New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-03-27

THE SENATE DECLARES FOR INITIATION.
THREE VOTES ON WHICH THE INFLAI1oNIsTs ARE
vICToMoUs-Sf0O 600 TO BIZ THE AMOUNT OF
GR8ENBACK CIRCULATION HENCEFoRTH.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE
WAsHINGToN March 26.-Encouraged by the &C
ton Of the House on Monday and conscious of their
strength in the Senate, the iDlationsts met their
opponents in three square votes to-day and defeated
them every time. -Four hundred million dollars Will
henceforth be the volume Of United States legal
tender currency, unless indeed. the expaDsionists
become intoxicated with their OF to-day aud
push out upon tho broad and boundess sea of paper
money, abandoning all bounds and disregardng all
pledges The debate to-day. up to O'clock was
very much what it had been for the last four months
Unanimous consent had been obtained early in the
afternoon, to begin voting at o'clock or at least TO
debate only amendments alter that hour, and limit
speeches 10 five minutes each.
When that hour arrived, Mr.. Bogy having with
drawn his amendment temporarily, that pending
was the one movedby Mr.. Schurz, to fix the amount
of legal tenders 95o 900 instead of 100000
The vote was reached on this a little before
) o'clock, and resulted in its disastrous de-
feat, only IS Senators voting Yea and 40 voting
Nay. An analysis OF this vote will show that sew
eral Senators who profess to favor early return
to specie payments have not the backbone to put the
currency back where it was before Secretary Rich
ardson Illegally drew upon the so-called reserve.
Among these are Messrs. Boutwell, Buckingham,
Cooper, Davis, Howe, Scott, Sherman, Stevenson,
and Thurman The names Of all these Senator's,
except that of Mr.. Boutwell,, who went away after
the first vote were afterward recorded against any
further expansion.
Having decided that they would not put the cur
rency where it was the lst of last September the
next question was on increasing the present amount
To accomplish this Mr. Wright offered as a substl-
tute for the first section of the bill one liking the
amount of United States notes for circulation at
S4OOOOOOO0 Messrs. COnkng, sherman, and others
sounded the alarm that this amendment would not
limit the amount of gTeenbacks to that volume;
the words for circulation" might be construed
to revive the Sj00OOOO0 reserve and they appealed
to Mr.. Wright and the infltionists to change the
language Of the amendment, if they really intended
to make 800 10000 the maximum amount. At this
point Mr. Morrill, Of Vermont offered an amend
ment the vote of which was very important. He
moved to add at the end of Mr.. Wrghts substitute
the words g at which amount it shall remain until
reduced as hereinafter provided The effect Of this
is obvious but it did not suit the inationists In
the first place it would be pronouncing against
further imitation, aud besides, they thought that if
they voted for that it would partly commit them TO
the provisions of the bill reducing the amount OF
greenbacks as National bank notes are issued. The
vote by which this was defeated 81 to %, seems to
indicate that tomorrow tho majority intend to
remove restrictions from banking and give the
country with the 100000 of greenhacks, free
banks without any provision for retiring green
backs. Mr.. Wright at last consented to strike out
the words for circulation" and to insert the word
"maximum,' and then his amendment passed by
the same vote precisely as that defeating Mr.
Mouilps.
The fight of the honest currency minority in the
Senate will now be of sef-defenss and an almost
hopeless struggle to stay the tide of imitation that
has now set in, and of which can predict the
end. One thing however, has been ganed-the
country will henccforth know that Initiation is the
policy of both Houses of Congress and may arrange
its business accordingly.