peep into your affairs, and, without publishing it abroad, I will say that beyond all doubt it is the best investment of money in Georgia, so far as I know or believe. It is a great business indeed, and increasing in profit."
By this time, I apprehend, all the inconsistency has vanished. When I wrote in September (as I believe) we had made no dividend, nor had we down to that time done any thing but spend money, for we kept increasing our machinery from the proceeds of the factory ; but, as well as I can now recollect, that letter gives a flattering account of our future prospects, which seem to have been even "brighter" than I had anticipated. But for the purchase above mentioned we should not have known our true situation perhaps for a year to come. As soon, however, as I did know it, I was determined the world should know the truth about it; and I only wish, instead of trying to smother its effect, the example could be followed by those gentry who do not like to give up their cent. per cent.
I will take this occasion to correct the report of my speech, as far as it is given. I am made to say that I had "operated as a sponge upon my neighbors, and had sucked up this from their hard earnings." This is not what I said. My remarks were these : " If the capital invested by the company to which I belong, say somewhere about 30,000 dollars, has doubled itself in two years, what is the consequence ?- The gentleman from Tennessee, (Mr. Bell,) who so eloquently painted the exactions and influence of wealth, and the miseries which the sudden and rapid accumu- lation of money must create in any community, spoke truly when he said some one must lose when another gains. Now, sir, apply this truth to the fact I have related. Thirty thousand dollars, in two years, have been soaked up as with a sponge within a certain circumference. While we have gained it, our neighbors have lost it; and though they are too gene- rous to complain of us, knowing that neither our motives or feelings so enter into the system as to desire its continuance at the expense of princi- ple, yet this is its truc effect throughout this whole country. And yet it must be helped by the hard-handed labor of our honest planters, to whose fruits all other trades and professions must look for support."
A. S. CLAYTON. July, 1832.
As a zealous opponent of the protective policy, Judge Clayton actively assisted other gentlemen who had assembled at the college commencement in Athens, August, 1832, to get up a State Con- vention against the Tariff. For this purpose a circular, signed by
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the Hon. J. M. Berrien, A. S. Clayton, and others of the com- mittee, was issued, inviting the people of Georgia to send delegates to an Anti-Tariff State Convention, to be held at Milledgeville in November then next ensuing ; in compliance with which, primary meetings were held in most of the counties and delegates chosen. The result was the assemblage of delegates from sixty counties (four-fifths of the whole number in the State) in a deliberative body distinguished for intellect and high moral position, over which Gov. Gilmer presided. A list of delegates and a more particular account of its proceedings may be seen in another part* of this work. The Committee of Twenty-One, to report matter for action, consisted of Messrs. Blackshear, Berrien, Forsyth, Cumming, Clayton, Cuth- bert, Gamble, Reese, Spalding, Tait, Rockwell, Beall, of Bibb, Taylor, of Burke, Bailey, Warner, Dawson, Haynes, Gordon, of Putnam, Clark, of Henry, Janes, and Harris.
Most of these names are well known to the public ; several belong to fame.
Judge Clayton had another opportunity of assailing the Tariff, at the great State-Rights meeting in Milledgeville, November 13, 1833, over which the Hon. C. B. Strong presided. Hon. N. C. Sayre and Hon. A. B. Longstreet were the Secretaries. On mo- tion of Judge Clayton, it was
Resolved, That a committee of thirteen be appointed by the chairman, to prepare resolutions expressing the sentiments of the State-Rights party in this State, and report to this meeting at its sitting.
The following gentlemen were appointed the committee :- Judge A. S. Clayton, Judge William H. Crawford, Dr. W. C. Daniell, Col. Seaborn Jones, R. W. Habersham, D. P. Hillhouse, Col. S. Rockwell, Col. A. H. Chappell, Col. Geo. II. Young, Gen. R. A. Beall, Col. Newton, Gen. Eli Warren, and Judge Charles Dougherty.
The report of the committee was made by Judge Clayton, as chairman, condemning the Tariff, Proclamation and Force Bill, and, among other things,-
Resolved, That the present meeting be organized into an association to be denominated the STATE-RIGHTS PARTY OF GEORGIA, and recommend meetings in all the counties for the purpose of constituting similar associations to be connected with that which will be formed at Milledgeville as the central association.
