New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-05-31

Congress has taken several steps this week
which are likely L. have an important lnilu-
cnce upon business. The fixing day for adj
ioulnmcnt. the repeal of the bankrupt act,
and the ,t0ppagc Of contraction, change the
situation materially though the precise effect
may be in some respects Il matter of dispute.
II is not vet certain that the senate will con-
cur with the House in the resolution 10 adj
iourn June Il. But the public business i de-
laycd only in the House, and if that body de
cdes that it can complete It's work 10y the
18th. while the Senate has already voted to
adjourn by the 10th, concurrence would he
naturally expected mlcS, some Senator, voted
insnccrcly for an early day. We cannot suppose
that the House consents To abolish itself ont
of sole regard for the public prosperity, but
rs Adjournment will doubtless remove the
chief cause Of depression III business. II will
put an end, for five or six months AT least, Ia
further fear or hope of legislation respecting
the finances. taxation and the public peace
Congress, has behaved 50 rcc!.l",sly and unreal
sonably ~ To make itself thoroughly feared
by all conservative and business Interests; il
is fct that there j. no foolish or mi-chicvous
thing that such body may not do and when
the apprehension Of indefinite evil, give, place
to the certainty of some known and mclslir-
able evils, here viii be- a great sense OF relief
The rccklcS-nc>s Of Congress in dealing with
the gIavc>t business interests has especially
appeared in its action on the repeal OF the
bankrupt act. Without any sufficient cOnsid-
Grafton, the Senate voted for immediate repeal.
but the bill was 80 hastily and blundcringy
drawn that a change of form i'll the House
he u Ia
more consideration, voted for immediate
repeal, correcting the bill a. To FORM \ per-
feet avalanche of bankruptcies was produced
Men in all parts of the country, who saw that
they could not stand under State laws, or who
wanted to wipe ont old scores before
the opportunity Of thus deliaudlng cred
itoIs should cease, rushed into the
bankrupt courts. Many more, by threatening
voluntary bankruptcy forced creditors to con
sent to unjust compromises. After all the
wrctchcd delay caused by Congressional blum
dcrlng, the Senate still held the bill in sus-
pcnsc for weeks, as if in order to prolOng the
agony and disaster, and then voted that the
repeal should not take effect until September
|. This decision, also, has been confirmed
without division by the House. which had
decided very recently to make the repeal take
effect at once. If either decision was right
the other was absurdly and Outragcously wrong,
and in any case the bundcrIng and delay has
done very great mischief. For the present,
the final passage of the bill gives relief.
Another crop OF bankruptcies will come be
fore and after the 1st Of September, but il is
thought by those who have best opportunity
to know the number and nature Of failures,
that the greater number of those who intend
to take advantage Of the act before its repeal
have done so already, and that bankruptcies
III August will be mainly of those who may
become crippled during the Summer. OBJ
viousy there will be great hesitation in deal
ing upon time, and unusual caution in trusting
those who may yet use the United States law
as Il sponge To wipe out their scores. But dull
business, in this sense, will not be altogether
a misfortune this Summer, since il will tend
to prepare the business world for resumption.
The bill TO arrest the retirement of legal
tenders is Il breach OF public faith. BY the
Resumption Act, the United States formally
pledged itself to creditors, 10 National
bankers, and to business men and CAPITALISTS,
to reduce its circulation of legal-tendcr notes
to $500, 100000 prior to January l, 1879, if
the new issue of bank notes should suffice UNI
der the law, to so great retirement,
but after that date in any case, by redemption
of notes presented. This was the pledge and
Congress now rcpudiates it. True, only
tho unfuGllcd part of tho promise is to
be broken, but as matter Of honor
the breach of faith is tho same whether a
part or tho whole of tho promise is violated.
Merely because the measure is one of bad
faith, the President might properly veto it,
but tho veto might not be eflectunl. 1t might
In fact prompt Congress to worse legislation