Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1852-03-17

cent which is now, and ever since h as been,
the established rate of interest 10 England.
Since the enactment of these Statutes,
usufy may be defined 10 be, The taking OF
interest above the rate allowed by law, and
is not now TO be taken in the sense in which
i, is used in the old Testament and by the
early writer's above referred to, as appIlca-
ble to the taking of interest simply. But
even by these Statutes, usury or the taking
Of greater interest than that allowed by law,
is visited with the severest penalties, some
Of which, i, would be we'll for the Legisla-
ture 10 incorporate in the law which they
may enact, TO carry. GU. this provision OF
the New Constitution.
By the Statute of 18th Anne chap. l6,
sect. |, the usurious con,rac! itself Is not
only made utterly null and void, but the
usurious lender shall forfei. and lose for
every such offence, the treble value Of the
money, goods, Sc, so lent, SC. And by
The second section, sail and every broker
and brokers, solicitors, driver and drivers
Of bargains for contracts, who shall luke or
receive directly or indirectly. any sum Of
money, or other reward or thing, for the
brokage, soliciting, driving or procuring "a
ususous loan, shall foriei, for every offence
GOO with costs Of suit, and suffer imprison-
ment for half a gear; the one half of which
lorfeitures shall 60 10 the Queen, and the
other half TO him or them who will sue for
the same, by action of debt, bill, plant, or
information"
! II will be observed that this Statute Of
usury Of 18th Anne, om.s that provision
Of The 5!h sect. of 81 Henry VIII, chap. 9,
which subjects the usurious lender himself,
to punishment by impris onment ; Wills! il
subjects the broker, or procurer Of usuri-
Gus loan, person who is certainly not
more guilty than the usurious lender, to
imprisonment for six months. This incon.
sislency in The Statute Of 9Th Anne, is not
easily reconcileable with principles Of JUS
tce, and its obvious defect in this particular,
il is hoped, will beremedied by the law-mak
ers Of the present day.
| have thus reviewed at the risk fear Of
being tedious, The rise and progress Of the
laws against usury. From which il will be
seen, that by the common judgmcn. OF. man
kind, founded upon the expressly revealed
will Of God, usury has always been consid-
cred as detestable crime. That punish
men,s of the severes, kind have been provi-
ded against it, and that, in England, 10 this
day, in some one Of its forms that sort of
punishment! is now annexed 10 il, which
usually belongs to offences Of an Infamous
characlar, ] trust it will be sufficient TO
eXonerate the Convention which formed the
new Constitution, from The charge Of innova-
ling upon we'll settled preceden,s and opin-
ions, when they acquired by fundamental
law, the General Assembly to. enact laws
Furnishing usury, as crime.
With regard t" the general policy Of this
provision of the Constitution, in The sense
in which II would be regarded by enlighl-
ened views of political economy, have to
say, that ! cannot agree with those who
think that money, beng an article of traffic,
ought to be allowed, like all other articles
Of traffic, to reap its own price, In the
first place; it requires degree Of skep,icism
which do not feel inclined to cultivate, to
point. AS we'll may we say, that theft, al
though forbidden by divine law, is yet, and
Dug bit to be allowable, because the punish
ment Of it is restraint on our natural and
instructive sense of free agency. But this |
argument will not answer, because i, strikes
a, The root Of the divine law itself, and to
those, who like myself, believe in the d.
vine la ", il must fail 10 convince our judg- |
menis.
Blu, independent Of all difficulties Of this |
character founded upon the divine law, do |
not see how money can, in any jus, sense,
be called proper or Fl. article of traffic.
kpS ,ho HOG Il ,rI
Of oil valu which, are themselves, the !
subject Of traffic. 1t has no value of itself,
but only borrowed or reflected value
The thing it represents, Chat is the thing
we consume in our wan,s,) is the thing of
value, and the only Thing of value; and there
fore, being the only thing Of value, it is the
only fiji subject Of traffic. And for this fur
Their reason, because traffic rests on no other
idea than an exchange Of values. OF wha,
value is money per Sc? answer, none
whatever. Money represents values, bu, i.
cannot represent itself, first, because being
of no value per Sc, il can have no represent
talve in this respect; and secondly, because
it cannot of itself contribute to our wants, or
assist our appetltes: in any department of
consumption which Nature has provided
for US. Why then should it be, and how
can it be, an article of traffic? You must
reverse the laws Of nature, make the barren
hinty rock redolen, Of roses and prudent of
life before the dead carcase Of money, can of
itself give life or food to suffering humanity
To say nothing, however, of distractions
on this subject, lie. US look a, the question
in practical point of view. And in this
respect, Mr.. Editor, permi! me to say, that
agree fully with your correspondent 'An,o-
nio' in every thing he has said upon this
subject. He very turly observes ,ha, 'our
usurv laws so far from havinr the ef1sc, IN