National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-03-24
FUNDING THEPUBLIC DEBT.


LEGAL TENDERS.
FULL TEXT OF REPRESENTATIVE NEG
,LEY,s INTERPRETATIONS OF ITS PRO
',VIsIoNs-A COMPREHENSIVE AND fEh-
NANENr FINANCIAL POLICY Provided
-EXHAUsTIvEREylEw QUE AfAoNAA
7 IINANcEs.
Ths sa,,ovirr n the text Of tho bill introduced
March n, by Mr.. Negley, for funding the public
debt. for the conversion and redemption Of Regal
,HsndSr notes, and for ether purposes:
That II ahau b the duty. Of the Secretary Of
=: e sse CT Sons: q sss ussd ssstss
snow Outstanding q he shs oss ~ nrocs II
Sffsine from the sale or exchange OF bonds Of the
sSomnstions new IN nse, and bsarinE interest ct
ssS,u an.G per- snnan payable On he
nr.t day Of July and January in each year; one
d tsy ny. years rom The date q issue thereof
hereby aatsoriss s s and dirsc.sd to receive n:
bonds authorized to Be issued BY the provision o.
the foregoing section as lawful depos,t 2. ~
Scurity for the redemption Of all notes now lssuoa
pr that shall hereafter be issued to exstiag IA
<fiolsl banks, IA lieu Of bonds now depositeo We
Of notes issued to s said banks. and ALSO fOt Al
notes issued BY national banks nerSs ,assans mi
suss e tSia scs .pse il do
Sac q That Whenever any national bank Or
banks shall deposit with The Secretary o. sas
Nv The rst and fourth sections Of this act to the
0mount of enc fourth (twenty-fve Per centoml
Issue n shall be the duty Of the Secretary Of the
Treasury to issue to such bank or banks notes ior
circulation of the usual denominstioas nov N
6lste to the amount of the said twenty-five per
centum additional currency, excepting ena re-
Sxe neg eentu%. to Be held and retained By the
Secretary a. additional security 70 tho oni'eu
Sec 1. That the amount of United States notes
4 in circulation be limited, except as 70 herein
after provided, to four hundred million
SUessn.hs sn any .nm not less than y dollars
some multiple thereof, TO the Treasury OF the
United States or any Of the assistant sreasurss
of bonds Of the United States, coupon OF Iegis-
tered as may by said holder be desired. bearing
predths per eentnm per annum, payable semi I:
annually, which the Secretary Of the Treasury u
Hereby authorized to prepare and furnish ior tnas
purpose; said bonds to mature rs followe One
halt part in thirty years and one half part IN
my years from the date Of the issue thereof |;
shall be construed to prevent the reissue of the
notes redeemed, or the receiving and paying OUT
same from time 70 time by the "ther epo
visions Of Law in relation to such notes.
Sec s. That the existing law requiring tne ma
notes. notes. 50 called, to tks amount Of twenty o.
nfseen per eentum respectively Of tneis own . u,
eulatins notes constantly on hand in said bank or
Sec 8. That it shall BE- the duty Of the
President at such time after the LIST DAY OF
direct that the Government notes known .s
legal-teuder notes shall be redeemea IN e sh
81 shs 81 th psfA Of the
States in the city. of New York; and tnat the
Same may, under the direction of the Secretary Of
;pfioes Of such assistant tressurers as the Secre-
fary may deem ADVISABLE and most TOT the CON
.feaence Of the public; Prorsdsd, Lnae nosr,n pt
.the reissue Of the notes 50 redeemed, OF the re,
seeiving and paying out Of the same from time 70
fnd subject to ali existing provisions Of law in re-
cation to such notee.
Sec :. That i shall be aHmi iof 1, ns' h.nH
which shall have authority to act as general
clearing house and redeeming agent TOT S other
fine act in the city Of New York, to amount not
.eIoeeding three per centum OF the capital stock
ss sa5a p.aas s.n., shall. b. exempt
from taxation on the average amount they have have
on deposit with their redeemtng banks sueh
redeeming banks being required to pay taxes
Sec. .. That no coin shall bs sold BY the Secre-
Of the or PAID out lot any on 0'r se
ducs the coin on hand below the sum Of eleo, ooo-
President for the redemption Of the legal-tender
notes: Prorided, however, That this provision
the sse
Ing the Government debt for the redemption OF An
equal amount Of bonds Of previous issue.
