North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1866-11-28
Congress Is Repeating History and Moth
ing More

Congress Is Repeating History and Moth
ing More.
z. King Solomon declared there is nothing
new under the sun. Modern philosophers
would make us believe that the present fl
nancial and political condition OF the Uni
ted States was never realized in any part
of the world until now--whereas, we are
only repeating the history of former ages,
as developed in different countries.
Take our financial system. is, in its
main features, we are serry to say, re-
production of the English South Sea and
the French Mississippi bubbles, of a hum
dred and fifty years ago. Every reader
we'll knows:what happened to France and
England when those paper money bubbles
collapsed. 1t is a peculiarity of "paper
money delusions" that they flourish indie
pendent of any gold or silver basis, while
they prosper; but they fail at last. If our
system succeed it will be the first success.
Take again our national taxation and
extravaganza! We are living in times
more flush and fast than the fast years of
1876 and 1886, and 1855 and 1856. In
those years of initiation it was unpopular
to deuounce the public extravaganza =
All was then, as now, universal prosperity.
Everybody, and his wife, got rich and
grew extravagant, until paper money bub-
b!es became over-infated and burst upon
US all 1t is because the times are so very
prosperous that the people now submit to
more exorbitant taxes than any other peo-
pie on the face of the earth. Taxes laid
as war taxes are continued eighteen
months after peace. Indeed it has come
to pass that people love to be taxed all
the way from the cradle to the grave, more
severely than any British Sovereign ever
taxed his or her subjects.
Yet this mania of our people for high
taxation is not new. The most popular
ministers England ever had were two
Pitts--Pitt the elder, and Pitt the young
er. The more the elder Pitt Lord Cha
tham) heaped up the national debt, the
more the people worshiped him. The
same with his son, in after years.
Macauly said of the elder Pitt:
"The great Minister seemed 10 think it beneath
HIM to calculate the price of victory. As long a.
the Tower guns were fred, as the streets were Iln
minated as French banners were carried IN tr
umph through the streets Of London 1t was 10 nm
A M alter of Indifference to what extent the puo
burdens were augmented. Nay, he seemed to glory
in the magnitude Of these sacrifices which tine
people, fascinated by his eloquen ana success nae
too readily made, and would long aid bitterly re
gret. There was check on waste embezzle
ment. (This smacks strong Of the waste and en-
hezzlement common in our tines Our com.
mssaries returned from the camp of Prince Ferl
nand 10 buy boroughs, to rear palaces to rival the
magnifcence of the old aristocracy of the realm
Already had we borrowed, in four years of war
more than the most skiIful and economical govern
ment would pay in forty wears of peace.
War had made him (Chatham) powerful and pop
ular He had at length begun to low
war for its sake"
Precisely so with our Congress. The
war closed too soon for national patriots
in Washington. In lieu of war that body
: substitutes the image of war. by excludin!
from the Union States in the Union. anc
bv increasing tariffs, till prices rise highel
than ever before and also by continnint
.---."ti''", III IImes OF peace, and re-
dundancy of paper money.
Thus. whoever would comprehend th,
situation Of the United States al this time
must read the histories of the South Sc.
and Mississippi bubbles, described b,
Washington Irving, Mackav, and Others
Then turn to the histories of Lord Chath-
am, and his son, William Pitt. For tht
religious part the student is respectful,
referred to that portion of the history O
England where the most noted rakes
gamcsters, oribers, and tipplers. during
Cromwelfs time, turned religionists, ant
wore long hair, squared in front, attended
conventicles, and sang psaTmody through
the nose, to keep popular with the part,
in power. For example of present disun
ion read that portion of English history
which describes the prosecutions of the
Irish by the English Read also how, after
the rebellion in Scotland against England
the English Government made peace with
Scotland, and made the Scotch loyal to the
Government, in proportion as the contrary
treatment made Ireland a hereditary enc.
my to the whole British nation, and pre-.
cisely AS this Congress is attempting to
make an enemy of the Southern States BY
hostile legislation,
We do not write to convince anv body
that this is an unpatriotic or revolutionary
Congress. Our motive is to demonstrate
that Congress is repeating, without under
standing, history.--Banner of Liberty.
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A Beautiful Tribute to a Wife.
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