Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1821-04-02

'""' ~ ''"' >"''diWS aga,
the times. because it it so hard IN n' .a
port his famiiy-ahd the old maid
cch"cs The cry, bcranse The timos
too hard i" to marry or be given
marriage"
Every man and woman has h..
her peculiar cause of complaint. 90
was in the days of Horace when
asks Mecenas !"
Qui lit M@ccnas. guam sibi sortem &
Cast your eyes, in facto, whersy,
you will, and .""u see long faces, ~,
ctch the accents of lamen1ation
despair.
The poor are poorer, and the ricL
bnt where are they? No man Nj
wear the cap-nobody has the reDnt
ii N of it, except the adventure
the lottery no less worthy than l,u"
nate. who draws the prize of one t" "'
dred thousand dollarsi But prizrs a
not come every day, no more than .oa
swallow makes a summer The wLI
country indeed, seems covered WIN
mourning: aud if you judge fran tI'
universal complaint. one would thin:
that we are going headlong into Il.
gulf Of ruin.
But let US take view of things !,
general and ask-Are we like fam;sb
ed inhabitants of beseiged city? N@
bread was never cheaper in the Work
than it is at this moment.
Is tobacco low 1T is lower than !,
was three years ago; but higher than
it was some years ago.
Are goods dear1 No; the merchant,
complaint is, they are so cheap, tL,,
they can scarcely be imported.
Domestic goods too are so chean
that the manufacturer complains of be.
ing starved by the importer.
Every thing then is low we are all
going to ruin" But pau e, nv friend
one moment. IF all things have fallen,
why complain : If You get less fr
bread, You give less for cl"athing. t
all things are brought down nearly in
the scale of value, they are compara.
lively as valuable as they formerly
were.-Eggs. vegetables, bacon. meats
of most sorts, groceries, clothes, hou.
ses, most things that We want, have
fallen in price, though not exactly in
the same proportion and half dollar
will now go nearly as far as dollar
would 90 formerly.
"Aye, but there's the rub" Every
thing may have fallen; but money hal
risen in value. "lt is because that ar
ticle has risen in price (says the unhap
py debtor, that SO many complains
are echoed through the country, tie
debts we owe are to be paid in this al.
preciated standard of value. We have
to pay the same number of dollars
which we contracted to pay while the
property we hold, tho it bears the sam.
comparative value with other articles
Of property, is worth less in dollars &
cents. 1t requires therefore, twice or
three times the quantity of property to
pay our debts as it did at the moment
of contracting them.-This is the caus.
of my own difficulties, whatever may
be the case with others who are not in
debt.
And this indeed is the true secret Of
the embarrasments We hear Oft IS
not. that the cause is a general one,
hut that it is fashionable to employ the
language of complaint. Those who
are out Of debt are scarcely worse of
than they were before-Labor still
bears some vnlue: at least the same
proportion as the other articles whic!
the Iabourer may afford to purchase.
Those, therefore, who are not ID
debt. ought scare ell, to complain of tie
times.-It is they only who are grouni
down by their ancient engagements
who may complain with some grace
But why do they complaint Doe,
whining ever relieve the necessities Of
the poor: Is it not rather the part d
a man to put his shoulders to the wheel
do the best he can-put forth all tie
faculties which his situation permits
work and save? Are not industry and
economy the two great pillars of na'
tional prosperity Some men may
thrive by speculation. Fortune ma!
smile propitiousIy upon others. b''
these constitute the exception; and moi
the rule. For one who gets rich ID
this way, there are hundreds who o.
tain a competency by labor that ne.