Montgomery County sentinel., 1877-12-07
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

dents message taken from the Baltimore Sun
The frs, animal MASSAGE of President Ua GO
is caIcnla,ed n nroducc q favorable impres
sion bo,h a, homo and abroad os well from
i,s general ion. aud snirt as from The sound
ness and GOOD sense of its principal recon-
mendntions +, is entirely free from The ion
of sectionul;sm and noriisansbin which ba
characterized some recent messages TO Con
eress II is equally free from ANYTHING lik
epo,ism and even whore the President allnde
10 The adverse =, i,icjep which has been passe,
npon his Soptborn nolicr II is without a trac
of ouernlonsnese or nersonal feeling This
loo is in morlfod canirast with the ione ane
tem,er of his Immediate predecessor Wber
the message toncbes upon matters which ar,
already the subject of consideration by Con
gress. such as The currency and silver bill. il i
with frnnkness and explicitness, bnt wiihou
the slightest manifestation of any disposition
TO dictate TO Congress- what policy il shal
pursue. At the same time neither Congress
nor the country are left in doubt as to tb,
Presidents views upon any branch of the cur
rency question or as 10 what his action will
be when called npon 10 participate with Con.
gress in the exercise of the legislative function
1t is tolerably certain that no bill repudiatina
the solemn pledge of resumption heretofore
given, or for debasing the national currency
by the introduction of the sill yer dollar at a
nominal value in excess of its commercial
value, with which to pay present national OBJ
legations, will ever receive lhe approval oi
President Hayes. The country will breathe
more freely for this, certainly, and American
credit and American honor will stand higher
abroad for the plain and emphatic language
of the message
The message begins naturally enough with
a reference TO the policy adopted by the Presi-
/ dent in reference TO affairs in the Southern
States and particularly to the excellent effects
which have followed from the policy of nom
interference and from the withdrawal of the
troops In these practical fruits os his policy
the President finds his complete vindcaton.
The discontinuance Of the use of the amy he
says for the purpose Of upholdug local gov
ernmeut in two States in the Union was no less
constitutional duty under the circumstances
than ii was necessary for the restoration of
local sei-government and the promotion OF
national harmony. The result has been that
the fatal collisions between the races, which
for several years had been of frequent occnr-
renee have almost entirely ceased political
turmoil and turbulence have disappeared, use
full industries have been resumed, public credit
in the South has been rengthened and the
benefits of a revival Of commerce between the
sections are more fully enioyed
Passing next to financial topics, the Presi-
dent, as already stated, declares himself en-
phalicallv in favor of restoring the currency
to its healthful and FORMAL condition by the
resumption of specie nayments. stAnv waver-
ing in purpose or uusteadiness in methods, "
he declares $50 far from avoiding or reducing
the inconvenience insepcrable from the trans
iiiou from an irredeemable to redeemahle pa pei
currency, would ONLY tend to increased aud
prolonged disturbances in values aud unless
retrieved must end in serious disorder, ,dishonor
and disaster in the financial affairs of the gov.
ernment and the people.n Escecially, The
President shows. will these mischiefs be felt by
the industrial classes 'tThe rich, the specu-
lative, the ney-dcaling class may not always
feel the mischief of or NAV find casual profit
10 a variable currency, but the misfortunes oil
such currency TO those who are maid wages
or salaries are inevitable and remediless. ."
Closely allied 10 This question of specie re-
sumption is that of the readins,ment of oui
c,inare system by the reconciliation of the
silver dollar, clothed by legislation with tn,
quality of a legal tender to greater or les
extent. This The President reasons woulS
properly be a matter for legislative discretion
and expediency solely. if il were no, compli
Gated by considerations growing out of the ex
isence of the public debt and the obligation
Of national honor. "Tbe obligation of tn
I public faith. saws the President. "transcend
: all questions of profit and public a9vantag
otherwise The bonds of the United State
are held both abroad and AT home All th
{ bonds issued since February l2. ,13 when po
E became the only unlimited metallic legal-leu
, der, are Justly payable in gold or its equiva
lent 10 value. Since that date the only dolla
in coin that could be or was received by th
' government in exchange for bonds was tn
r gold dollar, To REQUIRE the holders of thes
r bonds to accept in payment any dollar of les
commercial value would be Justly regarded b
: them as repudiation of part of the debt. -
u The bonds issued before '73 were issued at
A time when the gold dollar was the only col
q 10 circulation or contemplated either by th
' government or the holders of The bonds as tb
Il coin in which they were to be paid. Th
/ President further refers TO the advantage de
rived by the country from a strict maint,
nance Of the public faith in ennabling il +
s fund the public debt at lower rate Of inter
5 est He therefore recommends that in any lep
/. isaiion providing for silver coinage and i'm
' parting to il the quality of legal-tender an ex
{ ception be made in favor of the public det
s heretofore issued and now outstanding, an
i which shall not be paid, principal or interest
/, in any coin of less commercial value than tn
u present gold coin of the country.
J Apart from these considerations of publ
II faith as efIectinp the public creditor, the Pre-.
i, ideut expresses his utter iistrust and dsbeli,
in any commercial ease or relief to be obtaine
, from the issue of silver coinage as unlmite
S lega-lender. Unless the two conditions Al
$ realized-Rrst, of near approach to equali,
of commercial value between the gold aud 81
yer coinage of the same denominntious; an
/ second. of Limitation of the amounts fo
: which silveris legal-tender. the Presider
does not believe that both can long be kept il
: circulation, but tha, the cheaper currency wi
n inevitably drive on, of circulation the dearel
/, Without these conditions she fears that onl