Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-09-26

" ience that the bargain was usurious. Neser-
" tlefess tie necessities and erigencieS of rieR IN
= saitieiS ofccnsr.e, &c. by degrees got tie oct
Ger u this prohibition. hid. lie.
II e emperor Constantine had allowed that
lon grain 81, night be received. Our law con-.
intS re profit To q per cent as ~ ease OF
iao .Oan Of moncy.-lt would not he 'hhlcuit TO
conceive case, Ia which not Only six per
cent. Ou. ak hundred per cent. might fairly
DC asked and allowed for grain. and ~hen less
wCcid not and ought not TO DC received. Take
ihlS case. 4 Is the owner OF q fine fertile Held,
tuilN prepared for wheat. TIE whole fed IS
seeded eN cert 20 acres. By some accident,
or miscalculat.s::, no matter what, the seed
wheat. in the language OF the farmer, has 81
ven out. II supply rs not procured, 500 Bush
els OF wheat, wii,ci ou"ht 80 make and could
make, Tor the iaiid produces - bushels TO the
ac,e, are noi made. j is the oni, man ia the
neichbourhood, who has wheat rot III the
ground. RE mas exactly tue quantity wanted
by y but lie wants IL himself tor his own iana,
which produces from q TOT bushels per acre
only. 1 viii pay YOU double price, says a. tor
Your wheat. No, saysB. Treble : no, again SAYS
b, But will make you proposition, which
THINK fair. If l sow my wheat on iny poor land /,
l Shall n,akc about 10 bushels. Barring acci-
dents shaft have about that quantity more
than shall have ii L sell n TO you tor moeel.
IL take the price At which wheat has sold
during the summer, receive 20 dollars If the
treble price, 60 dollars. That's not enoagh.
want to stand Gil the first day OF July next, eA-
aciiy where l should stand, il L sowed my
wheat that is with iio bushels in my barn. THIS
You can afford to pay, because out ofn,y twe.I-
~ bushels you will make 500. But az you Will
have the trouble of SOWING, reapihg, and bring
ing to my barn, l will be content Will, Ion +,
instead Off. Wei, A agrees 10 this PROPOSE
ton. 1 ask, taking the case as stated, whether
~ can be said to act Internationally, az y, un-
wisely! Yet by our law, this would he IA case Of
hagrant usiiry and Il, II he was siraid of ihe
law, must keep his wheat, N must lose SeJ bush
els, an,l agriculture the same quantity. This IS
ioolishness.
Anderson q. 522 } boldly, but tliu!; justly
reLiarks, Z" that the generality of senSi-ie men
I" were long before (the 81 Hen n senS,,Iie o
81 er OF money a"iitwasdcrot;iN@ = IA uTiv,..-
sal practice, although they still wciit ca ia
" the old cant for form sake, to style uNury uG-
=" lawful Vet they deSignediy penned their
" laws in such general and obscure terms, on
purpose that loans and mortgages shou.G not
" be Instructed, norcommon business rerard-
" ed wish IL could be said, the age OF
"cantiug is gone %
Wolff or Nolfius, of whom Yat,cl in his
preface, speaks with so much respect, decides
without ANY hesitation, not only that interest
Is Lawful III ITSELF but that the rate ought to be
regulated by custom. He goes still further
and contends that compound interest may lust
~ he taken, ii tie contract stipulates thai in.
teres; unpaid shall be converted INFO priuci
pal Woliius. Iist. du 6ro,t, De. sect @ 10. sc.
tons made, while the authority of those Il ON
whose writings they are taken, is so soiemnly
denied. The answer is this. Truth ought al
ways 10 be the object, exclusively the object
at our search and he is best qualified TO find
ii, who knows ecery path that has been suppos
matsn, not to learning, but 10 tile enemy of
both, othe authority of names.
Yours, respectfully,
A SUBSCRIBER