Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-01-18
E!,l40, 100000

Near twelve hundred millions OF pounds sterling IN
less than century and a quarteT-wc may say three
quarters of century, for the great 81 the issues
have taken place since thc beginning Of the reign Of
George The Third. The first sSnc the third OF
million; uDde. George the Second, the average annual
issue was the third Of million; under George the
Third, the annual average nine millions; under
George the Fourth il thirty millions; under VIII
liam the Fourth twenty three millions; and under VIC
toria il is twenty-one millions. Snch is the progress
Of the system-such the danger of commencing the is.
sue Of paper money u supply The wants Of Govern
n?nt.
This, continued Mr. 3 is the fruit Of tie Exchequer
issues III England, and il shows both the rapid growth
and ngcruus peryersion Of such issues The first bills
Of this kind issued in that country under Will
liam the Third, commonly called the Prince Of Orange,
in tie year 1926 They were issued to supply thu
place temporarily Of the coin, which nil called i'll to
be rcconed under the superintendent OF SIR Isaac New
ton. The first bills were put onby King William only
for this temporary purpose, and issued as low
Ten pounds and FIVE pounds sterling. IL not until
than thirty years afterwards, and when corpora
lion credit had iaea, that Sir Robert Wapole revived
the idea of these bills and perverted them into cuen
c., and into instruments for raising money for the
of the Government. His practice to issue these
bills TO supply present wants, instead Of laying taxes or
making fair and open loan. When due, new issue
look up the old issue and when the quantity would
become great, the whole funded that IS TO say,
saddled upon posterity The ffut Of the system is
seen in The 900000G00 Of debt which Great Britain
still owes, after al Tie payments made upon It, The
is enormous, overw kclmng, appalling; such
could have been created under any system OF
taxes loans. In the nature Of things, Government
expenditure has is limits when II has to proceed upon
taxation borrowing. Taxes have their lmi; IN tho
capacity of the people 10 pay loans have their Limit III
the capacity Of men 10 lend and both hare their re-
strans in the responsibility and publicity the oPcrs-
ton. Taxes cannot he laid without exciting the n
curry Of the people. Loans cannot be made without
Their demanding wherefore. Money, c. gold and sill
ver cannot be obtained, hut in limited and reasonable
amounts and all these restraints impose limits upon tie
a,noun, Of Government expenditure and Government,
debt. Not with the noiseess insldious bonndless
progress Of debt and expenditure upon the issue Of Co
vernment paper! The silent working Of the press IS
unhcard BY The people. Whether It is one million or
twenty millions that struck, al one to them When
the time for payment, the silent operation OF the
funding system succeeds to the silent operation OF the
printing press and thus extravagant expenditures 60 on
"a mountain Of debt grows up-deyouring interest &c.
crucs-and the whole thrown nPon poserlty, 10 crush
succeeding ages after denornzlng the age which con
tracied it.