Staunton Spectator

Mr. Editor:--The condition of our roads is, or should be a matter of deep interest to the public. The roads are becoming almost impassable, many not having been worked for more than two years. Most of the bridges are in a dangerous condition, and it is a matter of great surprise that the members of the Grand Jury have gone to Staunton time and again over these roads, and yet no presentiments. They have eased their consciences, while basely violating their oaths, by the flimsy argument, that during the war there are not enough hands to keep the roads in repair, and that such things should be over-looked for the present. This is entirely wrong. Our roads should be regularly worked, for "a stitch in time saves nine," holds as good in working our roads as in repairing our domestic rents. Then, too, as our business has to be done with smaller and weaker teams, the roads should be kept in better order. I have never seen the road and bridges in such order. I have never seen the roads and bridges in such order. Many of the bridges are tottering to the fall. I need not specify, as all are in the same condition. But I will mention two as a sample: the bridge in the turnpike, over the branch that passes out of the Lunatic Hospital garden, has been in a wretched condition for over two years, (and is now very dangerous,) and the bridge over the railroad near Hugh McClure's, over which it will soon be unsafe to drive a buggy, for fear of falling through. Then, too, the public roads are blockaded at every wagon maker's and blacksmith's shop by old wagons, plows and lumber. The public have endured the blockade on the road, where it passes under the railroad to enter Staunton from the east, as long as it will. This has continued for over two years, and is a great outrage. The proprietors of the Virginia Livery Stable have been allowed to blockade the street opposite their office door, with buggies, carriages, wagons and carts for so long a time, that they feel themselves perfectly at liberty to keep you sitting on your horse or in your buggy, waiting for some one ahead to get out of the way just as long as they may please. Have these men a grant of this entire street? Shall they be allowed to continue this nuisance to the inconvenience of so many? They have a large vacant lot, and yet on Court day, a string of buggies a hundred yards long may be seen obstructing half of a very narrow, and yet very public street. It is a sense of their duty, or that our next Grand Jury will perform the responsible duties of their office with more fidelity to the public street. It is to be hoped that our road masters will awake to a sense of their duty, or that our next Grand Jury will perform the responsible duties of their office with more fidelity to the public and credit to themselves. Is there no tribunal before which Grand Jurors may be brought for dereliction of duty.

ARGUS.

The New York World, of the 30th ult., reviewing the working and results of conscription in the United States, concludes with a doubt whether the Government will secure more than 50,000 under the operations of the draft. But of those 50,000 reliable men, the World's figures show that four-fifths, or 40,000 will be substitutes. It is pretty well understood now, even in our armies, what degree of reliability belongs to substitutes.

A Washington correspondent of the New York Times discussing the same matter says: "It is the opinion of eminent military men here (in Washington) that colored regiments will form the basis of our future armies, and that the Government will have to rely mainly upon colored troops to finish up the rebellion.

News has reached this place by a letter from a gentleman in Highland that Gen. Averill, with a force of six thousand, was, a few days since, at Cheat Mountain this side of Beverly, and contemplated a raid upon this place. If he knew the kind of reception he would meet with here he would be as fearful of coming here as of trying again to reach Lewisburg by the way of the White Sulphur Springs. Our people, with their thumbs upon their noses and their fingers actively twirling, are saying to Gen. Averill: "If you are coming, why don't you come along?"

We have been surprised to hear that some farmers who acted a conspicuous part in the meeting which adopted the patriotic resolution to sell supplies to consumers at the Government prices, refuse to sell by measurement at that price, but make a pretence so doing by offering to sell at that price, if the purchaser will agree to allow them to guess, at the amount offered for sale and pay them the Government price per bushel for the amount thus fixed by themselves. Can it be true that any who acted a prominent part in that meeting are now engaged in "whipping the devil around the stump" in this shameful manner?--Have they patriotism upon their lips, and extortion in their hearts? Our country needs honest deeds, not false words.

The bill to suppress gambling in this State has become a law. It provides for the confiscation of all buildings occupied by gamblers, or slaves employed by them, etc., and authorizes, the Judge before whom offenders may be convicted, to order them to be flogged at the public whipping post.

