The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-10-27


had played the dignified part of bowling to the
setting, rather than to the rising sun.
The Right of States to Tax United
States Bonds...7 he Question Of
Keeping the Pi,ghted Faith - Of
the Nation Discussed. ---
The unrepublican inequality of taxation
involved in exempting United States
Bonds from taxation all parties admit.
Where the "equality Of men " is pressed
so far, and the Declaration of lndepen-
dence appealed to make even the igno-
rant, and debauched slaves of the South
equal not only civilly but politically and
socially with the superior white race, it
sounds little singular, and Is surely an
anomaly in the system of equality, to adj
vocate the taxation Of all other species of
property and the exemption Of that spe-
cies held generally by the rich classes q
system to make the rich richer and the
poor lpoorer-and as far removed from
equality as it is possible to conoeive. But
the advocates of this inequality among
whites are par excellence the advocates of
s'the equality of all men when the black
man is involved. This inconsistency they
attempt to justify by saying the "good
faith of the nation" requires us to exempt
those whose patriotism furnished her the
means to carry on the war, and that the
money could not have been raised except
by promising this exemption.
In answer to this we have to say:
LIST. If the money was advanced by
these men because the bonds were to be
exempt from taxation and Gin no other
way could it have been raised" it was not
patriotism but greed and speculation which
prompted them in loaning the money.
I'd. They loaned not gold and silver, but
deprecated paper, worth only from ss to
80 cents on the dollar, and their interest
paid in gold was heavily usurious and the
shave on the Government stupendous and
oppressive.
Sd. This being the case, these creditors
of the government have already realized
such heavy gains that they would not lose
a cent, but be able to sell out at enor-
NOUS profits and realize their principal
and heavy interest, if all should be put on
q level with their fellow-citizens and bear
their share of the burdens of taxation.
4th. These men by specializing in bonds
and by "bulling and bearing" made ne
cessary the he.vy issues of deprecated
paper, and caused the people of the coun-
try to pay unhealthy prices for all the ne
cessaries of life, and the Government un-
healthy prices for the means of defending
its life. These extra taxes (prices) ought
to be enough for the people to bear for the
benefit of these "patriotic" creditors of
the Government
5th. They bought these bonds just as
they make any other loan, not without
due investigation Of titles, uotice of the
limitations Of the powers of Congress and
the reserved rights of the States, as de-
clared in the Constitution, where they
read: Gall pr rrs not specially delegat-
ed to the Unit States are reserved to
the States resp 'vely, or to the people
thereof" Ann ,e power to tax their
own citizens To- teir property, is a right
the States always enjoyed before there
was a United States-a right without
which they woLii cease to be States or
have the M eans "a carry on their govern
ments. Reading these limitations was
sufficient notice u them that they we're at
least loaning on ii disputed title, where
millions OF their fellow-citizens claimed
adversely to thei privileged exemption.
If these genIlt nen had real ! little
more as to thu ii:stations Of the power of
attorney from II: tates to the. Federal
Government to Issue bonds and raise mo-
ney, they would have seen on page 1913 of
the F'ederalist, the following from ALEX.
HAMILTON, the father of the Federal sys-
tenn, and the antipodes Of JEFFERSON, who
was the advocate and author of the States
Rights system. With all his latitudina-
rian views of the powers and rights of the
Federal Government and the subordina-
ton of the States, he says:
am willing to allow in its full extent the
business Of the reasoning which requires that
the individual States should possess an inde-
pendent and uncomfortable authority to raise
their own revenues for the supply Of their own
wants. And making this concession, affirm
that with the cole exception of duties on i'm
ports and exports) they would, under the plan
of tie Convention, (the proposed Constitu-
toni, retain authority in the most absolute and
unqualified sense; and that an attempt on the
part of the National Government TO abridge
them in the exercise of it, would be violent
oce,,v,,rf;ov, of r1OWarraEfto0 DV arfi.