The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-09-05
SPEECH OF
HON. LYMAN TRUMBULL,
at Portland, August 26th.

To say that | am oratified and reoced by this
grand recention from a people to nearly all of
whom L am personally Il stranger. but feehlv
expresses the emotions feel. Although ma
tive New England. never until last week
was it my good fortune to set foot upon the soil
of Maine. Most of the years of nv life have
been passed in the West and to the people OF the
state among whom have dwet for more than
| thlrd OF century. who have often hon0rea
me with their confidence and i'll whose service
! | have been for most of the Years of nv man
hood. am bound by ties of interest and atlrr-
tlon which VIII be as lasting as life But with
| all my love for my own honored State, have
never ceased to honor and respect the place of
my nativity, not to recognize the fact that Hill
nolS, and other western States, owe much Of
their prosperity and greatness to the people and
institutions of New England. The West is
| largely populated by emigrantS from the East,
who by their industry, enterprise, intelligence,
! moral and intellectual training, have done
! much to found and build up the great and
powerful States of the West and to establish
between the East and West. the most intimate
relations of business and friendship Mty the
F, time speedily come when like relations shall be
established between the North and South, and
when there shall be no inhabitant in all tins
land, no matter in what part of the Union he
dwells, who shall not embrace his love for his
State, his home and his kindred in the one eX-
! preston. | love my country.
/ During my public service in the councils Of
the nation, it has been nv good fortune to be
| intimate terms of friendship with representa-
tIves OF the State of Maine and in the most try
ing crisis of my political life, when blind party
zeal and intolerance demanded the conviction
of a President of high crime, contrary to any
convictions of justice and right and denounced,
not only rs traitors to party. but as venal and
corrupt all who refused to surrender their con
/ NictinnS of duty and sense Of Justice to the nm
reasoning hehests of party, found myself >u~-
tanned by one of the pureSt and most patriotic
"t men. and the greatest and wiSeSt statesman
whom Maine ever sent TO the national councils.
How much miss that valued friend now upon
whom have so often leaned for support and
advice; but what is of tar greater importance
tian any personal &C n>idcratinnS. is the loss to
the country at this time of statesman 50 pure,
so upright and so fearless and firm in the dis
charge of duty.
Who can doubt on which side he would now
be found. when an attempt is made through
party despotiSm, intolerance and denunciation
| to perpetuate Il dynasty, which has already
| brought scandal upon the Republican name aud
II continued must soon change the character Of
our government by destroying the pm. ity of our
institutions and the freedom of elections.
FINANCE.
With these preliminareS. ana impressive re-
marks. the speaker proceeded To discuss the
| financial matters. Three different reports bv
Secretary Boutwell,, the Register of the Trc,-
S'IrY and Gen. spinner, showed discrepancy
OF one hundred millions of doll Ms in the aggre
gate Of the public debt. Would any business
man allow his bookkeeprrs to make M such
statements? The expenses of the government in
Sto were $50 900 900 ant. in 70 Il ! la1 900 900,
| and YET the Secretary of the Treasury i. going
about the country, stating that the expenses are
less per capita than before the war. 1t il bv
such statements that an attempt is made to mis-
/ laad and deceive the people On the first dav of
| July. 1863. there was in the Treasury of the
United States in gold and in currency, accord
ing to ihe financial table which | have named.
