Daily Republican., 1881-01-07
FalDAY, JANUARY 2. 1851.
Fundlnx tho sta.e Debt.

FMu0lnk tn0 Sthto DoS'
Amongst the first bills Introduced
intoithe State Legislatrr. will be one
providing for the fun State
debt, 5000, 900, at four per cent. inter-
est, in bonds running five, ten and
fifteen years. No doubt a powerful
lobby in the pay Of the bondholdera
will try to prevent the passage Of the
bill upon the ground that the holders
having purchased the bonds at six per
cent. Il would be q breach OF faith on
thsp part of the State to lower the rate of
interest. This objection should have
no weight with the members Of the
Legislature, for while the law negotia-
ting for the bonds contained clause
providing for refunding them at a
lower rate of interest they (the bond
holdsrs) cannot eomplai n Of undue ad'
vantage being taken Of them. The bill
by all means should pass, so that these
who have been paying high State taxes
ali along to meet this heavy interest
may be relieved in part. 1t now takes
$54, 900 year to pay the interest on
$500, 1000 at six per cent. At four per
cent. the interest would be $50, 900,
making saving annually to the State
Of SIS, 900. About $42, 900 Of these
bonds were lifted the last fiscal year by
the excess Of revenue over the amount
necessary to pay the interest. With
the saving of $lS, 900 in interest added
to that $42, 900 there would be $50, 900
worth of bonds cancelled the next year
and larger amount every year there
after until the fifteenth year when
every vestigs of the State debt would
be liquidated and Delaware would be
what it was before the civil war State
clear of debt. -four legislators have
the interest Of their ax-psying con-
stituents at heart, they will not listen
to the demand of the lobby and State
bondht lders in their appeals to defeat
the funding bill. The bondhoEfers
have already had the advantage of a
high rate Of interest foE some ten
years, and they can well afford now to
take four per cent. IRON now until their
bonds mature whether it be in five, ten
or fifteen ysars, especially when it is
consideradrths: Tho interest on Govern,
ment bonds has bsea reduced to four
peE%snt.
! Senator McWhorter, a strong friend of
fthe rsfunding bill ID chairman of the
joint committee Of the two Houses hav-
ing it in charge, and We are informed
that he is rather at 4 stand still as to
whether the tax-paying citizens should
be given the advantage Of the $l8, 600
reduction Of interest by an immediate
reduction of the State revenue tax, or
whether to keep up the present rate Of
taxation until the debt OF the State is
0blitersted.
For our own part. We are rather in
elined to the last proposition. Those
who have paid the revenue ever since
the State bonds were issued have got
used to it now, though at first it waa
considered very oppressive. The
change would scarcely be perceptible
any how where only $50 Is involv.
ed, and so under the circumstances We
believe the tax payers would prefer
keeping up the present ratio of taxa
tion that the State debt may be fully
paid of as soon as possible, and then
the 5000, 900 phantom will no more like
Bsnquo's ghost rise up to trouble the
tax payers otsthe State. We sincerely
hope that every legitimate influence
possible will be brought to bear in
favor of the psssage.of the refunding
bill agreed upon by the special COM
mittee.