The New York herald., 1873-12-29
THE DUTY OF CONGRESS.
What Was Said and Done by One
of Its Predecessors.
INTERESTING "REMINISCENCES
Is the Issue Of $44,O00,0O0 in Ac-
cordance with the Spirit and
Letter Of the Law?
EVENTS OF THE WEEK.
WALL STREET,

WALL STREET.
SUNDAY. Dec. 28, 1873
Secretary Richardson iav6fs the abolition OF the
Sinking Fund for one year, or until the revenues
The foregoing is published as one Of the secre-
tary's proposed ways OF meeting present and
anticipated deficiency in the Treasury.
For the credit OF the people, who are repre-
sented by the Finance Department, it is to be
hoped that the statement was made without his
authority. The time has been when no paper
would have given publicity to such report with
put first being certain that 1t was true; but, un-
fortunately, the past acts or the Secretary have
prepared the public TO believe him capablesOf pro-
posing even open violation OF the pledged faith
Df the government as is involved In this his pro-
posed action. BY act OF Congress, dated February
e5 1852, the public faith is pledged in these
wor0s :-''That all coin collected from customs
shall be set aside as special fund and applied
tolows:-First, to the payment in coin Of the In
terest on the bonds and notes of the United States
second, to the purchase or payment Of one per
rent OF the entire debt Of the United States to
be made within each fiscal year after July /, 1862
which Is to be set apart sinking fund, ana the
interest OF which shall in like manner be applied
TO the purchase or payment Of the public debt as
the Secretary OF the Treasury shall from time to
time direct Third, the residue thereof to be paid
INTO the Treasury OF the United States"
THE GREATEST DIFFICULTY
encountered in discussing the financial policy OF
the government Is to convince the people that we
are not waging partisan war upon the admin
lstration, and to obtain from "good republfcans''
IN admission that there may possibly have slipped
INTO the sacred circle one or two men who al
though honest, are not blessed with the brains OF
Webster or Lowe.
With these preliminary words, and the further
statement that 1t will not be necessary to go be-
Fond the frst administration Of Abraham Lincoln
10 establish our premises, we proceed to cite the
Iacts that give force to the argument. The act OF
Congress above quoted was the first financial law
Df importance passed by the Lincoln admnistra
tion, and 1t marked new departure In the finan-
eial policy OF the government. 1t was this act
which first authorized the issue OF United States
notes and made them legal tender. The pledge
1t contained was renewed and repeated in other
and later acts, so that every loan made by the
United States was based this pledge OF its faith
It became part Of the contract with the then cred
ttors OF the government, who believed they were
to be paid in gold but were forced to receive mere
promises to pay" Clearly Congress has the same
right to
REPUDIATE THE WHOLE CONTRACT,
e. the whole debt, that 1t may exercise in re.
pudiatlng the smallest portion OF it, The only
word, therefore, In our language which expresses
the proposed action OF the Secretary Is, repudia-
tion." 1t is the want Of perception OF what is
meant by pledge once made by the government;
seeming ignorance OF the fact that it is, and
should be, more sacred than all other acts of the
government; that it not only Affects the credit and
creditors Of the governments, but that the whole
commerce OF the country depends upon it; that
merchants regard and hold such pledge as one OF
the fixed laws and to that extent base their busi.
ness plans thereon-we say it is the want OF this
appreciation OF the value Of such public pledges
that has brought the Treasury or the United States
to It's present lamentable condition. Suppose that
the law OF karch 1s,1se9Awhich declared that none
Of the interest-bearing obligations Of the United
states except such as were provided to be bought
tor the Sinking Fund) should be bought, except
when the notes of the United States were
par In g0ld"-had not been violated does any
one believe we would have witnessed the
depletion OF the Treasury by some thirteen millions
OF bonds, at time when q schoolboy could have
informed the Secretary that, from the very first
moment Of the crisis, which he Vas illegally and
vainly attempting to stop, his receipts would d.
minish to such an extent that he would require
every dollar OF his balance to meet the ordinary
paymentss Yet, when the fact was afterwards
demonstrated by
AN EMPTY CASH BOX,
were any steps taken, sucn az prudent merchant
or q manufacturer would have taken, to imme-
diately retrench, by cutting the expenses down to
the lowest possible limit9 No; such o thought
does not appear to have entered into the financial
brain OF the Secretary. On the contrary he imme-
6iatcly assumed the powers Of the Senate and
the House OF Representatives combined, and
enacted law unto himself In less time than the
famous Committee Of Ways and Means can
usually frame one, under which he Is issu-
ing at discretion s44,000,o00 OF legal ten
fiers If the words 'Tetiring and cancelling" have
any meaning or place in the English language
there never was clearer violation OF statute by
q government oniciai. In fact, the resources OF
the government were so badly managed that the
secretary did by the public creditor just what
many merchants WOO were caught unprepared by
the storm were obliged to do by their creditors
asked an extension. This Is what every dollar OF
the issue OF the reserve, means-no more no
iess-extended promises to pay. And, unfortu-
nately, being In every respect like the legal ISSUE
they taint the whole volume and reduce the pur-
chasing power Of that which Is good ana lawful
Where, may we be permitted to ask OF
THE SECRETARY AND HIS SUPPORTERS,
does he And the word s'rescrve'' In any law or
Congress as applied to the 50, ,OOO O0o or to any
portion OF the amount OF legal tenders ''retired
ana cancelledn by act OF Congressf IL certainly
Is not In the act wherein the authority to .Iur.
ther retire and cancel" legal tenders IL with
drawn. We fancy he would nnd It as difficult
to satisfy his own mind that he had any law 30 JUS
tify his act. as did his predecessor in convincing
the Senate last winter, when they adopted tine re-
port OF their committee that the issue of October,
1879 then already called I'M, was illegal, and that
no further legislation necessary to prevent It's
repetition. This was about as strong an inter-
cretation Of the Law by one house % could well DO