The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1855-02-21
How much lhis County owes.

~ 10 IaVorlte Doast OF Americans pAAt
their Governmentis j. almost the only . ne in
the civilized world which isnot deeply plum,
ged in debt, So far as il relates to the Uni
ted States 10, its federal capacity, il is well
founded, Bat 20 far as itrelates 70 the one
and thirty Commonwealihs Of, which, the, ma.
ton is composed, il is an absolute Absurdity,
since the majority Of these latter are deeply.
If not inextricably 10. debt, We hear this,
BIT Of braggadocia SO frequently that il is
worth while TO devote 4 few moments to
showing. its folly, .--s-s,' -. -.
In England, France, Austria, and all 9TH
er consolidated nations, there is but one ex-
chequer to meet every want Of Government.
There is, consequently, but one national
debt. When we say that Great Britain owes
nearly eight hundred millions of pounds, or
four thousand millions Of dollars, the whole
story is told But II we should assert that
the entire debt Of the United States was less
than sixty millions, we should be apt to mis-
lead the reader. For the Federal Govern
ment, which is what is technically meant BY
the term United States, having only circum-
scribed powers, is not, and never can be
made liable for the principal share Of the ex.
penses of maintaining order and dispensing
law among the people at large, most Of this
burden falling on the separate members OF
the Confederacy. To give correct idea Of
the real indebtedness Of the nation, there
fore, we must include the debts Of the seve-
raj States. s'ts' 2l1! . iF''@'fe' T." Q. ~
Now, ,fthe total indebtedness of the various
Commonwealth is about 1921 ,00O, 600, d.
vided among twenty-sesen States, four being
SO fortunate as to owe nothing, viz: New
Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware and Florida.
OF these twenty-seven, the debts of seven
are under $l,OO0sOoo apiece. Maryland,
Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia. New Fork,
and Pennsylvania, are the States most deep
ly in debt. The largest absolute debt is that
of our own State, which is over $40. .OOO, 900;
the lowest is that of New Jersey, which is
but $7l 900. '''" ',,., " -
The heaviest debt, proportion to that 81
the population, is the debt Of Mary land,
which exceeds $l5,0OO,OOO, in population
of five hundred and eighty-two thousand,
bond and free. The debt of Virginia, though
but little more numerically than that Of New
York-the one being $26,ooO,ooO and the
other $24,0oo-is more than twice as heavy
relatively, the population being less than half,
while the general resources Of the State are
greatly inferior. The entire debt Of the ma
ton, estimating the Federal debt as we'll as
that of the State, exceeds $275 100000.
But this still fails to give an accurate idea
of the total indebtedness of our country. -
In Europe,iif we except England, most tpub-
! lie works are constructed by the Govern.
ment, so that the national debt includes the
cost of the principal railroads, canals, and
turnpikes. Butiin the United States, with
the exception Of the Pennsylvania State
works, and those of few other Common
wealths, ,all such improvements are ownec
by private corporations. Now, the aggte.
gate cost of the principal of these. works. il
computed to be- $l,0O 100000, of which
$500, ,0O0, 900 alone are invested in railroads
Consequently, if we would arrive at the true
indebtedness of these united States, rwe
must add the amount of this description o.
securities to the amount Of the State ant
Federal ones. Twelve hundred millions are
therefore, about what we owe-a very re.
spectacle SUNNI it must be acknowledged
especially for nation but eighty years old
eTe, give an entirely just idea of the sub
ject, however, we must remind the, reader
that ,a,chief part Of this debt is attributabl,
to the fact that we are new country, thre,
fourths of those millions having been spen
developing our resources -, ~
/ Considering the vast mineral and agricul
turaI wealth Of America; considering, also
the indomitable energy Of our people; con
sidering the favorable position we occup,
| for conducting the commerce of. the world
this debt, as enormous as it seems, is com
paratively little, or would be, if we were al
ways as prudent and thrifty as we are enter
prising. - PHILADELPHIA LSdgsr.H s'!' al -
I ~sb vaig4A-s- il=s-----+asss
4aayA KnOW-Nothing Letter. bar
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