We hear of men, says an exchange, who have plenty of hogs and corn to fatten them, fattening just enough pork to do them. The idea is to keep the Government from getting it, and if the Yankees do not get all such "patriotic" hogs and their pigs, too, the Devil will; which amounts to the same thing, in Dutch. Just think of it! A man with Country, Liberty, Property, everything at stake, and trembling in the balances, willing to lose all rather than let the Government get a piece of his meat!--Why, if the hogs themselves had a say-so in the matter, they would scorn such littleness of soul and contemptible selfishness, if they did not cut their own throats in utter shame of their meanness and want of patriotism.

Among other measures which have presented themselves to the mind of those who interest themselves upon the subject, the idea of a repudiation of the public debt at the conclusion of the war has not yet, that we are aware, met with an advocate willing to defend publicly such a doctrine. We cannot conceive anything that would derogate more from the character of the Southern people, as one moved by all the sentiments of honor and justice, than the adoption of such a policy. When an individual violates an express contract without the most strenuous efforts beforehand to fulfil it, he is guilty of voluntary falsehood, and deserves the execration of all honest men. But for a nation struggling into existence in defence of the great principles of Freedom and Justice, appealing to the God of Truth or aid in defence of the right, and calling upon the most patriotic and self-sacrificing portion of its citizens to give it confidence and support in implicitly trusting to its plighted faith, to pursue such a course, would be to violate every principle of justice, and to commit in its very first act, one that would disgrace its annals for years to come. Those who have given no confidence to the Government in investing in its bonds, but who have depreciated its currency both by their expressions of opinion and their example in investing everything they possessed in real estate, would be those to profit by such legislation, whilst the friends, the aiders and abettors of the Government in its time of need and sore distress would be the losers. But it is sometimes urged, that for the soldiers in the field, who have made so many sacrifices in the war, who have undergone fatigue, and hunger, and exposure to all kinds of hardships, for so many years, and who have nobly sacrificed ease, comfort, and all the ties of affection binding them to the family altar, to be subjected to an onerous tax at the conclusion of all their labors would of all things be the most unjust. Be it so, then let every private in the army of the Confederacy who chooses to avail himself of the privilege, be wholly exempt from taxation for any specified time that may be adjudged proper. When we consider the number of very young men that are in the army, the number of substitutes who own little or no property, and the number of men of small means, this exemption from taxation would not affect the revenue of the country to such an extent as might at first be imagined, and the measures though by no means affording an equivalent, would be some compensation for the sacrifices of the men in the ranks of the army, and an honoroble [sic] testimonial of their country's appreciation of their services. Let this be rather than repudiation, and let not our heroic soldiers be made the scape goats for justifying a disgraceful act inuring to the benefit of the real enemies of the Government in our own midst, who, whilst they lend nothing to its aid, act in such manner as to impair the confidence of others.

It is again argued that the only proper means of overcoming the financial difficulties with which we are surrounded, would be found in a system of taxation. Assuming as a principle that any correction of the evils attendant upon the system of high prices, in the hardships which a large portion of the people are made to endure and in the accumulation of an immense debt on the part of the Government, must be based upon a reduction in the volume of the currency, we shall be able more fully to appreciate the effects of any proposed measure.

If the tax in kind should be in amount sufficient to support the armies of the Confederacy and supply all the material of war--which it cannot do--it is true there would be no further necessity for the issue of Treasury notes, and all fluctuations in the prices of commodities would be due to other causes than an increase of the circulating medium. But would this relieve us from the baneful effects of the redundancy of the currency which already exists?

And if we assume for an instant that in a time of war, when large portions of our territory cannot e cultivated, and all of our industrial pursuits are materially crippled, the current expenses of the Government could be met by a tax in kind or in any form, would it not be an absurdity at the conclusion of the war with our resources much enlarged, to talk about the incapacity of the country to pay its war debt. But if the tax be insufficient to meet the expenses of the Government does not a necessity arise for a further increase of its treasury notes, tending still to inflate prices and augment the evils now existing?

The same view may be taken of any kind of taxation. If the taxes paid in Treasury notes should ever be entirely sufficient to meet the current expenses of the Government, they would still be thrown into circulation and the volume of the currency remaining the same, prices would remain unabated; but if insufficient, prices would advance in proportion to the necessity for new issues of these notes. In neither case will the question of the present redundancy of our currency be touched, and to enable the Government to destroy any of its issues, the tax would have to become extremely burdensome.

