The weekly standard., 1869-09-15
No Debt Repudiated


The following extract from the 1o,;
(ky9 Courier Journal is going the ron'a
OF the repudiation press and has in.t Du'
peared among the North Carolina no, 'P
VINO use 1t as an argument in favor ~ ~"
pudiation: fe
~ During the war the North incurred
Inc North and the South incurred debt delt
North and the South incurred their w., The
equally good faith. If it would be disbOeols IL
in the North to repudiate her debt. was ~ lOfabe
able IN her to compel the South TO ra, 70 ,nehOt
hers? Is it honorable in one party to epudae
another party to do what is dishonorsbIoss ssonpe
not the North, by compelling Southern -. Has
ton, perpetrated as great dishonor as 'e.pudia.
pudiation OF her own debt would be.i Tue re
The Courier Journal seems to forge,
purposely over looks, the fact that tba VI
debts were contracted under entirely dis' s"'
ent circumstances, and that there !. lug
Northern but NATIONAL debt, sbar.s
alike by the North, East, West and So", Il
It is debt which was created bv H. 4
tion to pay the expense of war to sn,i n''
a rebellion against its authority. '"e
That such debt is legitimate CAM.
disputed by any sensible person. 0'
Nor does the Courier-Jou,nal ;,,a, :,
tempt to deny that the debt is ius, W
merely asserts that the North would iD,
no more dishonor by repudiating the s' w
i Is n
tional Debt than it alleges it have incr,s", -,4
by forcing the South to repudia,o su u,
debt" us
Neither is the last proposition corrpct
The National Debt was created by ,,o
government and the nation is in 6oan '
bound to pay it to the last farthlnu
The Confederate debt was created Nv e.
Government of the Confederate Stat. ,
and the Confederate States alone arc bon1,
to its payment.
Where are the Confederate States
There is no such government upop tb.
face of the earth.
Again, it was not to be expected that tbs
government ofthe United States would nav
a debt incurred in opposing its authoritv
The holders of the Confederate bonds did
not dream of such thing. No governmcp,
ever paid the debts incurred by rebcI
lighting against Its authority, nor will apv
government ever so stullify itself.
As well might the holder of Confetlera,o
bank-blll expect its payment by the United
States.
| The South was compelled to repuOiot
nothing. The momen: the South owned fin
authority of the United States, she had n,
debt to repudiate.
| The Confederate States owed the dol,
not the United States.
| There are no Confederate States, and tbn,.
fore the holders of bonds whose paymcrt
| is promised by the Confederate States hay
no one to look to for payment, for thci
debtor is defunct. Thus it is evident tia
the Courier Journal is WI ong, and that til
United States has never repudiated an
debt, or caused any debt owed by any
the United States, to be repudiatcd.
| The South, as part of the United State
is responsible for only tits part of the nation
debt,
The South, as the Confederacy, is no MOI
The Confederacy is dead, and it is unrc
sonable to expect a corpse to pay bills
Therefore it is evident that there has be-
no debt repudiated, and consequently
dishonor incurred by either the NOrhG
or Southern sections Of the United Statt
| And that cock won't fight.