Southern marksman. [volume] (Clinton, Miss.) 1838-1839, 1838-12-04
From the vioksburg Sentinel { Expositor


MENTs OF THE COUNTRY 1t is nov time
that the people of Mississippi should en-
quire into the condition of the State, the
causes of her embarrassments and the WIS
dom of the means adopted for her relief.
Nations are like individuals; they must
either gamble, or speculate themselves out
ofdebt; or they must pay their debts by the
slow and certain process Of agriculture,
commerce, or the arts. Mississippi owed
as nation little or no debt until The pre-
sent year; but a few years ago about ore
twelfth part of her citizens abandoned all
useful professions and undertook TO make
fortunes rapidly by gambling But insteaI
OF making these fortunes a large portion Of
them failed and TO prevent their being sold
out, the faith of the State has been pledgei
TO the amount of Is millions of dollars, to
stave olftheir debts with the hope, not that
their property should rise in price, for that
would be absurd, nor with the hone that
they will be able to make the money BY
their honest industry, for that would be
equally absurd; since the very increase Of
capital reduces the value of their labor il
proportion as it increases their expenses
But the State has borrowed the money foi
the promotion ofthe interests Of the whole
community, while the Union Bank under.
takes TO lend it to the Spectators under the
deluson that the last stake will bring back
to them all that had been lost. In com.
mon with many other. States a few of our
citizens suffer severely from overtradnr
and speculation. This evil has had para.
lei since the great mania Of 1918, 10 and
go; and both were the effects Of enormous
issues Of Bank paper. This paper passes
of course, as the representative Of moRev:
and whether convertible into specie or not.
it increases the price OF every thing we pnr-
chase, without increasing the price ofcoltou
the only article we produce for sale. The
produce OF Bank paper Is obviously there
fore, game at which the planting States
and indeed the whole producing class in
every part ofthe country, must lose. But
still it appears we must continue the game
for the especial benefit of the spectators.
Let US inquire into The effects of the prn.
cipIe ofborowing money on the credit &c
the State 10 pay The debts If SPECTATORS.
p or even TO enable mechanics or professional
men to become planters and 10 abandon
the pursuits for which they were educated
Mississippi has during the present year un.
dertaken 10 borrow 5 millions, Tennessee
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., Missouri, Illinois
and Indiana have all thrown the bonds into
market TO raise money for banking purpo-
SEES. Suppose all bave created 40 millions
Of bonds, and those bonds should be sold
in the great marls of commerce where our
cotton is purchased, will the effects not
obviously be to reduce the price Of our sta
pie by diminishing the capital in trade: and
by throwing the capital into the West and
Southwest, will it not increase the price oil
flour, PORK, bagging, bale rope, and every
article consumed by planters? Most Ger
tainly it viii, and experience proves it
Well now what is the consequence; men
who are out of debt and own land and ne
groes will not be able TO raise cotton even
at present prices, because the expenses OF
their plantations ha become three times
as great since we commenced banking
gamblingand specializing on large scale
IF then, the men who are out of deot and
. own the land and negroes, are unable to
4 make cotton proftably, how will the specu-
lators be able to bear all the expenses, and
at the same time pay the principal and in
terest? The idea is preposterous, and
every attempt to bolster them up will only
plunge them and those who were solvent
into greater difficulties. The sooner the
accounts ofthe Spectators are. squared, the
sooner will the country get out Of its diff
iculties, but as we have already observed,
the whole evils will be increased by borrow.
ing the money TO square these account.
Had the State used these funds for the pur.
pose of giving facilities TO business men
who were using their own capital TO send
oar staple direct TO the European markets
and bring back our supplies, then we would
he able TO levy the interest as well as the
nEOfifs of trade off our neighbors In the sur
Rounding states who should come here TO
purchase foreign goods, while our people
would obtain their supplies R5 per cent.
cheaper than al present. Borrowing mo-
ney for such purpose might be TOLERATED.
as it would tend to increase the resources
and the capital ofthe State. We contend
however, that if the State undertakes TO
borrow money to pay the debts ola few of
her citizens, she ought 10 pay the debts of
all; and we are of the opinion that it would
re1uire 100 millions TO pay all the debts Of
the citizens ofihis State, and if the State
were to pledge herself for that amount and
place it in the hands of men TO be used for
Banking purposes at nominalinterest Of
6 per cent. while they in reality charged
go per cent, the whole productive industry
of the State would not be sufficient to paw
The interest. The whole tendency there
fore of this principle is 10 drive all men Of
Is !. j :.adnnrfrrr or,t 1,E the SLnAa