Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1848-05-26
NATIONAL DEBT OF GREAT BRITAIN.

, ~ discard the doctrine of reputation which was
advocated IN certain portions of our country few
years SINCE We admit that state. and governments
in their capacity such, are bound, even more
strongly than individuals TO perform their promises
to fulfil their contracts to meet and satisfy all right
full claims that may exist against them and it mat
tees not whether the claimants be individuals or
companies, or provinces, or colonies, or foreign
states, or the citizens of foreign states All right
ful claimants should, in all cases have what right
fully belongs TO them that is, if the debtor, or
those who have consented to be responsible either
or both have the means, or can procure the means
requisite to satisfy the demand, On these points
we shall not differ from the most rigid conservatives
Nor do we intend to call in question the right of
property in any where it does not conflict with
higher and stronger rights The question of the
validity OF the debt of Great Britain is an immense
property question, involving individual and compa-
ny interests to the amount of some thirty seven
hundred millions of dollars about six times the
amount of all the taxable property in the state of
| New York We grant that, viewed as a question
involving the right of property to that extentt
cipate the reasoning of the affirmative this point
4" You advocate, say they 4" the robbery of govern
ment creditors and bond holders by one fell swoop
to the amount of thirty -seven hundred millions Of
dollars Property legally acquired and as legal
y held, as any i'll the nation property fairly pur
chased with money, and money honestly obtained
Why not Just 90 and carry out this beautiful no
Icy. Apply your principles 10 another description
! of property and to another, and to ALL You repu-
date the government debt just proceed and do the
sane with oil debts Let all dues to banking in,
stitut rs and manufacturing corporations, and mer-
~ notes, AMI certificates of stock be cancelled by
the glorious policy of reputation. Let all bonds,
and deeds, I'd mortgages 90 by the board, and let
the popuiar rc'e decide who shall have property and
how long and how much, and who shall have no.
thing" We ha,.' thought of all that and much
more in favor of the affirmative of this question
and still we have no donbt we did right in underta-
ting TO support the negative. We have the figures
and the abstract ofhe history ofths mighty concern
before us, and the in favor of the negative
are weighty at least onsider them so, and they
are not few or far between
Inhe first place, this del was not contracted by
the people nor with the consent of the people The
permanent debt had its beginning about the close of
the 18th century. The Immediate occasion Oft was
the vast expenditures of William ~, in his wars
with Louis of France two Of tie haughtiest
most ambitious and warlike soyereigl,s that ever
regned in Europe. The pretcxt was The war
must be prosecuted the money must be hid, and
the people cannot submit TO the requisite an. ,unt
of taxation, and therefore we adopt the policy Of
taxing future times and unborn generations durins
the lapse OF coming centuries in order that ice, the
monarch the house Of the Stuarts, may carry for
ward o'V plans of selfish ambition and aggrandize-
ment. He did not ask the people if they wished to
incur the expense of the war. He knew, without
asking that they did not and that they We're
uctant TO incur its expense that they tcouH not
submit TO the requisite amount of taxation, The
plain English of this measure is IRE Of the 18th
century can squander money, and appoint the peo-
pie of the 18th and 9th centurles''to foot the bill
To this the people might reply, We did not bor-
row the money. We did not vote in favor of the
loans, or of any part of them. We neither voted
for them nor elected those who did Not one in
ten Of us was allowed to vote, and ii we had been
II would have been very difficult matter to vote
hundred yoars before were born. The house of
Stuart borrowed the money, and used it in building
up and propping up the house of Stuart The
house of Stuart you the money; nee are not
/ ~
taxing those who are to lie born hundred years
hence, in order TO support the pride and prosecute
the ambitious schemes of royalty, found to be
an admirable one. In this way the king and the
nobility the church and the army. could readily
obtain money enough 10 use enough to squander
enough to give away and enough TO throw away.
The national church was bWilt up and theology
stall fed until il became almost too fat 10 below,
The king was the defender of the faith and always
had occasion to defend for France the perpetual
foe and rival of England CaIhOlc, and the re-
bells in the kingdom of Ireland catholics, and
those in the American colonies dssenters.
Thus the JOINT interests OF monarchy and state reli
gion arisocracy and monopoly and oppression,
went an and prospered. And thus taxation increa-
sed and national debt accumulated. The support
of the throne increased it; the support Of the nobi
lily increased it the support of the church increa
sed it "a church always repudiaed and loathed by
the mass OF the people. Aud yet the people never
allowed TO votets grasping fingers away from their
pockets or their throats The support of the army
and navy increased the public debt. The American
war-oUr war of independence increased It, The
permanent suhjugrton OF Ireland increased it. The
twenty-five years war subsequent 10 the first French
revolution increased it most stupendously. West
India slavery increased 1t; and on until now it
looks up 10 the amount OF about four thousand mil
lions OF dollars and it the people of the
anted kingdom, the beautiful sum of one hundred
and thirty millions OF dollars yearly, for the purpose
not OF making it iarthng the less bat OF pre-
venting ITS increase by the accumulation of inter-
est on principal. We are aware that there have
been times and for many years in sucression, during
which the revenue OF the government has equalIed
the expenditure But never has there been any sur
plus TO apply 10 the extlngushment OF the debt.
The sinking fund system with which the people