The Camden confederate. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1861-1865, 1863-05-15
J. II. TIERSTIMAN, Editor.
lroR TIE CAMDEN CONFEDERATE

Mr.. EDIroR: If die not know that it is in
a Pckwickian sense you say that WE arc "ga-
zing at the gigantic and thrilling drama of
war;" with such a stage, such horrid music,
such curtain and such "villainous smell
of saltpctrc," as YOU set forth in your own
Understanding rhetoric, should be alarmed
because TO draw ones " gazing" from q drama
stage, curtain, Sc., OF such awful Dimensions,
provided he was manager of the terrible scenes,
or any prime actor therein, to the petty mat
tcys of the obligation of contracts, fair dealing
between man and man, the difference between
honesty and knavery, &c, &C., would bc shock
ing; and am confident. that ShyIocll himself
would no. have troubled Bcaurcgard, when he
was actually gazing" on the "sulphurous
smoke" the 7th day of April last, to attend to
the ducats or the pound Of flesh nor have
asked him to relax the grim visaSe Of war; to
to listen to the ducct notes Of even a Bellies
Lcttrcs swan. But with YOU and me the " "a
zng' is rather mctaphorica and the war will
not be the less successful whether are gaze at
it or not nor the less SO, though we should
reason, and reason correctly, on the small top
les have before set forth. And now, having
adjourned our points of Bclcs-Lcttros to a time
when that "sulphurous smoke" shall have van
ished into "thin air." shakespeare again) let
me beg YOU to stick to the point-thc only
point worth groat in our entire discussion.
1t is expressed by the following form of words
Is creditor who lent coin, bouLd by
any obligation, legal, moral, patriotic, or other,
to accept, in payment, Treasury Notes, as equal
to coin, when they arc not equal to it?
You will not venture to say-you have not
said-that he is under any obligation, of any
kind, TO treat such currency as coin, except on
ly the patriotic obligation, as you please to con-
strue 1t, to-wit: if he does not he diScrcdits
the Treasury Notes. Let us show YOU that this
is mere jargon.
Does hybody in the Confederate States
take a. IS Treasury Noe as equal to s5 of spc-
Gle? If so, how do you account for present
prices of everything sold Does the govern
mcnt that issues these notes treat them as equal
to specie? Never.-It pays for gold and silver
when it wants them. as many of it's notes as a
broker does, say S5 for 81. Mark you-thc
Confederate government, this hour, will not
receive its own notes for the export duty on
cotton, and so declares on the face of the note.
Why? That duty is payable in coin, or its
cquivalent-an the government declares in
the very breath that gives being to its note,
that it is not the equivalent Of coin-who can
make it so? Not all the governments in crea-
tion, with Shakespeare, and all the doctors,
priests, lawyers and editors to help hem.
As to the incest view of morul obligation :
I will give you case that may set you to ru-
minating:
Suppose I had, as my whole estate, one ne
gro man, the first Of January, 1860. You had
not dollar that day-but bought my negro
man at the specie price of $500, and gave
bond forit You paid nothing mean time be-
cause the times were hard--cotton low," &c.
But last week, you found times were soft (lush
is perhaps the word) cotton very high, and ne
gros too You sell "my man. for s35oO- and
what do you modestly, morally, patrioticay
and rcligiously insist shall dol Why merely