The Rodney telegraph. (Rodney, Miss.) 1838-1840, 1839-12-23

u
endless schemes; some Of which in the rich
er states may yield profitable return, bGt
with by far the greater part Of them, such q
result is entirely out of the question. They
should have waited, as other countries have
done, till the Increase Of population and tho
increase Of wealth had not only furnished
justification for such undertakings, but dc
means, without looking abroad for that pwr-
pose, Of carrying them into effect. On 10
other principle can substantial improvement
ever take place in any country. First or
last, il is obvious on the supposition that
common honesty is to be observed, that the
funds must come from the state which makes
the improvement, and it need rot be pointed
out in country where money bears high
rate of interest, how much more cost the
process must be with borrowed money than
with its own.
The question is, however, in what man.
ner the holders of American state stocks will
be benefited by the difficulty which now
exists of effecting sales in any of themi.-
Now, it will readily be conceded that the
first security TO he relied on in loans made
for internal improvements, is the productive
character Of the improvements themselves;
but that failing, there remains the liability
Of the state under whose guarantee such
loans were contracted. Bat the question
has been raised, and however people may
wifully blind themselves to such a conse-
quence, it will come forward at some future
time, whether the separate states of the
American Union have the power to levy
taxes for the payment of the interest upon
loans, and ultimately, lin due course,) the
loans themselves, contracted for underta-
kings, ia the origin Of which the people at
large had no share, And which they probably
would have repudiated, had they had any
voice in the bargaini It may he said, and
the argument is not undeserving Of attention,
that whatever the law may be, aprinciple
Of honor" will induce them voluntarily to
submit to some privatons for the repay
ment Of the money raised for such Pur-
pose. We should pity any IMAM who should
act, with all the bearings ofthe case before
him, upon such reliance; but it will readi-
ly be conceded, that supposing the conti6
gency to arrive that the canals, or railroads,
or banks, with all their progeny, cannot pay,
and that the state must, if payment is made
at all, the question Of power, as well as thsE
of means, may then be brought forward
Now, thus must depend, in a great measure
upon the amount of the claim; and we firm
~ believe that could an unlimited vent for
American securities have been obtained in
this market, we should have gone On land
ing till it had become literally impossible,
when the day Of payment arrived, for these
states to meet it, whether the law sanction
ed it or not, and whether they possessed the
inclination or otherwise to be honest, while
that every facility would have pushed the
various schemes ahoat to such an extreme
of absurdily, that success must become alto
gethcr out of the question.
We have already trusted the states to the
full extent may, in nineteen cases out Of
twenty more) of their trust-worthiness, and
must rely now on their sense of honor or
their internal resources for a liquidation.
which would have been entirely hopeless
had the mac, career of the last five years been
further pursued. The holder of Americans
securities, therefore, with the exception 81
those who want to sell or borrow upon, am
placed in better situation by the tempor.
airy cessation of all dealings in them.-
Some Of the states may, and probably will,
pay all the claims, some will pay portion,
and others perhaps nothing; but with respect
to all OF them, the chances Of the 6reiens
creditors are improved BY the present stsis
Of things.
If any further argument were required
against making any more loans to tha
American states, it would be found Ia Ia
feeling on that subject among the intellirent
merchants Of that country. Who concssso
that as much injury has been done 8 a.