The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1878-01-16
MIDNIGHT REPORT.
Associated Press Dispatches to Duly Clarion
WASHINGTON.
SENATE.


WASHINGTON, Jan. 15.-The galleries are
full and all vacant places in the Senate
Chamber are filled.
Senator VOORHEES,, of Indiana called up
the resolution submitted by him on the 18th
day OF December last, declaring that it is of
the highest importance that the financial
credit of the Government should be MAIN
tained, and in order to do so the Govern
ment itself, in all its departm ents, should,
in good faith, keep all its contracts and OBJ
legations entered into with its own citizens
He referred to the continued agitation of
the financial question, and said it would
never cease until the people are salts
fled that our vast debt is in process
of extinction on principles of justice to the
tax paying labor, or until, on the other
hand, they are subjugated into silent sub
mission and the Government itseli becomes
changed in spirit and form into money
autocracy. 1t may be that this latter
alternative is to overtake us. There are
dark and plentiful omens in our recent his
tory Indicating such conclusion. There is
a numerous and powerful class in our midst
who believe, as Alexander Hamilton de-
clared. that the British Government on this,
as well as on other points, is the best ever
devised by the wisdom of man. Those en-
tertaining this opinion have thus fer
triumphed in the fina lcial legislation Of the
United States, and the time has now ar
rive when their victories must be reversed,
or soon this Government will erase to be
republican, and the people will be no longer
free. He al gUed that, to a great extern, our
whole financial system is an organized crime
against the laborlng, taX-payiug men and
women ofthe United States, and those who
thought as he, that great work OF financial
reform is demanded in order to secure the
people from slavery in fact, ii no1 in name,
were denounced He spoke of unhOiy av-
arica having its stronghoids, and privileged
classes have intrenched themselves. And
l..o Il f,,t /,
loud in our ears, has been invoked in
behalf of every wickednesS that ever
cursed the world. He then spoke of the
act of February 25th, 1862, AZ the beginning
OF our bonded debt; the precious metals
were found to be unequal o the emergency
of war, specie payments were abandoned as
soon as the hour of trial came and gold and
silver covered in the rear, while the legal
tender dollar went to The front with the flag
and stayed there. He was amongst those
who doubted our right to issue it, but eX-
perence had shown it, all things considered,
the best money that ever was circulated on
American SOIL lie argued that by this act
and by similar legislation, every bond issued
by the Government which did not on its
face stipulate for the payment in coin, was
made payable by the express words of law
in legal tender notes. lie quoted from the
late Thaddeus Stevens to the effect that even
payment of interest on bonds in coin was
an odious and uni jhst discrimination in favor
of the bondholder. He also quoted from
speeches of Senator Sherman to show that
he expressed the opinion that the
bonds were payable in legal tenders.
Mr.. VOORHEES, characterized the acts of
Coz gress proposing to pay the bonds i'll
coin as the beginning of reputation. The
Secretary of the Treasury was the chief
of the repudiators-fOremosta among the vio-
lators of the contract, and a leader among
those who have ia no instance kept the good
faith of the Government with its own peO-
pie, moment alter they found that bad faith
would bring them richer gains. He com l.
mented at some len9 IN on the act of 1869, TO
paw the bonds in coin, and in some countries
the habit prevailed of building cairn, a
| pile of stones, to mark the spot where the
| tragic event had happened, so let American
tax payers, whenever the act of 1859 is cit
| ed, each cast stone upon l. to mark the
place in American history where repudia-
| ton began, and where the rights OF people
were mercilessly and treacherously slaugh-
| tered.
of July II, 1870, and said it was brought in
to aid the false assertion of the act OF 1869
| that our whole bonded debt was payable In
coin. He argued that both of these acts
were framed in the interest of the bond
holders, and under their dictation; but ever
under those acts the bonds were payable
with either gold or silver coin, anu moi
payable with gold alone.
Mr.. VOORHEES, then spoke in regard to The
advantage of silver coin, and said The
silver dollar came to US with the faiti
OF our Government, it was devised as a
unit of value by Thomas Jeffe1son ant
, adopted by Congress in the days of Wash
ington. Hamilton and Morris. 1t stood al
honored as gold through every storm tha
beat upon this Government. 1t is associa
, ted with all our development, our strength
and growth and our glory. He then spoke
of the act of 1873, dem neizing IT, and sai'
the act was passed withouta note of warn
ing to the American people that their favor
ite coin was about to be destroyed as money
: Its enactment was as completely unknown
TO the people, and indeed TO four -ffths Q
!, Congress itself, as the presence of burg
9 lar i'm house at night TO its sleeping in
: mates. He argued that the silver dollar wa
Z eliminated from our money system uDds
: cover of false pretences and that silver ha
not failed i'm its functions as specie bas
any more than gold had OF the entil
: trading and commercial population OF II