Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1876-02-24

Mr.. Chairman.-The honor OF the Ma
tional Government and the prosperity of
the American people are alike menaced by
those who demand the perpetuation of an
irredeemablc paper currency. For more
tnan two years the country has been suffer
Ing from proStration in business: conf
dence returns but slowly; trade revyes on
ly partially. aud to-day. with capital un-
productive and labor unemployed. we find
ourselves in the midst of an agitation re-
speeding the medium with which business
transactions shall be carried on. Until
this question il definitely adjusted. it is idle
to expect that full measure of pros perity
To which the energies of our people aud
the resources of the land entitle ~. In the
way of that adjustment one great section
OF the Democratic party. possibly its con-
trolling power, Stubbornly stands to-lav.
The Republicans. always true to the primal
duty OF supporting the nations credit have
row east behind them all minor differences
and dI>>cn>ons on the financial question.
aud have gradually consolidated their
strength against imitation. The currency,
therefore. becomes of necessity promi:
ucut political issue, aud those Democrats
WHO are IN favor OF honest dealing By the
government and honest money for the peo-
Pile. may bc compelled To act as they did in
that still @raycr cXigcncy, when the eN-
i>tcuce oi the government itself was a,
stake.
While thi, question should be approach
ell IN no spirit OF partisan bitterness, il mas
Yet become 80 entan.ied with part4 rela-
tion> that mo- intelligent discussion 81 II
can bc had without giving its political hl>-
tpry-aud il that history bears severely on
the Democratic parry. it, defenders must
answer the laci> and not quarrel with their
presentation. Firmly attached % one po-
i,I,ll party NY self. firmly believing that
parties iu a free government are II health
iul a. th-y are lucYtabr.I >tIli think there
are questions about which parties should
a-rcc never - di,Isrcc-aud Of these. j..
the essential nature and value of the cirru-
latlu2 medium. Aud it j. tact oi c>pcr-
!t. weight and >igni+ctuCc tnat up 10 the
paper money era. which was prccipitatcd
upon H. during the Rebellion, ~ one oi
wars memorable necessities there never
w4> political party In thi, country that
believed Ia any other than the specie stand
ard lor our currency. II there was any
one principle that was ro, ted aud ground
ed in the minds OF our earlier statesmen. il
was the evil OF paper money, and no eau
did man of any party can read the cou>ti-
tuition of the | Eitcd States and not be con-
vincrd that / trainers Intended TO protect
and defend our people from the manifold
pcrils of AN Ir:cdccmahlc currency. Ma
thaulcl Macon. one OF the pur,>i and best
OF American statesmen, himself soldier
OF the Revolution. and 4 member Of Con-
2rc>> continuously during the admlnis,ra-
tons OF our first six Presidents. embracing
in ali a period OF nearly forty years. cx-
pressed The Whole truth when he declared
In the senate that this Wa. hard-mouev
government, founded BY hardmouey men.
who had themselves seen and felt the evil
OF paper money. and meant to save their
po>teriiy from il.
70 this uniform adherence to the specie
Standard. the crisis OF the Rebellion forced
an exception. La January ls52. with more
than half million OF men in arms. with a
daily expenditure OF nearly two millions Of
dollars. the Government suddenly found it.
self without money. Customs yielded but
little, internal taxes had not yet been levied
public credit was feeble il not paralyzed
our armies had met with one signal reverse
and nowhere with marked success. and
mems minds were filed with gloom aud
apprehension. The one supreme need Of
the hour was money. and money the gov
ernment did not have. What. then. should
be doue-rather what could be done:
The ordinary treasury note hadbeen
tired and failed, and those already
issued We're discredted and below the val
ue OF the bills of country banks. The gov
erLment in this great and perilcus need
promptly called to its aid a power never
before exercised. Ii authorized the issue
OF one hundred and fifty millions OF notes.
and declared them TO be legal tender for
all debts. public and private, with two ex-
ceptious.
The ableSt lawyers who sustained thi,
measure did not ind warrant for it in the
text OF the Constitution. but. like the late
Senator Fes,cnden of my own State. placed
il on the ground of "absolute. oyerwhelm-
ing nece>sity;" and that illustrious Sena-
tor declared that "the necessity existing
he had no hesitation" Indeed, sir. to hes
itate was TO be lost, for the danger was
that if Congress prolonged the debate on
points of constitutional construction. it,
deliberations might be interrupted by the
sound of rebel artillery on the opposite
shore of the Potomac. The Republican
senators and representatives.. therefore.
di>missing all doubts and casuiStry, stood
together tor the country, and if taunted as
they we're by the Democracy and disloyal-
ty of that day, with violating the Constitu-
tion, they pointed to tnat law which il old
er than constitutions. Adopting the sem
timent. as they might have quoted the i'm
putcd language of John Milton, they be-
lieved that there IS the law of self-preser-
vatien. written by God himself on our
hearts; there is the primal compact and
bond of society, not craven on stene. nor
sealed with wax. nor put down on parch-
ment, nor set forth in any express form of
words by men when of old they came to-
gother, but implied in the very act that they
so came together. pre-supposed in all sub
sequent law. not TO be repealed by any au-
thority. not inyalidated by being omitted
in any code, inasmuch as from thence are
all codes and all authority
But the promptings of patriotism the
pressure of necessity. the ''despotism of
duty" which thus decided the course of
the Republicans failed to influence the Dem
ocrats in Congress. Marshalled aud led
by Mr.. Pendleton, since become the great
advocate of imitation. the Democratic rep
resentatives voted in solid column against
legal tender bill. Bankruptcy to the treas
ury was impending, eighty millions of un-
paid acquisitions lay on the Secretary
desk, large part of the army had not re-
ceived dollar for six months. supplies
were failing, recruiting halted, the spirits
OF the people dropped, while the executive
department, charged with the conduct ol
the war, urged that critical campaigns
then in progress, would necessarily end in
disaster unless relief could be afforded il
this way. But Democratic consciences
were too tender, and Democratic scruples
too intense at that time to permit such q
fearful infraction of the constitution as the
passage of legal tender bill, even to save
the Union of our Fathers. and thus pre-.
serve the constitution itself.
The necessities of the government wert
SO great and expenditures so enormous
that another hundred and fifty millions OF
legal tender notes were speedily called fo
and granted by Congress-the Democrat
again voting under Mr.. Pendleton's leat
against the measure. With varying for
tunes the last year OF the war was reached
with three hundred millions oflegal tender
in circulation. With the strain of our pub
lie credit and the doubts and vicissitude
OF the struggle, these notes had fallen ia
below par in gold, and it became apparen
| to every clear-headed observer that tn
continued issue of legal tenders with n
provision for their redemption and no limi
to their amount, would utterly destroy tn
credit of the government and involve tn
union cause in irretrievable disaster. Blu
| at that moment the military situation wit