The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1869-06-22
Correspondence.
The Interest Question Again.
(Concluded.)

No law of God against Withholding any
part of the principal, for which your
neighbor has given you his we'll secured
note, provided you call it interest No
law of God against taking any per cent,
which the necessities, the distress of your
neigbbor will aid you to dictate! No
law of God against perfect license to the
natural depravity of man in this directionl
What pi assumptions ! BY what possible
sophistry, even, do they attempt 10 thu,
force the Bible into their service ? 1t
must be by the application of worse logic |
than that by which Progress sninhilated our
statute law. Their moral theology must
be much like that of the hipocritical old
fellow, who grossly cheated stranger in
horse trade, giving him tickle, worth
less old brute, in exchange for one Of sevs
eral times its value. His wife, who over
heard the conversation, was shocked at
some of his statements, and resolved upon
the first favorable opportunity to talk with
him upon the subject. That evening,
when returning from the weekly prayer
meeting, where he had prayed loud and
long for the spread of truth, Righteousness,
and brotherly love in the land, she
thus called him to an account. 'Jona-
than, how did you reconcile your prayer
this evening, with your treatment Of the
stranger to day. They are perfectly
consistent with each other, and the Bible
he replied. 'How so, she asks. Does
not the Bible cay, he replies, that one OF
the greatest charges which will be brought
against sinners, will be, Il was a stranger
and ye took me not in and trust am
not guilty of breaking this implied and
do with your horse trade, Jonathan she
asks. He replies, the man was stran.
ger, was he not Yes Il took him
in, didn't l , therefore, | have not broken
even the letter Of the law of God But
the wife wa. even more shocked at his
theology, than his horse trade. She could
no more understand it, than those 'unso-
phisticated widows' could understand the
theology Of these gentlemen, by which
they Justify their contemptuous sneers,
because they do not violate both the law
of the land, and the dictates Of religion,
by taking more than just compensation
for the use of the small sums which they
loan.
That the powers of darkness are on the
side of the extortioner, no one can deny;
and if 80 it must be self evident, that he
who endeavors to overthrow all usury law,
while he acknowledges that extortion, in
Justice, and wrong exist, must be engaged
in the same cause, and necessarily have
the same helps.
have somewhere seen it stated, that
there is an old Hebrew document extant,
wherein the writer attempts to show that
had Satan succeeded in his scheme, to hire
the Redeemer OF the world to fall down
and worship him, he intended to have
gained possession of the kingdoms where
, with to fulfill his part of the contract, by
extortion. But for the truth OF his claim
! cannot vouch. But we have no reason
f to doubt it, We know il would be jus
5 like him; and il by working upon thu
pride and vanity Of these monarchs, HI
could have got them involved to any con
siderable extent, and then passed then
: over to such Of his followers as woult
. fleece them, to the tune of eleven pc
cent. per month, it would have been I
q very feasible plan, when executed by on
J. of his power and principles.
hiu NV sur piiscu tHht tho oppOoitho'
: . dare not answer the questions which
0 proposed to them in my last, though sub
stantially those of their own asking. l
Is they tell us that the average profits 0
y business are less than twelve per cent.
, then they must admit that the presen
legal rate is high enough. For upon wha
10 principle would you divide the profits
!. Shall the capitalist be. allowed to gras
!. the whole Shall he with leech like vo
'e racity, fasten his fangs upon the vitals @
r' the business community, and gorge himsel
at that fountain until it is dried up, o
), shall he act upon the principles Of th
"a honorable merchant, who charges only
f. fair profit upon his wares, and who vii
y not take more than the actual cost G
T" those goods, with that profit added, eve
though his customers may not know thei
r value. Asa general principle, ought b
not to be willing to divide the profits wit
q him who takes the risks OF the business i
m which that capital is invested, and devote
n h's time, and powers Of mind and body
40 IL. nro..o,,l;nn Nof ,adsad 18th al