The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-06-16
The British Holders Of the Confederate
r Debt.

The Chicago journal, speaking of the
Confederate bondholders, says:
81 Tho report comes from London that
a meeting has been held there recent
ly, attended by nearly one hundred
bondholders of the Confederate cotton
loan amounting to &3, 000, ,0c0. This is
the faceSsvalue sef- the bonds, without
interest,", and, as the holders intend to
present the matter for payment to the
United States Government on % moral
grounds, the holders will. no doubt,
be glad to accept the original amount
paid. and say nothing about the in
terest. -
This Confederate cotton loan, be it
remembered, was one of the methods by
which the Confederate authorities
raised the means to carry on the civil
war that they wagcd for over four
years for the overthrow of this Gov
ernment, and by it the war was
greatly protracted and the loss of life
iearfully augmented. The, English
gentlemen who furnished the money
had two objects in view, Q) to make
something handsome for themselves on
the investment, and (2) to aid in dis
rupting and destroying the great Amer
lean Republic. The first was well
enough in the line of speculation and
private enterprise. but the latter was
mean, cowardly and unfriendly. Both
objects signally failed of complete sue
cess. t 'at .A----- --
1t is perhaps a curious coincidence
that this meeting os Confederate cotton
bondholders should have been held ON
the same day (May S0) that the loyal
people of the United States were deco
rating the graves of their heroic dead,
many of whom might be alive to-day ii
it had not been for the aid and comfort
extended TO the rebellious States in
continuing the war by these English
capitalists. Decoration Day and its
mournful associations are not cal
culated to make the American peo-
pie feel good-natured over the ac-
tion of Great Britain from 1861 to 1864,
when our National integrity was seri-
ously threatened and its very existence
put in extreme peril 1t is not q good
day to talk to us about paying back q
loan, or any part thereof, that was ex-
pended in the purchase of arms and
ammunition to shoot down those who
were near and dear to us, and who per-
ished in defending the, flag that signi-
fies so much to every lover of liberty
and equality. ....... E..s
These English spectators are wise
enough to admit that they have no
legal claim upon this Government for
the payment of these old, moth-eaten
Confederate bonds, but intend to pre-
sent them ION moral grounds" They
are probably aware that we have
| adopted an amendment to our Constitu-
ton which explicitly prohibits the pay
ment of the Confederate debt in any
shape, and, if there is any moral as.
pect to that section of the organic act,
it would seem to justify n rejection oi
this spurious claim. If there isn't any
legal basis for the so called debt, a,
is freely admitted by the holders ol
it, and if it fails on being presented
on moral grounds" how would
it do to present it on religious
/ grounds? The kind of religion
that furnishes money to your enemie.
to help them kin the flower of genera
/ ton OF young men, and then ask you tC
return it TO the donors, is quite as gooC
as the ethical code that justifies the
same thing. 1t is the same kind of En-
| glish morality that stuffs opium
down the throats of the protesting Chi
nese ut the point of the bayonet. L
isn't much in vogue in America.