Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1866-06-27
10 vav of relief yet the sta,e-tbe aggregate Of


Wills in the way of relief, that is not 10 violation
of the fundamental law Of the land. The State
has credit and is able to afford auy relief that the
present emergency requires; How? In answer
to this question premise, lsirst: That it isnot
the indebtedness Of the people that causes the
embarras ssment under which We now labor, so
much MS the want of money--capital in the coun-
try. Let money become plentiful in the country;
let men of enterprise have the capital necessary to
pursue thoir usual avocation., and ut once COM
parative quiet will, be restored. The honest, in
dustrous citizen can go to werk with reasonable
assurance thnt his creditors will not disturb him.
All his apprehcnsions of seeing his property past
under the She riffs hammer will be removed.
lie will no longer feel that rspudia.On is just or
necessary, and he will spura it as dishonest and
dishonorablc. He will then 30 able to see the in
Justice Of such measure. No Stay Law will
then be necessary. Neither will On c. post facto
Homestead law, moro unjust than the Stay law,
be necessary. The energies Of the people will st
once be restored to them anG day of happiness
and prosperity will have dawned upon the State
of South Carolina. Those good men and true,
who have lost their oil in the terrible struggle
through which the country has past; who have,
to some extent, yielded to feelings of dependency
at the utter hopelessness of their present condi-
ton and the gloomy prospects for the future, will
at once feel Hope-that mighty anchor of The
soul-spring up afrosh in their bosoms, and day
hof., Sns .
money for the proper development Of enterprise,
is all that the country needs 20 start tin the road
to prosperity.
But again the question recurs, How is all this
t, be brought about? 1 answer again, by the
State. Let the State become the general creditor
of hor people. She is the common mother of her
citizens, and she must help them in this their day
of trouble, or lose them as citizens, to her own
permanent dctriment. It is 10 the interest Of the
State to keep her own citizens within her borders.
assume that if from three to FIVE millions 0!
dollars were putin general circulation in the State,
it would be sufficient, within 4 few months to pay
all, or by far the greater part of allthe debts doe
by tho citizens from one tc another. Let the
State then is.uc her bonds, for say five millions
Of dollars, aud borrow that sum for the term o:
thirty years, and let the money, when obtained
be placed in the Treasury of the State for tht
specific purpose of relieving the people. When
tho money is obtained, let It be proclaimed by
the Governor at once, that every citizen who OWNS
tract Of laed, unencunbcrcd by judgement ol
mortgage, has the right to borrow from the State
for thirty years, sum Of money, equal to seventy
Eve per cent of the actual value Of his or her lane
to lie secured by mortgage of the land, upon the
condition and stipulation that he shall pay to tn,
Tax Collector every year the annual interest upon
the sum borrowed, and thscc per cent Of thu
principal; tho land to be valued by a Board 0
Commissioners for each District, to be appointed
by the Legislature for that purpose, whose duty
it shall he to examine into and report upon thu
facts as to membranes upon the same.
The gloom and dependency of the people art
owing to the fact that they have no money ant
have no means Of raising money. The plan pro
posed would bring all the money into the stat'
thatis needed; men of energy and enterprise eou!t
and would command the means to go into busi
ness; industrial pursuits of I'll kinds would re
ceive new impulse. VINO can conceive of thu
effects that would be produced in this country b,
the sudden influx of five millions Of dollars iut'
this State, not to be concentrated in the hands o
q few persons, but to be dispersed general,
among the people? The whole aspect Of tn
State would at once, as if by magic, be changet
for the better. The people would at once feel re
licved from that incubus debt, which now hang
rs n milestone around their necks, destroying
within them all spirit, all energy, all enterprise
Dependency would yield to Hope, and our be-
loved State would become in a short time, wha
God designed it to be, the most favored spot on
earth.
This is no chimerieal scheme, no mere delusion
it is practical, substantial, tangible relief to n
burdened and oppressed people. This plan
amounts to practical-Stay Law of thirty years
And who is injured by it? The people are moi
taxed one cent by it, every man pays the interest
on his debt. At the end of .tirty years the State
will have ninety per cent of the whole amount oI
her bonds in her Treasury, arising from the annual
payment of three per cent of The principal. This
sinking fund of three per cent can be used by
the State to resuscitate her Bank-that great fs.
cal agent of the State, which in days gone by ha.
done so much good. This is all consistent with
the principles of Honor, Honesty and Justice.
w. w. ADAMS.