The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-11-19


trains at the crossing Of one railroad by
another.
An act to repeal an act to amend an
act approved Nov II, 1867, entitled an
act to incorporate toe village OF Cabot,
An act to incorporate the Northheld
Savings Bank aud Trust Co.
An act to incorporate the Merchants
aud Mechanics Fire Insurance Go.
Remarks of A. Il. STANLEY,
OF LEICESTER, IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIvgs, ON HOUSE BILL NO. 3, RELATING
TO INTEREST.
| regret the necessity which | am I'M
der, Of asking the attention. of this honor.
able body again,to such remarks as l feel
it my duty to make at this time. A nat
ural difidcnce will deter me from thrust
ing myself or the indulgence of this house
only at such times and on such questions
as feel that the interest Of the people
are at stake. AS farmer, direct from
that class, 1 esteem it a duty which l
owe to them to stand up squarely in de-
tense of what conceive to be their in
terest. especially when in so doug have
the happy consciousness of trespassng IN
no sense on the rights of others. And
may be permitted to express the satisfac-
ton which l experience in finding the
legal profession so largely ready to stand
by the common people so called III this
measure.
Believing, as l do, that all act con-
scentiously, though taking different
view of the subject, l AN persuaded that
the old saying that lawyers have no
souls" is very great mistake, for the
Legislature of Vermont this fall presents
a goodly number who have at heart the
we'll being of the farmers, while some OF
their brethren are found on the other side
of the question-from honest convictions
no doubt. Charity at least would sug-
gest no other reason. And too, on a
question of such moment as this | feel
that l should be recreant to duty were l
to express my dissent to this bill in no
other way than simple record of my
vote.
Every measure, Sir, the tendency OF
which will be to cramp and Cypress the
people should oe checked. And it seems
to me that the opening of no wider door
through which the hand of extortion
could be thrust, could be secured than
that which would follow the passage Of
this bill.
: Our people are largely an agricultural
' people, a large number being borrowers
rather than lenders Of money and those
. farms are the exceptions which pay more
than four per cent. on their cash value
above the expense Of carrying on; it is
S oltener that they pay less. Thousands
of them are heavily mortgaged with the
. already legal rate Of interest eating int
them as the cancer gnaws at the vitals
Of the physical man.
r The capitalist in reality knows no wan
unless it be the want of more gain. HI
) needs no further legislation By which HI
), can thrust his already long arm idto thu
pockets of the oppressed debtor that hi
may pick therefrom his last penny. Tha
= legislation is the wisest and the most hu
name which protects to the greatest de
: gree those who most need it.
That argument is defective which urge
VI the passage of law legalizing any rat
which may be agreed upon, land we al
j. know that agreement under such stat
: OF things would be simply necessltate'
assent to unyielding demand), becaus
J. forsooth the law is evaded by money lend
d ers.
1t is virtually saying; We know yol
= violated and disregarded the law. W
will now relieve you Of those unpleasan
d reflections and dangers which know
violation of the statute very naturally oC
: casion you shall no longer be restricte
IS through the ofiicious medding OF that LAY
"a which would protect poor borrowe
against inordinatc extortion.
N 1t is urged that money cannot be OF
ic tanned at six per cent Perhaps in mat
tiers of speculation this may be true;
ie doubt it not. But, Sir, We are not pre-
sumed to be legislating in the interest c
:. spectators, so much as in the interest c
the masses, So far as farmers are coz
ID cerned the rule is that nix per cent.
IT, the maximum rate. And | speak SOME
what advisedly, for have been connect
lie ed with public records for fifteen year
p and in an official sense, claim to kno
something Of the financial condition {
D. this class of which. and in whose interel
| speak. We hare capitalists, loaners {
lg money who are content to receive onl
the present legal rate. They know thi
or the borrower especially if he be farme
oil in the majority Of cases will stagger eve
under that load. And they do not fe
10 that the law abridges their privileges
It. denying them the right to extort fro
IN the borrower higher rate OF interes
In word, they are satisfied to take viii
rn the law allows, knowing that their adval
tages are vastly superior to his who seel
VI loan.
Give them right to exact more al
In the natural desire to accumulate will il
u duce them to demand an advanced rat
ne and why? Simply because the law Civ
them the right to, All the checks an
~ moral considerations which before epe
n ated in favor of the borrower are no
o. swallowed up in the legal rights Of IL
lender.
re 1t would be better to name no parti
ular rate, and leave the thing to regula
IS itself, than to pass the bill in its prese
form. To establish six per cent. as 10
nd water mark on the financial beach al
permitting the tide of popular averice
be stranglc in its rise those already fettere
seems to me to be neither wise, prude
I'm or humane.
The tendency of such legislation in tn
re- little inland state of Ours. in which n