Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-01-26

1 uverstock the money hilTSet ! he Hue ie"eu! -
sop all future borrowing, TO make the taxes adequate
=, isos, IN The interest Until this is done the capt.
,lst will doubt the credit OF the State and, oesnes,
IN. market will be overloaded with her paper. Even
Great Britain herself, with her almost uai'mteo
wealth and credit joined Too, with rare punctua''y'
in the payment OF interest, has' ne.eiIhe'e' oee"
ten obliged 10 diminish the sums obtained by loan ano
10 new taxes for the purpose of reestah'shng
her credit Thus during the first years OF the cont
No ntal war; she maintained the contest principally oy
loans But in 1897, the borrowing OF tS2 oOO,ouo,
.,,t her bonds SO low, that her per cent. Tell below
AZ PIT thcn saw the absolute necessity of altering
her whole plan of finance and boldly adopted at once
the e1oedent Of war taxes; that TO- raising large pro
portion of the supplies within inc year Inc SUCCESS
If This ,lsn forms the grand feature of the financial
history Of that celebrated Minister, ana u was 'ie
,r,a secret of The overwhe lining power of England
and of The untarnishcd character Of her credit by
nr.ring a less decisive course, almost every other
treat State in Europe lost its credit during that long
contest am delighted to gee therefore, that our lie
osla,ure is determined to call halt III tse system uf
ways and means. The otae musl ls'se hei tsae "
meet her annual payments. She must lay the founda
ton Of sinking fund that may ultimately pay on the
capa Let her do this and she Will pursue the course
of true economy Not one year will pass, before the
bonds Of Virginia will rise TO par, and as soon as 'n's
excessive demand for money, merely to pay debts or
save nroperty. ceases, which must happen in one or
two wears a, farthest, then may we expect SO great
rise in our State bonds, that perhaps ultimately we
shall be able 10 borrow at per cent, as much money
us will pay off all the per cent debts oil The common
wealth
pa interest on our debt must not forget that one
circumstance will make it much less onerous than an
equal amount in many other States Our state Deus
due principally to persons aud corporations
the State the payment OF interest therefore WIN NOT
occasion that continual drain upon our Specie which 10
the caae in all those States deeply indebted to foreign
ers and which most potent cause OF the continued
arrangement of our whole monfytary system.
AT present there is floating debt due the Banks OF
three hundred and fifty thousand dollars: vi course
il would not answer the taxes high as TO pay
of that debt besides meeting the current expenses, dur
ing the present year. Let the Legislature then, If
practicable do has been proposed borrow Temporarily
from the Banks, until on opportunity can be gwen Tor
funding portion the whole Of the S3)0.pO bat
! let them by means go beyond this amount ard IN
the process of funding let them raise money BY
the sale Of six per cent State Stock much below par
II 10 greatly preferable to borrow money al short periods
at high rates of in,eres,-because if our Legislature
pursue the proper system, there can be no doubt that
The State bonds will in year two rise beyond par.
The debt then be- permanently funded al low rate
Of interest and the loss incurred in the mean time, by
pa wing s, even TO- per cent. interest on tempo
rary loans, would be trihng in comparison with the
loss the State would suffer by selling her bonds at
forced sales, for 90 % per cent discount. When
there is prospect Of speedy ameliora,ion it is always
better raise funds By borrowing temporarily at high
than TO sell Stale bonds great discount, for
in the first case the loss gradual and ia soon stopped
by the return Of better stae o things, III the other
the loss is at once absolute aud forever irremedab!e.
cannot conclude my remarks without advert'ng Tor
moment 10 the responsible condition OF Virginia at
this time. IL there be peculInry which, beyond
all Others has characterised the Anglo Saxon ciyza.
ton it is The fidelity with which this race has Away
discharged its pecunary obligations AS people, the
British nation has often been unjust Il has often plum
dered other nations particularly on the high seas, and
yet nation has sacedy guarded the rights Of pro
perty. NO people have rigidly complied with
their pecunary contracts. They have strictly adhered
10 the reaus;ions of the bond 10 the pound flesh
They have been emphatically deIt paying race =
nd this sacedness Of property this sacredness OF in
d vidual and national faith in pecunary Obligations,
has been powerful cause Of British prosperity and
British mower. We have been supposed TO have inhe-
rited this trait from England; but some have feared
that the republican character OF our institutions
would be unfavorabe to its continuance. cannot be
Iieye that the OF republcansm can ever initiate
against that Of honesty. | cannot believe that this
noble feature in Anglo Saxon civilization IS destined
10 witer and die under the SIMEON blast OF American
Democracy. History teaches us TO expect no such re-
suit, it the Kings of England who have preserved
untanshed the honor of their country, it is not the
Lords, ii is the Commons of Engtaad to whom the
praise is due At time like this, then, when The very
cause of republican institutions is al stake, when we
are undergoing the most trying of all tests, does il not
become Virginia and her representatives. TO set an e1-
ample that may guide less favored portions OF our land
in the path of and justice, aud may to the
world that the Anglo Saxon has not degeneraed on our
soil, and tha determined TO remain debpay:ng
pcopls stir No one calculate the moral pes,ence
that would be shed land if our proud Common
wealth should, al this moment OF profound peace, de-
scend from that lofty moral station which she has hh-
ero held in our confederacy, by yielding TO the sug
qestons of the shallow and dishonest policy of TAM
pering with The obligation of contracts.
i GILES.
Virginia pc cent bonds sold hundred aud eight
dollars I get The ac from the Second Auditor
FOR TIE ENQUIRER.