Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-08-05
RESUMPTION IN THE PAST AND
FUTURE.
New York Worla JOE 2ath.

1OS0s dS VIC 04tS ~ 9 RA0tAAA1Nf0 ~ 1-AA 4
to Specie Payments, was eontrived al
four years truce between the Sof
Money and Hard Money wings of tht
Republican party. Financial consid
erations had nothing to do with tht
selection Of this date. for Of fnancia
considerations the bill is confessed,
empty. The date was fixed as meas
ure of party strategy with the view o.
tiding over the pending Presidential
election. It was made near enough t
allure honest but ignorantresumpti0n-
lists with the decisions Of hope. i
was made remote enoughto hatter in
flationists with the beliefthat the day
of their triumph would come wheI
the farce had been played out; while
enough of obscurity was left over the
meaning and probable fleet of the
whole bill to furnish darEened cham
Der in which the party managers might
perform their tricks of 6nncial leger-
demain.
It was necessary, however, to invent
some excuse for fixing q certain day
on which it is declared that Specie
Payments shall be resumed, and Mr..
Sherman, who was put toward in the
Senate as the spokesman # the caucus
iuggle, pretended to find a reason for
fixing such date in the history ofre-
sumption in. England
It would, of course, beEoo much to
suppose that Republican politician,
in seeking to palm off al imposition
on the credulity of the pople, should
be at all careful in the citations of
history with which to blister up the
fraud. Remembering, hwever, as we
did, that the prime moer of specie
resumption in England-We refer to
| Francis Horner-had lei on record
his opinion that the fixing of day in
the matter of specie resumption was
inexpedient, and KNOWN as we did
! that Specie Payments in hgland were
not resumed in the wa or on the
dGg specified By the act ofE fE'artlGDeeAt,
we were induced to reviel the history
of this long financial dipussion as it
| is still preserved in the lgislative an
nails and documentary hiDry of Great
Britain. We proceed to Sve our read
ers, as briefly as possible, he benefit of
this investigation.
The restriction of Spec Payments
in England was determini by an order
of Council issued on thel6th of Feb
ruary, 1887, under the administration
of Mr.. Pitt. The proIiety of the
| step came up for constellation in the
| House of Lords on the h of March
following, and in the Hdse of Com
mons three days later. OK and Sher-
idan, and many others assailed the
paper-money policy to wich the Gov
| ernment had been comitted by that
act, in terms precisely slilar to those
| with which Demoeratsin 1862 con-
demned the paper-moIy policy to
which our Government as then com
mitted in the conduct dthe war. 1t
| was natural that the oplnents of that
rolicy in England shon seek to set
| the shortest possible timto the Bank
Restriction act" WhicI Pitt came to
solicit at the hands of Paiament. But
in setting that shortestpossible time
Mr.. Fox and those whocted with him
were sensible enough o understand
that the duration of le restriction
was depependent on fhncial consid-
erations, and could nobe ended by
parliamentary word ofpromise. To
this effect he spoke asollows on the
31st of March, 1881:
"His object was that cret should be re-
stored. That did not deIad upon prom, ON,
iSes and engagements, bulpon falthfuI
performance OF them.
Mr.. Pitt, toe~ss|hPSi'e laturally anxi-
GUS tcsecusalsh me al.o; Az ;tnceoi a period
long enough 70 RsTml esmaking of
enough to "a eifssoa 5deso3la was also
Should not deceiv the pubic Dy noIa-
too early day. 70 this effect he spoke
as follows on the7th of March:
"As to making thtus,ension as short as
pponid not be two opnits. But the oniv
| Hoint in dispute was, ,elre they could at
tain that object, whatsytem of measures
they should adolt1n olGr to accelerate it.
They should rot begii by deceiving the
public, by holding out 10 short a period,
which must crate greadisappointment.
The Attorney Gemal at that time
(Sir John SPIT, afteards Lord Ell
DOM warned be government against
its resolutiono eonfhe the period of
the suspensidwith determined linn
it, "as by lifting he time now," he
remarked, e Fouse might place
themselves inVey distressing stu
alton" Mr.. 1T, however, deter
mined to preste the 24th of June
following as limit within which it
seemed advis" to restrain the sus-
pension. Ancwas by this impru-
dent decision, zen without a suffic-
lent forecast of System of meas
ures" which limited to be an in
dispensable primary to resumption,
that he fell i the very blunder
against which professed a wish to
guard, and thutiated the long Pc
riod of suspeniin England "by de-
ceiving the pu Eby holding out too
short a periotThus, too, he not
only "createdt disappointment"
but balked his financial purposes
m while contour the hopes and
y blighting the prity of the English |
people.
What had predicted by Fox |
and Pulteneyess more vigorous
measures shou taken by the Gov
ernment to re the public credit,
or oc came to pass. n the 9th of June
arrived. Mr.. Rpeared before the
House with Eating plea for the
extension of tfod of suspension
q. to another fxee-"one month af-
ter the comment of the next
session of Pant that is, the
wo res 2d of December. Before that
nts period expiredit, on the 18th of
m November in tame year, grown
W bolder now as more desperate,
he is found plasking for con-
tinuance of thiction as long as
H the present coith France should
gan continue" andhe asked he was
5ttf 5ltf able to obtain hands of the ia
= cile majority vac welded at his
will and fooled top of his bent.
The treaty lens came on the
25th of Narcotic put nominal
end to this pent the end was as
II purely nominals purely worth
less as the Lion date set by
"Sherman's sbr resumption in
our country o1st of January,
1879. In 1803riod of suspen-
~ sion was extemtil six weeks af-
ter the commet of the next ses-
sion of Parliaiand before that
time came artar in the mean
time having ouD the period
was extended4r all again, I'm
til sig mouths 7 conclusion at a
~ definite treaty E..
- Between 1880 the growing
VI deureciation ank of England
notes. rangi1 R to 16 per
cent. began public alarm.
Francis Horningly moved in
the House of hs for commit
:, tee of inquirynbject. The re-
y suit of the ing still be read in
. q a / 1