On the lath of April 1783, congress again urged the several states to establish some permanent funds for the payment of the debts of the United States. For this purpose, by a resolution of that date, they recommended to the states, " as indispensably ne cessary to the restoration of public credit, and to the punctual discharge of the public debts, to invest the United States in congress assembled, with a power to levy for the use of the United States, the following duties upon goods imported into the said states, from any foreign port, island, or plantation.
and upon all other goods a duty of five per cent ad valorem, at time and place of importation: with a proviso that none of the said duties should be ap plied to any other purpose, than the discharge of the interest and principal of the debts contracted on the faith of the United States for the support of the war, agreeably to the resolution of the 16th of De cember last, nor be continued for a longer term than 25 years." It was calculated that the pro posed duties would raise an annual sum of 915,956 dollars, which would fall short of paying the inter est of the debt, about one million and a half Of dol lars. Congress, therefore, at the same time, recom mended to the states " to establish for a time limited to 25 years, and to appropriate to the discharge of the interest and principal of the debt, substantial and effectual revenues of such nature as they may judge convenient, for supplying their respective portions of 1,500,000 dollars annually, exclusive of the aforementioned duties." This system was not to take effect, until acceded to by all the states, but when adopted by all, was to be a mutual compact, irrevocable by one or more, without the concurrence of the whole, or a majority of the United States in congress assembled. To induce its adoption, an appeal was made to the states by congress, in an an able address, in which they urged the propriety and justice of making some provision, for the payment of the interest, at least, of a debt which was the price of their inde pendence. From year to year this appeal was re peated: but, though it could not be denied, that in justice some provision should be made to satisfy the claims of the public creditors, these propositions were r.ot agreed to by all the states in such a man ner as to take effect. The opposition to them did not originate exclusively in a solicitude to preserve the prerogatives of the states. It was in part owing
to what Judge Marshall calls " an unreasonable suspicion, which grew out of an opinion, that on commercial subjects, the interests of the different parts of the union conflicted with each other." From the first of November 1784 to the first of January 1786, there was paid into the public trea sury only 482,897 dollars 90 cents. Happily, a loan had been negotiated in Holland, after the termina tion of the war, out of which the interest of the foreign debt was partly paid.
In a report made to Congress by the Board of Treasury, dated September 20th, 1787, it is staled that the requisitions upon the states, for the pay ment of the interest of the domestic debt, in the years 1782, 1784, 5 and 6, amounted to the sum of $6,279,376 27, and the Board says, " It is with re gret we are constrained to observe, that to the 31st of March last, the aggregate payments on account It has been impressively remarked by Dr Seybert, that it was the conviction that it was absolutely necessary that the power to regulate and control our intercourse with foreign nations, should be confided to congress alone, NS hich principally induced the people of the United States to call the convention to revise the articles of confederation." But, strong as the desire was to enter into commercial treaties with foreign nations, to countervail the navigation laws of Great Britain, and the monopo lizing edicts of other governments, and to substi tute commercial regulations of a general nature for the partial and conflicting regulations of the differ ent states, it is not likely that the present Federal Constitution would have been adopted, if the ade quate revenue for satisfying the demands of the public creditors could have been raised under the old articles of confederation. To protect persons and property within its own limits, and to regulate intercourse between its own citizens, each state government found itself quite competent. The ar ticles of confederation which had carried them suc cessfully through. one war, might be supposed suffi cient to carry them through other wars, if others should occur. The evils which resulted from inade quate revenue and the want of a proper regulation of intercourse with foreign nations, concurred in inducing the call of the Federal Convention, and the adoption of the new constitution.