The daily clarion. [volume] (Meridian, Miss.) 1863-1866, 1866-02-25

simply ridiculous, because everybody
speculatee. If he can. Did you ever
know planter refuse to buy land or mig
gers on speculation, If he had the means,
and felt sure of large profit ! All trade
is in one sense speculation, and every
man and boy is naturally speculator.
Shall the "pot call the kettle blackl"
The depreciation of cotton money is no
good reason for its non-payment. Secu-
rites of all kinds have deprecated.
There are but few men whose notes
would bring in the market IS cents on
the dollar.
Suppose A loaned B ten thousand dol
lars in gold in 1861. and finding himself
short in 1862, calls on B. for payment.
but B. cannot and will not pay. A. takes
the note in.o the market, and sells it for
$4,000 to the only man who wonld risk
that amount of money on BIS note.
Would you not think B. noble man. if
he should refuse altogether to pay his
note, because the buyer would make a
profit by his purchase
But suppose that when A. called on
B. to pay his note, B. had the money, but
preferred to keep it for his own conven-
irnce. rather than pay his borrowed mon
ey; and A., knowing this, should offer to
sell to B. his own note at half of, and he
still refused to pay or to buy. Would
you not say that man ought to be com
PEELED by law to pay every f,rthing, and
as much costs as could be piled on by the
courtsl Now this is just the position of the
bad men. The holders of money, received
from them at par, were obliged to sell at
a sacrifice, and down it went, lower and
lower, until at last it required from 5 to
10 dollars to buy of the planters bush
! Il of corn, and it was offered to them
freely at those rates. But no they would
not give up the few bushels of corn' or
pounds of butter, necessary to cancel their
bonds. Even now, they can buy cotton
money at about 80 cents on the dollar,
from the very men they condemn as spec
ulators, because they had some faith in
their bonds; and yet they refuse to invest,
because they expect to prove that the
money was raised "to aid therebellion J!
Just as well might they refuse to pay
their neighbors for the corn they bought;
for every bushel raised did aid the re-
bellion.
Would anybody feel very badly, if
these men, who have thus deliberately
refused to buy cotton money, Ito all in
tents and purposes their own paper,)
when $1,000 of good money would have
bought $4,000, should find the law
not quite so sure friend as they sup
posed, and be obliged to "shell OUT
greenbacks, dollar for dollar! trow
not. Indeed fancy that can see now
a vast multitude smiling in their
sleeves" and mentally circulating,
"served 'em right" We have all heard
of the GLORIOUS uncertainty of the law"
1 do not profess to be deep read in its
mysteries, or in Yankee policy, but l do
guess that this last view of the case
will prove to be about "the upshot" of
the whole matter
But let me do no injustice to any one.
l do not believe that our planters intend
to "come this dodge" at all. Hundreds
and hundreds of them are coming up
nobly and paying their bonds, and hun
dreds of thousands of dollars of cotton
money are coming into the Treasury
every month to be burned, and appear
no more forever. Those planters have
no fear of the future before their eyes.
They look upon the courts without a
tremor. They don't even have to "whis-
tie to keep up their courage, when they
90 by the haunted house" l believe
that nearly, if not quite all of our plan
ters will 60 and do likewise
/ once knew an odd kind of a man, a
merchant, who did heavy business. In
course of time he failed, and gave up
everything TO his creditors. His assets
paid about so cents on the dollar, and his
creditors cheerfully gave him full re-
ceipts. He commenced business anew
with good credit and prospered. In ten
years he invited all his old creditors to
an anniversary dinner On raising his
plate each man found check for every
dollar, principal and interest, of his old
debt. AS this was a very unusual pro-
eeding, they refused to accept, an
equally unusual course on their part.
But he insisted, and quoted an old,
homely proverb, that originated among
some barbarous people, about 'clear
conscience being better than gold," and
so they compromised, took the money,
and finished off by eating hearty din
ner, and drinking to the health of their
host.
Was not that man a terrible "old
fogy7" QUID.
"The following named convicts were
recorded at the Mississippi Penitentiary
from February lst to February 23rd, 1866
Isaac Brown, f. m. c., from Warren county,
for FIVE YEARS