Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-30

law upon The SUBJECT ne lOurtetlsIn
amendment to the United States Constitu-
tion provided that the colOred people had
the right TO become citizens of the United
States and of the various States.
Ours is the first Government that has
been called upon to incorporate the ''rights'
of the eolored people, as a political power,
into the Constitution. England and France
emancipafed their slaves, but never expect
ed TO have them coming around demand
ing political prefement. England gave
her eolored citizens in the West Indies
what is called the Rural CODE" which
authorized officers to take up idlers and
sell their labor, giving them re benefit of
it however. But when il comes to the
United States, what has been done for the
race here? We find all our laws have been
altered ID accommodate themselves to their
| altered condition. We find that all the
avenues of preferment have been opened 10
them, and even the Presidency Of the
United States, to their pOsterity. They
have freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of the courts, freedom of
the polls, freedom of property, rights of in
termarriage with their own cslOr, the right
TO transmit their property to their own
people, and still they clamor.
A cOlored man--"We don't want any,
thing more, Judge" [Laughter.l
Mr.. Bright-Some of them do. l wish
they were all as sensible as you are. They
clamor for what? They know not what.
The Government can never make a white
man out Of black man, never neyeTl If
you wish TO find the caucasian, you will
find him in the place where his Maker
planned him. His has been the domi-
nant race of the earth. He has
crossed the waters, subdued the wild
ernesS, driven the Red man before him, and
when you colored men attempt to stop his
progress, you will be crushed as is the
dwarf beneath the foot of an elephant. Zap
plause.l
The Southerner is the cOlored mans true
friend. If the eolored men of South Caro-
lima and Louisiana could be transferred to
Massachusetts, as rivals for her Buffers and
her Dawes, Massachusetts would be taken
with the black vomit, and there would not
he one ofthem in the State at the end of
fortnight. [Laughter.l
NATIONAL FINANCES.
will call your attention 10 a few figures
in relation to our revenues. Our receipts
last year were $3.50, I3s, 2O4.67; our ex-
penditureS were S}2g, I3, 5S0.91. That
you may understand something Of the eX7.
penditUres of your Government, We will
compare them with those of former admin
istraiiOnS.
The last year of Buchanan's administra-
tiOn-lS60-the net ordinary expenses,
saying nothing Of paying Interest on the
public debt, were S60,560, 154, or Sl.9O per
head of the inhabitants of the country.
In 1873, the last year of Grants admin
iStratiOn, the ordinary expenses we're $780,
IS, $50, making $3.50 per head.
The interest OH the public debt from
1862 To 1915, inclusive, amounted to ST.
l69, SSS, 647, all of which was paid in gold.
The imports Of 1873 amounted to $751;
633, 1S6.07, ON which the duties were
SlS4,556045 o..
THE CURRENCY QUESTION
has two aspects-the political and the fiuan-
cial. So far as the political aspect IS
concerned, the government, true To the III
stinctS which have characterized it all
along, attempted to get control Of the
currency of the country. In order 10 do
this, Congress passed law, taxing every
paper dollar issued by the banks, and every
bank fell before if. Then the Government
was the undisputed master of the cur
rency.
Did it ever strike you that your govern
ment, by It's taxation Of the currency Of
the United States, had the power to wind
up every State government in the Union?
If the government were to contract the cur
rcncy of the country 500, 100000 there is
not State government that could stand
the strain for five years.
As to the financial phase or aspect Of
the question, it is this: Congress passed a
law chartering the nation j banks, aud an
thOriZing an issuance Of S}44,000,0 900, pre-
scribing at the same time that this sum
should be distributed amoug the States ac-
cOrdIng to pOpu alton and wealth. / dem
onstrated To Congress that this currency
was unjustly distributed. The six Eastern
States have an excess Of ST0,690,Oj0,
the five Middle States an excess of S9,4lG,-
600; the eleven Southern States a delcien-
CIV of Sjl,2Tl000; the nine Western States a
deficiency of S2I, 100000, and the Pacific
States aud Territories of S7,0O0,OOJ, show
inc thai the Eastern and Middle States had
SSI. 900 more than she was entitled TO I'M
der the law. The result was, that portion
of Il e country was able to pay high prices
for the manufacture Of goods which were
shipped to the nOn-mauufacturing sections,
anu AAlN nl-A NDcL VI lAOAhNAAth tAANNa ~
the plice.
NOT ENOUGH MONEY.
On the 3lst of August, 1865, there was
upwards of SlS,0O0,0O0 of floating debt,
made up of legal tender notes and other
evidences Of Indebtedness, S130,O00000 Of
National bank currency, and S240,OOr,OOO
Of State bank currency, making altogether
s., 49,, 800, G2T of currency at that time in
81 -
ment contracted the volume Of
currency until there was but
S63l 100000, and as there is about $780,
100000 kept in reserve in the United
States treasury, the volume of currency in
circulation on the last of December, 1873,
did not exceed S53I, 00O, 900, and this is eX-
pected to answer the demands of business
which requires a circulation Of not less
than SD, 0J0,000,000.
The President of the United States pro-
posed remedy for the evils Ofan insufficient
amount of currency, but his proposition
was wholly impracticable, as | shall show
in another connection.
Permit me to answer fallacy which is
sometimes trumpeted forth. BY the pro
visions Of the law authorizing their is
suance legal-tenders are receivable for all
dues except the paying of import duties
and the interest on the public debt. These
must be paid in gold, and | undertake TO
say that If, under these circumstances, you
contract the national currency down to
single dollar, and reduce the gold circula-
ton down TO a single dollar, the gold dol
lar would command a premium, for the
reason that it would be receivable for all
purposes, while the paper dollar would not.
l feel confident in asserting that if all the
money in the United States were converted
into gold, il wOnld not be sufficient TO float
our vast aud varied industries, to pay our
enormous debts and taxes, and to meet the
ever increasing demands of trade and com
meIce.
In this connection, perhaps IL would be
well TO bring home To the American people
a sober, practical questionable power of
the Government over its own currency d.
rectly through its laws, or indirectly
through its banking operations. The Gov
eminent may control the quantity, regulate
the values, and prescribe the useIof its cur
rency.
England, after her last French and
American wars, was sinking under the bur
den of her debts, and had been so depleted
of her gold by foreignaNportatiOn that it |
required the OmnipOtence of Parliament TO |
lift her out of the bog. Parliament pro
81 lao ,,,olfipu anI axpo,totf,,, -.