Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-08-21

l bldtN anu Whiib, IN lne country. Is Sixty
seven dollars. The debt of the State o
Tennessee, in round numbers, is forty
millions Of dollars-this makes another
lnstallment Of twenty-six dollars pc
eapita-Or total of ninety-fOur dollar
owed by every human soul in Tennessee
and all this the excresccnce Of few shori
years, for up to the time of the war We
owed nothing, and had but a few out
standing bonds.
REVOLUTIONARY DEBTS NEVER PAID.
Mr.. Etheridge, pursuing this course o.
statistical reasoning. continued History
has shown US that no great revolutionary
war debt was ever paid. There may be, =
said he, some new things under the sur
| -Brownlow's Legislature, composed OF
men who had not been in the State long
enough TO earn even the right to vote, was
new thing [laughterl-the payment of q
great revolutionary war debt would be
one of these, not that | believe that the
/ American people can not pay the debt, but
1 if they do it viii have to be under a new
/ order of things. But look again. said
! he, " the interest on this Twenty-Five or
I thirty hundred millions is one hundred
! and fifty millions per annum. on your
/ State debt there is two millions per an
mum. All this You have got TO carry be-
side. You can relieve yourselves Of it in
/ one Of three ways only-pay the debt,
[ carry it and paw the interest, or repadiGte
/ the whole thing. For myself prefer the
I payment of an honest debt. Reputation
/ is like war, the ultima ratio regiS, the last
/ resort and argument But no great revo-
/ lutionary debt ever was paid"
/ InprOOfof this isporuOn Of his speech the
( speaker 5ited the revolutionary debt
/ Of Franee,w hOrepudiated her as
I signats-of Texas, which was only
/ in partpaid by the United States
of England, which was in re-
! ality half repudiated, for she commenced
! borrowing at ten per cent, but now pays
only three. Public debts, he declared,
are an invention of modern times. Up to
1892 England never owed dollar of pub
lic debt, and from commencement of
e900, coo now owes 5000, 900, 600. a sum that
no one dreams will ever be paid, although
England is ten times more able to pay
than the United States Mr.. Etheridge
stated that he mentioned these things not
to prejudice his hearers against paying
the debt. He believed that the United
States, by proper management, with its
immense resources, the teeming north
Will Il is true, said he, that
that Mr. Boutwell's reports show reduc-
tions monthly, but Just wait until
Congress passes its deficiency and see
how much reduction there has been.
The speaker, conctnuing his course of
reasoning, said that the Federal taxes
though OnerOus, did not cause the people
so much uneasIness or annoy them so
much as the State taxes, for the general
government does not tax lands. IL does
not. The people are already restive. But
here in the State the man that don't own
an acre of land is taxed with land tax
The freedman who works a farm on
shares pays one-halfthe crop for rent. He
pays FIVE cents a mile for riding on the
IF ?
TO be. His whisky-every drink of it, is,
as Artemus used to say, taxed muchly
tlaughter), for from five or ten cents per
drink II is raisedtO twenty-five, and 50 on.
THE REMEDY.
81 You ask how this is to be remedied,"
said Mr.. Etheridge. VIII tell you, if
you want my advice. You must reduce
the expenses Of Government; make more
than you spend; incur no new liabilities;
put honest men in Office, as you elect the
men who collect the revenue); apply the
surplus to the reduction of your liahili-
ties abolish unnecessary Offices; enlarge
the judicial districts; adopt q more effec-
tive means OF collecting the revenue. If
you do not do this in less than two years
you will hear the cry of reputation. 1t
is useless to say the debt win not crush
YOU
HIS PROMISES.
"When you hear this cry of repudia-
ton" sad the speaker, .. do not say that
1 raised it. / am merely telling you
what is bound to be. As for myself l am
going into this thing slowly. Beyond the
necessary appropriations TO carry on the
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial pow
ers, which must be supported, and sus-
tanned, [ viii not go far. These / viii sup
port and vote appropriations for, but
when they ask me to vote money
a a . i
Instruction, Observation-Disclosures and
all those nameless things which have
no legal or constitutional existence, |
VIII not do it. lApplause.] Wnen I get
to Nashville 1 intend to enter the AUgean
stable slowly, and carry with me q dIsin-
fectant. I intend to get ns a wheelbar-
row, shovel and hoe and commence with
cleansing. | won't promise what / will
do until | consult with others who are
with me there, but / intend TO probe
things to the bottom.
REPUTATION.
The speaker stated that some davs ago
he had made a speech at Milan, and had
been quoted as saving that he was in IA
vor of repudiating all Of Brownlow's
State bonds. His views had been misrep-
resented, by this paragraph which he had
seen going the rounds. As to repudia-
ton, he repeated, he considered that the
very last resort, only to be adopted when
every other plan had failed. But it would
soon be enOunced from this very rostrum,
as he had said, in less than two years by
aspirants for Office. He noticed a growing
disinclinatiOn among the people to
undergo the hardships necessary to carry
ing or paying the State debt. In illustra-
ting his views on this point Mr.. Etheridge
gave a graphic description of the argu-
ments, ETC., that would be used by these
applicants for Office on the ground of re-
pudiatiOn, and depicted the stump orator
reasoning and arguing it to the very life,
The nOu-payment of the July interest
he declared, was virtually yrepudiating the
debt, and since the failure on the part of
the State to meet this obligation he said
we already looked population in the face,
Still he thought il was deF5,ier resort.
Recurring to the paragraph in the Milan
paper purporting to give his words and
views, he said that what he did say was,
" having learned from Mr.. Oates that there
were a number of bonds issued without
authority of law-lndeed in direct contra
vention of the internal Improvement law
Of 1852, he was in favor of repudiating
than the well-known legal maxim of
cdUeat e1nptOr. If this, said Mr.. Etheridge.
" be reputation, make the mostof it. ;"
4HE RAILROADS.
In regard to those railroads that do not
pay the interest on their bonds, he adj
vised their immediate sale to some man
or men who would take them
and run them 20 aa expense to
the State, taxing state bonds in pay
Inent for them In this way bonds
VIII be retired and the expensive roads
will be gotten rid Of. In conclusion OF
the financial question, Mr.. Btheridge said
that much might be saved by an honest
management Of the penitentiary. In the
meantime, under the benign influence Of
peace, public confidence would ne re-
stored, industry wORl3 revive, and the
material EuWeF Of the State increase.
With the augmented commercial business
of the State, and better management OF
the railroads, the revenue arising there
from will be proportionately greater,
P4EpQEs 70 THE NEGRO.
Addressing himself to the negro,
newspapers were discussing the
extent of the victory. and
wondering at the iIQmeuse amounts
Of The nlaioEities for Senter, be would ex-
plain IL In a word-the late election was
like opening the doors Of Jail and say
ing to the prisoners, come out. They had
come ont like rats out of barn on Are.
The victory was simply the victory of
right oyer wrong, and justice over oppFes-
sion. When this contest was gone into
pledges were made to the negroes if they
would come up and help us to get out Of
this jail, and to win the nght of right over
wrong we would guarantee them the pos
session of all the rights they then enjoyed.
" IL, B" said Mr.. Etheridge, turning to the
whites, you expect me to take back
4 L 4 I L 4 a.