Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-07-19

tne reedmeh Bureau be broken up the
impoverishmsnt Of the South cease, and
notes. will be abundant. '-
! as- s,i4-Fi s EXPANSION. .e. 3. .siE
| But, gentlemen, if these measures will
] BOT supply funas, speaking for myself, i
I would expand the currency would cor
rect the evils which have been prodnced by
I sneh extraordinary and unprecedented con
| traction. The business Of the country has
| become adjasted 10 larger volume Of eur.
| rency than we BOW have. The demands OF
the South and West require a greater
amount Of currency. They are beggers for
money, and are willing to pay from ten to
twenty Per. cent. During the war, Rheh
the currency vas at lis largest amount, gold
touched 290 per cent, and yet upon the de-
claration Of peace, when ihe Southern coun-
tfv-impoYerished rs sks had been, with
1000 900 Of people, who had been shut
Galt from the use OF our currency, ready to
strain every nerve to repair the wastes Of
Var-was opened to our business, gold stood
only at fraction oyer 12S. .sA
\ The system OF. contraction was immedi-
ateiy eommenced, and with currency of
least $500, ,000, 900 less than it was then,
gold stands to-day at 14l. The. value Of
TIE currency then was not too large for the
demands OF The business of the country. /
do not believe that it would be necessary or
advisable TO expand the currency to that
extent, but if it should prove to be SO, i
would not hesitate to restore the currency
to the amount it stood when gold touched
l28. | tell you, gentlemen, if this were
done, 1t would be as grateful to you and to
fha M fh.aA O. L Il.
dews Of heaven to the parched earth as
the quails and mama which God in his
mercy vouchsafed to the children of Israel
in the wilderness. By these two measures
alone your debt would be reduced $780,
100000, and the interest will be reduced
more than 100000 in gold, annually,
and the accruing revenue would enable you,
without further expansion, to pay off the
residue of the fye-tWenties as they mature,
and thus to diminish still further the
amount Of interest, and consequently the
taxes. If, then, the currency was found
redundant, gradual contraction could be
effected, and as it would come when the
debt had been paid-when the necessity for
large sums of money on the part of the gov
ernment had passed aWay-when taxes
were low, it could be accomplished
without the oppression and disaster which
now attend it.
PERSONAL POSITION TOWARD THE BOND
HOLDERS AS A CLASS.
| have been represented as inimical to
the bondholder. Gentlemen, you shall
judge me. am hostile to no class or
interest in the country. / simply desire to
be just--just to the bondholder-iust to the
people. | would live up, with scrupulous
fidelity, to the terms Of our contracts
would pay tine interest Of the fve-twenties
in gold, because the government has prom
ised to do so. l would pay both principal
and interest Of the ten-forties in gold, be-
cause the government has promised to do
so. l would pay the principal of the five
twenties in legal-tender notes, because the
bondholders agreed to receive them in pay
ment; and as / would not repudiate an
honest bargain to make money for the
people, so will not repudiate an honest
bargain to make money for the public
creditor.
ALLEGED CONSEQUENCES CONSIDERED.
It has been said that this policy will
give us a deprecated currency. / think
not. l think, on the contrary, that Just aa
the public debt is in this way discharged
will the certainty Of its ultimate redemp-
tion become more apparent, and its value
be steadily increased. These bonds operate
as mortgage upon the property and labor
of the country. There are two thousand
million Of them. Pay off these two thou
sand millions, and will not the legal-tender
notes be just in that proportion more valu-
able?
But again: give to these notes the ac-
knowledged undoubted capacity TO pay
these bonds TO pay all public obligations,
and they Immediately increase in value. /
know the evils of deprecated currency
Webster described them. / would not aid
in depreciating our currency fought
against il when it was proposed by the le-
gaI-tender act my warning was not needed.
But since it has been accomplished-since
the debt was contracted in legal tender
since it may be lawfully and honestly paid
In legal-tender-I am in favor of contin-
ing 1t until We can secure TO the people,
who have already suffered all the evil,
Whatever good may be extracted from the
system. -. s...
REHABILITATION AND APPEAL.
But, gentlemen, / detain you too long.
| have sought to bring in sharp contrast the
two parties and their respective principles.
"Choose ye between them" 1t Is a strug-
gle between law and force; Constitution
and revolution; order and anarchy; purity
and corruption; economy and extrava-
gaDce civil government, and whatever
comes after its overthrow; intellect, culti-
walton, experience, capacity for govern
ment, and-but forbear- -ss--G cheers
cries, go on; let it out las will not
say one word in disparagement of the
chosen leader Of great party of my eoun-
trymen. This is the supreme struggle for
the mastery by these enduring and opposing |
forces. Choose wisely between them. |
Work earnestly for your choice, and on
the day Of the election in November the |
American people can be congratulated for
the achievement of a victory for their Con-
achievement of prosperity
and happiness which can only be secured |
by the enjoyment of liberty regulated by |
law, and of law Inspired by the genius of |
virtuous liberty. Immense and pro-
Longed cheering |