Daily Kennebec journal., 1878-02-06

Do understand the Senator from Vermont to say
that that interest due to people who have small
savings that they have invested in the ialtn sno
honor of the Government, is payable IN com Oh
the hslf-dollsr species, Of the 81 5-lO per cent
species which he has denounced here to-day, and
that the man who is fortunate enough 10 have
bond of thousand or ten thousand collars can
have gold for his interest j? That IS my question.
Mr.. Edmunds | think understand the ques-
tion, Mr. President. | do not know but that
could have understood it if it had not been more
than half as long.
MIR. Blaine | went on at your request.
| Mr. Edmuuds. At my request
Mr. Blaine. / had got through my question
when was requested to go on.
Mr. Edmunds. Then will ask my friend to
go on again if he is going on at my request
Laughter
question in the affirmative il the construction the
Senator from Ohio puts the laws is the correct
| one.
Mr. Blaine. But Won have stated it absolutely.
Mr. Edmunds. y ot at all.
Mr. Matthews. What is it on your construc-
tioni
Mr. Edmunds If can only have chance
among all of you, | will state what 1t is. \ pa
/ tient IN the hands OF so many doctors Is a ltlle
dangerous. Laughter. Now | will tell my
/ friend how il is on my construction. may be
entirely wrong but think in point OF strict law
if the lcgal-tender acts, we call them, apply TO
the relations of the United States and ITS credit
| Ors at all----
MIR Blaine. The gentleman said before that
| they did not
! MIR. Edmunds. Mr. Presdent-
Mr.. Blaine. lie said it right in cOntraven
ton of the public faith.
Mr.. EdmuDds. If my friend from Maine will
only be good enough to wait minute or two, 1t
will be great qualification to me, until finish
answering his question Laughter.
Now will try to begin again, Mr. President
Laughtcrl | say that if the legal-tender acts
Ill .f.s 80 ~ 1at... bot
the Uned States and the public creditor, then |
think should he bound to say as a matter of strict
law that the United States might pay its public
creditors where it owed them less than -, 10 sil
coin or any other thing that by ITS legal-ten-
der acts is legal tender for less than 50. My
friend from Maine says that have declared they
do not apply SO have said, Mr. President, that
they do not apply in the sense in which we are
bound TO exercise the public faith of the l nlied
States to our creditors who have no redress eX-
cept in the honor and far-dealing Of this govern
meut. | therefore am not troubled in respect of
what might be as between man and man, or be-
tween the United States and its creditors, if the
iegalte nder acts applied to us at all, as to what
should declare the law to be. The letter of the
law is one thing it is the letter that killeth it is
the split that maketh alive, and that nation VIII
be in sad indeed that resorts to strict lit
eral, technical construction of its statutes 10 set
tie the relation Of its duties as sovereign power,
against whom nobody can have redress except by
appealing to its conscience and answer it by such
construction of statutes. That is my answer
Mr.. Blaine. But | understood the Senator
from VERMONT
Mr.. Edmunds. Now let my friend from Maine
still wait a minute. That is my answer. and upon
that answer now come again to consider what
is the honest import, in the sense in which have
described 1t, of this pledge of the public faith.
My answer to that is that that honest import by
this pledge Of the public faith is that which Mr..
Thaddeus Stevens expressed when he was bor-
and even if the letter Of the statute declared,
when construed as court would con-
strue it in law between private individuals,
that a two dollar snd-a-half or a fve.do-
lar coupon holder may be paid in silver. | say
it would be equally violation OF the honor and
the good faith of this nation to attempt to do 1t
unless the silver should be of equal value, and
there fore practically the same gold. Now
will hear my friend from Maine.
Mr.. Blaine. The gentleman, if | understand
him, has either by slip of the tongue or by re-
consideration of his language changed his ground.
| understand the Senator now 10 say that the two
dolar-and-a half coupon holder is just as abso-
lutely entitled to his gold as the one-thousand-dol
lar-coupon holder. If so, have no question to
ask him.
AIR. Edmunds. Very well, Mr.. President, then
my friend can sit down. Laughter
Mr.. Blaine. Before accept my friends kind
invitation command to sit down, if he will per-
NIT me | still want to make this matter a little
more specific before the country, because his
words have great light in the construction of q
law, and because the constituency that represent
hold great many more hundred-dollsr bonds than
they hold thousand-dolar bonds. | still want it
made specific whether the Senator from Vermont
believes that there Is any more law or color Of
law for pay ing two-dolsr and-a half coupon in
SILVER coin than there is for paying thirty dollar
coupon in silver coin, If there is any more color
able pretensc of law or shadow OF law for paying
the one in silver than there is the other. am
largely on his side, and therefore | want him TO
keep entirely right, and in the things in which |
do not agree with him want to know why am
wrong. | want, to make my friend specific, to
know whether he gives it out to the country that
there is any colorado pretense of law for paying
a two dolar-and a-haf coupon in silver and a
thirty dollar coupon in gold.
Mr.. Edmunds. Mr.. President | am not like
the Senator from Maine, a man Of the country,
at all. | am talking to the Senate. | have moth
ing to do with the country in the sense of what
this act means.
Mr.. Blaine. The bondholders live in the coun'
try.
Mr.. EDMUNDs. Yes, the bondholders live in
the country, but am endeavoIing to convince
the Senate and not the country that the PROPOSE
tions of law, in the light of public faith, contained
in the resolution Of the Senator from Ohio are not
well founded. When have done what can to
the elucidation of that subject nv end will be
complshed, whe tner the country is of fopinion that
think one thing or think another. But if my
friend from Maine wishes TO know what my op.
lnion is as it respects the judgment of this BODY
on this resolution and not for buncombe, then |
am quite ready TO say, as think have stated
most explicitly, that it is possible that by the let
ter OF the statutes if the statute of legal tender
applies, which do not admit and do not affirm
mere matter Of law. that construction might be
put upon it. | repeat what have said before,
that in the present attitude Of the history of these
affairs the honor of the government is Just as
much bound to pay the one dollar man in a metal
of real value and a metal OF the real standard Of
the operations Of the country, as 1t is to pay the
thousand-dollar man. Is that plain enough
Mr. Blaine. Yes, that will do.
Legislative Proceedings.