The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-01-28

,ntnreat than l. allowed by law. Ana s'el'
hate come to copfound this meaning WIN
4be Mosaic law. which had no such sig
n;bcance. According to that law, anything
charged for money for the sSanee 'ne'eos
was usury.
Nowhere is the act of charging for money
made per SC u sin. such charge is forbid.
de,, only under certain conditions. In Lc-
y,ticus, Oh. 25, v. IS, &c, 81, usury is pro-
hibited where money is loaned to u brother
"waxen poor and fallen into decay" or
even in case of stranger similarly cnaar-
rassed. Exodus. ch. %, V. %. 90, usury l.
forbidden in case Of money lent TO any OF
"py people that is poor but there is no.
thing said of the "stlanger." In Deu-
teronomy, CHI. 90, v. 20, The divine IN" says
"un,o stranger thou mayest lend upon
us,lry"; and Ia Hebrews, oh. %, Y. 20, the
command was not 10 receive usury from
any that borrowed from necessity. e..
poverty.
Therefore there was no unconditional pro-
hibitiou of usury or charge for the use OF
money in the divine law. and the laws called
uslry laws of modern times derive no au-
tisority whatever from it. 1t simply enloincd
mercy TO The poor and necessito,iS, aud the
matter Of lending at all to such was left en-
tirely discretionary with those who had
money to lend. With all the divine texts
before him, very pious commentator says !:
at seems as lawful for me to receive interest
~, t1,ar faIo
Improves, but runs the hazard Of in trade.
Gas il Is TO receive rent for my land, which
"another takes pains with, improves, but
"rnns the hazard Of in husbandry.' En-
acsly! This Is allowed by the divine law.
That law commits no such folly as to say
money, unlike all other property, IL not to
he allowed to increase in value by putting q
price upon its usage. 1t only provides that
the rich shall not Cypress the poor in charging
for the use Of money lonned. or charging an
increase upon the cost OF "corii, wares, or
the like" sold him.
But, as we said, the age has vaguely I'M
derstood the divine law, and imagining that
Its essence was incorporated In the law which
made six per cent. lawful, and seven or any
other higher interest sin, they have hcaped
Ina]edictions upon those who charged these
higher rates for the use of money, and the
lew has rendered forfeit the whole amount
loaned at any rate above six per cent. The
divine law absolutely denounces any such
folly in falling to tx any rate as sinful i'll
trade aud trnffic except where money Is lent
TO the poor, and Of course the sums loaned
thus in charity could only be very small.
Our modern economists and moruliStS,
however, Fix rate, yet differing in different
States in one six, another seven, another
eight, aud up 10 ten and twelve; and the
apostle of the "usury law" party wants 10
limit interest to Zone and onctCnlh" per
cent, and would damn all who charged
more
The day Is near when these modern uSury
laws, which forfeit all sum, loaned at above
the legal rate, will be considered rs Il bar.
barism.
But do not our people know that before
the war the six per cent. limit Of the law was
daily disregarded! That hundreds OF thou
sands of dollars worth Of notes were yearly
sold for their value as settled by the circum,
stances bearing upon their salei And has
not the Court of Appeals decided that nssa
may be thus sold for sum that may be
agreed upon Us It's value by the seller and tn
buyer, just as bonds OF States aud corpora.
tons are daily sold for greatly less than theif
par yalue1
But observe, when legal rate Is fixed and
nll higher rates nIe made unlawful to the eX-
X teut of forfeiting the whole sum loaned at
sss 1t; nam lenders: unSi lft0
y loan ut the legal rate and being yet disin-
clined TO transactions declared unlawful
send their money away from the State. The
amount Of money for loan is thus diminish.
cd, aud those who may run the risk of a law
suit and encounter public opprobrium by
lending money at unlawful rates must
charge for their peril and personal discom
q fort sum over and above the real value Of
their money. This operates to the serious
injury Of the bOrrower-the man whom the
usury law party profess to desire to protect
They cruelty him, and do so under the pre-
tencs Of piety and humanity that is worthy
of thebigotsd Puritan.
Everybody knows that the usury law has
failed to limit the rate of interest, and that II
has, rs we have above described, been disas
trous to the borrower. A man who PROCESSES
TO nc ignoran: of the fact is guilty Of aflecta-
ton.
Then, what reason Is there for Il law pro-
hiOitiDg rates Of interest exceeding six or
one and one-tenth per cent! 1t is as I'M
possible for the State to control tho value OF
money as 1t is for it to control tue value of
corn or wheat. Whenever il attempts to
control the rate of interest II will flil to az
comallsh It's objects, and it will submit the
most embarrassed and distressed part of the
community to the tender mercies of the curb
stone broker and deep-cutting shaver
There Is neither wisdom ror humanity in
such law. Money is cbungeable in value
for the causes that change the value of ether
sorts of property entering into commerce.
It Is high when scarce, and low when plenty.
1T may he worth more than six per cent. one
month, and less than that the succeeding
month"; fact recognized by England, the
greatest commercial nation in the world,
through her ruling banking institution,
which established rates varying ut different
periods in the last two years from three to
ten per cent. For this institution (the Bank