Mexico weekly ledger., 1881-04-21
ROUNDING.


Alter considerable delay, the Sec
retszy Of the Treasury has called in
oil the existing 6 per cent. United
States bonds, and given notice to the
holders thereof that oil interest there
on will cease on the first Of July
next. These bonds aggregate $685.
650,400, and If the Secretary is cer-
tain they can be paid at the time
specified, the proposed retirement Of
them has the sanction of law, and If
carried out would result in . consid-
cradle and bepeicial reduction Of the
public debt. But that is not all the
Secretary has done. In the call for
these bonds he has inserted q propo-
sition to reissue them at three and
one-half per cent. during the pleasure
Of government, and there is some
pFo5pectoe that offer being generally
accepted, altho1ghthe Secretary, in
re-instating them, is ssang on his
own responsibility and making an
indefinite postponement of a payment
that ought to be attended to at once.
II Window has power to refund these
bonds at maturity at three and one
half per cent, when the bill passed
by congress tor that purpose and
vetoed by President Hayes contem-
plated only three per cent, what limit
can be placed upon his a~uthority3 II
be can add Q half Of one per cent.
what is to prevent his making the
rate four OF even five per cent. il
there should be a seeming necessity
for anything of that sort? But if any
thing like that had been attempted
the illegality of the procedure would
have been apparent and the Secretary
himself could scarcely have expected
to have escaped impeachment.
It is notorious there is not and
cannot be money enough in the treas.
ury capable of being applied to the
payment Of these bonds if their liqui.
dation is insisted On by their holders,
and the Secretary gives not the least
intlmation where, in that event, the
funds to meet them are to come from,
He seems to be playing a game o.
bluff on a grand scale, and if II
should be unsuccessful, to hope te
hit on some plan Of raising the nee
essary wind somewhere between the
non-acceptance Of his proposition on
the 10th of May and July /. To say
the least of it, such haggling is con
temptible in a government official,
and may result in injury to the pub.
lie credit abroad even if successful.
OF course the proffer Of the Secre'
tary is based upon the suppositior
that the next congress will legalizt
whatever may De done under il. Blu
if that body should decline, what re-
course would be left to their holder!
beyond receiving the principal o
bonds that had been legally called
The Secretary is also evidently
bluffing On a very weak hand, and i
either the capitalists or the banks
succomb, it will be a very unnsua
exhibition Of ignorance and weakness
on their part. Is it not laugbable t.
think that men legally entitled to siz
per cent. will meekly and readily &C
cept three and one-half per cent. from
an officer who has no more authority
to make the change than any clerl
In his department?
The more the Secretary's scheme
Is investigated, the more apparent
will it be that it is a proposition t
exchange s195, OoO, 900 of good secu'
rites for obligations that will b.
worthless without legislation impart
ing legality and validity to them.