The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1865-05-18
National Debts and u. s. Stocks

National Debts and U, s. Stocks.
The creation of national debts is not a
modern improvement, but the ability of
great nation TO provide for great debt
aud to mako It the most convenient and
best form of personal property, is mod
crn wonder. The debt Of Great Britain
was begun by raising a million sterling
by loan in 1862, and when her great con-
test with Louis XIV. was terminated, the
,lcbt had reached fly millions. Many
statesmen and economists were then
alarmeG at the great burden which had
been in. poScd upon the industry of the
country, but when the war of the Austrion
succession hat, swellcd this amount to
eighty millions, macaHlay says that his
turiaus and orators pronounced the case
to be desperate. But when war again
broke ou'. aud the national d'bt was
rapidly carried up TO one hundred nnd
forty millions, mon of theory aud buSi'
ness both pronounced that the fatal day
had certainly arrived. David Hume said
that, although, by taxing its energies to
the utmost, the country might possibly
live through it, the experiment must
never be repeoted-evon small increase
might be fatal. Granville said the ma.
tion must sink under it unless somo por
ton OF The load was borne by the Amer.
can Colonies, and the attempt to impose
this load produced the war of the revolu
ton, and, instead of diminishing, added
another hundred millions to the burden.
Again, says MacaulAy, was England
given over, hut ngniu sho was more
prosperous than ever before. But when
at the close Of her Na?olconc wars in
1917, this debt had been swellcd up TO
the enormous sum of eight hundred mill.
ions sterling, or four thousand three
hundred million dollars, or nearly one
half the entire property of tho United
Kingdom, tie stouteSt heart, the firmest
believer in national progress aud national
development, might well have been ap
pallcd. But in the very face of this
mountain Vt obliga,ion,-to say nothing
of her vast colonial posessious,--the
properly of the British nation has been
more than trehloj, and hor debt is now
charge OF but l5is per cent. against il,
All that Groo, Britain has done in paying
her debt, we shall do, aud moro, with
ours. We have vast territories untouch.
ed by the plow, mines Of all precious
metals of which We have hardly opened
the doors, population full of life
energy, enterprise aud industry, and the
accumulated wealth OF money and labor
of the old countries pouring into the HI
Of our giant and ever.to-be.united repub
lie, During the ferces, and most cx
hausling Of all possible wars, we hsv,
demonstrated our national strength-an,
all the Sorld ever, national strength h
but another na,ae for national credit. "A'
good us United Stocks viii soon b'
synonymous the world over with "as goo'
as British consols." For our pa,:. W.
think a U. S. Treasury note, bearing
seven and three-,en,hs annual Interest,
is just as much better than British Con,
soils as the rate Of interest is higher,
Ssme of our timid brethren, who shipped
their gold to London and Invested in
consols, are now glad to sell out aud in,
vest at home alta round loss,--a serves
thea rlght.
! nPSNb lGriba for the Tiilln