The Cass County Republican., 1860-12-27
Paying the Piper.


The four States of South Carolina;
Georgia, Alabama and florida propose
to raise at least 10000 troops to keep
Secession working smoothly. Now. an
army is not fancy ball, but a stern
and hungry reality, whose daily bread
is not got by praying for it. Every
soldier in the United States service
costs the Government 5000 a year.
The chivalry will not volunteer for less
pay and fewer rations. For lO, 900 men
the annual cost will thus be Sc, 6,0O0, 900.
Then the States will probably need
mails. AS the country they are to trav-
erse is very extensive, they cannot be
carried for less than another $l,O0O..
600, unless the general cessation of
business consequent on Secession
should result in empty mail-bags, and
so induce a curtailment of the service.
In addition to the army, there will be
crowds of patriots, emulous, and even
rampant, to serve their country, at large
salaries, as Presidents, Judges, Legis-
lators, Foreign Ministers, &c. These,
even without the stealings, would quick:
ly swallow up 81 600, 900 more. With
them, conjecture is at fault. But the
taxation in these Statesalready amounts
to S2,O00,O00 annually. Now, let us
see who is to pay this.
Ten years ago the population of these
States was 2,5lS, 1000, and it can be but
little more now, as the South increases
very slowly. But of this there were
only 1926, 900 whites. Two-thirds are
women and children who pay taxes
nowhere, leaving, say, 100000 white
males, of whom at least 100000 are
minors. South Carolina has but 46 900
white males over twenty years of age.
Now, tax this handful of white say ten
millions annually, and twill grind them
to powder. New-York, with her
4, 300, 900, or Pennsylvania, with her
3,OOO,OOO, would be crushed out bv
such a burden. The tax gatherer would
be regarded and resisted as a robber,
and the effort to collect such a tax
would prove an utter failure. Proper
ty of all descriptions would sink two
thirds in value. Men who owned no
real estate would Immediately move off,
to be followed by thousands whom
starvation would drive away. The
States would be depopulated outright;
and as it is population alone which
gives value to land, the value of the
whole would sink to that of South Car
olina, where the average is now only
50 per acre. In short, the attempt to
maintain separate military force Of
only 10000 men would plunge these
States into certain and hopeless ruin.
But there are other incidents of Sc
cession. A Navy must be had, forts
must be built and manned, arsenals and
navy yards established, capital erected,
and thousand other expenses incurred,
amounting to millions of money. How
is this money to be provided? Not
from Customs, because Free-trade will
prevail. Not from bonds, because the
North would not touch Southern obli-
cations of this kind, while Europe still
holds millions that have been repudia-
ted twenty years ago, and thinks that
quite enough. Not from their own oit-
izens, because tithe of the amount re.
quired does not exist among them.
They are now largely in debt to tho
North, without being able to pay, and
so can have nothing to lend. Their
banks can give no aid, because only the
other day they had but one dollar of
coin to every six of paper afoat, and
are now suspended. Beside this, the
losses on slaves and personal property
will amount to many millions, thus
alone impoverishing the community
So far from being able to assist the
State, every man will have enough to
do to take care of himself Chaos it.
self would come again. The slaves,
feeling the common pressure, and witt
messing the general disorganization,
would easily and safely break away
from obedience. They would either
rise in murderous rebellion against au-
thority, just as their masters are now
Threatening to do, or they would move
off in large bodies toward the Free
States, their numbers enlarged by az
accessions of other fugitives in States
equally disorganized, until Slavery, as
a compact institution, would measura-
bly, cease to exist.
| Yet, in the face of such probabilities,
the people of these States are so blind
ed by passion that no consideration of
common sense appears to weigh with
them. They share in the loss. Of &c.,
100000 already realized on the cotton
crop, and should their madness lower
it three cents more, another Of the same
magnitude must be suffered. This is a
dull beginning for secession. Rebel
lion should be ont Of debt, at least, at
the start.-M Y Tribune.
4 ~Ae tho d;omond % fo,n5 :, a.