The ambiguous
phraseology of the whole slave-trade section as reported did not pass
without comment; Gouverneur Morris would have it read: "The importation
of slaves into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, shall not be
prohibited," etc.[17] This emendation was, however, too painfully
truthful for the doctrinaires, and was, amid a score of objections,
withdrawn. The taxation clause also was manifestly too vague for
practical use, and Baldwin of Georgia wished to amend it by inserting
"common impost on articles not enumerated," in lieu of the "average"
duty.[18] This minor point gave rise to considerable argument: Sherman
and Madison deprecated any such recognition of property in man as taxing
would imply; Mason and Gorham argued that the tax restrained the trade;
while King, Langdon, and General Pinckney contented themselves with the
remark that this clause was "the price of the first part." Finally, it
was unanimously agreed to make the duty "not exceeding ten dollars for
each person."[19]
Southern interests now being safe, some Southern members attempted, a
few days later, to annul the "bargain" by restoring the requirement of a
two-thirds vote in navigation acts. Charles Pinckney made the motion, in
an elaborate speech designed to show the conflicting commercial
interests of the States; he declared that "The power of regulating
commerce was a pure concession on the part of the Southern States.
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