Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-03-25
"Ror1Ev. lstl November, 1910.

I
| Ito inculcaie sound principles upon
| matters of politi al economy Is, perhaps,
| 10 be numbered amongst the most useful
| Iabours of man In this way have long
! lsboured with great assduity; and, now
| that experience mas verified The soundness
| Of the urinciplss which have endeavour-
! ed to inculcate, il is right 10 show this
| yerification. i'll order that the principles
| NAV become firmly established. In 1914,
| | saw Mr. Bayard, one OF your anihassa-
| doris, or envoys, in London. lhau known
| him many wears before, and called upon
| him while lie was waiting the decision CT
| our government as TO the negotiation Tor
peace. He observed, III the course OF our
conversation. that our Funding System
was a ,conderful thing and though had
written so ably Gas he was pleased to saw
upon the subject, the System had proved
| me TO have been III error. sand, no.
| That never limited its duration 10 year
! or two.-What had said was, that Ii
| could not last long /; that it must go 10
| pieces in one way or another; and, al
ded. that peace would hasten its desiruc-
zion. Mr.. Hughes was present during
| this conversation.
When | have been asked-HoW long il
| ,rould Be, before a Reform Of Parliament
,Uomld take place II have always answer
|
| Debt car, no longer BE paid in full. Seeing,
| then that all depends upon this system,
| no time ought 10 be thought long, which
is spent in investigating its state, and in
settling the term of It's probable durati-
| on.
GA great man, struggling with the
| storms of fate, has been deemed most
| interesting spectacle; what must, then, be
the spectacle of great nation struggling
with the storms raised bya system, which,
having gradually undermined all the foun-
dations of liberty and happiness, has, by
its very first open blow plunged every hui
man being within lis vortex into state OF
| doubt, fear, distraction or misery! Still
more interesting, however, does tins spec
tacle become, when we CONSIDER what are
the probable consequences of the storm.
Not 10 these islands will they be confined
ALI Europe will feel them. The battle
ments of continental despotism rock in
sympathy with the Funding System and
/ a Reformed Parliament Levels them to the
ground.
I" Endless are the schemes, the tricks
and contrivances now on foot tor avoid
ing this great event. In my late Nos. you
| have seen detail Of these but, Ii Is row
! openly avowed, not only III conversation,
but III newspapers, speeches ana pampli-
lets, that the interest of the debt must be re-
aucsa. This is now deliberately proposed,
not only al public meetings and by wri-
tiers of little note, but by men of great
property and weight. Mr.. Presto;s, mem
Der for AsLburton, who limited at it last
wear, has now, in pamphlet Just publish
ed proposed IT in distinct terms though
eleven years ago, old time-serving Sheri-
dan actually wanted To have me prosecu-
ted by order of the House of Commons,
for proposing the very same thing; or,
rather, for saving, that it must sooner or
later come to pass. The thing will be
done, and the only subject of uncertainty
is, the manner of doing it. But, to us, this
is no matter. Belt by reduction by name
be il under the name of tar be il by re-
duction of the Sinking Fund IFS real a
mount is still the same. The moment il
is done, the sponge begins, and never will
If stop while there is sing lie unit left up
on the score.
"The distress that is sweeping over
the country is beyond all description. II
reaches, and disturbs, and pinches evers
man who does not live upon tile taxes
The iails TEEN with dcbtorsand criminals
Bee, will attempt no general description
An instance or two will suffice. In one
district, at least, in Ireland, where still
fines were due and unpaid, the people, ra
Their than afford the tax-ofIicers the mean,
of getting the fines by seizure, wonld no
gather in their harvest! They rather chose
10 lei their corn and potatoes ret, than o,
them in tp be seized on by the revenue
This is fact too incredible to be believ
, cd without positive proof but we have i
unde4 the hands Of the taxing peopl,
themselves, who have issued a nolficati
on, that they will not seize for the fine,
= within month, and that they will no
, then seize upon the crop, and the rca
son they give is, that they understand
that the people are suffering their crop,
to rot, rather than be exposed to sci
| zurel
" But, far is this from being tie onl,
! case where imperious circumstances iav,
. compelled dispensing nth the TAR anf
| it is easy TO imagine the state Of countr,
! ! where such dispensing takes place Ii
: this neigbbourhood, we have delv b. 81
! | visited by distressed workmen from stat
!, fordshiTe. The story they tell is this: tina
!. thirteen thousand of them, for whom n,
. work could be found, have divided then,
? selves into equal bodies, and marched on
, body into each county; that due pro
portion have come into Hampshire AM
v we see ten al Southampton. They are t
re assemble, 1t seems, at stated times an,
1, then agree upon new routes. Their bus
e ness IS to maintain themselves by 5cgei,,
fl,oxt hrf,, 4