National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1868-09-11

rise to the inference that the latter
was not meant to be paid in coin.-
This fallacy, with others, is effectu-
ally disposed of by Senator Fessen-
den in his Portland speech, as fol-
/ lows:
''Let me give you a little history
of this bill. When 1t passed the
House Of Representatives it said
nothing about paying in anything
in coin or in currency it said SO
much money simply, the principal
III 90 years and the interest semi F.
annually. Do you suppose any
sensible man, any man in Congress,
any man anywhere, dreamed at that
time that twenty years atterward,
when those bonds came round to be
paid, we should be dealing in green
backs? Did any member of that
House dream that the principal of
that debt was to be paid twenty
. years after its inception in paper,
and deprecated paper at that No
man dreamed any such thing. The
bill came to the Finance committee,
and the provision that the interest
should be paid i'll coin was there in
serted. And why ! Simply because
as the interest was to be paid during
the continuance Of the war it might
f be inferred that It was to be paid i'll
= the currency of that pcriod-that it
= would be paid in greenbacks. The
: provision for the payment Of the
! interest in co il, was done solely for
\ the purpose of preventing this IN
u ference to be dawn, and not to make
any distinction between the princi-
pal and interest. 70 carry ont this
provision we provided the means for
paying this interest. The Senate
: also made a provision that these
It bonds might be redeemed in five
u years, aud what was its reason toi
doing SO We supposed the wal
would be over before five years were
;, ont. and that when the war was
@ over we should be able, if not il
it five years, in ten years perhaps, OF
u at some period within twenty years
: to adjust matters in such Il way as
to pay OF most of these bonds il
coin. If We did not pay them off,
# we thought we could reduce the in.
h tcrest, for six per cent. interest is
ID too low for a time OF war, and toe
: low fer time of peace
:" The following. also, from Mr, Fes
senden's admirable summing up OF
g. the arguments in favor of ultimate
IN eoinpayment of IT, bonds, is worthy
to of the widest publicity:
- "There is another argument. w
provided by statute for a fund o
,o coin to pay the principal Of tina
- debt, We set aside the duties o
Ii. imports, in the first place to pay til
N. interest. and in the next to create
H. fund ont of which the principal wa
- to be paid. Nobody ever dreame
that the principal Of this debt VA
to be paid in promises. M cour
nor ony living man, to my know
y edge, supposed SO. The langu .
of the second section IS prccisel
= the language of every previous la
" OF "A similar nature; there is no di
VI tinction whatever. In that law W
w provided for fund from which til
nv debt We incurred should be pal,
~ and gentlemen WHO spoke ON ii
- subject III both houses repeated
- stated that the principal and int
w. est should both be paid in coin.-
"S More than all that. Your Sccrctal
"' of the Treasury, Air. Chase, state
o'' it publicly in a letter, AMI that It
- ter was CIRCULATED in both branch
~ of Congress, yet no member rose
-" his place and said that the lett
gu stated the contract as it did not e
as, iSt. Not a word was said again
ore it; nobody undertook to qucsti,
lie its propricty. When | was Seer
..o tary of the Treasury, recommend,
'"e that all doubt should be remoy,
err by distinctly stating that the pri
'ep cipal should be paid in coin, but
DIS was not considered necessary !
Ibo others; the language of the law "
:, such that everybody inferred fro
IN it that the principal was to bc pa
cd IN coin. IL was SO stated in q
hts newspapers, and our agents we
instructed so to represent matte
to the people"
. -
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