The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1862-03-19

Iederacy, equal to that Of allegiance
or that the voluntary assumption Of per
sonal duty, to any agent Of his sovereign,
exonera,es one from the sacred duty o.
obeying, without question, the mandate
Of that supreme authority; which proceeds
from the Divine Founder Of society, and
on which all social order rests ! If so,
he is prepared TO admit the legitimacy of
the usurpation at Washington.
To return, however, to the fnancis
topic, which seemed TO invite this digres
sion and may be more clearly consider
ed under tight il the means Of con,
duc,ing the war be obtained from the
people of the Confederacy, by exchang
ing the proposed scrip 70: whatever the
necessities Of the the Government may
require, there should be no such thing MS
interest chargea" thereon, as is now
usual upon borrowed money. The only
plausible ground for interest on loans, is
that the borrower makes profit, on the
use Of the loan and the creditors share
thereof, is the in,eres'. II Government
will borrow money, TO build railroads, or
to establish banks, they expect to make
dividends, and on this ground. it would
be fair that they should pay a portion, Ms
interest. So in all other cases, in which
government may descend from its high
vocation to traffic. When, however n
a sovereign State, or a government, rs its
agent, in the defence Of the people, apr
propr ates the lives and labour, and corn,
and wagons, and mules, or any other
property Of that people, what other pro
fit can it make, from the use Of these
things, but The independence of The
whole? This Is "the pearl above price,"
for which a people "should sell all that
they Lave" In war the Government is
the consumer Of the productions of its
people. Itappropria,es portion, if ueed
be all, except enough for the maintenance
o! the producers.
TO whatever extent this scrip be issued,
it will always represent the actual cost OF
the war, or the loss the community sus.
tanned, 10y the war. The taxation should
be correspondent to that cost. Those
who received scrip for their labour. or
goods, would pay their taxes with 1t; and
those who were without it, would ex
change their labour and goods for This
means of paying their taxes. In other
words, the ex,gencies Of the war would
require a larger currency; and the wants
Of the government, would supply i. to the
people.
This Scrip should be the regulator Of
values. throughout the sphere Of its cir
cula,ion. Shall il be tolerated among
freemen, that sovereignty can command
the citizen TO take the field, rs com
mon soldier, and sell his personal liberty,
his labour. his blood, at a certain fixed
rate; and ye, be compelled to bargain
with every hucks.er, for provisions, or the
means Of transportation I That such a
question should admit Of arg gument ind
Gates a low, and ignoble tone Of public
sentiment. "What doth it profit n man
II he gain the whole world and lose lis
own soull" Next only to the salvation
Of a mans soul, is the love Of country.
Tue safety, the honour, the independence
Of the State, are infinitely above all con
sidera,ions Of gain. and the prices of la.
bour and goods.
| The State, or its government, whelhe,
confederate or separate, should establish
the rates. at which its appropriations o
private property will be made. 1hes.
rates should he fixed, throughout th.
whole country, wherever the public ser
vice requires anything and they should
be uniform and permanent, so long as the
war continues. Let prices fluc,uate a,
they may, among the people, in differ.
ent locsities, according TO their diversified
pursuits and wants: but let the unity o!
the State, or Of the Confederacy, in the
great cause Of our war Of Independence
be manifested 10 every transaction with
the people.
As long as the war lasts, and foreign
commerce is blockaded, the government
is necessarily the chief consumer of the
productions Of the country, and the prof
its Of this trade are not TO be counted in
dollars and cents but in the honour, and
independence Of the State, and the de.
fence Of the people. However large may
be the expenditures Of the government
the currency, thus supplied, would he nd.
equate; because every issue Of Scrip
would be founded on some actual trans.
action. The taxes sbould correspond with
the expenditures, TO a great extent; and