The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-02-12
The Texas Debt.

We have received from Mr.. Memucan Hunt, a
pamphlet on the public debt and lands of Texas, -
addressed to the Comptroller and Auditor of that
State Mr.. Hunt is agent for the creditors, and of
course is very anxious that the debt should be paid
| and is as usual on such occasions, very eloquent
about good faith and all that sort of thing. The
debt of Texas is stated to amount to something like
Sl2,0OO,00O. That is to say that the obligations
of the State for principal and interest in crcu
lation to that nominal amount. 1t may well be
doubted whether the present holders of these obi
cations have given more than one-tenth of that
sum for them at all events, it may be safely
assumed that one fourth of the amount would cover
all of principal and interest which the owners of
the debt have now actually invested in it. We are
great stcklers for public and private good faith but
we do not think that the faith of Texas would be
at all furnished if it confined itself to paying the
amount which its debt is actually held at, with
reasonable interest the from the time that it
was invested. We know that such a proposition
will not be very paatable to those who have bought
up the obligations on speculation; but it certainly
would be doing them no injustice, and would save
the Texan people from the burden of excessive
taxation for their special benefit. Mr.. Hunt, of
course, thinks that the entire nominal sum of prin-
Cpdl anu lltcTcsI Dc pau, dINl TIC pTUpUSeS
several ways to pay it. One of these ways is for
the State to sell to the United States all its unap-
propriated public lands north of Red River, and of
line due west from the source of that river to the
Rio Grande, for the sum of $50 900 900, payable at
discretion, and bearing five per cent. interest As,
it takes two to make bargain, and as the United
States would make no extraordinary profit by such
speculation, there is no probability that this
scheme will work. Another mode is to let the
holders of the obligations enter the public lands of
Texas at fifty cents acre; if that be the fair
market price of these lands there would be no great
objection to the plan; but if they are worth more
than that sum, such project would be adding to
the gratuity of paying seventy five per cent.-more
than the bonds are worth-and of course more than
they cost the holders-the difference in the price of
the lands, perhaps another seventy-fve per cent.
We want to see Texas out of debt, and fairly and
honestly out of it but we believe the time has
passed when the people think that either good faith
or justice require that they should go naked and
hungry to preserve the honor of the State by
enriching, without any show of reason those who
have speculated upon its necessities. If any man
holds the obligations of Texas to whom they were
issued for their nominal value, let that man be paid
in full, with interest; if any have bought such
obligations, at even half their nominal value, let
him receive his actual capital, with interest but
we no justice in taxing whole people to pay
an individual one dollar principal and one dollar
twenty-five cents interest for what cost him Ten or
twelve cents. Such scheme was carried out at
the close of our revolution, and the consequence
was the creation of public debt of two hundred
millions, due principally to those who had opposed
the revolution during its whole progress-to the
patriotic individuals who charged the bare footed
soldier fifty dollars of continental money" for
pair of shoes, or hundred dollars for coat or
blanket.