The farmer and mechanic., 1910-07-12
FINANCIAL SIDE IN THE
REVOLUTION
CONTINUED from Page SIX

,rar, who find it enough for their bes!
,.5nav0urs to maintain their Families.
.f Of whom many have been oDnSed
=. rive up necessaries which nature
stands most in need of as DlStreSseS
f,. +he payment of Taxes
The first Provincial Congress on
AngIst %, 1774, passed resolutions
.-7afnning the course taken by the
le,,tsh ministry regarding the raising
.r revenue by duties on tea and Other
.~+f.ios, as usurpations contrary to
t-. spirit of the English constitution
and The inherent rights of all sub
- of Great Britain. They were
r, particular in asserting their 10y
.I+. 10 the Mother Country and the
.lJ.~rrnce with which they looked
,,,.,r any means or measures which
+erdad to bring about misunderstand-
5a-s- and discord between the King and
his subjects in America: but at the
Same time and in the same breath
+bar assert their rights with a bold
ness that commands our admiration
and respect With such conditions
nrayajling in North Carolina, and the
general attitude Of the people regard
In. taxation previous to the ReVolu-
ton which was very similar to condi-
4iouS in the other Colonies, 1t IS not
strange that the Continental Congress
refrained from imposing taxes in view
of the fact that the primary cause
which led up to the Revolution was
that Of taxation itself. Any measure
incorporating any scheme Of direct
taxation would undoubtedly have
worked a dissolution OF the Confed-
Grafton, and perhaps would have
changpd the whole course Of the war.
But we are dealing with questions
of probability. When We try
to measure influences under
different conditions from those
in which we find them. But
50 far as our knowledge of hu-
man nature and circumstances goes,
We can tell with some degree Of Ger
tainty at least. what might have been
the 0uICOme if some other course of
action had been pursued In the light
of subsequent events, we think it is
saf4 to say that had it not been for
the defects of the Articles Of the Con-
federation. we would never have had
our present Constitution. Foremost
among these defects was the lack Of
the power on the part of the Cont
mental Congress to levy taxes. This
function was seduiously reserved by
the States.
There were no banks in North
Carolina. The use Of credit was unde
Nel0ped at this early stage Of colonial
history and it was only natural that
the people should resort to the issue
of paper money. 1t was believed that
under this plan, relief would speedily
come. AIassac huscJts was the first Of
the colonies to conceive the Idea OF
converting the credit of that pro
vince into wealth, and in the year
1920, she issued her first paper money.
1850, or fifteen years before the rup-
turo with England, each of the thir-
teen colonies had followed the eX-
ample set by Massachusetts. The ex-
of of no
matters of finance before 1775 is in
many respects common to all of
them. But in North Carolina we find
the mania for paper money in its
most aggravated form.
Hs -arly as 1712 North Carolina
had rrsorted to the issue Of Bills Of
Credit for the purpose Of defraylng
the expenses incurred in a war with
Inc Indians. Except in unusual eXl-
g-ncie~, the ordinary business Of the
Colony could be carried on by means
oi '"rter currency. In 1715 an act
Wa passed by the Provincial Council
rating the staple commodities, thus
creating a medium Of exchange and
means for the payment of financial
ooA2atlons. As gold and silver were
not mined in the Colonies, coins made
oi these metals were very scarce
lnd"@d: and this was especially true in
the case Of North Carolina. What lit
IL specie there was came in through
lhe channels of trade. AS there were
n" good harbors and the population
was small, the Colony was not great
- enriched through commerce, but
was unusually poor as compared with
'"t rest Of the colonies. Writing in the
,a''t days Of the province Rev. Will
nam Gordon thus describes the fiscal
.'ha.u"nS which obtained: In this as
80 49, all other parts of the province,
l''Fe Is no money; every one buys and
pays with their commodities, of which
chief"
During the 18th and 18th centuries.
-" monetary standard of England
n1s the the silver pound sterling
""' contained 171S.7 grains of pure
t1'aA The value of the various ar
GgIeS Used for purposes of barter was
+>I' Dy law, but owing to f1uctua-