SlS3.0OO,060 lying idle. ON the first day of July
| 1869 what gold worth? Why, gold was
hnN ,p.b
in the Treasury ON the first day Of July. 1872 last
month? There WAS only Sl03.00o,0oO. What
| was gold worth then? Sl.li Sl.l5. Now, can
Mr.. Boutwell, or the Grant Republicans insist
that they are approaching specie payments at
this rate: They are a> near specie payments ~
| they We're in 1869, but they are not rs near
/ specie payment as they were in 1850. viii we
4 ever nave Sneclr payments by backward pro
| grcS>? In lS,o-tWo years hgo-god got down,
| | think, to about ten to twelve cents Now it
| Is fourteen TO fifteen cents premium. How long
| VIII It take to get to specie payments at that
| rate? Now, this whole policy of boarding up
money i'll the Treasury OF the United States is
not only bad policy financially, because you
| lose the interest upon it, but we have had more
than !; million of dollars lying idle ever Since
| Gen. Grant was elected President. Why was
it kept there? A small sum Sho"ld he kept
| margin of Il half Of Il million of dollars lm-
4 loubtedlv should be kept ON hand in the 'rrrs-
sury. But the average has been over a hundred
million of dollars. Now, can you tell me W hy
tHdl money was not taken our OF lNtA treasury
and 50 much OF the debt paid OFT, or used in
| some other way a. to stop he interest on this
money for the last three vearsl In that time
| the interest would have amounted To SIS ,00O,-
600. What is the benefit of hoardin" up this
money, and then claiming credit for it? 1t is "a
! bad policy for the nlncieS of the nation and the
| liberties of the people. 1t is dangerous my
friends, to your liberties to have that amount Of
| money in the hands of an, one man in this
country The administration has deserved to
ltlrpI 9t q N ir-
| ton alone. | know an attempt has been made
to excuse it. | know a packed committee was
ready to cover up and conceal the transaction.
Men who are robhing the treasury of course
| seek to conceal their iniquites. and # is only bv
| the closest scrutiny that raScaliy can be un-
earthed. Frauds are not likely to he found out
| by friends, and it is only by unwealeI vigilance
that we eau detect them at all.
There are more than one hundred millions
/ boarded in the treasury. And why kept there?
The Secretary says to regulate the price of gold
| Does il do that?
! HOW 1T WORKS.
DO not know that This money is being used
| in this election. do not suppose they use any of
| the principal but we are not getting any inter
est on 1t. Would not some of YOU be willing to
pay interest # they would put a few million. OF
| it in your handS for the next six months:
Would you he willing to pay Il part of the IN
| ierest and 90 with Grant Republicans and help
| carry the election if they would let Won keep
the rest of the interest? Laughterl Now.
| don't know thai they do that. don't say that
! they do that. But there is II good Iea, OF money
| being used in this election Where il comes
from do not know bat it is the easiest thing
| i'll the world, as You may all see. The Secre-
| tary of the Treasury has got Il hundred million
| Of dollars lying idle. That is enough to carry
on the Government for the next six months.
Then he need not call in these collections to use
| them. Under the regulations the Secretary of
the Treasury can designate Il National Bank as
"dcpository of public money" In my own
| State the President of a bank is an ele tor on
| the Grant ticket. and should not be surprised
! if million dollars We're placed in that bank
and the President told that the money would
not be needed for the next six months and
should not he surprised if that Bank Pre- sident
coutd loan the money out a ten per cent?
| THE SECOR swINpIE.
will give you one case &C Il violation of the
| law. II is not that nnety-,ve millions of dot
| lars is wasted; ii Is the ia # that "A man can be
| permitted to do such things; and if he will 10
| this one thing he will lo II great many others
The complaint that President Grant. with the
| KNOWLEDGE before him. did NOT correct it.
| In 1862, the then Secretary of the Navy, en-
| tered into contract with some gentlemen hy
the name of Secor, to build some war vessels
| for the Government OF the United States. They
! were to be built for 81 .;'s3 600. Aer the
! tract was made the Naval Department wanted
| to change the character of the vessels some
what They sent Il board of officers to make
these changes aud to inform the contractors
that the Government would pay for the eNtr;,
work occiSioned bv the changes. This board
of officers estimated the value of the extra
| work for which. besides the contract price.
| S1 3S;3 900 which the contractor was to be paid
| for the building of the boats, at half million
| of dollars more, making more than nineteen
| hundred thousand dollars for the vessels and
| the extra work. This was paid and the
| tract closed up in the Navy Department before
| the year 1861.
| In 1867, these contractors. having received all
T. the money that the Naval Department allowed
| them. and the account being closed and settled
| in such Il way AS, under the rules of the De-
| partment. never to be opened again, filed
petition before the Congress of the United States,
| asking Congress to investigate this claim, and
| allow them some moIe money. Congress listen
| ed to that petition. and in 1867 we passed law
| authorizing the Secretary of the Navy TO APP
| point board of naval officers to look over the
! contract and ascertain if these parties were en-
| titled to any more than the nineteen hundred
| Thousand dollars they had already received.
| Congress directed the Secretary to report the
result of that investigation at the next session.
| When Congress assembled in 1868. this board