The Portland daily press., 1868-03-20
DAILY PRESS.
ND,
Friday Morning, Marc1 20, 1853.
National FinancPs.
sPEECM OF HON. JOHN LYNCH,
OF MAINE,
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
March 7, 1868.
National FinaIcp s.
PORTLAND.

J
OF MAINE,
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
March 7, 1868.
[Concludei from the Press OF yesterday.l
The bill ''to prevent undue expansion and
contraction of the currency" provides tor reg
ulating the volume Or the currency by the Op
Grafton OF the laws OF trade and the business
wants OF the country rather than BY ar0itTa-
ry eDactments or the exercise OF discretion
ary power by the Secretary Of the Treasury,
aid also provides means ior the investment
OF capital temporarily idle EbeI rating il
when the needs of business demand, thus
making the government Sreenback currency
as flexible and adaptable to tle business
wants OF the country and that of the nation
| al banks
The bill provides for the issue of couDon
bonds to the amount OF S300,1O0O00, OF de-
| nominations of S100 and the multiple OF 5ICO
payable on demand at the Treasury OF the
United States, with interest quarter yearly at
the rate OF four per cent in lawful money
IL also provides that these bonds shall be is
sued to any person applying Tor them at the
Treasury OF the United States upon paying
tor the same at their par value and the ac-
cru d interest thereon in United States notes;
and that the holder Of the bonds may re-ex.
ehCih stt OpllOli ISttflHg IOT llH0l
the par value and accrued interest 10 the
amount OF any overdue and unpaid coupon.
These bonds have no connection with thcss
! repi eSentlng the funded debt. They are all
| OF one class, and all convertible at the vii. of
the holder. There can be no confusion as to
the amount out. There must be lust the
amount OF bonds to SUPP ly the demand, and
just greenDacks enough IN the Treasury to
redeem ali the DO Ids which can be presented.
/ i- -
| bonds, as the overdue and unpaid coupon.
added to their price, will just represent the
amount due. All accrued interest on bond
presented tor redemption less than null con-
| pom would be SO much gain to the govern
ment ana would help to pay the expense CT
| making the conversion. 10 great extent,
probably, the bonds would come in only on
quarter days. Only on is.u ng would it be
necessary 10 compute interest.
The substantial featu.es OF this bill have
been adopted in several bills which have been
| Introduced during the present session. They
bdve been incorporated into the iunding bill
! recently reported to the Senate by the FL
nance Committee, (seetion five and also BIZ
the gentleman from Ma assachusetts Nil. But
lerl into his financial scheme" and yery
| happily chiistened the Automatic, SET adjust
ing system of finance"
This bill having received such distingus b.
ed Endorsement here, and having been APP
| proved by the leading journals OF the colii-
| try, confidently expect to see it enacted In-
to law during the present session; and, be-
lieving it has not been improved by the alter
| atious TO which it has been SUBJECTED, trust
1t may be passed substantially as Introduced
The Senate bill, to which / have alluded d.
| provides tor the consolidation of the whole
national debt into cne description of bonds
registered or coupon, aad then by section
| hVe, which contains the principal feature of
| this bill, allows such bonds to be converted
| and reennverted to the amount of S4O0 0uO,
| OO0. There are several objections to this sec.
ton OF the Senate bill. First, as is so clearly
set forth in the report of the Finance Com
nlttee accompanying the bill, the cur. .ency
should be kept as distinct as possible from
the funded debt. Second, th re is no necess-
| ity for having these convertible bonds bear
| the same rate OF interest as the bonds which
| represent the funded debt. Third the bonds
representing the funded debt must be D il,
| principal and interest, in coin. a portion OF
| them must be registered, and provision maze
| for changing from coupon to registered under
| certain circumstances. The interest is made
| payable sem.-annually, which would involve
| great labor and Inconvenience in making the
| transfer, and also labor and delay IN casting
the interest, day by day, as the bonds may be
presented. Fourth, there would b. no gain
| III interest to the Government to pay tor the
| transfer and retrans er Of the bonds. Fifth,
| the amount of bonds out being about twenty
| five hundred million dollars, and only 81 o.
