The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-03-30
"Civis" Replies to Colonel Keitt.

To the Editor Of The Herald and
News: | regret to see that our friend
of the Enoree Reservation has gone
back to his idols, Macune and Dun
ming, who have so Often led him astray.
| had entertained some hope Of late
that he had seen the error OF his ways,
aud would hereafter seek the insorlna-
ton on which to build up his elaborate
and fantastic schemes from more relia-
bIe sources. But this hope is blasted IN
the bud.
In the last Herald and News our
sage regales US with great variety OF
citations from more or less distinguish
ed authorities rs to what constitutes
money. SouIe of these are applicable
to the question at issue between US,
and some of them do not touch 1t at
all. Some of them may be essentially
correct, but some Of them are manifest
ly garbIed, or SO changed as to entirely
nnisrepresent the views of their author.
Take, for instance, his pretended ciLa-
ton from Daniel Webster 'When all
our paper money is made payable in
specie on demand, it will prove the
most certain means that can be used to
fertiliZe the rich mans field by the
sweat of the poor mans brow" Now,
everybody at all familiar with Mr..
Webster's views on paper currency will
see at once that this quotation repre-
sents them as being exactly the oppo-
site Of what they really were. The cOun-
try never had a stauncher and more
consistent opponent of an irredeemable
and legal-tender paper currency, not
even in Alexander Hamilton, than Mr..
Webster. On one notable occasion III
the United States Senate, in 1886, he
says: "Of all the contrivances for cheat
ing the laboring class Of mankind, noue
has been more ettectual than that
which deludes them with paper mon
ey.n How is our friend going tc recon-
cile this language with his pretended
quotation? On the same memorable
occasion, too, he USED the following
oft.quoted and ever-to- -be-reme EN- bered
language: Most uuqTestionably there
is no legal-tender in his country, uu-
der the authority of this government or
any other, but gold ana silver, either
the coinage of our nints or foreign
coins at rates regulated by Congress.
This is constitutional principle per-
fectly plain and OF the very highest im-
portance. The States are expressly
prohibited from making anything but
gold and silver a legal-tender IN pay
ment of Gebls, and although no express
prohibition is implied to Congress, yet
as Congress has no power granted to 1t
in this respect but 10 coin money and
1,,a .,f I
clearly has no power to substitute paper
or anything else for coin as legal-ten-
der in payment Of debts and III dis
charge of contracts"
These views of the great orator and
statesman, the great "EXpounder OF
the Constitution" as Mr.. Webster was
called, were delivered il the United
States Senate Oh u memorable occa-
sion, in the presence Of such giant in
teliects as Clay and Calhoun and Ben
ton, and We're unchallenged by any one.
If Mr.. Clay thought differently, rs our
sage would have US believe, then was
the time for him TO speak out. Ia fact,
this was the view universally enter
tained, both in and out OF Congress,
during ali our early history, and no one
thought Of putting any other lnterpre-
tation on our Constitution until, in |
1852, under The pressure of The great
of the war, was opened this
Pandora box of evils by passing the ia
nous legal tender act. But this act
was intended by its authors ouly as a
temporary war measure, and was not
bought of as permanency. Unfortu-
lately, however, in 1854 our Supreme
Court, then composed of pigmies in in