Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-01-25

Is Ike the interest on me p1gbkic {
5t e.rdctly. The sinking fund il
asst be maintained inviolate, and 4
authority must disturb it. +
anne no one for the temporary de /
iency in this fund by reason of
@ unforeseen difficulties that sur
unded us after the panic of 1873.
len the sinking fund was not !
aintained, but now that our at
1ntiOn is called to the law clearly
Ad distinctly it is apparent that !
iirty millions os the money re- /.
lived from customs must be annu-
IN set aside for the sinking fund, |.
nd no law in the ordinary form of
a appropriation bill can disturb il.
1t will thus be seen that the Sec I.
9tary fully understands not only
ne force and effect of the laws
oecifically pledging the coin re- ;
aived from customs dues to the
ayment of the interest due to the
ondholders, but he insists upon
living full force and effect to the
avs of Congress making perma-
ent appropriations of specific funds
Or specific purposes. Therefore,
RnIess he can show some law
authorizing him to divert the silver
soin paid for custom dues from the
purposes to which it was by general
aw and specific appropriation de-
soted, he is guilty of official mis-
conduct if he does not pay it as the
aW directs. / shoWed cOnclusiVely
AZ the last session Of this Congress
by the statements of the Secretary |
TO the Committee on Banking and
Currency of the House of Repre- |
Sentatives, made on the 1st and 4th !
of April, 1873, that he wholly disre- |
rarded and ignored all the laws he /
so zealously maintained in 1875, |
and now uses the (so-called) sinking /
fund as a slush fund i'm his hands to /
retire the greenbacks, buy up frac- |
tiOnal currency, and TO do anything |
with t3at he sees fit, thus constitu- !
ting himself
ABSOLUTE AUTOCRAT
over all revenue collected by the
TAX gathereP and not used i'm pay
ment of the ordinary expenses of
the Government. / invite the at
JentiOn Of Senators to that speech,
made on the 2Sfh of Nav, 1873.
4 Record, part 4, page 3,S60.) There
never was a more dangerous power
usurped by an executive officer
and when 1, in absolute faith, offer
ed a resolution reciting that the
: sinking fund had been not only pro-
r Vided for, but exceeded by 800, U00,-
o00, and therefore Congress ought
to direct what disposition should
he made of the surplus revenue, so
~ to have it appropriated under
the authority and direction Of Con-
gresS rs the Constitution requires it
20 he, and which l showed by the
admissions of the Secretary that he
was paying no attention to the pro-
visions of the act Of 1876 in regard
To this great fund, the Senator from
Vermont mfr. Morril), unable 10
answer the facts, relying doubtless
upon his standing and position in
This body as Chairman Of the FL
nance Committee and thinking that
he could whistle me down the wind
ny a smart rapartee, said he had al
ways liked to hear the speech
had made OH the subject, and his
Republican brethren enjoyed the
Wit of the Committee on Finance.
In less than sixty days new men
and other ideas will control that
committee, and the Senator from
Vermont will be on q level with the
balance of us. We will then see
whether he and his executive Off
GERS can knowingly and wilfully
disObey and laugh at the laws of the
land and use the revenues of this
Government as though they were
their private property. / sought in
good faith to relieve the Secretary
I, Il -
claring that the law relating to the
sinking fund had been antici-
pated, and therefore its provisions
did not require what Senator Sher-
man, in 1915, said was required of
the Secretary, or impeachment not
only should, but would, follow dis
obedience; but the Senator from
Vermont Mr.. Morrill, on the Both
day of April, 1878, (see Record, part
3, page 2,953,) reported back my
resolution in regard to the sinking
fund adversely, saying: Among
other things, it seems to cOntem-
plate the repeal Of an existing tdlC,
and to give certain instructions to
the Secretary Of the Treasury which
cannot be done by concurrent resO-
lutiOn.'
That law being still in force, the
Finance Committee being the au-
thoTity, all the penalties denounced
by Secretary Sherman in 1875
against the conduct of which Secre-
tary Sherman in 1878 is, by his own
confession, guilty ought to follow,
as no Senator will venture to say
that a Secretary of the Treasury can
he allowed wilfully and knowingly
TO violate his duty. Whatever may
he the effect Ofanticipated payments
10 the sinking fund, il is absolutely
certain that the interest on the
bonded debt has not been anticipa-
ted, and the specific pledge, mort
gage, call it what you please, the
appropriation by law of the silver
coin received by the Government
in payment of tariff taxation is as
absolute and binding on the Secre-
tary of the Treasury rs it was when
he insisted on
IMPEACHING ANY SECRETARY
who did not faithfully apply it
specifically to the payment of the
interest on the bonded debt, re-
gardless OF the provisions necessary
Tor the maintenance of any other of
Allt bbiiSdklOti- VI Ailt Wv NAt lllhtilLs
tie admits that he is knowingly
and willIully violating the law by
refusing To SO apply the silver coin
and I ask the Committee on finance
20 report, by bill or otherwise, some
measures which will compel him to
obey ii or make il necessary for the
President to change his Secretary.
The resumption act cannot he APP
pealed to to shield the Secretary in
This matter as it has been in regard
TO the sinking fund.
| know that the claim Is set up
by indirectiOn that any funds may
be used under the resumption act
that may be found necessary for
that purpose. The only authority
given to the Secretary that | am
aware of to use public money in aid
1f resumption is in the last clause
I'll the third section of the resump-
ton act, which reads thus:
And to enable the Secretary of
the Treasury to prepare and pro-
vide for the redemption in this act
authorized or required, he is author
lied to use any surplus revenues,
from time to time, in the Treasury