The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26

will give two or three extracts as proof of
what we affirm. The following is from the
Boston Advertiser, (rep.), of April ID sit
is to be supposed that the most rigid exami-
nation into the legality of the reduction Of
interest has been made. We nevertheless
fail to find an existing law the warrant for
this proposition. The secretary is nowhere au-
thorised to negotiate a temporary loan. There
is no loan of any kind authorized, at 81 per
cent. The right to call in and pay bonds is
undoubted, but the right to make an alterna-
tive proposition, or to defer payment, or to
change the rate of interest on a bond, is found
nowhere in the statutes. 1t may not be lille
gal to do any or all of these things, but it is
setainly extra legal. Not a section of any
act of congress can be appealed to as capable
of being construed into authority"
And this from the Philadelphia Inquirer
(rep.) of the same date is pitched in the
same key.
'In connection with the secretary's plan it
is commended in influential quarters that he 49,
carrying it out upon his responsibility and
without due warrant of law, and it is perth
nently asked why all the pother over the We
toed refunding bill or all the talk about an
extra session if the secretary of the treasury
has all along had the legal authority to pro-
vide for the bonds according to the scheme
which he has proposed. 1t cannot be a good
thing to perpetuate the bonded obligations of
the country and to have no date whatever,
fixed for their redemption. Such carrying for
ward of debts due and payable must work
untavorably against the excellent credit of
sign of weakness for the federal treasury to
confess that it is not prepared to pay outright
its Obligations as they fall due, but that the
holders of them shall retain them indefinite
ly at a lower rate of interest. There would
be some excuse tor such a policy if the coun.
try could not pay: but it can. 1t has now
sufficient surplus IN the treasury for the abso-
lutte discharge of every dollars worth of the
six per ceet. bonds falling due before july"
The Boston Herald, (Ind.) of the 18th inst.
refers to Mr., WINDOWS action IN the follow
ing cool language: "We present In another
column a report of the opinions of leading
bankers and brokers of this city, with regard
to the proposal made by the secretary of the
treasury for the extension of the skies of 1881.
Some of the bankers are enthusiastic in their
plaudIts. On the other hand, as indeed might
have been expected from the conservatism of
the financial class, there are many bankers
who look beyond the profit of the moment to
the principle of legality which the secretary
has violated. The completeness and the
hearing of the lack of authorization were put
critics. sit u.s." he said, 'just as unlawful to
renew the six per cents at a lower rate of in
terest as 1t would have been to renew at a
higher rate. The reduction of the rate Is all
the merit there is about the measure to make
it go through Then he added a timely
warning: "Those who consent to renew may
find that they have consented to an unlawful
proceeding, and hence forfeited their right to
any interest whatever. The proceeding of
the secretary is prodigiouS and unheard of.
In any other government than ours it would
impeach the officer
Our amiable evening contemporary may
learn from the above that opposition to this
unheard of funding scheme Of secretary
Window is far from being confined to demo-
cratic journals. We are not surprised at this
but we do confess to some little astonishmeut
in finding the Inter Mountain range itself
along side of and supporting measures of such
doubtful propriety. 1t is to be expected that
the uniformed masses of the republican
party will blindly follow their leaders in
error as well as %intruth, for sometimes Fools
will rush where angels fear to tread" But
intelligent men and journals are supposed to
weigh and consider every reason for an I'M
usual act before committing themselves to its
support. Hence our surprise at the position
which our Intelligent neighbor has taken on
the visionary and impracticable funding
scheme of the secretary of the treasury.
THE NIAILIsTs' EXECUTION.