The Portland daily press., 1868-09-01


paper. No decision was intended to be made,
but to quiet fears and above all to raise the
money at once. And, also, when the bonds
were made redeemabe in five years, it was
supposed the war would then be over and we
should be able to adjust and paw off many or
provide for the certain payment of interest
The rate, SIX per cent, was too low for time
of war, and too high for peaceful times-no
nation IN our situation could have got money
at so low rate. EEN7-
And now, we We're told we would be justified
In taxing advantage of the five-years stipula-
ton IN payment of our promises because that
was the strict letter of the CONT act But was
1t tue SPIRIT OF the contract? To carry it out
praeueail! 10 an example; if government pays
mans bond in paper promises, he NAV turn
around to the Treasurer and at once demand
for those greenbacks another bond PAYABLE in
five or twenty years. which at maturity might
be paid the same way, and this would be the
practical operation of the law
Senator FeSsenden then called special atten-
ton to the fact that the language of Section
OF the Dill, was the same as adopted for We lrs
previous In similar acts IL was specified that
the principal of the bonds should be paid in
com, simply because no one ever dreamed it
was to be paid in paper. Gentlemen who
spoke upon the measure frequently said in
both houses of Congress that both interest and
principal were to be paid in coin. The pub
lished letters of the Secretary of the Treasury
repeated sadly so, and no one questioned the
represented it to the people. On this whole
subject the speaker said he felt the more deep
ly, because he had been so intimately connected
with it. When he went into the Office of Sec
rotary OF the Treasury, the nation was near its
last struggle. A proposed loan for thirty mil
lions only had just been withdrawn from the
market because it could not be negotiated ON
terms honorable to any government. He found
SlO0,OOO In unpaid acquisitions, mainly for the
pay OF our soldiers, and like amount coming
Tor payment every two months with nothing in
the treasury to pay with After his appeal to
the people he issued the 7-3O loan, aud said
personally and through his agents that the
principal was payable in coin. He denied any
intention to deceive the people by this state
ment. When the government made the prom
Use it meant to pay in five years If it could in
dollars, II not as soon as it could up to thirty
years. So the people who took the bonds
thought, and so foreign capitalists who came to
our aid believed
Mr.. Pendleton proposed a year ago to pay
| these bonds in paper, and now says the people
are adopting his proposition The gentleman
spoke for his friends and not for the Republi-
| can people. If to be thus paid the letters OF
Secretary Chase should long ago have been
declared contrary to law, and our agents not
| allowed to make such representations at home
and abroad. The promise was fairly made, to
| pay an dollars, as soon as we could. Mr.. Fes-
sender complained that these gentlemen do
not ask us to wait until paper money becomes
really dollars, but they say it is deprecated
| and therefore government should pay the bonds
now. What says the platform of the Repub-
lican party? make paper up to par and then
| pay. The Democrats purpose to take unfair
advantage Of its depreciation, and use it as a
weapon against the creditor They say Gov.
eminent gave the notes as deprecated curren,
| cy, and hence must take them Deprecated
But did they give their own deprecated paper
| for the notes in the first place? This doctrine
of paying with promises because promises
| originally, was sham, and if carried out wou ID
| lead to further depreciation and final discredit
| and national bankruptcy. There was no jus
| tice, righteousness or honesty in it, There wa,
| but one way to deal with the problem and that
was to pay eur debts in good faith, in common
honesty, according to the letter and spirit o
the obligation. When and how is question
| for statesmen to answer.
The New York Convention says the debt i,
burdensome. But who is 10 lend us money il
the war which their nominees predict AND
| seem to invite, il our credit is destroyed,
Nothing would suit that party better than t.
rel udiate ana destroy the national credi
which is the life of the people. A great natiol
could not afford to act like a miserable petit
| logger and trifie with its sacred obligations
To preserve the government has cost a million
of men and thousands upon thousands of dol
| lars. We cannot afford to lose the grand result
by refusing to pay the expenses Of the grea
battle we fought. (Applause) He thanked
God there was no reed of so doing; we wer
able to pay the interest, and in time, the prin
cipal.
