Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1867-12-03

.urlry money could Be borrowed on more |
fayofsble ts1 ms. The act provides hat United /
states rCtes OF which il an horiZ d the issue
sbsll De receivable IN ~ ment ''of all claims
zrd demands against ne United Sates. OF
every kirc whatsoever, except interest upon
bonds aud Hotes which shall b paid in coin
4 Il cot g d that they snail not BE- receivable
Tor the principsI CT he bonds, for the very OBJ
-visus reason that hey wege expected to Dc but
. temporary circulation prov sion that
these notes-intPIded only 20 meet tempo
Ta-y coutir ger cy-should not be received for
ffe Vsy snent OF the principal Of bonds which
we've no. rcdse Esble for five years, would. IL
% tad teen 40 vOCa ed and insisted upon, have
been quite likely % have prevented their is
sue The public judgment mad not then been
perverted ~ e. irred enable currency, and
proposition rhE' VI &c ed a long-conunued
SePsrtuTe from he specie standard would nave
found few supporters IN Congress or among
tae people.
But Il the intention AMI understanding OF
Congress are net sufficiently indicated by the
language of he act, all doubts must be re-
moved by reference 10 toe debates while IL
was under coEsideratiCR- From these debates
NJ Is Clsar that the issue OF the legal-tender
notes was expected TO b. limited TO one hun.
dred and fifty millions. On this point one Of
the Representatives from the State of New
Then the whole secret of our financial sue
cess lies simply IN borrowing i've hundred
millions, or rather in funding the floating in
deotsdnsss coryertibly represented by the
Treasury notes, so that their issue need never
exceed that authorized by this bill, and which
IS conceded to be the extreme limit consistent
VITA safety 10 private interest and public
credit Nobody has proposed 10 rely upon
this currency beyond that amount, but, on the
contrary. the IDEA Of any further similar issue
has oeen expressly repu Undated by every sup
porter of this BILL
One of the Representatives from Nassachu-
sets put TO the distin guished Chairman of the
COMMITTEE CT Ways and Means the following
question:
'.Let me asE the gentleman from PennsyIva-
MIA whether he now expects in manag ng these
financial matters to limit the amount of these
notes TO one hundred millions. Is that his ex-
recitation ~
To which question he received the follow
ing reply:
at Re. Iexpect that is the mailman amount
10 be issued
gentleman used the folio wing language:
Nv hen this question was discussed before,
The distinguished gentleman from Kentucky
tmr- Crittendenl asked me whether Z was the
Intention or expectation of the House to 90 on
ana issue more than one hundred and fifty
millions of Iegal-tender notes-a pertinent
question, which 1 saw the full force of at the
time L told him thar II was my expectation
that no more would be issued by the Govern
GTsnt- that they would be received and funded
in the twenty-year bonds"
IL rs Clesr from tnese quotations, and the
W hole tenor Of the debate. that il the in
t~ntion Of COngres that one hundred and tfry
millions shoUlo be the limit of inc legal tender
circulation. ard that 1t was confidently ex-
pecteo that this Circulation would seen Be
converted into the hye-twenty bonds, known
As The bonds OF i-62, and which are now re-
desmable according TO their tenor This OF
Irseif u suffcieI explanation of the fact that
u vas deemed unnecessary 10 provide that
1ness nOtes should not he receivable for tue
primer pal Of the bonds As he amount 70 b.
issued was limited "a one hundred and fifty
millions, provision tina thsy should not be
receivable Tor tie principal of FIVE hundred
millions OF bonds. 20 b. ls-u =: under n. same
act. IN which they weTt expected 20 he funded,
and which were not to be SUBJECT to the control
Of ire tTOvernment for five years. wonIa GER
IA TIy have been regarded as being as singular
u would have been unnecessary But this
L. a 81 m Ian -hn
Chairman OF the COMMITTEE of Ways and
N-aHs. Was the exponent Of the views of the
tcu-e upon ms question, in speaking of these
bOECS, TensaTzpd as toll Jw,-
"A dollar ar a r,sers safe, unproouc,ivs. is
sore dIstUrhance. Where could they invest
g.. N IEitsd Stptes loans at six per cent.
