The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1867-09-26

" VuOSblOu vi pOii'J 10 w uOW lheb JOu
could pay them, without too sudden or
too great an initiation Of the currency.
SO 1t was hardly fair in my friend
Hayes to say that the pith at all, So
much for that.
What L do think about this green
back matter may be assumed up in q
very few words and although it is
not the part of my speech IN which I
ordinarily speak on that subject, yet,
as l am making a somewhat rambling
and discurslve speech to>day, l had ne
lief speak of it now az at any other
time. We owe q debt ofS2, 800, 600, 900,
as appears upon the books of the
Treasury Dcpartment-that which is
the admitted debt Of the Government.
Then there is that vast amount called
the unliquated debt not the rebel
debt, for tho rebels themselves never
would vote for paying that-thats
gone shook and line" We have com
PEELED them to reyudiate il, oven in
their constitutions. But the debt due
TO what 0ro called loyal mon, amount
ing, according to Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens
to almost MS much, for he puts our en-
tire debt at between four and fvethou-
sand million Of dollars; then 1t stands
thus Twenty-Five hundred millions
of it, in round numbers, arc interort
paying bonds, and tho interest is pay
able in gold. Between three and four
hundred millionG are in greenbacks,
that pay no interest. And now the
question is, whether it would he right
and proper, just TO the boudholders
and good policy for The country, to pay
this bonded debt which now bears gold
interest TO pay 1t grecnbacks which
bear no interest at all, and stop this
drain upon the people of one hundred
and seventy millions Of interest each
year, which they now pay, counting it
at paper prices.
The first thing to inquire is, would
that be q violation of the gJod faith of
she nationp Would it be- u violation
of the promise Of the Government
would it be contrary to law2 II il
would, why, then, honest people Of the
country will not entertain the thought.
So that it becomes material to know at
once what's the law under which these
bonds were issued. You nay examine
your statute-book from tho time the
first bonds was issued down to thig day
and you can't find ono single line IN
them that promises the holder of the
fvo-twenty bonds hat his principal
shall be paid in gold. 1t is only the
ten. forty bonds, the principal of which
the law declares shall be paid in gold
both principal and interest in gold.
AS to all the rest of the bonded debt
of tho country it is left by tho law, az
well as by the terms ofthc bonds them
selves, to be paid in whatever is the 10
gal tender ofthe country. II any man
doubts it he can sec in one single in
slant, if he happens to have the good
~iortuneto W Observation-Disclosures
i haven't got many of them, but /
think l havo enough TO provo the
truth OF what | am saying. Yes, here
is one Tsuiting the action to the world
Let any body look on the back ofa
g%reenback, and he will find printed
words:
This note is q legal tender for all
debts, public and private, except du-
ties on imports and the interest on the
public debt"
That's 1T. The very greenbacks
with which they paid for these bonds
taught them not or .helr faces, but on
their backs-than these Same bonds,
the public debt, could be paid IN that
kind of fodder Tlaughtor1-that
wherewIth they fod Uncle Sam, there |
with might they afterward be led
themselves, l say, then, there il no
illegallty in It; and iftherc is no lilo.
gality IN it there is 10 injustice IN It.
But, If we look at 1t in any other light,
apart from law, where is the iniustico?I
What claim have these men, who
bought the bonds when gold was be
tween two and three hundred per cent.
when it, was worth from two to three
times MS much as paper-who bought
them with paper-what right have
have they to say, now that these bonds
which they bought at forty, or less.
per cent, in gold-what right have
they to ask for payment of one hun.
drod per cent, in gold.
Again, what right lave they TO sov
that, while the Government paws ne
wounded soldier his pension or hIs
bounty or pays to his widow or moth
er her pension or bounty in grcenback
currency, the man who bought u bond
at thirty or forty cents on the dollar
shall be paid a full dollar IN gold?
You soc, then, there is mn iniust,ee
or illegallty in paying those bonds, the
ten-forties excepted, in the legal cur
rency ofthe country. And then comes
The question whether or not tits policy
pay them in that way. The first
general observation to be made IS that
Is not policy in any country To have
two curroucios ifyoucan AVOID it, one
them a much worse currency than
tho other. Congress has forced groon.
backs upon the Deonle aa cnrrnnnn 81