New-York tribune., 1868-03-17
SENATORIAL DEBATE on FINANCE
HENDERSON,
From Our Special c correspondent.

Senate and House who have charge Of such subectsI
when elaborately set forth, seem to exact notice.
Mr. Henderson of Missouri amcmber Of the Finance
Committee of the Senate has lately expounded him.
self at length. Whatever claims the Senator may
have to many excellent qualities-clams we shall noe
questiOn-great gifts as fnancer cannot oonceds
to him. In the first place, his fundamental concep-
tions of the nature of the pecunary obligations Of
government as explained by himself in the following
extract from his recent speech show him TO be man
in whom n high sense of financial and mercantile
honor is totally wanting. He substantially declares
that a promise to pay means nothing at all. Hear
| him:
as not more reasonable TO infer that the public cred
tor purchasing Government bond takes il subject %
the exercise bv Congress of all its constitutional pOwersg
IL is surely legitimate for Congress, after IL contracts
debt TO coin money and put II IN circulation IL equal
change its value The coinage of gold may be double or
exchange nay be abandoned altogether and something else
| adopted. when specific agreement IL made
tract subject to all the contingencies Of future legislation
That legislation may be such TO make the debt more or
less valuable at the time OF Its payment This fact un.
dersood by both parties when the contract is made aud
enters into and forms part OF IL"
We contend that man who can talk in this way
in regard to the character and value Of the deliberate
engagements of q great government, or small Is
utterly disqualified from sitting in judgment upon
the morality or honesty of financial transactions
There is not heresy or dishonesty that ever was
advocated or practiced upon public creditor that Is
not supported in the doctrines OF this extraordinary
extract 1t is an open and,unlimited claim to the
right to cheat the public creditor out Of his whola
debt if the debtor chooses to do it, More than that.
the preposterous idea is here expressed that the
lender understands it is of the conditions of
public loan that the borrower is it liberty thus To
cheat him. The Government may clip its CON- may
debase its currency, may make unlimited issue OF
irredeemabe paper and declare it legal tenders and
nav off its debts therein. Mr. Henderson substan-
TALLY asserts in the above quotation that all this Is
understood by all parties in every public loan.
| He might with equal reason deny tho sanity OF
mankind, and assume that capitalists are so eager
to get rid Of their property as to seek opportunities
to commit it to the flames lie does in fact assume
that every man who has money to lend dotes on re-
pudiation That he longs for opportunity to find
borrower who ia so situated that he is at liberty
| to deny payment Of what lie borrows
If Mr. Iendersons doctrine be correct such are ths
| views of every man who buys Government bond.
He simply loves to be ruined unless this is the case
| of the money-lender Why on earth should he con-
sent 10 fling his hard-earned dollars into the lap of
Government which is at liberty any time to turn
round and say 1t won't pay at ALL or VIII only pay IN
worthless promisesf But, actual fact, are not
all money-enders tempted on all sides with tho
best of securities, and their private indebtedness
additionally secured by the most unbendng legal
enactments Why on earth, then, should lender
accept the obligations of borrower who Is at lb-
erty to convert them into smoke when he can OBTAIN
securities rs ;ncombustble as bricks and mortar or
roads of iron
Mr.. Henderson may possibly reply that what be
said was intended to be qualified by the remark that
Specific agreement might could change tho
conditions of loan. Such reply does not help him.
I'm the first place the first part of his statement 10
| wholly unqualified. But let that pass. We assert
| the proposition that every government loan Is a
specific agreement" to pay certain number of
dollars which dollar is defined thing precedent
| TO the contracts and that what the dollar is
| when the loan is made is the dollar that must be
paid We deny entirely that there is any under
stood right, reservation, privilege, or understand
/ ing of any kind or description, express or i'm
| Piled under which Government may change or vary
its terms. the understanding on which
the holders took it to the amount of one hairs
breadth. If Government even stands BY silently and
sees its loans disposed of by agents on terms and
with representations which it knows to be un-
founded and does not intend to fulfill il is morally
guilty of obtaining money under false pretenses aud
of intentional fraud upon the purchaser But 1t ~
more especially aud unquafedly guilty if it pre-
sumes upon its sovereignty or its legislative power
to deprive its creditor of Ota of the exact sum t
borrowed or of any inGtessma fraction Of the rate OK
interest it agreed 20 pay until the loan is wholly re-
| imbursed Government has not in morals, or accord
ing to the most ordinary tests of mercantile integrity
the shadow of right to abridge in the least degree
the sum which the public creditor, in becoming
| party TO a national loan contracted to receive
A man who does not see all this with an eye of fire
has no claim TO discuss the nature or treatment OF
peculiarly Oblgatiots whether Of an individual or OF
| government Between a solvent debtor and bis
creditor there is no middle ground. The contract
settles everything There is nothing " bo left to
! compromise Nothing can be pleaded in behalf OF q
debtor but actual inability. Inconvenience loss Is
| nothing Where the ability exists the pay must
! come. Solvency, character mercantile honor inan-
| cial integrity knows no other law This GOyernment
must pay or Swindle acknowledge itself bankrupt
1t has got TO take of these three attitudes before
! the world 1t cannot escape. The inexorable pen
of history. the fixed judgment of mankind
await its action. But WHILE
have said Government has right to clip its DIN,
to debase its coinage to adulterate its paper crcua
tng-medium il nevertheless has the polcer to do IT.
ii it chooses TO play the villain it may cheat It's
creditors il may swindle its bondhoders II may re-
pudate its contracts But in so doing 1t incurs the
villains reputation and his fate Ii may say it will
pay three-quarters, half quarter or nothing, OF
all it owes but the simple fact that it is to-day dis
cussing, in Congress and out, which it will do, ss
costly dscredit and running reproach TO the nation
To debate the question Of national honesty is tho
most expensive luxury in which Congress can in-
dulge But our circumstances and our habits, per-
haps, render it unavoidable and must suffer the
consequences of our indulgence.
The practical issue of all this is the main thing
u,b,cb ,uteraSts avarVbody But who shall forecast