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

Po.SNs tu hhu ul1AnCtiou> aA huo bltua cNs
listing between "lawfuls money" as lt
was called, the United States notes pay.
able Oh demand without Interest, aud the
general funded bond debt OF the United |
States. Ash have said, every act had In
II provision which was necessary !
authorizing the Secretary OF tha Treas. !
ury 10 receive lawful money, IS IL II |
styled, on subscriptions. We have In |
almost every one OF the sets-every one
10 which IL WAS intended-the express
sion that interest may b paid or prinel- |
pal may be paid In lawful money and !
we have, ~ l have shown, In the act OF |
1852, the express provision that instead
OF the 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 confederation OF This 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 mud
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 I'M
easy at the exuberance OF the issues,
Congress declared over and over 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 resolutlonl, that the whole Issue Of
legal tender notes should never exceed
In any event more than $500, 900, GOO,
while the bonds which some propose TO
pay with them are nearly twice that
amount, 1t Is true II may be said Il
does not require all this money to pay
the bonds because you need not pay
them all at once, but i, creditors are
obliged to receive their pay In depre-
ciated currency it will be OF great inter.
est to them which shall be the irst 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 face 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 indii.
ference, that the legal meaning OF those
statutes drawn from the statutes them
selves, and from nothing else, just as g
court would be asked to consGrue such
statutes, even il q court could be drawn
TO so narrow 8 view IS 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 fnish his srgu-
meut on the following day.
I On the 9TH inst, Senator Rdmunds 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.
sionsl debates had upon the passage Of
, Ihe laws authorizing the several loans
Secretaries Of the Treasury, and .dver
. t',ements OF their accredited agents for
the sale Of bonds. He forcibly illustra.
sd the disastrous results OF an issue Of
irredeemsble promises to pay IS exhib.
tied In the financial history OF England
and France and quoted a. considerable
l5ngth 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.
lsr to the bearer OF the note on demand
n the Treasury. Now, what Is that dol.
! ltr the payment OF which is thus prom
ised It Is another promise precisely
Ike the first; that Is, another one-dollar
note; so that II two citizens were to
come to the Treasury at the same time,
eich with one-dollar note for payment,
tie faith OF the United States would be
Kept by telling them to exchange their
mites with each other, whereby both
would be paid snd the promise contained
ia each Of the notes fully performed
Would 1t be characterizing such trans.
a'tion too strongly to call 1t a mockery ?
And yet the promise in our securities
Gave when they are on their face en-,
plessed to oe payable 'in lawful money"
lie, in United States notes. Is in pre-.
clsely the same form and has precisely
THE same nature. The government is a
ddtor, aud 1t must stand like all other
dbtors. Its promise to pay money
without qualification Is something more
than q promise to renew its debt in some
other form by Its own notes and a.
pomise to pay in United States notes Is
ony an engagement ON the part of the
government and its creditor. who re-
ceves such promise to renew aud ex-
tehd the debt In that form. Il Is, OF
course, perfectly fafr sud lawfal, fit be
sgreed to by both parties, but it would
balhe heighe Ofti9jrs yiee! fny substance,
reputation, to force III either directly
orindirectlY, on the creditor who has =