The New York herald., 1868-02-28
THE FORTIETH CONGRESS.
Second Session.
SENATE.

The CHAR land before the Senate a communication
from tho citizens Of Boston regard lnances which
was referred TO the Comnttee on Finance Also one
from the Washington Common Council, praying that
the Mayor be comneied to pay Tho salaries OF the
corporation Officers waich referred TO the Com
mittee on The District Of Columbia
Mr. PATTERSON, dem OF Tenn presented petition
OF the army officers OF Tennessee, protesting against the
passage Of Mr. Wilson'S bill relative conmuauon OF
pay which was referred to the Committee on Military
Affairs
hir JOHNSON, ftem) of Md offered a resolution Of a
meeting OF citizens of Baltimore in regard the rights
OF American citizens abroad, which referred 10 the
Committee on Forelen Affairs.
NORTHERN LAKES.
Mr. CHANDLER, from the Committee on Commerce.
reported lavoraby JOINT resolution relative to the sar
taken up ana passed
HOMESTEAD LAWS
Mr. RAMSEY, trep) OF MIN, introduced bill Tor tho
reisf ol persOus in the ,nary and naval sirvice OF
tue unitea states who may have Initiated claims to pub
la aud under the provisions OF lhe homestead laws,
wnich referred 10 ths Committee on Pubic Lands
rn2 wEsr ~ PACIFIC RAlLsoAp AND ooAr ISLAND.
on motion Oh hr. SoNAEss, rep! OF Ia' tne seualo
took Up iie b relating TO inc Western Pacific Earoad
winch as reported from the clmmiteo oa January 81,
permits saii company oecapy for a depo &c, 50
nucN OF Leba Bncna, or Goat ls,nd, IN Tie tarbor OF
san Francisco, may tnn year be designated ~
the General 81 The Army, with me approval OF The sac-
reiay OF War not required ia ,he tim. OF peace or
military purposes reservng 10 tho United STATES the
right " resume Possession In tho me of war or dagger
Tue Company also authorized to construct raj ad
thence 10 point on its present line noar lhe city of
Stockton, Cali orn a.
Mr. SHERMAN Eep J OF Oao, said that the island in
question a)Iut miles nom the city of Sal From
SEQ, IN tb haIo u, ecc ing aooat the same relative
position as staen Island to New York. portion mad
been occupied Tor .otcationa He Slr. sherman) id
presented mem rial Ut rons, one Of them residng
IN Ouo. Gaining utle to ths islar! under Siansl
or gram, Ginning that they had had possession
of It aud made inprVem nts, and had been i ~ o'y
elected from il b. officers of the Unto Sta.es without
au h1rly OF law. IL was now proposes 70 maae WIS
grant TO this Iroad company in iliorua already
largely endowed Win emo nous grants on .he limo from
Sacramento u San Francisco He Thought u soould
not oe gwen 10 this company without compensd ion at
least until tnese private claims were decided Toe
Engineer H. Cniet or me army had expressed oppos-
ti1n 10 he grant IN letter he ctofore read.
Mr. CoHSEss repicd tha. the claim roerred to had
been dec dsd ala.nst the claiman am lime for
taking an appeal had expired. lie said The cstima cd
value OF The island made %, General Himpnrcys and
Others Wild anu extrasagant 1t sma rocky
ana uafL Tor cltiyaliun ard couid be rendered
be fer mary or raroad purposes only by tho expcn
dture OF an iInmen amount .o money Tie referred to
tie grant cf Rock Is AID, tne Mississippi and other
precedeEts the prJpo< ACTON OF tuls uL He ced
inc unaDnity OF Cali!o MA press III its favor: es-
planned hat it would enabie the company by avoiding
Inc circuit VI Franc Bay, 10 shorten Its road
one hundred miles, and lIed that lls
passage would conducs very greatly to the Interests Of
commerce and OF the onrc country.
