1474. CONFEDERATION, Defects of.—
There are some alterations which experience
proves to be wanting. Those are principally
three. 1. To establish a general rule for
the admission of new States into the Union.
* * * 2. The Confederation, in its eighth article,
decides that the quota of money, to be
contributed by the several States, shall be in
proportion to the value of the landed property
in the State. Experience has shown it impracticable
to come at this value. Congress
have, therefore, recommended to the States
to agree that their quotas shall be in proportion
to the number of their inhabitants, counting
five slaves, however, but as equal to
three free inhabitants. 3. The Confederation
forbids the States individually to enter
into treaties of commerce, or of any other
nature, with foreign nations; and it authorizes
Congress to establish such treaties,
with two reservations however, viz., that they
shall agree to no treaty which would, 1, restrain
the legislatures from imposing such
duties on foreigners as matters are subject
to; or 2, from prohibiting the exportation or
importation of any species of commodities.
Congress may, therefore, be said to have a
power to regulate commerce, so far as it
can be effected by conventions with other
nations, and by conventions which do not
infringe the two fundamental reservations
before mentioned. But this is too imperfect.
Because till a convention be made
with any particular nation, the commerce of
any one of our States with that nation
may be regulated by the State itself, and
even when a convention is made, the regulation
of commerce is taken out of the hands
of the several States only so far as it is covered
or provided for by that convention or
treaty. But treaties are made in such general
terms, that the greater part of the regulations
would still result to the legislatures. * * *
The commerce of the, States cannot be regulated
to the best advantage but by a single
body, and no body so proper as Congress.
* * *—
Answers to M. de Meunier. Washington ed. ix, 285.
Ford ed., iv, 141.
(P.
1786)
