Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-08-23
Mr BOutwe1Fs FiIHa sseFsI sSssccgss GOn
Irsssted with the Late Fre4lest L4,;Arf-

tIillei - thtS fjlsSLlLuleS t1t flCht 81 en-
| pire on the globe. It is almost boslIltiIass
in extent and eXhaustlcss III IT'S fertility
Covering, as it does, sucE ali immeJise
geographical area, il yields abunGantly the
the tropical zones. Irhabited by f,gt,
millions Of people unsurpassed III enter
prise, industry and ingenuity, the wealth
producing "ower of saIcll an empire is prac-
tically iilimitahe, and It's prosperity should
bealnparaeled. It's wealth iii coal, iron,
copper, lead, gold and numerous other
mineral productions is absolutely incalcu-
liable. On its shores hundreds Of thousands
If emigrants are landed each year. most Cf
'hem bringing pccUniary capital, and all
IF them bringing the still more valuable
capital of their productiveness, for ali their
labor is wanted to develop new resources,
and they become producers as soon as they
land.
The credit of an Individual depends upon
his known resources, his business ability
and his character for fidelity to his engage
ments. Tie credit of Il government rests,
This being so, what country in the world
ought to possess a more unlimited credf
than the United States ?
Seven years have elapsed since the ter
minatiOn Of the war. During that time the
people OF the North have undoubtedly
made enormous progress iii wealth and
material prosperity. The people Of the
South, no thanks to their government, have
to some extent recuperated from their
hausted condition, and if they had
not been plundered i'll the most shame
less manner by hordcs of blood-sutk-
ers, they would be comparatively pros
porous. The aggregate wealth OF
the entire country is i'll uOitably greater
than it ever was before; its future re-
sources are bOundless, aud the stability of
its government is certainly much tirtnel
since the great issues Cf secession and
slavery have been settled by the wur, ap-
parently forever. 1t seems, therefore, that
the credit Of the United States ii Che mar-
kets Of the world ought to be without stl-
perior, if not without equal, and il it is not
than to a want of ability or integrity III the
government :.
Certainly Mr.. Boutwell, and his SIppOr-
ters have not been slack in blowing their
own trumpet aud sounding the praise OF
| their own financial policy. If We believe
their statements, the government never
| was i'll such a state Of fiscal pros spcrity.
| The public debt is decreasing at a prodi
| gioUs rate, the public credit IS Increasing
pdri pas&u, and so splondiily successful
has been the management Of the public ii
nances, that it is one OF the main grounds
upon which the Radical party dem4nd OF
! The country d renewal OF their tse Of
power,
| Now, all this looks very specioIls. But
| how does it stand the test OF cred it Ii
| tins is all true, if Mr.. BoutweIl'5 policy has
been anything more than rubbtng i',:ter to
pay Paul, if the national prosperity has not
been progressing in spite 0f gorcrU1,3t"t
| acknowledgement, then the credit Of the
| United States in the markets OF tlir Worlti
ought certainly to stand \ No. I, tot there
| tlit Dt no uOIbt Oh tIlt d'IliLs H- thT hl9
position to pay the public debt, and there
! is now no probability of the Uuitci otate>
becoming involved i'll those great wars
which ruin a nations finances.
| How is it, then, that Il heg.,.ttly l"a" If
! one hundred millions has been uI.sj.,.,.,s
| fully hav krd about the Eurap"lr aI:]
| home markets by Mr.. BDrtwcli's @G-I.t..
| and Syndic;atcs, u1til its f;til"re w;es so
| ignomini"us that it had II" ne With
| drawn?
On the other hand, what has the vo:la
seen in The last few days?
A nation of some thir:V-siN m..I!"!.s
crampcd in territory already too IatrvW g.
the bulk of whose population Is ehaul,G
to subsiSt only hy exercising s,gch Il degree
of frugality as would be deemed syIl.i-
starvation in this countr, oppressed viii
a debit amounting III al 70 some touI
thousand millions of dollars, recently
crushed and dismepIbercd by unpal ;aiieieu
disasters, compelled still to maintain ruin
Ous armamrnts and exposed any day to
The risk OF other wars with an unsettled
provisional government, which mty ~ any
moment give way to revolution, civil war
and anarchy. Well, this unfortunate ma
ton presents herself upon the market of
the world to ask for loan of seven hum
dred millions Of dollars at Il low rate Of i'll
terest. On the inst day the lists
are opened, about one thousand millions
are offered AT the close of the third day.
upwards of EIGHT THOUSAND MILLIONS
have been subscribed, and the press of the
entire civilized world is struck with
wonder at what they unanimously agree
to call financial miracle. The chief labor
of the French administration is now TO cut
down the offered amounts pro 2TttG. For
example, if Il banking house offered to take
| eight millions of the loan, they can have
| only six to seven hundred thousand, and
! the loan already commands il premium III
| the markets, before the bonds are
| actually issued, and all this is gold value
| Nor is this astonishing result due TO
| French patriotism alone, though that was
| sufficient to cover the loan nole than
| three times over. Berlin alone, which re-