Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1851-02-01
The I%ncurring and Paying of Debts.

slider il, IN the first place, an evil Of gigantic
magnitude, The habit or the vice of debt, which
All enlightened age, among lis other introduce
lions, has imposed upon society. But, we are
very sorry to assert it, the lncurrlng OF debt,
seems to be 4 peculiar feature of this country
and is at the present day. particularly IN the
South, so warped in with the idea of q gcnteel
or Icntlemanly fashion, that men OF all classes,
even with their purses full, will prefer having
their names on the merchants books, than to
pay the cash at less price-and many SEEM
inrlv taking delight in the knowledge that their
creditors nre in want Of their dues, and Vi
ciously withhold payment as long as it is safe
to do so. Certainly, many are, in 4 measure,
dependent upon others, who being obliged to
credit, are forced to the necessity Of asking
credit themsclves-.and those Of sanguine or
nervous temperaments, who incur debts upon
the strength and showing Of their books, be-
licving others are as willing to be as punctnal
as themselves, are often sadly disappointed in
their expectations, and get themselves into
narrow and dangerous pecunIary straits.
No man should incur Il debt without he is
willing to pay punctually at the time the money
is expected from the creditor, and even make
sacrifices to do so. We consider a callous and
Indifferent debtor as a living picture of a dis
honest man. Giving credit is ta%ntamount to
saying that the fullest confidence is had in the
debtors integrity; and i~nertness or indifference
respecting il, is adding ingratitude to INJUSTICE;
and descrved'y lowers q man to the neither
upright. How essential is it then, that all
should struggle to l%iquidate punctually the
claims of others? Society would be stripped
OF one Of its deadliest foes, and the stream of
good feeling and friendship, foreshadowing as
it were, a glimpse of the worlds millennium,
flow on like the peaceful and silent curreaE
giving health, and yigor, and happiness foe4be
human race. Credit, as we intimated above, -
q peculiar feature of refinement and education,
and one of its curses. Through its meshes
and operations, a man S standing in the commtA
nifty is judged: it is the standard of his honesty
and pecuniary responsibilities and it appears
to us very singular that, all men being aware of
this fact, and knowing the Importance of a good
name u this respectable friends he can gather
| around him and the laudations which will issue
| from the lips of all--will not use every effort
to secure a reputation of this nature.
In some descriptions, of business it is easier
than in others for a man to keep up his cha
racter of punctuality. The merchant and the
grocer have their stated payments to make for
the articles they sell, and have perhaps greater
responsibility upon their shoulders than any
other description Of business, for their reputa-
ton and their outlay are both at stake. In
the professions and the different trades, skill
and labor, are the main capital; and we be-
lieve it is a general feeling among the non or
hard paying humankind, that this class Of citi-
zens can do without their dues much BETTER
than the former. But either of the above emu
meration, have more or less cash payments,
which enables them to press on. and frequent.
ly with success and foitune.
But, (f we may be. allowed this personal
rehection) ofall the professions or trades, which
suffer through the credit system, the printer has
the hardest lot of all. He has no cash pay
ments to enable him partially to keep in sight
of his expenses, on account of his office, HIM
self and his family. His workmen must be
regularly paid-the money must be paid when
his paper and ink are purchased-and if he
does not maintain an excellent character, few
are green enoughto trusts man for any neces-
saries whose business is conducted in this
manner-and the slavery Of custom in this
country has imposed upon the unfortunate
publisher this seemingly irremediable evil:
and he whose genius could e~xtricate The press
from this low and degenerate thraldom would
deserve q monument as lasting as the blue
ether above us. Among printers subscriptions
are the most difficult of debts to obtain. The
man who subscribes for a paper, should at
once take the money from his pocket and pay
for it. In an established journal, no man can
have a fear of receiving his paper for lifetime
'heshas subscribed for it. He does not refectj
perhaps, that from the moment he subscribes,
the publisher is at a daily expense on his ac-
count alone, independent Of others. It is
small, II IS true, butt amounts up TO the sum
due in intercourse fthe year. Therefore it is
all important that every subscriber should pay
in. advance. In regard to advertisements the
case is exactly the same--no advertisement
should be inserted without advance payment.
Tie necessitysofthese two reforms should be
Isu,tfiicienttos cali for an editorial convention,
which We hope to see some Of these days.
Some may consider these remarks severe and