The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-07-18

cratic State Convention of West Virginia and
some thousands of other persons in mass
meeting together there assembled. In this
speech Mr.. Pendleton elaborated his well
known views on the financial situation. His
position may be given in few words, how
ever, extracted from the body of his argument.
g am, said the distinguished orator, ''hos
tile to no class or interest in this country. l
simply desire to be just-just to the bond
holder, just to the people. would live up
with scrupulous fidelity to the terms of our
contracts. would pay the interest of the five
twenties in gold, because the government
promised to do so; Iwould pay principal and
interest Of the ten-forties in gold because the
government has promised to do so; would
pay the principal of the five-twenties in legal
tender notes. because the bondholders agreed
to receive them in payment; and as would
not repudiate an honest bargain to make money
for the people, so 1 would not repudiate an
honest bargain to make money for the public
creditors" Again &c These bonds operate as
mortgage upon the property and labor of the
of them Pay off these two thousand millions,
and will not the legal tenders be first in the
proportion more valuable?" ''Since the debt
was contracted in legal tenders, since it may
be lawfully and honestly paid in legal tenders,
am in favor of continuing it until we can
secure the people, who have already suffered
all the evils, whatever good may be expected
from the system"
These are the views of Mr.. Pendleton. and
they are the democratic platform on the bond
question. Whether they are or are not the
republican platform we cannot positively under
take to say II is an open question with the
republicans, subject to the drift of the popular
tide. The Hon. Ben Butler says that according
to ''the letter and the spirit of the contract
and the Chicago platform the ive-twenties are
redeemable in legal tenders. The Hon. Thad
Stevens says that these bondholders have no
right to expect gold when greenbacks are the
article according to the letter and spirit of the
law and Stevens ought to know A majority
of the republicans in the House of Representa-
tives, we have no doubt, are with Stevens and
Butler for majority of them voted with the
democrats in favor of the late resolution in
structing the Committee Of Ways and Means to
report bill for the taxation of the bonds to
the figure of ten per cent The great body of
the people out West Of both parties are with
Pendleton, Stevens and Butler, and it is pro-
bable that a larger proportion of the people of
the East than our political philosophers can
imagine are of the same way of thinking.
Congress, meantime, (both parties in both
houses) has become SO thoroughly and mex
plicably mixed up on the money question, in
all its divisions-bonds, taxes, banks, funding
bills, tariffs and what not-that we can expect
nothing materially changing the present state
of things, at least till the next session Besides
being completely muddled on all these financial
problems the members of the two houses are
anxious to bring this session to a close and 20
home to look after their own interests with
their constituents. On returning home they
will find the current Of public opinion running
in certain direction Each member who is q
candidate for reelection and every new candi-
date for the next Congress will be apt to shape
his course as far as possible to the prevailing
views of his people. In this view we may
reasonably expect that Butler, Stevens and
Pendleton on money matters, will be sup
ported by an overwhelming majority in the
next House of Representatives, the bulk of
which is to be elected in the coming October
and November.
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, of the
great Northern States, lead of in their Con-
gressional elections in October, and the re-
suits, we dare say, will go very far to show
that q predominant idea, East and West,
among the people is that every legal expedient
calculated to reduce and extinguish this gene
raj burden of the national debt and It's heavy
taxations must be adopted-that the people
will not have this thing continued indefinitely,
but will demand such measures of legislation
as will afford fair prospect that the present
generation will live to be relieved of all these
heavy taxes and official spoliations and corrup-
tions resulting from the national debt. The
payment Of the interest until the time for the
payment Of the principal Of these different
sorts of bonds is fully due will not answer
The people want the principal itself ex-
tinguished as fast as the means and legal ad-
vantages possessed by the government will
permit and upon this important question we
expect, we say, in the coming October Congress
sional elections, an overwhelming popular vim
dication Of the general opinions of Stevens,
Pendleton and Butler on the bonds and their
redemption.
PosIroN OF THE FUNDING BILL.
House committee having In hand the Senate
Funding bill proposes some sweeping