The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-01-04

price. or 1opse. iii they can-in such case the
sSs seop s0 Of that country RGs'Sw hs4sst y
it might skwould be an absolute. though an ipdi-
rect taxay Fslt would be injury 20 the country,
wheat. noJrF So.. Of the national stock. wsuld in
staety Without any other operation. raise exorbitaut
ly tie pf4eoi those ana all other commodities which
the peoSsr quire daily. Also, such sum expended
In the IArDer supposed would be an indire0t taxa
ton. fxssus stop for moment to prove this posi-
ton before we go further Let il be supposed that
eighty millions issued by any number of banking
insttut6As 10 any number of merchants, at five per
cent. TAis five per cent amounting 70 forty thou
sand dcxars falls upon the people, aud Is paid ult
nlately by them. Now If we assume that the ind
| yiduals to whom this amount of eighty millions
| is dsbursed, and who spread themselves
| or their agents over the country, buying
| flour, &c. suppose they make only ten per cent on
| their Ee sale OF the commodities purchased to sol
again, This sum is also paid by the people in the in
creased price. amounting to eighty thousand dollars
Therefore, speaking in round terms for the sake OF
argument, the people would he taxed indirectly to
| the amount of one hundred and twenty thousand
'delars; for it is evident the merchants profits By
| hE specuations and the interest for the money
with which he operates, and which ne pays to the
mDks is all Psir by the people in the increased
I TAXATION, so much money distracted frov, the pro
ceeds of their labor and industry. Such is the diff
| ference in the issue or disbursement OF large
banking inssiiution In the one case it
employs and pays for labor in the
other case it takes away from labor great part OF
it, receipts II is addition in the one case but il is
subtraction in the other. How great this subtrac-
tion is-how great an amount OF taxation IL paid
by the people in this form, and by this means, would
| cIedibity We have shown that the people in the
prices they pay, pay not only the fortune OF the
Spectator hut also the interest as i, is called or
the presents which he gives for the OF the instu
ment whereby he operates. Putting this interest at
five per cent only, though it is more frequently ten
or fifteen, If estimate the money without goods
or productions poured into the country, in England
by copper-plate presses at two hundred millions ster
ling in year the tax paid by the people in prices
for interest only, without estimating the increase of
| price paid to make the fortunes Of the great opera
tors, would amount to ten millions sterling, or about
fifty millions OF dollars. This secret, unobserved,
| unthought of, but tremendous taxation upon LABOR
| this extraction Of money from the pockets of the
industrious man--of bread from his mouths
enough after few years to imp0verish and ruin any
people, while it generally enriches few.
In this view OF the question we think it will be
plain enough to the reader that it would be, as we
observed, absurd To attribute the mpovershment of
| people to any expenditures of their government,
| however exravagsnt; provided, OF course that the
means Of that expenditure are not obtained by OPP
preston and eAaction from the industry or labor of
the people.
The question, therefore, of the quantity of gold
and silver received from South America by the Span
nish government, and expended as it was by it, is
immaeral TO the question Of the decadence Of Spain
by the Eruption and flood of money into her midst.
We have every to believe that the statistics
| of Mr.. Sumner, founded on his own researches and
examinations are perfectly correct but 1t does not
necessarily follow that believe the records he
amned to be correct, that the archives OF Seville
like king, cannot lie or be defective But even II
| we admit that the documents examined by
| Mr.. Sumner at Seville complete and accurate,
and we have no reason that know Of to call them
| in question, no such conclusions follow as those
which have been hastily drawn, namely, that the
amount OF money introduced into Spain from her
Spanish possessions was not sufficient 10 produce
the effects OF which all the world il witness in the
condition of the Spanish people, and also that the
universal opinion Is in error which has attributed
| such an effect TO this cause principally. The
| amount OF money introduced into spain by the
government must have been very small at any time,
| compared with that brought home by adventurers
| and others who locked 10 South America at those
times, and returned laden with gold from the scenes
OF their adventures. SPAN was full of gold. The
sums brought by individuals Mt ont at interest
| 70 merchants, and became, not the basis OF
! an extended backing business bat the whole
| and only substance OF the business of
I usuTy. And whether the sharks who prey upon
people and enrich themselves Ivy enhancing the
prices OF all consImabe commodities 10 an unlini
ed extent, obtain on loan, at usUry, in gold or in
| paper, the money with which they are enabled to
| perform their setenIichng, but TO the people ruin
ous operations, il Is all the thing in the result
The difference IL that II is not easy to carry on so
largely and extensively such nationplunderlng and
lab0rrt bling operations with gold as IL Is with
| paper because gold is not easily produced
paper The copper plate press h more prolific than
| Peru or Potosi, and by means of IT these opera
tons are carried on in England without limit,
and are applied to every conceivable thing,
| It matters not how small or contemplate,
which can be made the subject Of speculation.
Such system will be carried on in a country
as long as there exists hilarious and industrious
people TO produce materials FOR the OPERATOR who
will sell TO them bare living for all they gather up
from them with their Fictitious money. and continue
TO fleece and skin them for ages, till they die or
leave OF producing. IL will be done wherever men
can aggregate by borrowing interest sums large
enough operate proatsbly ii win he done whether
done wherever there are men who prefer to live by
their wits ut other persons expense, and even ruin
70 the honest pursuit Of industrious occupation. IL
was done In Spain with gold; II Is done N Epgland
| with paper. IL has reduced the industry OF both
countries TO pauperisn. Parperism inevitably watts
upon this system. for when, in the slow but sure pro-
cess OF time, the possessions OF country are by this
loPertemain transferred from many to few, employ
err Of labor are made few, but the seekers after
aSor are many, their NUMBERS increased. The few
nen cannot employ the many poor Their industry !
employ and the other half il hardly paid living
price for its labor. The Spaniards TOO proud
people to be industrious for nothing; they soon leu
of producing and Spain bccare what she IS. Peo-
pie thus heeced and robbed can barely live by indus
try; they learn that barely " live Is oil they
can hope for by the hardest OF labor, and that they
can GO TINS by beggary or worse methods without
bare labor. Thus industry is driven into degrade
ton or crime, and gradually pershes in country. 20
il was in Spain; so It's going rapidly in England.
Mr.. Sumner en- cred into some highly interesting
tht Oh nc sufyect or the gou intr )Aucfo INTO
Spain by the government. lie abtaipcd from taking
sDy politcoeconomical view OF the subject, aud VIC
think wisely. As il was, his matter was abundant,
but II was jadicOusly arranged and connected. More
matter would, IL introduced, have rendered the can
yass too crowded and the picture too confused. Nr.
Sumner avoided this too common defect Of lecturers
he conttned himself with stating the results Of his
TCsehrches on this subject. Having mentioned
tho ostentatous boastings Of the Spanish govern
ment, Mr.. Sumner adduced proofs, derived rom
the archives at Seville, Of the fasehood Of
all that Wanting with which Spain in the
halt Of frightening all Europe three centuries ago.
leading Europe 10 believe that her supplies Of gold
and silver were inexhaustelc According to Mr.. |
nent Grew from the conquest OF Mexico and during
thirty years would, IL coined at mint, produce
only 1902 ,000-a sum less than single weeks sup