Resolved, That the doctrines of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, as construed and understood by Mr. Jefferson, and triumphantly acted upon in 1825, '26 and '27, in this State, constitute the creed of the State-Rights party of Georgia, and that, as all unconstitutional laws are null and void, we will, whenever the proper exigency arises, resist them in any manner the sovereign power of the State may order and direct.
* Memoir of R. A. Beall.
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The report was taken up by sections and agreed to. This was the first "platform" ever laid down in Georgia by a political party with a view to organization.
It is not deemed necessary to follow Judge Clayton any further in his consistent and persevering efforts to abolish a protective tariff. His sentiments have been fully announced.
His course on the Bank question will next be considered. How much earlier than 1830 Judge Clayton waged open hostility to the Bank of the United States, the author is not prepared to state ; but in that year he published a very caustic review of Mr. McDuffie's celebrated report in Congress vindicating the institution. He charged that the main and most forcible arguments of the report were plagiarized from certain proceedings in Philadelphia adopted by the leading supporters of the bank, among whom were the best legal and commercial minds of the North. Judge Clayton knew the power of his adversary, and employed his utmost ability to overwhelm him. The review was artistically pungent, and replete with scornful declamation, as if he expected to conclude all reply. Mr. McDuffie issued his manifesto in strong but courteous language, declaring that the report was entirely his own work, and that the imputation of plagiarism was technically a libel, for which a court of law would grant him redress, if he chose to invoke that tribunal; and that he required no other expounder of the doctrine of libel than the learned jurist who had perpetrated it upon him to serve a cause. The controversy did not become personal ; nor was it intended as such. The two gentlemen respected each other's cha- racter, while they warred as giants, with sword and shield, for honor- able victory. They afterward served in Congress together, and the matter was no doubt forgotten. A public dinner was given to Mr. McDuffie at Athens, in 1833, at which Judge Clayton per- formed the civilities with his usual elegance and humor.
On the 2d of March, 1832, the House of Representatives had under consideration a resolution offered by Mr. Clayton in the fol- lowing words :-
Resolred, That a select committee be appointed to examine into the affairs of the Bank of the United States, with power to send for persons and papers, and to report the result of their inquiries to this House.
The speech delivered by Mr. Clayton in support of his motion for a committee covers some forty pages in pamphlet. In the beginning, he stated that his opposition to the bank was no recent thing,-that he had been writing against it for seven years, -and he referred to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. McDuffie) to
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bear him out in the assertion, for he had " not even spared his own far-famed report."
Upon all subjects which he discussed, Judge Clayton evinced much warmth, and at times used expressions which his friends and admirers had cause to regret. For instance, the word italicized by the author (a liberty which he takes with reluctance) in the fol- lowing sentence is not in the very best taste ; and certainly a better word could have been selected to make as strong an impression :---
When I perceive gentlemen affirming, with so much earnestness, that it is all-important to recharter the bank at this time, that it is unfair and ungenerous to assail it upon political considerations, and that the present measure is intended not so much for the purpose of faithful inquiry as to avoid the exercise of honest responsibility, I stand ready to declare, by every sanction imposed under the highest solemnity,-nay, by all my hopes of peace here or hereafter,-that my opposition to the bank is founded upon its sole, separate, naked, and individual unworthiness, unconnected with any consideration save the damning influence it has already exerted, and will continue to spread, over every interest in this young and growing country.
After many allegations to prejudice the public, founded no doubt in sound policy respecting the bank, Judge Clayton said :-
I do not intend to go fully into the merits of the bank question at this time : I hope on another occasion to probe that matter to the bottom. I merely wish to explain the nature of the charges which I have brought against the bank, occasionally throwing out such reflections as are ob- viously connected with the facts, and well calculated to stamp those facts upon the mind with a steadfast and abiding impression. A few of those general ideas at this part of our discussion will not be unprofitable, espe- cially as I design what I am now about to say more for the public ear than for the benefit of this House. I will candidly confess that I am extremely anxious to use my present station to speak to the people on the subject of this destroying bank, and to urge them, by every consideration which can forcibly appeal to the love of country, to a regard for their government, to a respect for liberty and equal rights, to their hatred of monopolies, to their disgust for extortion, to their horror of oppression, and their detes- tation of privileged orders in this happy country, to pause before they permit the continuance of an institution involving within its influence and control all the foregoing relations.