(. The object sought to be accomplished BY the
enactment Of the several provisions Of the above
bill may be generally stated to be the adoption Of
. defined, comprehensive and permanent policy on
the part Of the Government, to which Individual
and corporate interests Of the country can adj
-vantageously conform without fear OF periodical
revulsion, thus securing the condolences Of all
Glasses Of our people, and at the same time unable
the Government to make good Its promises to all
classes Of creditors. Any limited and temporary
measure can hardly fail Of being inadequate In
the end, and unsatisfactory even to Its authors.
The first section Of the bill provides for the
funding of the whole public debt mot otherwise
provided for) BY the virtue Of . 3.o5 per eentum
gold bond under the direction Ct the Secretary OF
Treasury. The rate Of interest named ID as low as
practicable, and at the same insures Q marketable
par value for the bonds SO proposed to be Issued
The advantages Of uniformity Of design In all
matters relating to the finances Of . country are
proverbial, and cannot be easily over-cstimated,
Ehile doubt, confusion and subtlety are every
where the prolific parents Of distrust. Our situa-
tion invites, and interests prompt US to aim at
the ascendent in the monetary affairs Of the world
at no distant day. To attain this the financial
OOucy Oh Inc IONeruueut buOulu w uco lIom ail
ambiguity. The practice which has hitherto OBJ
tanned of Issuing bonds varying in rate Of in
tsrest, time of maturity in some instances made
optional with the Government to pay At . speci-
ned time or not tends weaken the public credit.
= It 10 difficult to conceive what advantage can be
gained by its continuance. Ifrendered necessary
heretofore by everything contingencies, It is sub
ynitted the time has arrived when uniformity Of
design and operation Will be conducive In .
greater degree to the strengthening Of the public
kfedit in q variety Of ways. So great is the d.
versity at the present time that even experts arc
often in doubt TO the relative values Of our
national obligations in the market. While there
will be little or no difference OF opinion on the
pfoposItion, It is DO. SO easy to FIX rate Of in
tefest which will be more satisfactory to ALL
Still, when we take into the account the rapid
progression of values and population in the Uni
ted States compared with the different States
or countries Of Europe, the lowest rate required
of solvent nations may be safely assumed.
Therefore this section fixes the rate at 3.e5 per
cent per annum Government skies now command
! premium of about 20 per cent; the relative
value Of q 365 bond would therefore be l2I7 per
: cent. premium.
! There can be no intelligent doubt that three
Per cent. is in fact all things considered, a. high
rate Of interest and the security rs reliable %
the English three per cent consol. When our
people assume this position boldly, as they can
safely, 1t will be to their advantage.
1t is proposed 10 vest the Secretary Of the
Treasury with power to negotiate this form Of .
bond from time TO time as the wants Of the
Treasury shall require under the restrictions
mentioned. 1t may be said by some that there 10
no necessity for doing this at this time; that sue
cessivc Congresses will be able TO provide for the
Treasury. While this will not be disputed, 1t 10
true that very much depends on the Inauguration
eof-a policy which will by the lapse Of time &c
-quire the elements Of stability. A notable ex-
ample Of this is seen in the confidence In, and
preference given to, the English consols, which
would not exist II the sum total were broken into
different series bearing different rates Of interest
and maturing at different times.
This section, taken IN connection with section o,
-would postpone the payment Of any portion Of
the principal Of the public debt for which bonds
have boen issued for the time being, and hence
avoid present taxation Of the peple, when, It is
natent, all branches Of industry nre severely
crippled and languishing. II unnecessary taxa
ton be obvated, all kinds of industry will recu.
perate and in an arthmetical ratio. 1t NAV be
quite safely stated that At the expiration Of the