Mr. STEWART, rep OF Nevada, followed staking the
fame ver and spoke un the expiration OF the MORN
Ing hour when IL laid
FU ING The NATIONAL DEBT
rho bill fer funding the deo. trepor ed Feb
ruary 81 then came w AMI Mr sHE1MAN tok the loJr
IN its favor ter speaking OF The duty OF ongress 10
log upon This question without regard TO potca
Das and TO project their constituents IL the enjoy
fruits oi their Industry. MIR. Sherman SAID that
all would acq iese in the Importance OF objects
Committee had set boo tnem-,h0 reduction OF the
"a OF interest," provision tor the pa, meut Of
the public bt increasing tho value OF United States
notes, and providing speedy resumption II specio
payment lie read statement OF The public dcb,
stilung puo ic debt consisting, he sa d,
mainy Of hse-twenty baads, or bonas conver. b,e
into them in shot erioi Of tune. The redemption
o these nds subec. of DISC rsson The
eounry especially Ia tue West, having been made The
subject Of po!ica contention by bolu parties. In
Indiana and both parties mad passed resoa
tons declaring that these bonis ought 10 be paid In
grvenbacKs Congress was therefore impelied TO meet
the question The democratic party stood On that popo
ION ana probably evciy candidate Tor Office wound 90
Obliged io pronounce Tor or against lie quoted from
q speech he made years sgo urging me immediate
funding Of the puUic debt, ana claiming tnas should
lie iunded BY tho same inflated currency Dy which 1t
Was contracted, and said !. was apparent now
that funding would then have proved wise
meusure. But in April lSGe, they gavo To ,ne
Secretary OF the Treasury Almost unliDilsd power
over tho paplc dob limiting h,m only tho reduction
greenoack To tue rate OF toar miiioas per
month"; and with two ne cont, acted the debt
greatly and tue oaing debt INTO gold bear.
ing bonds, mot of which would Otner~se navs been
PAYABLE IN currency No doubt tue Secretary of ,he
treasury had acted cUnscentousiy, but gold had steadily
d.cnoed rom the close or the un IN April 1856,
II WAS 1885, fom that tme II has advanced 40 l30 aud
men,s now than then, aud that the debt could nave
been converted well into i've per cent loan
per cent loan. The Secre ary OF the treasury then
tnongnt 1t important, aud Congress c,ncdei In the
idoa tuat the United states should havc priv icgs Of
rcdeemlns the bonds nve years; experience
OF oil nouons showed that time Of war they
must submit 70 harder terms To borrow money
Than in times Of peace The Secretary mad always de-
cded ycrs properly tnat bonds issued beioe the regal
tender notes must bo pad in gDld sej' ctarv Chase
having dec ded; first, when portion OF tue TEN
loan inatured in the fall OF 1867 principle hat
gold was paid tor these bonds, aud gold must Ds
turned them; anu doubtless the same princip.e
snoul be applei to con,racls between inuivdua 70
do otherwise repudissoD TN the ques ion whether
tue bonds issued since the Legal fender ACT aro payable
iE Legal tender bo Could only speak for h'nse aud not
fnr tLa Mar ella
provided tna tho notes issued under the FIRST section
should be lawful tender for all debls Of every
KIND except duties on imports and interest ON bonds
notes. II tho sto d upon tnat legal tcnder
alone there could be no doubt on the point the
legal tender notes beng $3.50 900 U00 The second
ton provided Tor tha issue OF twenty bonds.
IL they had been issued under February rs,
lS62 IL would have been an Irresistible conclusion that
II was not contemplated That the i've hundred millions
authorized under this aci shouid be bad b. tue legal
tender notes themselves converted into bonds; but in
July following the Limitation Increased 10 turee
hunired mlhons before nglc boud was sold. In
December ioO ing ne Secretary had utterly failed TO
nogo a.e the Eve twenty loan as snown In his report
and asked additional legislation. BY the act OF March
.. 1863 the ni aiion wdich preentet tue sac oil tho
vetsen les was repealed anu Information TO that effect
was spread all over tho counry -four hundred AMI My
miIions currency beug GutDorzsd ON that b,sis.
lucy were s,ld, and not under tie act Of February
70, 1862, under which the Secretary hai iaiici 70
sci Il. No night given TO the notes OF that issue
except TO be receivable 10 the government Tor taxes
truo thar certain government officers hat said tho
principal OF those bonds would be paid IN con--a CIR.
cumsance thai had alSays embarras,eg hs nina more
than any other; but h. denied uat Congress, had ev;f
acquiosced in that View. Mr. Sherman reforred TO va
rious iters from the Office OF the treasurer quoted dur
Ing the dcoae, and claimed that they had merely
pressed the opinion that the bond. would bo paid in
co n, doubtless expectation OF carly return to
specie psymens but they had attempted TO
cons,rde the law Ho dd not intend TO advocate ether
Wow, but merely to show that this subject honorable
men might GiGer The proposals TO pay OF the nyotwe
ties by new issue OF greenbacks hc denounced ~
da1gerous device, amounting TO rcpudiation; but he
claimed that every State IN the Union mad recognized
this principle by paying ts debt principal aud interest,"
IN erecnbacks, save tnoe the Pacific slopes In the
| present bai lair and hberai offer made 70 the
bondnolders OF substitute for the i've twentes. boar
ing i've per cent Interest, payable n gold He denod
that u was TO be regarded threat. After speaking
further OF tho advantages OF the loan, he said the
proposition OF tue committee smi ar TO the course
pursued by Engisad siI different times, read
Ing from various publications analogous cases from tho
year 17l3 until aitar the Psniusular war. He
then referred 20 the debts assumed by tho
government Of tho unitcd States when the nov