The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-01-23

Custom House.
City Intellect and Rural Backwardness.
We see that two bills have been introduced
into the State Senate which illustrate admira-
bly, the contrast between city intellect and rural
backwardness. One was introduced by Gen.
Vaudeville in order to put stop to time con-
tracts at the New York Stock Board; the other
by Senator Sloan for the repeal of the usury
laws. 1t would be difficult to conceive tive
measures more utterly opposite in spirit.
The practice Of making time contracts at the
Stock Board may be productive of injury. 1t
no doubt fosters the habit of gambling which is
very hurtful to a portion OF our people. 1t
may contribute to foist worthless properties
upon the public, or to depreciate really good
concerns. But the question is can a new law
on the subject avail to check that practice? To
this the answer must be in the negative. Under
the law as at present in force, no one can reco-
yer a stock gambling debt More than this,
person who has paid difference accrued on
stock gambling transaction may, if he be SO
inclined, recover the same from the party who
received the money. All stock operations are
illegal, and are made on honor only. How Gen.
Vaudeville proposes to increase the already pa
tent illegality of these operations by his pro-
posed law, is not obvious.
Furthermore, experience teaches that no
amount of laws can be of any effect in
preventing stock gambling, SO long as the
mania of gambling remains in the human
heart. Any law that can be made will be
evaded and broken, just as the Prohibitory
Liquor law was and as any other law will be
which is manifestly contrary to the spirit of the
age and the feelings of the people. If the State
Legislature wants to introduce reform into
the operations of the Stock Exchange, let it
legalize time contracts for stocks so that
creditor on stock contract may sell out de-
faulting debtor. This perhaps would thin the
street and the board of those who operate on the
principle of ''tails win, heads you lose;" but as
to making more prohibitory laws, the idea is as
ridiculous as it would be to declare it to be
illegal for a merchant to contract to deliver
flour or pork to government or an individual
months and years before the -four is grown or
the hogs raised.
AS to the other bill, the proposed repeal of
the Usury laws there can be no question but
the reform is urgently required. In the present
state of the law the most legitimate and neces-
sary operations of commerce are exposed to be
stamped with the faint of usury, and to be de-
clared illegal. Money VIGOROUSLY ductuates as
widely and more rapidly than cotton or bread
stuffs; it is quoted in the papers from day to
day az being worth < & Z 3 o 10 and 10 and
even 20 per cent per annum and yet we have
a law on the statute book which pronounces it
to be worth seven, neither more nor less
The age of restrictions on trade ought to
have disappeared, and has disappeared in most
places long ago. Here it seems to Enger. The
Usury laws still remain, monument Of the Pc
riod when mans nose was split for buying up
great quantities of wheat, and baker was pill
loried for charging over certain price for his
bread. The avowed objection is the dread of
the farmers, lest, If the Usury laws were re
pealed, they would find 1t impossible to obtain
money on bond and mortgage for the improve
ment of their farms at any reasonable rate.
But can no middle term be suggested? In
England and Scotland the Usury laws still hold
good with regard to rural property, while they
have been Withdrawn from the operations of
Cannot some member of the Legis-
lature prepare some such scheme as this, which
shall set trade free from absurd entanglements.
and relieve the farmer from apprehensions of
being unable to obtain money save on ''usurious
INTEREST,""