The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-01-08

titled spirits IN all cases when wIT:i-
drawn from the bonded warehouses.
and made lengthy explanation
the frauds, which make it necessarv.
After considers BILE debate1 the b..
as reported was passed.
Epson, from the Committee os.
Elections, reported that Mr. Trim--
BILE was entitled to his seat as Resi-.
sentative from the First Congressi0oa
District of Kentucky. Laid over for
future action.
The House went into Committee Of
the Whole on the state Of the Union,
and addressed by Cory on the q1e--
ten of the public debt.
Cory said that whatever diversity
Of opinion existed Ia the House n
regard to the public debt. the House
was united in the opinion that the
debt must be paid to the uttermost
farthing. The nations honor must
in no way be compromised, and moth
ing must be done to impair confidence
in the integrity of the national char
a;ter. The mad-dog cry OF repudia
ton should not deter any from con-
sidering carefully and discussing the
subject. Persons with whom that
term was so familiar should know
that it required no act or declaration
of Congress to bring about such a
catastrophe as that The whole mat
ter would be investigated by Con-
gress as soon as ii was discovered
that the resources of the country
would not pay the interest, much
less principal Of the public debt 10
addition to the expenses of the Gov
L
that the people would not impose
upon themselves intolerable burdens
to that end. The National debt was
the greatest burden very heavy
and the man.. who, by injustice and
forced construction of law, against
the interests of the people, sought to
make the debt greater and the burden
heavier, was a pioneer Of reputation.
Those who claimed that the principal
of the two thousand millions of 5 20
bonds was redeemable only in coin,
were doing more to debauch the
morals of the country, and to blunt
sensibility to national honor than all
the other influences combined. JUS
tice was the only sure foundation of
public faith, and when sense of justice
was outraged, sense Of obligation to-
wards all by whom that outrage was
attempted was weakened, if not de-
stroyed. This was a principle of uni
versal application, and he cautioned
bond holders 70 beware lest over
burdoned payers should have
their sense Of obligation so weakened
by unreasonable exaction that they
would utterly repudiate the debt
which they now acknowledged to be
just.
He challenged any man to take
a six per cent. 5-20 bond and five
per cent. t.10-40 bond examine them and
the laws authorizing their issue. and
say whether the principal of both
were payable in the same manner;
the law authorizing FIVE per cents ex-
pressly provided for the payment of
principal and interest In coin, while
the law authorizing six per cent. 500
declares the interest should be paid
In coin. IF the principal as we'll
as the interest of the 500 bonds
was payable in coin, why not either
have it so declared, or else have
nothing said about how the
taxpayers, men who must, by
consent to a very large practical |
increase Of it to relieve the disap-
pointment Of bOndholders, aud to |
make good the opinions of Govern
ment agents, who were not authorized |
by law to construe the acts of Con-
gress? If the present Congress should /
authorize-and he hoped it would |
the issue Of $515,000,000 of Treasury |
certificates, receivable at par for taxes
aud Government dues, and made a /
lawful tender, and should issue them |
for the express purpose Of redeeming /
that amount of bonds now redeema-
BILE, or any other in future not paya-
BILE In gold, it would certainly be no
greater breach of faith than that
which had been already done This
enormous debt had been contracted
on a paper coinage standard, and it
should and must be paid in the same
coin in which it had been contracted,
and this conformed in all respects to
the terms of the original contract.
The Speaker presented the proceed
ings of meeting at Toledo relative
to the rights of naturaiized citizens;
which was referred to the Foreign
Also an executive com
inclosing the report of
Gen. Thomas in the case of Milliken,
relative to the destitution of the
Sioux Indians near Devils Lake,
Dakota; also the names of the de-
putty collectors and assessors; also a
from the Judge Ad-
Gocate General in reference to the
application Of Robert Buffin, 21st
Ohio volunteers, for compensation !
or hazardous service during the war,
Il lnnnr.rI |