Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-03-27
SPECIE PAYMENTS.

j SPECIE PAYMENTS
i The discussions in Congress np01
the various financial propositions lea
to the conclusion that specie paymen
Legislation for the present, is abandon
ed. The speech Of Senator Boutwell,
late Secretary Of the Treasury, u,ol
the subject, is worthy Of attention
He said:
"The Senator from Vermont iMr
MorrilD and the Senator from New
Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) have eacl
introduced q bill, the substantive part
of which, as far as l desire to dea
with the bills, are the same. Thu
Government is to borrow gold in tn
markets of the world with which t.
redeem the outstanding legal-tendel
notes. There are two facts within Oul
own observations that bear upon THU
proposition, one of them known t.
everybody, and the other known tt
me as an officer Of the Government
When the negotiations were going OF
in London for the sale Of the largest
amount of United States bonds that
have ever been sold there at one time
it was foreseen by the Bank of Eng
land that quantity of coin would &C
clmulate as the proceeds of these
bonds to the credit of the Government
of the United States. As'a matter VI
fact there was an accumulation Of
about s21 ,OOO, 900. The Bank of Eng
land, foreseeing that there would be
an accumulation of coin to the credit
Of tho United States which might be
taken away bodily in specie, gave
notice to the officers of the Treasury
Department of the United States that
the power of that institution would be
arrayed against the whole proceeding
unless We gave q pledge that the coin
should not be removed, and that We
would reinvest it in the bonds
of the United States as they
were offered in the markets of London.
We were compelled to do it. 1t was
in the interest Of the Government that
we should do it, because we did not
want the coin and We did want
the bonds. But it shows the feeling
that animates that central financial
power of Great Britain, and it shows
a policy OH the part of that institution
and of every kindred institutiODOn the
Continent Of Europe, sustained by all
the banking and commercial classes,
by which, if it were necessary, and
this proposition should become a law,
the bonds of the United States would
be excluded from the stock markets
Of every financial city. There are in
the nine great banks of Europe only
5000, OOO, 900 in specie. That specie is
held as q reserve with reference to
their local business and with reference
the great transactions that take place
between the countries of the Continent
of Europe and Great Britain. Imay
say, without disparaging the authors
of these propositions, that it is useless
for Congress to waste time upon legis-
lation looking in that direction.
There is another fact known to all.
We received at Geneva an award
againct a.~sA D..;+nin Of A15. OOO on
When this claim was maturing tile
banking and commercial classes Of
Great Britain induced the Govern
ment to interpose, and by diplomatic
arrangements through the State De-
partlnent here, operating upon the
Treasury Department, secured the
transfer Of securities and thus avoided
the transfer of coin. In the presence
Of these facts, is it to he assumed for
q moment that we can 60 into the
markets of the world and purchase
coin with which we can redeem one.
two, three, or four hundred million
outstanding legal-tcnder notes p