When A Government Betrays The People By

The Inquiry Constantly Is What Will Please, Not What Will Benefit The People. In Such A Government There Can Be Nothing But Temporary Expedient, Fickleness, And Folly.

That Experience Is The Parent Of Wisdom Is An Adage The Truth Of Which Is Recognized By The Wisest As Well As The Simplest Of Mankind.

It Is By Far The Safer Course To Lay [considerations Of The Future] Altogether Aside; And To Confine Our Attention Wholly To The Nature And Extent Of The Powers As They Are Delineated In The Constitution. Everything Beyond This, Must Be Left To The Prudence And Firmness Of The People; Who, As They Will Hold The Scales In Their Own Hands, It Is To Be Hoped, Will Always Take Care To Preserve The Constitutional Equilibrium Between The General And State Governments.

Here Sir, The People Govern.

If Duties Are Too High, They Lessen The Consumption; The Collection Is Eluded; And The Product To The Treasury Is Not So Great As When They Are Confined Within Proper And Moderate Bounds. This Forms A Complete Barrier Against Any Material Oppression Of The Citizens By Taxes Of This Class, And Is Itself A Natural Limitation Of The Power Of Imposing Them.