The North-Carolina standard., 1849-01-17
CAROLINE Eir ia

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frotn ts nat,lss sa & See;et IL
and ts operation of d thousand cause
yet IF we adhere strictly and unWayering1y to thi
cardinal doctrine the greatest good to the creates
number, IN aH our legislative deliberations, we carr
into PraetIcal those great fundamental PEiac
pies upon which the republican government was pre-
dlcated under whose ssalqtary auspices We live
i Keeping this IN view, as the polass star to pmiR
our poltical pal we shall ever be conductes
safe e e harbour Of wise and jndiciops legislation
authority Of the to restrict the privileges
4 o. men, when the appearance of such restriction i
evidently designed for the public good is attempt
sG6ys thoss Rpesss bE Which ag gses
1t is challenging the intelligence of those who acted
the most conspicuous part IN the deliberations o1
every the foundation Of the gov
we consult the ySlumihOus documents, we 6ndH
that at every previous session, certain laws have
been enacted affecting either directly Indirectly the
rights and privileges of some persons Consequent
fy such thing as absolute equality in rights and
privileges cannot exist under the influences of wise
and lselne system of Legislation! It is like the
fabied existence of the mermaid, that inhabts the
mighty deep, with angel wings and human form
ahds according the language of the poet,
q From the deep often takes an ETHEREAL fight %
To bask IN the climes Of more vivid light ]" -.
but which exists the lima gnation, not in reality.
Sir, order to establish the correctness of the pn
ePie that tbs proper 20 restrict the few for the bene
ft Of the many. t1s only necessary 70 hiring to the
ef this Hopse, one lawW hieh is be
found every stafnte book in every. State of this
Enien, refer to the 9saty law That law in this
State says that no person whatsoever, upon any
contract shall directly or Indirectly take for loans of
any moneys wares, merchandise, commodities
whatsoeyeF, aboye the value of six dollars, by way
of discount or interest for the forbearanee Eef
hundred doIIa1s for one year. y and it. goesfon
to say that if any person shall take more than six
per eept he shall forfeit and lose for every such Of
fence, the double value Of moneys SO lent, Sc. Now
here is law directly in pointthe monfed capitalist
or miser cannot use his own money as heechooses
His rights and privileges restricted for wise and
wholesome PURPOSES to prey ent him from specu1at-
ing upon the necessities of the poor-o prohibit him
from taking the advantage of the pecunarY epbarFas
fnent of his neighbor. For, Sir, if there was no
law upon this subject, the natural impulses, which
seem to control most men, their thirst and anxiety
to accumulate riches, would triumph their bet
ter feeings-over those phianthropc emotions which
should actuate every bosom cause the aristocat
c monopoist to extort from the hard and dear EARN
ings of his neighbour fifteen or twenty per- cent.
And although this laws now in existence, seems to
be oppressive to those who have their thousands of
dollars to loan out, yet it yndicates the great re-
publican doctrine for which we contend-the great
est good to the maorit with the least injury to the
minority. There have been many laws passed lat
previous Legislatures establishing an embargo upon
particular rivers in the State, which were designed
to carry out the principle as this BILL but more
restricted In their operation. therefore contend
that the restrictions which propose, will act bene-
fcially to majority of those, upon whom the law
is designed to operate at ALL And in the first place
they will prove benefciato nearly every fisherman
the streams tributary to the Abemare Sound, for
they will necessarily remove to certain extent that
obstruction caused by the numerous Sound fisheries,
where seins from two to three thousand yards long
are used. These .seins operate as distractions n
two7fold manner-fFst, by catching the fish, second
y on account of such ncessant hauling, by divert
ing them from their accustomed haunts, and prevent
ASCENDING I'm has hapn
argued that those sens cannot constitute such ma
tera obstruction, because the Sound is several miles
wide, and that the sens do not extend more than
three quarters of mile from the shore 1t is true,
that upon superficial view, this argument seems to-
sound with some degree of piausibty; but, upon
closer examination toses all its cegency apd force
because It is well known by every man who is con-
Yersant with the business, that the fish invariably
run near the shores during the spawning seasonyof
the year. The water in the Sound is uniformly from
fifteen to twenty feet deep, three quarters of mile
to mile from the shore, and they do not seek the
deepest water, but the contrary; for it has been inn
seek those haunts which seem to invite them at that
season of the year. order to fulfill the high sdes
tiny of their natrrethe Of their Species
The pleasant shoals and sunny shores stretch forth
as it were, their hands 10 invite ihem, and bid them
welcome to their happy retreats, where they tarTy,
for while oiterin upon the shoals in pleasant wea-
ther, or basking in the rays of the eopgenial sun.
This is true, not only regards tire herring and
eI6gdTQS the VaIOnS SPECIES OF ASn,
which inhabit the shallow waters The observation
of every man, bears witness to the fact that durn
the spawning season they found, in myriads,
around the shores of our rivers, creeks and ponds
When the daWning of early spring impars genial
warmth to the waters, their instructive impulses seem
to them from their deep habitation, which
claimed them during the cold and frigid season of
the year, and cause them to seek their abode-near
the shoals. If then, these observations be true the
seins, varying from two to three Thousand yards longs
will constitute barrier efectual though they
were twice the length. 1t would not make mate
rial difference whether the Sound BEL five forty
miles wlde But the opponents of this bill deny the
correctness of the course which would eopardize the
interest of the Sound fisheries for the benefit of the
river fisheries, though the latter be much
merous, thereby transferring, as it Were the value
In part from the few. to the many. And why Sir,
is this insisted upon9 Because, 1t is said, per-
chance few more thousand shad or fewmore mil
lion of heElngs should be allowed to pass up the
rivers, and be caught by the up-river fshermen it
would be,a small matter to each. Now, am sure
that if it be,a small matter to fishermen up the riv-
ers, who use small seins and weiFs, am driven to
the conclusion that it will be still smaller matter
the Sound fishermen and those near the mouths of
the rivers, who such large seins.s But appre-
hend this argument may be add1ceds to prevent the
Legislature from taking any aconnpon this subject.
SiTs one thousand heriHgs or enc hundred shadd
caught by the poor man. are more valuable to- him
than twice, that number to, the wealthy man. But
it has been argued that if lay day is established,
and It should happen when there ia of fish, as
the fishermen say the imposition ofsuch anembargo]
with other natural hindrances, would cause this great
interest the Sounds to suffer more material injury.
This, Mr.. Speaker; isztrue, for If it had not this
effect, should abandon position entirely, and
seek the interpositon of some other more salutaTy
aw, by which dheg grievances of9my constituents