New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-08-28
REDEMPTION OF GREENBACKS.


We recently stated, in reply to CORE
spondent that "the redemption of the Green
"backs in coin is not stipulated by any act OF
Congress" The N. y. Times thinks this a
mistake, and to prove it, quotes from sundry
acts of Congress, passed respectively in 179,,
1897 and 1849, which define a specie dollar
the only dollar we had prior to the passage of
the Legal Tender act-Feb %, 1852. From
that act, The Times quotes as follows to estab-
lish It's point and we give it the benefit OF It's
Italics:
That The s.cT.. q n. TI'Isr h.,I -. .@S1T d
United State, note. at bearing sts PAYABLE 70 ee,I
m. va deem SIpssS, nS.iss hsS s1, dollar, .s6
.S & s 10 i ss.ns s s.s the Gi S As;
tbId i'.0, o. the credit o. D1,sS state, 0opss o. ,''T
pleasure Of United States shsr Eve ys'r, ssd psI1l:
I n e1tu. Der Ipnam PAYABLE annually and The
% ; ;ss. PS' :. Of deb boot is s. %;
for sSy me Tfsssa hs,afI -
"S as T. ~, ,S.T si Der t SScy q 81 at
Seeming not TO get on satisfactorily by
citation, The Times now resorts TO logic, as
follows:
The definition OF a note IA this: A written printed
paper, acknowledging a debt and promising payment
Now what did these United States notes rs they are
fnsd i'm the laws Ia existence on the February
No other idea OF dollar, under the laws OF Congress
payable In gold; and time not specified as In the
case OF the bonds, they were payable Immediately by
legal effect The redemption OF the notes Tor sel1tfo
as they called In the sixth section In coin thus eI
Rn further the sixth section provides that all coin re-
ceived for duties imported goods shall DO set apart as
a special fund and applied as follows; ,,,
e @ Ss P ss G. q S1 : ai tn W
t day Of Jey si Which to b, , spar, "ssns isua ,nd
pay~e public debt the Treasury shall NON
The Treasury notes are unqueAtionaby part OF the
debt which the sinking Fund act pay. The word
there were classes OF outstanding securites-nOtos
and bondsand, while one was expected to be pnhdsed
in what we're they TO be paid To hand the creditor
another note repeated foTeyeT would constitute , no
clear therefore, that these notes not payable
in other notes but only I" con and on demand
Comments by The Tribune.
We have once already had occasion to cite from
DR.. Paley's Moral Philosophy his terse and
clear definition of the extent of the moral OBJ
legation of promise. 1t is as follows:
ell, In whdt sense are promises 70 be interpretedl
"where the terms OF promise admit OF more senses
than one the promise Is to be performed ~ MAJ sense
in which the Promser unprecedented. at the time that me
cit is not the sense in which the promIser actually in.
tended IL tnat always govern, no nh Of an
cite expectations which you never meant nor would DO
obliged 10 satisfy Much less IL II the sense In which the
10 that rule yon might be drawn into engagements
tore bs Tho sense for there ia no other remaning in
which the proser oeisped that the proosee accepted his
promise" .
In the light of this definition. we ask the
Editor of The Times. Suppose you had been
paid from the Treasury, soon after the passage
of the Legal Tender act aforesaid, 81 900 in
Greenbacks for advertising the loan of $780,
1000 authorized by said act. OouLd you hare
L. hat L., M,
demandf Would you have felt aggrieved and
wronged if, on presenting them at the Treas
ury, such payment had been refusedf
If yOu would, we, certainly, should not.
We at first read and understood the act as we
now dO-as we presume others read and under
stood it, 1t stipulated that these notes should
be legal tender in payment of debts-that
they should be received at par for taxes and
all dues to the Government except Duties on
Imports-that they might be funded in Five
Twenties at par-but it did not stipulate that
| whoever held these notes might call ut pleas
ure on the Treasurer of the United States and
have them exchanged for coin. And we under
stood them to mean as they read.
Every bond issued by the United States is a
promise to pay a specified sum or sums at or
before specified date or dates. The Green
back is different sort of promise altogether.
We have always understood it to mean, "The
United States will pay - dollars whenever
they shall be fairly able 10 do so-and mean
time will receive this note at par for taxes,
loans, and in all payments to the Treasury"
The issue was virtual confession of inabil-
ity to pay on demand-was the decreeing OF a
gigantic Forced Loan to meet the enormous pc
cuniary requirements of lfe-and death emer-
gency. |. .....
| Wa have too long and too earnestly urged