The daily gazette., 1878-01-08
BLAND'S SILVER BILL
senator Morgan's speech

On the 18th of December, Senator
Morgan of Alabama, made a speech in
the Senate, on the silver question from
which we quote the concluding part as
follows:
Every bond holder is cited by the
statements of his bond to tho law under
which it was issued, and 10 the lega
standard of value of the coin in which il
may be paid. The notice is perfect and
undeniabls. At what time soever he
became the owner of the bond he had
this same notice. He knew also that we
had the right, as nation, to destroy sill
YER money or gold money, or to elevate
the one or depress the other in CONNER
cial value, to suit our own views of ma
tional policy; that we had not mortgaged
our sovereignty to the extent that we
would be compelled to keep gold and
silver coins at par with each other, at his
bidding, so that we could always pay
him in either coin or in both at our op-
ton. He knew that uuder the influences
Of legislation, and also of commercial
demands, gold and silver had frequently
exchanged the supremacy in value In all
civilized countries. and would be as like
ly again to change places in this respect
before the maturity of his bond, &c they
had certainly done SO within a like Pc
riod proceeding the act under which his
bonds were issued. All this he knew,
and more, that, for this security without
which he would not have taken the bond
we enacted fixed standard of grains Of
gold. or of silver, that should comprise
the dollars that his bond called for.
1t certainly cannot be assumed as a
part of our national obligations that we
are bound legally or morally to pay our
bonds held abroad in coin better than
that which we would compel our people
TO take for Army and NavyIsupplies and
for risking their lives In war In our de-
fense, it may be, against the same coun-
try in which the bondholder resides 1t
Is just implication. incorporated in the
contract, as it is in every act that In.
wolves the faith of the Government, that
we will do tor the great body of our peo-
pie that which Is just and wise and poll
tie and for the tightening of their burdens
and the fostering of their industries:
This is inferred in every obligation that
every government ever assumes toward
creditors or toward any other power. 1t
is not to be assumed that we will destroy
onr people to make other people richer
or that we viii crush tho debtor classes
to increase the power of the creditor
classes. There is no such obligation in
the bond nor in any moral view of the
obligation
must deny the soundness of the
proposition of moral philosophy as ap
piled to political economy, that when
a government creates a debt and
fixes the standard value OF the coin
agreed to be taken in payment of 1t, 10
bound to do nothing to affect the COM
mercial value Of that coin. 1t can
not be bound by its obligation 10 its
creditors to do or not TO do anything
which will be destructive of the
great body OF its own people. In
such case the contract is subject to
the supreme duty OF the government |
to its own people. The maxim saius
p opuH est supreme lex has a more just |
to this olass of public |
duties than to any other. Those who |
credit governments know the exigen-
cles to which they are exposed and |
which Affect most sensibly from time
to time the value of their securities.
Within . year the credit of Russia, ,one
Of the most steadfast of the great
powers, has been seriously Affected by |