The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-01-24

any interest or as much, discount as they
thought proper. Very few OF our people
who had money to put out on ln.eres.
c1red to run the risk or 70 Vloiaos
the law. II the law now in force " repeated
YOU will find that our capitalists VIII, instead
of loaning out their money at six per cent,
invest In Government bonds, city bonas' ana
railroad stocks, that will pay them from elsnt
to ten per cent, and the money VIII go OUT
of the State or into the hands OF large anu
powerful corporations. We have heaId Tue
opinion expressed by some Of the members
Of our legislative body, who, we douDt not3
are sincere in their belief, and are actuaeeu
and Influenced in their actions by Wnat tney
conceive TO be the good of the country, tnat
if the interest on money Is put back 10 the
old rate it will cause capitalists 10 Duy up
the large tracts of land in East virginia
and the price of real estate will thus DC en-
hanced. But this is al erroneous idea; REQ
plc vii! not put their money in unproduc1lFe
and WORKOUT lands even If the interest al
lowed by law was only three per cent.
but In portions Of the state "neIe LUG
lands are productive and the integrity
Of the soil well preserved immense JUN,
titles of lands have been sofa, anu ale
being sold daily, notwithstanding tne ltoI
that tue interest allowed by law l. t"eiFS
Der cent. We venture to say that more h'nu
has been sold in this State in the las. three
years than in any twenty years previous 70
this time. The sale Of land OF the 'aiue VI
real estate does not so Much depehu upVn
the interest allowed by law rs upon Inc
general thrift and prosperity OF our peopie..
The abolition or alteration OF the pTesehI
,lsuIy law will only serve to enrlcn tIc
brokers, who, rs we have before reluaiheu'
will so arrange mutters as to get Mnat in.ei.
est they require and charge what discount
they ike. Thcre Is not member of the LIE
oisiotrre who for moment believes that II
fthe law il altered he could get bis note
discounted at the rate allowed by law.
Whilst the change Of abrogation Of the Law
would benefit this class, the honest mechanic
or the saving farmer, who may have 1e"
hundred dollars to loan out, not understands
ing the n,odus operandt Of the broker, OF as
LIKING to violate the law of his State, VIII
have to content himaef with the regular IN
tcrest allowed by law. The present law has
been in force several years. We have rs
people done well and prospered under IL,
and it is u good and wise maxim {" to let well
enough alonc.n The law has certainly been
of immense benefit to large number OF our
landowners who owed Qn!e-6ellstfn debts
They have been euahled to borrow money
at from TO II per cent Oh long terms, and
thus save their lands and pay tho amount
borrowed together with accrued interest,
back by instruments; whereas if the debtor
could not have obtained the money he re-
quired-and he certainly could not have got.
ten it at per cent. when the United States
Government bonds and city and railroad
bonds would pay from to 10 per cent
their lands would have been forced into the
markets and sacrificed; but the question of
,9qht as well rs of cxpediency has something
to do with this matter.
Money should be like every other COM
modify: 1t should be allo,red 10 bring its o,cn
ralue. If 4 has 500 and B wishes to bor-
row it, and is able to pay ten or twenty per
cent, what has anybody to do with it, The
Legislature has the same right to say the
merchant shall only make five per cent. proft
on his goods as they have to say that the
farmer OF mechanic shall only receive six per
cent. interest on his money, which ne has
saved and wishes to lay by and accumulate
for n "rainy day" Matters of this sort
should be allowed to regulate themselves.
Water will seek and find its level and the
value Of money will tluctuate according to
the supply and demand; and the more lesls-
litive bodies tampcr with private concerns,
and the more they interfere with questions
with which they really have nothing to do,
the more mischief they make and the greater
tic dctrimcut to the public good. AS one OF
your contemporaries remarks, the LegEla-
turc Is evidently body of retormers every
fellow has his project" and this cry against
the us,lrv law is the project or hobby Of
coodly number; it is something like the En-
guirei's CIV for "Reiiefn in 1S70-the people
Of the State $50 stated that paper were down
OH their knees suppicating for relief; relief
was Their daily cry and nightly prayer. Re-
lief from what: Why, fro:l the obligation to
nav their Just debts. 10 have read the cdi-
torial:; that appeared in that paper stranger
would i.aye supposed that the Whole people
Of the State were poverty-stricken, and that
tic ShWochs (credtors), as that paper de-
llrhtCd to designate them, were about to
Doupce down upon the debtor and swallow
him alive. The Enquirer must have
Il convcntio1-the people were unanimous( q
for ito petition tho Legislature for relief.
Tie convention was called, and III response
10 tic c&il about half dozen men-chiet
amongst whom was the editor Of that paper
assembled; "the mountains moved and
brought forth mouse" 1t is SO in regard
to the question Of llsury now pending before
our Legislature. The people feel no interest
in the matter; ninc-tenths Of them do not
care whether the interest allowed by law lie
three Oh twelve per cent, and theyar clearly
of the opinion that that body would better
suijscrye the interests Of the State by letting
alone such alystruse questions and attending
to other matters of more pressing and vital
| Importance. PLUS.
y-t-cs,,ao NJ :, Ssnnuts5atinrISS