| 000,O00 convertible and recoverable, NJ one
would have any assurance that his bonds
could be exchanged as the limit of S400 co.,
| COO might be up when the holder of the bond
1 might want TO convert into money.
| The bonds, being exempt from all taxation,
would be purchased at the Treasury just be-
| lore local assessments OF taxes were made.
| kept long enough TO get the advantage OF the
| exemption, and then rec inverted into money.
| The gentleman from Massachusetts has, in
| adopting The principles Of the bin, only
| amended it 50 far as to provide Tor the issue
OF an additional $3C0,CC0C0O legal fender
notes. The proposition involved In this
amendment is simply to issue an additional
S3J00OO,0O0 greenbacks without any provis-
IONS for, and apparently without any nten-
tion OF, redeeming them in specie. 10 this l
am opposed. We should first reach sEec.e
payments and then supply the country with
just so much currency as can be maintained
on specie basis and no more.
The second bill, that to provide for grad
ual resumption OF specie payments, proposes
to effect that ohjeco by gradually apprecIatine
the wnole volume of the paper currency to a
par with gold, and then to continue ii in cir
c1lation, redeemln9 whatever may be present.
ed from time to me with the leserve of coin
| in the TleaSury and again reissuine IL.
The bill provides that from and after the
1st day OF May, 1868. all United States legal
tender notes shall, when received into the
Treasury of the United States in the ordma-
ry course of business, be dest.oSe ed; and that
all the circulating notes of the national banks
SO received shall be redeemed by the banks
issuing the same in United States notes
which potes shall also be destroyed; and in
lieu thereof there shall he issued a like
amount OF new United States notes, pay able
in coin on demand at the Treasury Of the
United States after one year from date ol
issue; that the new notes shall be legal ten
der Tor the redemption by the banks OF theiI
circulating >tts, and for all other purposes
except tor the pa, meut OF duties on impor. $
before maturity and the interest on the pub
lie debt where such interest is payable IN
coin; that they shall not be legal tender from
the United States after maturity, but NAV be
issued as the equivalent ot com to such oil
the public creditors as may elect TO receive
them. The Secretary is authorized. il he
deem it expedient, after the payment in coin
of the notes first issued shall have conmenc-
ell, to issue these notes payable in coin Gu a
shorter tune than three months. lie is also
authorized to purchase coin to the amount ol
S50I0j,OUO in case it may be necessary to en-
able him to maintain specie payments.
What will be the operations OF this measure
il it becomes law?
The currency receipts at the Treasury for
the fiscal year ending June 80, 1867, were il
round numbers S314, 4,0U0 coo. Limiting The
collection OF internal revenue for the next lis
cal year to an amount sufficient 10 pay the
current expenses OF the Government, ex :lu-
sive OF the interest on the public debt, the
currency receipts ought not, under an econ
nomIcal administration 10 exceed 5I8000O..
600. Assuming S1>0M0t0O to be the
amount OF currency receipt at the Treasury .oI
the next fiscal year, then this amount. heiug
an average of $l5,O00J00 per month, will by
the lsE day OF Nav. 1866 have been converted
into notes payable in coin On demand, aftel
one year from date oil issue, in the following
manner: During the month of May, 1868
$l5,0t0O00 OF the present legal tender note
will be by daily process changed into notes
redeemahle in coin in all the month Of Ma
1869. During the following month another
like amonnt will be exchange, and the issue
OF both months wi ripen toward their res
pective times OF maturity. BY the 1st day o
May, 1869, $3.50 90 00O in coin NOES viii
have taken the place OF like amount of The
present greenbacks. This vol N o. coin bote:
will then range in maturity from a single day
to a fun vea,, and TIE issue already ri~e (tht
S150COOOJ sued May J, $685. will n NJ y /
1860, be redeemabie In com, and a Ike am
cunt will become redeemable on each follow