The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-05-22
.c nAT,Y DISPATCH.


THE DAIL DAILY. DlSYA-10n;
~rrsssy rssr.iss, My ss. .1 1ssy.
.~~--,-@r- = Tnxatioa.
.,,..v Smith, iu one Of bis articles on Aa''
s'oA ,,s,nburaa Review. Invoked the Ame'.s.
ID wv M. TO be too much carried a~v ~
pe0pf Glory engendered by their orl'''.n. uas.,
i0.. nh, Tor glory, said sidney, 10 only pulVn.s.u
~. ~ ,axss. and Of taxadon. - eAs"s 70
,..s,.na. he drew picture enough :" 's $3.50 S.'s
hos..s -hola carcass Of the most Hsnsisd
sHA ".- - military repown. wsdo not remember
oe'S .s ,..-r.re but he spoke Of taxes on every
.a.. ,n., I. pleasing to the eye, the ear OF the
80. ,axes on the very sunlight OF Heaven
80. an every article Of necessty, and comfort -
ali a, ,uxury; taxes on the spoon that the dying
r,s..,.hm.n takes his medicine out Of, the drug
a., h. swallows and on the license that the
.no,hecary pays who puts him to death taxes. Ia
.h,rt from hs cradle 10 his coffin. until be seek re
fuss in the only land where taxation d unknown.
Such 10 the price which Eogiishmen have paid for
glory, and which the Uni.ci States may expect
whenever they abandon the traditional policy of
peace, which has made them prosperous and pow
erful for wars Of ambition. glory and aggrandizes
ment.
We knew something Of taxation in Virginia
but, heavy and Furthermore as Il Is, we have the
consolation Of feeling that It Is not such IKE the
expenditures Of war In = whirlpool OF waste ana
destruction, never again to come to the surface OF
bring back solitary return save the asnss t"taus
Of military renowr. We have the consolation OF
feeling that the taxes bear sustain the credit OF
the State. and have been caused by the productive
contests of peace, by works of Improvement,
which spread around their path beauty and ertii-'
~, and which, whilst they deduct, In small de.
gree from the profits Of individual industry, vastly
increase the aggregate wealth If Virginia owes
debt of thirty millions, the outlay has been fol-
lowed by an enhanced value of real estate 10 only
six wears. of one hundred millions of dollars The
outlay she has made has increased her ability to
bear taxation. Were she to spend thirty millions
more in completing her James River Canal her
Covirston and Ohio Railroad and other leading
lines, the expenditure would be followed by an in
creased value of property to the amount OF five
hundred miIlions The great error she mas COM"
United has been 10 frittering away her energies AT
means upon minor works. instead of concentrating
them all upon one or two leading lines. Ii she nao
pursued this policy, instead Of heavy taxation now
to pay for unfinished roads she would have connec'
tions with the Ohio which would 1t this moment
enable her to pay for their construction, ana, ere
long, would liquidate all the expenses OF the State
and deliver her people from the very name OF tax-
alton. f
The warning which Sidney Smith holds out of
the enormous cost of military glory is not only
deserving of consideration by those who control
the destinies of the nation, but by those fanatics
and sectionalists who are laboring with zeal
worthy better cause to precipitate the nation
into the vortex of dsunion and civil war. A debt
caused by an unnecessary foreign war is grievous
enough, but the recuperative energies of this
young and gigantic country would in quarter OF
a century, spurge out the enormous Indebtedness,
and leave posterity at leisure to contemplate the
lsurels beoueathed to it with some degree of CONS
plscency But have disunionists ever counted
the cost of the contest they so eagerly urgea No
men are better at calculation than the people Of
New England and other abolitonist and multiplying
Commonwealth Let them try their arithmetic
upon the pecuniary consequences of disunion and
civil war. 1t is no exaggeration to say that, In
such q struggle each section will be compelled to
bear greater burthens than foreign war would
impose upon the whole nation collectively, with
but half the means which they now possess The
military force required for such contest would
be double that which is sufficient to meet any
army which foreign enemy could transport over
. wide ocean to invade our territory. And there
would be no federal treasury to draw to pay the
expenses The great staple Of cotton would be no
longer available either to purposes of manufactu-
ring industry, or to the national Golfers and the
immense sums now expended by the South in the
purchase of articles which are supplied by North
orn artisans would be at once Withdrawn. The
conse uuence would be enormous direct taxation
with diminished means of bearing the public
burthens The commerce of the North would
stagger under the loss of that life giving aliment
which it now derives from the handling and trans
portation of Southern staples. The loss of the
coasting trade, especially, would carry pain and
distress to q thousand hourishing Northern COM
munities Both North and South would have to
support large armies, through as long as that
of the American Revolution. The taxes we now
endure for the creative works of peace would be
4 mere song to the grinding exactions which it
would require to demolish that beautiful fabric of
government which makes US one people. 1t cost
millions of treasure and rivers of gore 10 establish
that government, but it would cost hundreds of
millions and oceans of blood to destroy it.
But this would be only the beginning of the
burthens of taxation which civil war would i'm.
pose upon this people Instead of being left ut the
close of the contest, as at the conclusion of for
eign war, In condition to begin again. and by
renewed energy and economy to wipe out the
scores against u.s. we should moi only have to tax
our energies to pay off the colossal debt accumu.
lated by the war, but subjected to new and per.
petual drain upon our industry and resources by
subjects Of expenditure now happily unknown to
the people of this country. For once divided and
separated into independent but still neighborine
States, we should be compelled like the govern.
ments of Europe, to continue and maintain large
standing armies and Notifications for self defence
and protection. Our energies would be no longer
free, As now, to build up works of intern al i'm.
provement. Every surplus dollar of the farmer
and the mechanic would 60 to pay for the subsis
lance of soldiers and sailors Then, indeed wou,d
we begin TO realize the horrors of taxation a
drawn by the graphic pen of Sidney Smith; taxa.
ton on every article of pleasure and n,;,;ty ,.x