It is not to be presumed that we offer any objection to a heavy system of taxation when taken in connection with other proper measures, but we only design to illustrate the inefficiency of taxation alone in enabling us to recover a lost position.

If a system of heavy taxation alone, could relieve the people of the high prices which affect so injuriously a large portion of them it is true a great benefit would accrue to the Government in putting an end to the rapid accumulation of its debt, but for our people to be burdened not only with a heavy tax, but also with high prices would be almost insupportable, and would tend to create still greater discontent than at present exists from the one cause alone. If possible, some measure should be devised therefore, not only to prevent the accumulation of the Government debt, but also to relieve the people from present hardships due to the inflation of prices. To reduce the volume of the currency is the great object to be attained, and this can be done only by laws which will make it plainly to the interest of the people to invest their money in Government bonds. To effect this, the means suggested by Mr. Toombs if possible ought to be accomplished, of making both the interest and principal of a new issue of bonds payable as they fail due in coin, to be secured by a mortgage upon a specific portion of the revenue, with provision that the taxes thus accruing shall be paid in specie, or the coupons of the bonds themselves, and be irrepealable until the mortgages are paid, would place the bonds on as good a footing perhaps as any other means that could be devised. An inducement would thus be offered which would make it more to the interest of the people to accept the proposed investment than any other which has heretofore been proffered to them.

If superadded to this any measures could be adopted that would render the Treasury notes in circulation less available for use, or which would cause them to lie idle in the hands of the people if not invested in bonds, without any violation of contract on the part of the Government, the two influences combined might possibly accomplish the desired object. Can this object be attained by any legislative enactments by which prices shall be reduced to some maximum standard? On this subject we shall simply offer a few suggestions for the consideration of others, fully apprehending the almost ultramontape difficulties with which the scheme must be attended.

The laws of trade as developed in the fundamental principles of Economic Science, which are so little understood by those who ought to be well grounded in them, our most blatant politicians, and by the people who have neither the time nor inclination to devote themselves to their study, are as unchanging as the laws of the natural world. In the language of another, "Like them they are plain and discoverable to human reason--like them, proving their existence and supremacy by rewards to those who study and obey, and penalties to those who violate or neglect them--like them, inexorably deaf to passion or complaint--like them, mightier than legislative authority, and, like the, more enduring than human theories. Now the people generally do not consider these things, they are as intelligent as any other on the face of the earth, they are in the aggregate as honest in their intentions as the characteristic honor and probity of the Southern people demands, but generally speaking they give but a coup d'etat at any of the theories proposed for the remedy of any evils in either the science of Government or Political economy, and with a show of plausibility sustained by the shallow sophistry of ignorant demagogues they sometimes give in their adhesion to measures, whose practicability is founded neither in the nature of things nor in right reason. Of course it is heretical to promulgate such a doctrine, and most of our politicians would not do it for the life of them, but, amici populi sed magis amica veritas, and we have too much confidence in the good sense of the people not to rely upon their concurrence in such sentiments.--If medicine be a science and law a science, so do the established principles of Government and of political economy constitute a science, far more comprehensive than either, yes in some measure inclusive of both, and demanding far greater study and intellectual energies to compass than either. Those who have made a life study of its principles are far more diffident in expressing their first views on any of the intricate problems now and then arising, than the ignorant and self deluded demagogue. Yet strange to say, in this country men are born politicians, and yet they are never born such good lawyers or doctors that any body is willing to trust them. Even men of intelligence and good natural parts will oftentimes follow bad authority rather than take the trouble to examine for themselves. It must not be presumed that we mean to impugn the capacity of men for self-government, in a country like the South where the conservatism of slavery and a homogeneity of pursuits and interests exist, but simply, to show the necessity of having able men in high political stations who will not condescend to flatter the people in their errors for the sake of political advancement, but who will endeavor to advance such views as are founded in a just apprehension of the fundamental principles existing in the constitution of things, and lying at the foundation of all science.