The Bank of the United States, so called to give it the advantage of a great name, is located at Philadelphia, and has twenty-seven branches scattered throughout the Union. The whole of this immense money- making machine belongs to a few privileged individuals, who have an express assurance that no similar establishment shall be erected by the General Government in the United States. These are some of the lead- ing general principles of the institution :-
1. The mother-bank will not receive the bills of her branches without a premium.
2. The branches will not receive those of the mother-bank without the same.
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3. The branches will not receive the bills of one another without the same.
Now, what is the consequence of this? These favored few have a monopoly of all the moneyed transactions of the Union. Their capital is thirty-five millions of dollars, and this they lend out at a certain interest, and then send out agents to shave their own paper. They first make a profit by lending their notes, and then a profit by paying them off at a discount. Can any practice be more dishonest? If an individual, by reason of his wealth, were to do this,-were to impose upon the neces- sities of his poor neighbor to whom he had given his note, by shaving it afterward, -he would be justly esteemed a dishonest man. The fact is, there are principles allowed to this bank which the consent of all honest men have branded with infamy whenever practised by individuals. And it is permitted to do that with impunity which a sound morality has- universally condemned in the ordinary transactions of men.
But the most intolerable privilege is yet to be told. Not satisfied with being allowed to lend and shave their own notes, the Government actually puts into their possession the whole of its revenues, amounting to twenty- five millions of dollars, to speculate upon as they may think proper. There is scarcely any man who does not know that under our system of taxation the most of it is paid by the consumers of the country; and they are generally the farmers. Commerce forms the subject of revenue, which the merchant in the first place pays, but which he afterward compels the consumer to reimburse with an increase of profit. All this flows silently and imperceptibly into the custom-house; and the Government, not satis- fied with having exacted it from the hard-earned labor of the consumer by reason of a most ruinous duty upon the articles of his consumption, but they must suffer it to pass into the hands of a few highly-favored stock- holders to undergo an additional processs of extortion. If the collector of the revenues, the officer of the Government, were to lend out the taxes, speculate upon them after they were collected, for his own private benefit, everybody would cry out shame upon such an officer, and he would be hurled from his post with just indignation. And yet the Government directs him to pay the taxes into the Bank of the United States; and, the moment it gets there, it is set afloat in all directions upon lending and speculating contracts, and these bank gentry realize not less than six and often as high as twelve per cent. upon the burdens of the country thus drawn into their coffers.
Let us illustrate, by a familiar but striking example, this process of ex- tortion. The collector of Charleston receives from the merchants, and they from the consumers, of South Carolina, one million of dollars in reve- nue he dare not use himself in any mode of speculation, but is obliged to deposit it in the Branch Bank of the United States at that place. That bank then writes a short letter in true mercantile style to a sister-branch, say in New York, something like this :- " Have to advise you of one mil- lion to credit of government, [the hard carnings of the poor Carolinians, ] value at sight, and expect due honor." This is enough : a draft is drawn in favor of some cotton-buyer who wants funds in Charleston, at from one to two per cent., and the branch at New York makes right off from ten to twenty thousand dollars from the American system screwed hard down upon the honest Carolinians. At the same time, the same branch in New York informs her sister bank at Charleston that she too has ten millions taken in like manner, which can be drawn for in favor
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of merchants of Charleston who want to purchase goods in New York. Accordingly, it is done, and the Charleston branch " pockets" from one to two hundred thousand dollars more by what would be called, on the turf, " cross-jockeying." And this operation is continually going on be- tween the mother-bank and her branches, all over the United States, upon twenty-five millions of Government money. It is so mean and ridi- culous a species of legalized swindling, that while it resembles, it is even worse than the knavery the two Dutch lawyers practised upon their un- suspecting clients when one of them wrote to the other, in true Dutch style,-
"I haf von fat goose, I saund you anoder : You pluck de one and I'll pluck de oder."
Most people know nothing of the oppression and grinding exactions that are secretly but constantly operating upon the community by means of the monopoly granted to the Bank of the United States. Should not Congress, then, hesitate and examine, and examine and hesitate, long, very long, before they perpetuate such a blight upon the rising prosperity of this vast and growing country ?
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