Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-12-19

listing between lawful money as 10
was called, the United States notes pay.
able Oh demand without interest, aud the
general funded bond debt OF tho United
States. ASH have said, every act had In
1t provision which was necessary
authorizing the Secretary OF thu Treas
ury TO receive lawful money, IS II IL
styled, on subscriptions. We have In
almost every one OF the scts-every one
10 which Is WAS intended--the express
sion that interest may Do psid or princl-
pal may be paid In lawful money and
we have, as have shown, In the act OF
1882, the express provision that instead
OF tina bonds being convertible into
United States notes, exactly the reverse,
that the United States notes should be
convertible into bonds at the pleasure OF |
the holder.
In corroboratlop OF his view, upon !
the face OF these statutes alone, looking |
as we must over the whole range OF |
them TO get st the real meaning, we find |
that as the various issues went on and |
as the public creditors, and men OF bust.
ness, and all classes Of the community
who reflected grew more and more un-
easy at the exuberance OF the issues,
Congress declared over and ever again,
and ST least in the most solemn and for
nal way (which they have so far, am
glad to say, stood upon az an unaltera-
BILE resolution, that the whole Issue OF
legal tender notes should never exceed
In any event more than $500 000, eco,
while the bonds which some propose to
pay with them are nearly twice that
amount. 1t Is true II may be said It
does not require all this money to pay
the bonds because you need not pay
them all at once, but II creditors are
obliged to receive their pay Ia q depre-
ciated currency it will be OF great inter-
est TO them which shall be the first one
to get his bond converted, so that he
can invest his deprecated money in real
estate or something that will stand until
the crash that will come shall be over.
have thus endeavored to show, Mr..
President, upon principles Of mere legal
reasoning, upon the fsce Of the statutes
themselves, as if it were an Indifferent
question affecting the public honor, as II
it were merely simple question Of con-
struction upon subject OF entire indif.
f. ference, that the legal meaning OF those
statutes, drawn from the statutes them
selves, and from nothing else, just as a,
court would be asked to coustrue such
statutes, even if q court could be drawn
to so narrow s view as, that, imposes
upon US the absolute obligation 10 re-
deem these bonds and securities o. the
United States in the hard dollars which
are the coin Of the country
At the request ola Senator, the Speaker
here relinquished the floor for other
business next in order, with the under
standing that he should finsh his srgu-
ment on the following day.
On the 9Th inst, Senator Bdmunds re-
sumed his argument OF the previous day
on the resolution offered by himself for
the payment OF the national obligation,
in coin or its equivalent" and fully
sustained his position by the historic
! evidence he presented from the Congress
! ,sional debates had upon the passage OF
/ The laws authorizing the several loans
a.v..in tnyiro the ysr the lst.nrs 1T the
I SacEetaries OF the Treasury, and adver,
8 easements OF their accredited agents FOR
the sale OF bonds. He forcibly illustra.
SD the disastrous results OF an issue Of
irredeemable promises to pay as exhib.
tied In the financial history OF England
and France and quoted a. considerable
ltngth the concurring testimony Of Locke
ant other English writers.
Referring to our own securities, be
pertinently says:
What, then, do our bonds, payable
generally, and our United States notes,
which are usually called greenbacks,
promise to payl A one.dollar United
States note promises to pay Upon the
faith pledged In the acts and by neees.
ssry implication without them) one dol.
llr to the bearer Of the note on demand
aS the Treasury. Now, what Is that dol
! lar the payment OF which Is thus prom
| ised 1t Is another promise precisely
Ike the first; that Is, another one-dollar
npte; so that II two citizens were to
cSme TO the Treasury at the same time,
each with one-dollar note for payment,
tie faith OF the United States would be
Kept by telling them to exchange their
notes with each other, whereby both
would be paid and the promise contained
Ia each Of the notes fully performed
Would 1t be characterizing such trans
attion too strongly to call tia mockery?
And yet the promise in our securities
| (sve when they are on their face ex-
piessed to oe payable "in lawful money"
i.e., in United States notes. Is in pre-.
cisely the same form aud has precisely
The same nature. The government is a
Debtor, aud it must stand like all other
DEBTORS. Its promise to pay money
without qualification is something more
than promise to renew its debt in some
other form by its own notes and q
| promise to pay in United States noses Is
ony an engagement ON the part of the,
| government and its creditor who re-
ceIves such promise to renew snd ex-
tend the debt In that form. It Is, OF
course, perfectly fair and lawfal, IL it BE-
sgreed to by both parties, but it woulG
belhe heighe oiJigjassiee. in substance,
reputation, to force IT. either, directly
or indirectly, on the creditor, who has
I