Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-04-11

years since the first permanent English loan
was made by parliament, inaugurating that
policy which has astonished half dozen gen.
eIations of statesmen by n debt constantly
augmenling and yet not visibly obstructing
the prosperity OF the empire. The historian,
who better than others analy zed the domestic
and social condition of the people-Lord Ma
cauiay-has portrayed the alarm which seized
upon business men aud publicists as often as
any accession was made to the debt of Eng.
land -
"At every stage in the growth of that debt,
1t has been seriously asserted by wise men
that bankruptcy and ruin were at hand. At
every stage in the growth of that debt the Ia
ton has set up the same cry of anguish and
despair. Yet still the debt vert on growing;
and still bankruptcy and ruin were as remote
as ever This apprehension reached the
acme OF encouragement in 1910, when at the
CLOSE OF the last OF the wars with France, the
funded debt OF England amounted to four
thousand millions OF dollars. sit was in truth
gigantic, fabulous debt and we can hardly
wonder that the cry of despair should have
been louder than ever. But again the cry was
found to have been as unreasonable as ever.
The beggared, the bankrupt society not only
proved able to meet all its obligations, but,
while meeting those obligations, grew richer
and richer so fast that the growth could al
most be discerned by the eye" The same
writer gives his explanation OF tie fallacy of
those who prophecied nothing but general de-
structon "rhey enormously imagined that
there was an exact analogy between the case
of an individual who is in debt to another in
dlvidual, and tn. case of society which is in
debt to a part of itself. They were under an
error not less serious touching the resources
OF the country. They made no allowance for
the effect produced by the ncessant progress
OF every experimental science, and by the in.
cessant et10ris of every man to get on in life.
They saw that the debt grew and they forgot
that other things grew as well as the debt"
And the noble historian afiirms without fear
of contradiction, that England may in the next
century be better able to boar debt of
$4,000, 100000 than she is at the present
time to bear her existing load. Its quite pos.
sbe that the love of the sparkle of antthesis,
which marks the writings OF the brill mt es-
sayist and philosopher, may have beguiled us
into somewhat extreme presentation OF sub
stanta truths but think we must admit the
sCundness OF the political economy which i'm
parts strength 10 the silver nerves Of his rhet.
ORIG. AT all events the views he has present.
ed OF the resou ces Of the English nation as
the solid basis for public debt may be applied
with redoubled and intensified force to the
actual and prospective circumstances of our
own country and people. With land afIluent
troll civilization and supply currency and the
useful arts, wanting literally nothing in the
means of subsistence, overstOcked with the
products OF diversified agriculture, work.
shop and granary for the markets of the
world, teemng with population v hose in.
ventive genius and elastic industry as far ex.
coed those OF the older countries as our ratio
OF progress has distanced theirs, and above
ALL vilalized by personal freedom which is the
% al. i
States, and Massachusetts, as a component part
aud for all her share, can and extinguish
debt Of fifteen hundred millions with less sui.
tering and less Inconvenience than any otlIern ma
ton that has existed since the creation Of man.
There is Of course limit to public credit.
The extent to which we can safely pledge our
own property and production and those of our
children cannot very well be defined. i sup.
pose the point at which the debt OF the coun-
try would cease to be secure and would begin
to work national degcneracy, would be reach
ed whenever the debt should become so large
that the productive industry of the country
could not pay the interest and gradually sink
the principal without stopping the general
growth and progress. l have no apprehen-
sions That we are destined to reach that point
First then, we must have sufficient revenues
to meet the interest and reduce the princi-
pal No state can exist and advance
without adhering TO this principle. Itwas
inscribed upon the columns of the admin
siralion of Washington. At the commence
ment of our life, Hamilton, who brought order
out of chaos, wished to see it incorporated as
fundamental maxim in the financial system
of the United States, that the creation of a
debt should always be accompanied with the
means of extinguishment. This lie regarded
as the true secret for rendering public credit
immortal. Our present necessities absolutely
devote us to this principle. So soon as our
revenues shall be seen TO meet this requsition,
whatever be the modes of taxation from which
those revenues are derived, our securities will
be in high favor, and teverish excitement will
give way to general confidence and until we
settle that point bank officers may visit the
secretary OF the treasury. and he may return
the visits, all III vain. How this is to be ac.
compshed, it belongs TO congress to study aud
determine. Whatever system OF taxation
may be al first adopted, experience will doubt
less suggest Improvements which can only be
ascerIalned by experiment. But for a stable
credit, which shall leave men at liberty to
pursue their business and labor to receive its
rewards without the fear of disturbance, such
measures Of revenue must be as positive.
ly certain as they are Internationally essen.
tial. And il is for the interest OF every
man, whether he be rich or poor, that such
taxes be at once established and maintained.
HesitatOn doubt, uncertainty in this respect,
has already produced many of our financial
troubles. For nine months we have Leen H.
Illustrating the language OF the Roman orator,
whose staiesmanike philosophy, with slight
diversion from its provincial and literal appli-
cation, may DO repeated with practical refer.
ence to our present necessities Of taxation -
Nam in ceteris rebus, quum VENT calami-
tas, tum deirimentum accpitur at in 'vect.
galibus. non s0lum adventus mali sed ethan
melus ipse, atiert calamitatem."
Second this interest and sinking fund must
be furnished without stopping the public
growth. do not believe we are to have any
amount of debt that carnot be thus met. by
the census OF 1860 the value Of real and per.
sonal property in the country is returned as
somewhat over S17 900, 100000, and it appears
that the increase since 1850 has been very
much more than one hundred fold. A sum,
therefore, measured by One.tenth to one-ftth
of the surplus or profits Of this period of ten
years, woulI liquidate the probable expendi.
lures OF the war. The property Of the people
of the loyal states alone is nearly $4,000 O00.-
900. | am aware there is but little comfort to
the tax payer to be derived from this style of
statement; and yet it ought to nerve our
faith and hope, to know, "a well as we know
nytling, that if the authority OF the federal
government be re-estabshed our power be
again asserted at home and abroad, the sea
again be made to murmur with the keels of
our commerce, and the vast and complicated
machinery Of our internal production be again
set to its music, the fractional part of our an.
nual increase will take care OF the whole M.
tlonal.dCbt before the child born to day shall
arrive at the ave of Citizenshin Tho nronar