Tsdss u NE ~ gold IN twenty yeaTs-the hest
al IA0st. ' a'uahis permanent Investment that
could he desired
valuable permanent In yes tmsnI II ne had sup
pOs-i hat they might , rrGeersed in a deprs-
siatsd currency at tGe expiration of ii We years
from date again, ne said: But widows
ar orphans are interested and IN tears lest
1helr estate sbOulc o. badly invested 1 pity
10 Oh who has morey invested in the 'nited
s>tates bonds payable IN gold in L enty wears
win InIerest ssmI-annualIy
In tbsse debates very little was SAID upon
INC SUBJECT of the payment of tue principal of
ine bonds apparently Tor the reason that n
on supposed that they would OF could te
pad An anything else than IN the heretofore
recognized constitutional currency OF the
country The same may be said in regard to
the declares upon the bills authorizing subse-
gnent issues The acts of March ;, 1859, and
March = ict4- are the only acts which state
expressly that the bonds 10 be iss ued under
Ehem shall BE- payable in com: and this pro-
VISION IN these acts If MOI accidental. attracted
no attention a. the time either In Congress or
WIN the public Under the former
act seyeRty-fiye millions of twenty-yeare
siN Per cent bonds part of those knswn
as bonds OF l>-il were issued, and
under the Iarer act nearly two hum
dred millions Of five per cent. bonds. known as
JSn-fCTtIes: and the fac that these six per
cent. bonds have had no higher reputation
Than other bonds of jhe same class, and that
Ihe hve per CEN bond never Were popular
security. and have in the market, until very
recently. scarcely posse -sed a VAIN CORE
sponoIng with the six per cent five twentie.
SHOWS conclasiyeiy that dealers in Govern
ns3J securities and he people gensr ally. have
not regarded this provision as placing them on
\ different footing. ne kind OF money IN
which they AT" 70 oe paid. from the bonds
1ssusd under sets containing no such proyls-
IOE- There was notbIng m the cOna tion OF the
sOUutry when thF-e acts were passed that re-
.qUITed an unusual provision, u order tina, the
iCan> authorized by hem might be success
July 1eEotia'ed, on the contrary, he national
credit Was better tEen Than at periods " he N
other lean bills were passed: nor was there
any Intsmatio1 by any member OF Congress
nor was ~ ever thought by the officers of the
Treasury Depar ,u1sD,, thaI he bonds author
lzrd Dy them were OF a different character
from those issued under O'her acts 1t is un-
reasonable tosGppOse ma y was the inteu ion
OF Congress tnHt the bond authorized by the
y
might Dc paId IN legaI-tendPr not.s, while
those authorized by the aets of March 3 I-rl
ano March :, l~Gi, could be paid only in coin.
The various Issues OF bonds. cons tituting the
nstloIal funded deb. stand upon the same
footing, apc all should De paid in CON- IL any
are sc paid.
National debts are subject 10 the moral law
OF me nations Whenever there no expires
zion 10 the contrary, coin payments in such
obligations are honorsbly implied. The policy
CT the Government of the United states in
regard 10 the payment of is debts has been
UNIFORM and consistent Prior TO February
%. l-tz, there w2s IN the United States no
lawful money but specie. consequently its
Treasury notes. and its bonds previously
issued. were payable in the same currency
e. Subsequently ali Interest tearing notes we
made payable In la wful money, but no change
was made IN Inc form OF the obligation Of me
5onds- Thus the seyenyand three tenth notes
issued after that date, the five per cent notes
and the compound interest," notes. were made
payable In lzw:ul money. while the bonds not
being 80 made payable have ever been rscog.
nIzed by Congress, by The Treasury Depart-
msnt, and by me people. "a payable only IN
Com These different classes of securIties
were negotiated with this disJlnct understand
iBg-an understanding which rs as binding
upon he honor q the nation as If - VI ere ex-
piIcitIy stated in The statutes. IL IL true that
the bonds, aBd notes convertible into bonds is
sued at ct the passage o: the first legal tender