Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1858-01-21

bridCed and crossed the chasm that
yawned between his empire and the
earth, he followed his track till he
reached the walls Of Paradise. Enter
ing that consecrated spot, Ithuriel
could find nothing in the approximate
shape OF the Evil Spirit whom he
sought till at length, finding Eve
slumbering, he discovered toad at her
side, infiltrating his devilish sugges-
tions into her ear, to pollute her yet
sinless spirit. By lis supernal intel
ligence, the good angel knew that this
was the disguished fugitive whom he
sought; and touching him with his
spear. caused him to start up in his
true shape and proportions. So, sir, ]
would like to apply these tests, to
make the Democracy stand out and APP
pear to be what it really is, hypocrit
ical show
Sir, what is paper currency-irre-
deemable paper currency? 1t is a
falshood. When bank bill goes
abroad in the country, and says, 81
am twenty dollars, or | am fifty dol
lars; / represent so much specie" it
is falshood upon its face. 1t does
not represent what it purports to rep
resent. 1t often represents nothing
And when we put forth paper currency
or Treasury notes to the world, pur-
porting to represent so much specie in
the Treasury, or other places of de-
posit, when the specie is not there, it
is deceptive. 1t is like the Credit
No5l;er of France. 1t represents not
specie, but the credit of the country
And if the present Administration fol-
lows in the footsteps of the last Ad-
ministration for the next four years, |
do not think the credit of the country
will be worth much. Sir, all these
attempts to relieve these commercial
disasters, or to prevent them, by new
issues of irrcdeemable paper, are like
the policy of the man in Scripture,
who built his house upon The sand /;
and when the rains descended and the
floods came, and the winds blew and
beat upon that house, it fell. | tell
YOU, that all the cobweb attempts to
keep off the storm will be unavailing.
Your bark may sit calm and beautiful
upon the lake while IFS waters remain
unruflled, but when the storm comes it
will be capsized and will sink. And
so when you undertake to build up
national prosperity by means Of a pa
per currency, which does not repre-
sent dollar for dollar, and is not con-
vertible into specie, it will not stand.
But sir, when you build it upon hard
money, upon metallic currency, you
have built your house upon rock and
it will stand the test of all the storms
that may beat upon it. Sir, / repeat
that this system of putting in circula-
tion mere promises to pay, instead of
the money itself, is always unsafe and
unsatisfactory. This kind of a cur
rcncy is always found wanting when
we need the cash.
But | go further / cannot vote for
this bill, because I do not know what
is to be done with the money. i do
not know where it is to go, or for what
it is to be paid ont. do not know
what you are going to do with it, Mr..
Secretary Cofb. Are you going to
pay your four regiments which you
propose to raise as matter of rctrcnch-
ment? Are you going to pay for your
ten war steamers which you propose to
have built as u measure Of economy :?
Mr.. j. CLANCY JoNEs. / will re-
spond to the gentleman with great
deal of pleasure. We do not propose
to pay any of this money except in
pursuance of existing law, and in pur-
suance of appropriations made by Con-
gress. II the Secretary of the Treasury
wishes to appropriate any money in
the way the gentleman mentions, he
will first have to get Congress to legis-
late upon the subject. The Executive
Departments of the Government are
only called upon to pay your debts,
and not theirs. They can only pay
debts created by Congress. They
have no legislative power in this Gov
ernment. Congress contracts the
debts, and the Executive, in accord
ance with his oath of Office, must exc
cute the laws with fidelity. The Sec
retary of the Treasury. therefore, only
asks you to give him money to pay
your debts, and not pay one dollar that
You have ordered him to pay. | say
to the gentleman, therefore, that the
President asks you to give him money
to pay your debts with, not one dollar
of which will be paid except in accord
ance with the existing laws of this
Government.
Mr.. LovEJoy. do not wish to be
understood as intimating that any ex-
penditure will be made contrary to law.
i am not driving at that ! do not
speak of the Secretary of the Treasury
as an individual, but in his official
capacity. He asks this House to vote
him the money, and he, and his friends
in this House. vote to spend it as they
please, and then they come back and
taunt us with having voted for all these
objects. Sir, | want to know what
the money is voted for.
Mr.. j. CLANCY Jones. | thought
l had sufficiently explained it. The
requisition is for the authority to use
$50, 900, 900. if necessary, to pay the
debts Of this Government. in accord
ance with existing law. Not dollar
will be paid out by the Secretary, ex-
cept in accordance with the appropria-
tion bills of the last Congress.
Mr. LovEJoY. / do not suppose he
will. | was asking, Mr.. Chairman,
why this money was needed, and
whether it is to be employed in sustain