Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-09-02

titS- Gtidb ttC IIcsicuIy Is tucuulDcrcu VIII
a large amount of gold. which ! suppose is
III the form of dollars, and which it is desir-
able for the United States to disburse in a
proper manner / inclOse a note of the
bnIted States which reads as follows - The
United States promise to pay to the bearer
ten dollars " Washington, March 10, 1862
This note forms portion of the debt of the
United States, represented by what cal
led greenbacks. The amount of the debt rep
resented by these notes is 1856 900 900 II
understand the tenor of the promise these
notes all due on demand, and are pa va
bile III dollars. The only dollar known in
raw in fact, with which this note can be
pail, is the coin established by law as the
dollar of the United States. | now demand
payment of the enclosed note in gold dollars
according to the promise thereof, which is
certified by your signature. Yours respect
fully.
REPLY OF ME-. SPINNER.
Treasury OF THE UNITED STATES, }
WASHINGTON, Aug Is, 1868. {
Sir Your letter of the lst inst, reached
me several days since. Ill health and a
pressure of official business prevented an
earlier answer. Ny office is simply execu-
tive have no power save to carry out the
mandates of law as passed by Congress BY
the acts of February % and July IL, 1868,
the note on which you demand payment in
EiiI II lndtlt ldNiul lnOIeN anu all ltgil
der in payment of all debts, public and
private, within the United States, except
dItIcS ON imports and interest upon bonds
I'm the absence of judicial decisions against
;hc constitutionality of these laws, am con-
strained to obey them in their letter and
spirit. Your demand for payment in gold
II therefore refused.
Now. the giving Of one irredeemable
obligation for another, has been proposed
t'ir the redemption of the public debt, is no
Istyment at all, | herewith return you the
-sme note you sent me, thus preferring to
admit the present unwillingness or inability
Ut the government to pay, to the miserable
-uhtcrtugc of rendering you other irredeema-
BE piper in exchange for that which YOU
present. me for payment This unhappy
condition of monetary affairs was perhaps
unavoidable when 1t adopted. and for
several years after It brought about,
as everybody knows, by the imperative ne
-essitscs OF tie government ut a time of
great public peril, in order To save the life
vt tIr nation when attacked by the worst OF
men tor the most hellish of purposes.
For time after the putting down of the
rebellion it was believed that the government
was unable TO resume the payment of it's OBJ
legations If this true in the past, 1T is
certainly not so now. The short-tIme secur-
Itle7 of the government have now nearly all
been redeemed by payment in money, or
.ouvertible into bonds payable at it's option
alter five and within twenty years from the
dates of their respective issues. What re-
mains will, within the next two months, be
- paid or converted, or will lose it's right t.
be converted to draw interest After thai
ca" see no reason why the government, 81
Tar II itself Is concerned, might not almos
immediately resume specie payments
!t r. much TO be regretted that the subjec
u tire manner of payment Of the five-twenty
bonds was ever agitated by those who are il
=
ment untarnished- fit had been permitted
= remain at rest until specie payment hat
been resumed, there would have been nothing
g discuss save the naked propositions o
honest payment or faithless population.
When the government shall have honestly
resumed the payment OF all its obligations
~ fuiu, there is doubt that its cred
viii become SO firmly fixed that it will fine
80 .litfcultY in obtaining loans, both at HON,
and abroad, to enable it to consolidate it,
Whole debt, at rate not to exceed four De
cent per annum.
The national banks are the creations of tn,
government, and they live by its sufferance
HERE nave been granted them great prvil
c-es and valuable franchises 1t would there
fore seem to be right and reasonable tina
hey should be made to assist the government
~ the funding and ultimate payment OF the
public debt
the present banking system might be
made free to all that would conform to the
requIrcments of the law. This would be
perfectly safe if the government should grad
utlly withdraw its circulating notes. anC
c1mpel all the banks, i'll addition to the Sc
curItIes now lodged in the Treasury, tc
keep a certain specified amount in coin, in
proportion to the circulation of each bank
respectively, in the custody of some public
officer, at the commercial centre of the
country, tor the sole purpose of redeemIng
tier circulating notes at par. The interest
on the stocks left with the Treasurer to en-
the redemption of their circulating
notes might be retained for this purpose un-
ell It reached the required amount. Redemp-
ton of their circulating notes by banks at
their own counters is of no practical utility :;
they might, therefore, safely be released
from this liability
New banks should receive no circulating
notes from the Comptroller of.the Currency
except Tor four per cent. stock of the
United States; and all existing banks
should, within specified time, be required
to substit lite like stock for the stocks now
on deposit with the Treasurer to secure the
redemption of their circulating notes. The
avIdIty with which the whole first author
lied issue of the United States three per
cent. certificates was taken by these banks,
and their clamor, which induced Congress to
authorize another issue, which is being taken
up as last as 1T can be prepared, would seem
to indicate that it would be no hardship for
these banks to hold a four per cent. stock ::
especially as government stocks in their
hands, to the amount of their capitals, are
now by law exempt from the payment of
duty on = capital stock levied on them, in
lieu of all other taxes.
Should government agencies at the same
time be established in Amsterdam, Frankfort,
London and Paris, for the negotiation of
such four per cent. loan, and the payment
OF the interest thereon quarterly at either of
the places named pectively or at either of
the ofhces IN this country where it is now
payable, at the option of the holder of the
stock it is believed enough would be taken
to redeem not only the six per cent. five
twentles now held in Europe, but much of
that stock which is now held at home. These
STOCKS should, of course, have long terms to
run 10 maturity, giving them somewhat the
character OF annuities, and might be known
as American Consols." All this new stock
should De convertible from a coupon to
registered, and from a registered to a counon
stock, at any time, at the owners ont;on