The generic includes the particular, and legislative action should refer its specific act to the fundamental principles under which they should be classified. But we diverge from our immediate subject. If our Government, State and Confederate, do attempt to regulate prices by any partial action which does not affect all pursuits equally, it will be simply a blunder that will work manifest injustice, and create more dissatisfaction amongst the people than now exists. We know that the necessaries of life, food, and clothing are those things which the people generally complain of being at such exorbitant [sic] prices, and hence there is a strong tendency in their representatives to lend their influence in fixing a maximum price upon such articles of necessity alone. Now although it must be conceded that no man has an absolute right, a claim "jure divino" to any species of property, not even real estate, if that property be need in contravention of the public weal as established by the social compact into which he has entered, and though the producers of the necessaries of life have more at stake than other classes of citizens, we still cannot see the justice or the policy of attempting to relieve others from their troubles by plunging them into more serious difficulties by measures calculated to restrain production by overburdening it. It may be argued that if the necessaries of life could be brought down, the prices of other things would fall correspondingly. To this we demur, the effect might take place to a very limited extent in some things, but the whole surplus currency in the country would be actively employed in speculating in all other articles than those of fixed prices and the prices justly due to the scarcity of any given article would be greatly enhanced. As a principle it is bad policy to legislate for or against any class of honest pursuits, but if our legislators attempt to interfere with the present system of prices, it should be done by no halfway measures, but by such as are at once radical, uniform and universal. No single State can accomplish the desired object. The Confederate Government in combination with the legislatures of the different States might possibly accomplish good results.

If the State of Virginia were to establish, that which is really impossible, except by approximation, a just system of relative prices for all commodities produced within its limits, what would prevent those articles from being carried out of the State to a higher market, either under the law, or smuggled out in violation of prohibitory laws, to the depletion of the State in reference to such articles, and to a consequent scarcity? If a regulated and harmonious system of prices, we do not say uniform, could be adopted by a concert of action between the Confederate and State governments, the one with reference to contracts between its agents and the people and the other with reference to contracts between its own citizens, leaving each power to its legitimate sphere of action, though many difficulties might surround such a course of legislation, its impropriety would not be half so glaring as any partial measures adopted by an authority which in its limited action is entirely incompetent to accomplish a single good result.

Nor will a uniform system of prices over er [sic] the whole Confederacy suffice. When did such a system ever prevail in times of profound peace? It would put a stop altogether to inter-state and state trade. If it be consistent with the public welfare to adopt any legislation upon the subject at all, there should be a regulation of prices extending over the whole Confederacy, and the laws adopted in pursuance thereof, should have reference to the value of the various comodities [sic] in ordinary times, not only in the various States, but even in the different localities in the same State. There must be some inducement for the distribution of articles of trade from one locality to another. It must be observed, too, that the law of supply and demand, which in the present disorder of things cannot be measured by any established criteria, are to be made to stand in abeyance to legislative authority. This it is true, if possible to be accomplished, would result in no hardship to any class, that in such times should be considered of moment. Again, with a schedule of fixed prices, there are many who would withhold, if possible, from the public market, that which was before offered for sale, rather than take the lower prices fixed by law, and private bargains would take place in contravention of law. If a system of low prices could be fairly established by degrees, however, this evil would probably correct itself, and it is plainly the desire, and certainly to the interest of the whole people to return to the system of old prices, if it could become general. And let it be observed that those who expect anything from the voluntary action of the people, springing from motives of patriotism, self denial or charity might reasonably expect the same honorable motives to govern them under law, superadded to the determination of all intelligent men to abide by and respect the law as the duty of every free citizen. With regard to those who have no scruples about violating law, they might yet stand in awe of the severest penalties, which in this matter should stand forth as expressive of the determined sentiments of our government and people. But would this effect the funding of the currency, besides reducing the expenditure of the Government? The more men withhold from market in the inauguration of the measure in its execution, the greater the superfluity of treasury notes remaining idle as distributed in the hands of the people. Will they hold these notes, now become useless in exchange, or invest them in interest bearing bonds, payable in specie, and secured by the best pledges of redemption the Government can give? We submit these things for the consideration of the people.

It is urged, says the Whig, that the very men who are asking the highest prices, and making the largest fortunes, will be the first of all to call for a repudiation of the public debt. Why? Because they have taken good care not to invest in Confederate funds, but in real property of all kinds. The day of extreme depreciation of the currency, which they are striving so earnestly to hasten, will find them with but a few dollars of confederate money in their coffers, while the vast bulk of the circulation will be in the hands of the poor and those who are in moderate circumstances.