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gentleman would be fatal to the interests of their people.
He did not want any Legislature to regulate his business
for him. Was it to be supposed that the men composing
a Legislature knew more about his business than he die.
himself? Massachusetts thought she could teach the
whole world what to do, and was now intent on educating
the people of this country up to the advanced stage of
Northern ideas. He did not know whether they would
do it, but if they did, God help the country.
In regard to the public debt, no matter by what cor-
ruption it might have been created, he would regard it as
the greatest calamity that could happen if the national
credit should be dishonored. He did not take such a des-
pondent view of affairs. If the true old democratic party
was restored to power, he would look for the paying oil
of the debt within twenty years; they were capable of it
if they only had the Union and the constitution as it once
was.
It might happen that in a time of great commercial
revulsion it might be necessary to compromise with the
national creditors, as England did. England called her
creditors together and offered them three per cent. This
might do, but never repudiation.
The debate was continued by Messrs. McKaig, Jones,
Maulsby, Garey and Ritchie.
The question was then taken on the motion of Mr. Mer-
rick to strike out the entire article, when it was carried
by a vote of 50 to 43.
When Mr. Rennolds' name was called, he said that,
voting entirely different from all his colleagues, a word
of explanation might be necessary. If this was a legis-
lative body, he should be in favor of voting for this
article, with some slight modification, but he was opposed
to placing it beyond legislative repeal.
Mr. Carter and Mr. Groome offered substitutes for the
article stricken out, when
Mr. Nelson raised the point of order that the entire
article having been stricken out by the action of the Con-
vention, no report from the committee on usury was be-
fore the Convention, and therefore no substitutes were
in order.
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