Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-01-23

" Bacon, but a political and not a moral
precept that Noses taught. But" says
, the moralist, 1.-THE psalmist denounces
, the usurer." The context will show that
the deuuaciaiion is against the man de-
void Of the foremost OF human virtues
charity to the poor. Aud again / will
answer by saying that a greater than
David has said: Thou osgttest, there
fore, TO have put my moaey to the ex.
changers, and hen at my coming I
should have received mine Own with
usury "-Matthew. XIV, %.
1t will be observed that usury was not
primarily p%rediested upon the loan Of
money any more than OF any other com /.
modify, and it was not until during the
middle ages, during the dark period of
monkish superstition aud civil tyranny,
when commerce was at its lowest ebb on
the continent of Earope and England,
and what little did exist was 10 the hands
of the Jews and Lombards, thai the in
tsres. demanded for the use Of none
WAS so enormous that It became detest-
able, and all interest on money was laid
under a total iuteriict. But when mems
minds began to be more enlarged, when
true religion andreallber revived, com
merce grew again into credit aad intro.
dueed with il its insspera5Ie compan.
ion-ths dccrine OF loans upon interest.
More than two centuries ago Lord Ba-
con wrote upon this snbj.c in his excel
leat collection Of essays. and,
after discussing the convenieuces"
and "incanTeBiences" tf usury
laws, winds up by saying that
it is better to mitigate usury by declara-
ton than to suffer it to rage by conni'
vance" And somewhat later the Eng
lish philosopher, John Lock, declared
that money is an universal commodity,
and is as necessary to trade IS food is to
life, and everybody must have it at what
ever rate they can get it. Those who
will consider things beyond their means
will find that money, as we'll as other
commodities, is liable TO the same change
and inequality, and the rate Of money is
no more capable Of being regulated than
the price Of land"
Later still Mr.. Beutham, in his work
treating Of the usury laws Of England.
said: AS well might a clause he added
fixing and reducing the price of horses.
1t may be said against fixing the price of
horsehesh that different horses may be Of
different values. l answer, not more diff
ferent han the values which the use of
tie SAINT sun OF money may b. OF 10
different persons on different occasions"
And Grotius, the learned Dutch jurist
and writer Of the seventeenth century,
says; IF the compensation allowed by
law does not exceed the proportion of the
hazard even, or the want felt by the
loan, u allowance is neither repugnant
to the revealed nor the natural lav. The
6rst statute passedin England, to prevent
usury, was in the reign Of Henry VIII.
Prior to that time lava existed making i,
penal to take any interest at all for the
loan of money. 1t will be observed that
this total prohibition of interest on
money was the result Of monkish super
%stitiou and papsl ediots, they having de.
cIared that 'uaury (which was synony-
nous With Interest," is by the word Of
God utterly prohibited as a vice most
odious and detesiable.'
HsAce it was that England, who Dor
rowed her laws and religion from Rome,
gss governed by Q like superstition until
Henry renowned the authority Of the
Pope, declared himself the head of the
church, and proceeded to have laws er-
acted suitable to the growing prosperity
Of bis kingdom. This act allowed the
taxing Of ten per cant. interest for the
loan or forbearance Of money. From
this time forward there we're various
statute5 passed by parliament during the
sgcessdipg reigna attempting to requisite
tbe intsrss. 10 be ehIVgsd. As the pros
perity ohtbe country increased the rate
l~essensj, until 10 The reign OF William
", waen an act vas passed ezemptiug
from tie ossFstiop Of the usury laws all
bill and prouissory Hotes payable viii
in three months, which was afterwards
extended to twslys mosths.
Il vas about this tins that Mr.. James
Birch Kelley in his History enc Lass Of
Usary said:
An experiences teaches ~ how M.
profitable il is for tie law to FIX a maxi
mum rate OF interest. When there is
little demand for money it can be Dor.
rowsd for less than the legal rate OF in.
tsrest on good security. When the car,
trary % the case, the law is eYaded and
more than legal interest given, for what.
ever may be the municipal regulation,
there is no axiom better established than
tbet money, ike water, will always End
ita oSa lsgeli that it ia governed By the
same rules as to production and disfrihu.
ton which affect all other m~erchsutsble
commodities, and that the rate of inter
Is, for tic use IS no more capatle Of be.
ing regulated hy Law than are tho rates
OF insurance or the p,ics Of labor, and
thet i'eo trade in money il tic eSllyy way
OF rendering it abundant"
This aud numbers Of other arguments
put ierth in favor Of free trade in money,
together with the general spirit Of legal