Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1817-03-31
ALEXANDRIA.
MONDAY, MARCH 81
ON UsURY.

The following remarhs oh suo
.,,.stiou Of the espedieney ofabolish-
40 all laws against Usury, are ex-
's.t,l from the address Of George
M.y, Esq. 10 his constituents, dc
tsiIipg the proceedings Of the Lee
';.Jature of. virginia. Of which il
nav be recollseted he was a member.
There is much force in these re-
ark, on a question becoming dali
!, more important to the people OF
Usury Bill. The hill which l OBJ
tanned leave 20 introduce, for repeal.
in. the laws against Usury. has been
much misunderstood. l am not sur
ny;.ed at this. To many OF you, the
orooosition which is announced. is q
novelty ; aud what is new in politics,
!, always to be suspected, but what
!, new. is not always TO be condemn
ed fit were so, there would be
an aai OF all Improvement, New
Dr9positious ought to be examined
xha great circumspectiOn, and adj
mi,ted only uhen they are proved to
be correct. in this case, l think the
prouf conclusive, but il experience
should have demonstrated the failaey
.r the reasoning 10 which l had re-
course, We could in that event, SO
hack TO the old system with 40 much
case as we had abandoned il. AS an
expsriment at least. i; is worthy OF
being tried. Oar present system
is universally admitted to be deiee-
tive,
You will not expect from me here.
detailed argument on this subject.
A proper exposition OF il, u"der
oil its aspects would oocGpy a little
70 ume this little volume you shalt
see. as have leisure to prepare it.
amlwilling TO submit it to the
invssGgstiOa of the peop,e OF tue
United States. / feel assured, that
Ihe doctrine for which 1 contend,
will finally prevail throughout Ame-
rics.
Although / cannot now furnish
you with the argu nent 10 full,
will submit to you the principal pro
positions which endeayoured 10 il
lustrate and support.
1. That TO take interest for mo-
usy is not forbidden by the law of
justice, raeson, OF morality.
2. That IL it be morally lawful to
take interest, il is morally lawful
70 AXE any interest fairly agreed on.
This proposition is founded on emo
Their universally true, that all con,
tracts. where there is no f:aud OF
mistake are morally binding.
5. That the restriction on the rate
Of interest, which has prevailed
throughout the christian world, wa
no, the result of political considera-
tons. but a compromise between the
religious prejudice, which for ma,
uy centuries denounced the taking OF
any interest as a crime, and the good
sense Of mankind, awakened BY eom
merce. which became at length COS
yinced that interest ought TO be al
lowed.
1. That the laws against taking
more than prescribed rate Of int.
rest are Intellectual in all countries,
and under all governments, even the
most despotie.
s. That these laws, though total.
" uuavsiiiug as to the object which
they have in view. are pernicicu'. by
increasing the evil, they were intend
ed to remove, il being fact, histori-
caIly proved. that usury is always
high, in proportion to the severity
with which it is denounced.
6, That il the market was | II o.
pen and free to money holders, the
,sate ofinterest would be reduced, as
ali the money in the country would
then be brought into circulation, and
there would DO, Of course competl.
ton among lenders.
:. That the market rate Of inte-
rest never was, and never can be,
in any country regulated by aw. Ii
will regulate ITSELF just as the prices
Of -four, tobacco, and stock regulate
themselves,
8. That tue present lava have
a Jemoralizing tendency, because
Ihey norm;f a man In make n contract