MIR. Fessenden next refuted the SANDER tina
the Republican party were in favor of a ma
tional debt which they believed nationa
blessing, and replied that we meant to rid our
selves of the debt as far as we could without
distressing the people, raising meanwhile ou
credit higher than it has ever been since VIZ
had government, so that we can effect future
loans, and If some of the burden falls upoI
posterity, it will be no more than they can ant
ought to bear. The national debt must exis
for some years in order to be paid honorably
When the debt of Great Britain was incurred
that country had not half our population, We
bore the load and kept her credit good Sh,
did not talk paper, but encouraged industry
agriculture, manufactures, and trade, till sh,
now carries her burden easily We have ,
population of 36OOOOOO, rapidly increasing
Our resources are almost unb0unded in terri
tory, variety of SOIL mines, forests, and above
all, in the character of our people, their edu
cation, and ability, to make this the most DOW
erful nation on the globe. We shall yet carry
our burden as lightly as ever warrior did hi
armor. And he trusted that the Republican
party meant to bear their portion of the inter
est and principal of the debt. This was eyi
IDENTIFY the only way to act, to cultivate frugal
ity, industry and the arts of peace since ma
tional prosperity ever lies in the same patti
with national honesty. Let nation once fur
felt her honor and it is gone forever.
Mr.. Fessenden said he gloried in the platform
laid down by the Convention which nominated
Grant and Colfax. His heart bounded wher
he read the third article of that platform, tht
true way to peace. The Republican part,
must keep ON the same straight path of integ
| rity so long as it manages affairs (Applause'
| IT we try to see who shall go lowest in the rac
| of dishonor, our enemies will beat us two t,
one. (Renewed applause.) We must then dis
card all idea of tampering with our obligations
we must repudiate the regulators, whethe
| in MaSSac hncattS or Co.
worthy the confidence of an honest, God-fear
ing, intelligent people.
Besides the financial problem, Congress ba(
to meet the great question of reconstruction
The rebel States went out of the Union of the
own accord; they chose to secede and max,
war ON the government. They failed, were de
| feated, Frustrated, and by the laws OF war lost
all previous rights as members of the Union
| They forfeited all claims to resume their form.
er position, though this forfeiture was not to b,
regarded as to continue always. The Presi
dent undertook to solve the difficulty. He ap
pointed Governors and authorized them to re
organize States and declare terms of entrance
| This he had no right to do; it belonged to tn,
| law-making power and not to the executive
1t was said to be only an experiment t.
hasten matters, and was permitted accordingly
| When Congress assembled Andrew johnson
took an entirely different view of the case
that the States were organized, Senators anC
| members of Congress, mostly fragrant rebels
had been appointed, and all Congress had t.
do was to inquire into the qualifications of the
| men themselves. w ,g-.+
But Johnsons policy would have been dis
astrous to the country if adopted. The bodie.
polite created by him were not those to which
| constitutional amendments could be submitted
that would constitute guaranty against flu.
| ture difficulties, and render to all classes Of
citizens equal justice. %
When Congress assembled the first question
| to be considered was the political status of the
| colored men. The speaker had been called a
| Conservative Republican," He cared not SC
long as he was Republican. Going on to ex-
plain the character OF his conservatism Mr.
| Fessenden said that he was Chairman of the
| Reconstruction Committee and of sub-cOm-
mittee made up of its members to that com
| mittee three propositions were submitted The
1 first was submitted by himself and it was in
| the form of constitutional amendment which
forbade any discrimination in respect to civil
or political rights against any class of citizens
| on account of race, color or previous condition
This was the proposition of the "conserva-
| tive" Maine Senator. 1t was merely de.
signed to extend to all parts of the country
that civil and political equality that exists in
Maine. The second was the proposition Of
Mr.. Blaine, Representative from the Sd Maine
| district, who wished to deprive of representa-
| ton those States that denied suffrage to thei,
| citizens on account of race or color John
sons policy" would have restored the rebe
States with increased representation. They
| would have been gamers BY their revolt, fol
the basis of representation would have beer
enlarged by the addition of 4 100000 people
| The speakers proposition Mould haze cut clear
through. 1t would have forever settled the
| whole question of the franchise, by making il
uniformly just throughout all the States. Mr.
Blalne's amendment was right and proper
| though 1T did not go so far as Mr.. Fessenden's s.
Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens, who was usually re
garded as toerably radical parsonage and