Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1840-01-03

might otherwise have secured " rs hot
bv he ncrca.c Of this debt hat relief 's t.
be sought, bot IN - dlmnu ion. Upon
this point. there is, am harry TO say
hope before Vs.: not So much ~ the return
If confidence abroad, WIZ li viii enable tn"
s'n'cs 10 borrow more moncv,ns IN change
of public feeling nj home, winch prompts
our people to rause N 'bclr career, and
think Of the means bv which debts are to
be paid, before they ore contracted.
IL we would escape embarrassment, pub
lie and private. we mus, cease to run in
debt. cxcep, for obj cts Of necessity. or
such as Wi yield a cerioin return. Let
the faith of the States. corporations, and
individuals, already pledged, be kept with
the most punctllous regard. 1t is due to
our national character. as well as 10 justice,
TINT this should M the part Of each be a
fixed principle Of conduct. Bul it behooves
Us all to more chary in pledgng it here.
after. BY ccaslng to run IN debl. and ap
plying the surplus Of our crops and incomes
to the discharge Of existing obligations,
buying less and selling more, and mana.
ginc all affiirs, public and private. with
strict economy and ttugall'y, we shall sec
our country soon recover from temporary
depression, arising not from natural and
permanent causes, but from those have
enume a'ed and advarce with renewed
ylgor in her career of pro.p"'i'v
Fortunately for us at this moment,
when the balance Of trade is greatly
against us, and the difficulty of
meeting it enhanced by the dis
turbed state of our money affairs,
the bountics of Providence have
come to relieve US from the conse-
quences ofpast errors. A faithful
application of the immense results
of the labors of the last season will
afford partial relief for the present,
and perseverance in the same course
will, in due season, accomplish the
rest. We have had full expert
ence, in times past, Of the eXtraordi-
nary results which can, in this re-
spect, be brought about in short
period, by the united and we'll di-
rected efforts of a community like
ours. Our surplus profits, the ener-
gy and industry of our population,
and the wonderful advantage
which Providence has bestowed
upon our country, in its climate, its
various productions, indispensable
to other nations, will in due time
afford abundant means to perfect the
most useful of those objects, for
which the states have been plung-
ing themselves of late in cmbarrass-
ment and debt, without imposing on
ourselves or our children such fear
full burdens.
Blu, let it be indellibly engraved
on our minds that relief is not to be
found in expediants. Indebtedness
cannot be lessened by borrowing
moro money, or by changing the
form of the debt. The balance of
trade is rot to be turned in our IA
vor by creating new demands upon
us abroad. Our currency cannot be
improved by the creation of new
banks, or more issues from those
which now exist. Although these
devices sometimes appear to give
temporary relief, they almost inva-
riably aggravatc the evil in the end.
1t is only by retrcnchmcnt and re-
form, bv curtailing public and pri-
vate expenditures, by paying our
debts, and by reforming our bank
ing system, that we are to expect
ef1ectual relief, security for the iu-
ture, and an enduring prosperity.
In shaping the institutions and poll
CIV of the General Government, SO
as to promote, as far as it can with
its limited powers, these important
ends, you may rely on my most cor
dial cooperation.
That there should have been, in
the progress Of recent events.
doubts in many quarters, and in
some a heated opposition to every
change, cannot surprise us. Doubts
are properly attendant on all reform:
and it is peculiarly in the nature Of
such abuses as we are now encoun-
terine, to seek to perpetua'e thei'
power by means of the influence
they have been permitted to acquire
1t is their result, if not their object
to gain for the few an ascendancy
over the many, by securing to them
a monopoly of the currency, the
medium through which most of the
wants of mankind are supplied-to
produce throughout society chair
of dependence which leads all elias.
ses to look to privilege association:
for the means of speculation and