Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-05-18
National Debts and u. s. Stocks.

great ueDI, ana 10 make IL tne nOSt
convenient and best form of personal
property, is modern wonder. The
debt of Great Britain was begun by
raising million sterling by loan in
1892, and when her great contest
with Louis XIV. was terminated, the
debt had reached fifty millions. Ma
ny statesmen and economists were
then alarmed at the great burden
which had been imposed upon the in
dustry Of the country, but when the
war of the Austrian succession had
swelled this amount to eighty millions,
Macaulay says that historians and or
ators pronounced the case to be des-
perate. But when war again broke
out, and the national debt was rapidly
carried up to one hundred and forty
millions, men of theory and business
both pronounced that the fata lday had
certainly arrived. David Hume said
that, although, by taxing its energies
to the utmost, the country might posi-
bly, live throughsit, the experiment
must never be repeated, even small
increase might be fatal. Granville
said the nation must sink under it un.
less some portion of the load was
| borne by the American Colonies, and
the attempt to impose this load pro-
duced the war of the revolution, and
instead of diminishing, added another
hundred millions to the burden. Again
says Macaulay, was England given
over, but again she was more pros
porous than ever before. But wher
at the close of her Napoleonic wars in
1916, this debt had been swelled up tt
the enormous sum of over eight hun
dred millions sterling, or four thousand
three hundred million dollars, or near
ly one-half the entire property of the
United Kingdom, the stoutest heart
the firmest believer in national pro
gress and national development, might
well have been appalled,. But in the
very face of this mountain of obliga
tion,-to say nothing of her vast colo
NAL possessions,-the property of the
British nation has been more than
trebled, and her debt is now charge
of but l2I per cent. against it. All
that Great Britain has done in paying
her debt, we shall do, and more, with
ours. We have vast territories un
touched by the pillow, mines of all pre-
cious metals of which we have hardly
opened the doors, population full o.
life, energy, enterprise and industry
and the accumulated wealth of mon
ey and labor of the old countries pour.
ing into the lap of our giant and ever
to-be-united republic. During the
fiercest and most exhausting of al
possible wars, we have demonstrated
our national strength-and all the
world over, national strength is bu
another name for national credit. /" As
good as United Stocks" will soon bt
synonymous the world over with "as
good as British Consols." For oul
part, we think U. S. Treasury note
bearing seven and three-tenths annua
interest, is just as much better thar
British Consols as the rate of Interest
is higher. Some of our timid breth
rem who shipped their gold to London
and invested in consols, are now glad
to sell out and invest at nome at a
round loss,-and serves them right.
Gen. Thomas has instructed Gen
Washburn at Memphis to administer
the oath to rebel soldiers, but not off.
GERS or citizens, saying it is too late
to reap the benefit of the amnesty
proclamation, after maintaining an at
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