The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-09-03

%, /os w I1CH nave
Never Been RepeaIed-Bonds Paya-
bic at the Option of the Government,
IN Silver Dollars Containing 4I2I-2
Grains Each of Standard Silver. etc.
In Io78-five years after the bill
that substituted the Trade Dollar of
42o grains of standard silver and made
legal tender for five dollars for the
original dollar of 412H grains of
standard silver, and which was a legal
tender IN any amount-the Congress
of the United States, by a two-thirds
vote IN a Democratic House and a
three-fourths vote in Republican
Senate, adopted the following pream .
BILE and resolution introduc ed in the
Senate by Stanley Matthews, of Ohio:
"WHEREAs, By the act entitled, sAn
act to strengthen the public credit
approved March eighteenth, eighteen
hundred and sixty-nine, it was pro-
vlded and declared that the faith OF
the United States was thereby SOL
emnly pledged to the payment in coin
or its equivalent, of all the interest
bearing Obligations of the United
States, except in cases where the law
authorizing the issue of such obliga-
tions had expressly provided that the
same might be paid in lawful money
or other currency than gold and sill
yer; and
"WHEREAs, All the bonds of the
United States authorized TO be issued
by the act entitled 'An act to author
ize the refundng OF the national debt,
approved July I4th, eighteen hundred
and seventy, by the terms of said act
were declared to be redeemable in the
coin of the then present standing value,
bearing interest payable semi annually
In such coin; and
WHEREAS, All bonds of the United
States authorized to be issued under
the act entitled 'An act to provide for
the resumption Of specie payments,
approved January IA, 1875, are re-
quired to be Of the description of
bonds of the United States described
in the said act Of Congress approved
July IA, 1870, entitled can act to au
thorize the refunding of the national
debit and
"WHEREAs, At the date of the pas
sage of said act OF Congress last afore
said, to-wit, the 14th day Of July,
1860, the coin ofthe United States of
standard value of that date included
silver dollars of the weight ~of 412H
grains each, declared by the act ap-
proved January 18th, 1887, entitled
An act supplementary to the act entl-
lied can act establishing a mint and
regulating the coins of the United
States to be legal tender of pay
meEts, according to their nominal
value, for any sums whatever; there
fore
"Resolue1, By the Senate-the
House of Representatives concurr-
ing therein-,hat all of the bonds of
the United States issued or authorized
to be issued uuder said acts of Con-
gress, hereinbefore reClted, are paya-
ble, principal and interest, at the op-
ton of the Government of the United
States, in silver dollars, of the coinage
OF the United States, containing 4I21a
grains each of standard silver, and
that to restore to its coinage such sill
vcr coins as legal tender in payment
of said bonds, principal and interest,
is not in violation of the public faith,
nor in derogation of-the rights of the
public creditor"
This resolution has never been re-
scinded and is still in force. Every
bond issued since then has been issued
in the same form, and has the deClara-
ton on its face that it is issued under
the act which makes bonds redeema-
bic in coin, either of gold or silver, oI
the standard value of July I4th, 1870
a date three years prior to the demon
citation of silver. From that date &c
this every purchaser of United State:
bond not only has notice printed upor
his bond, that he can not decide fo1
himself whether it shall be paid II
gold or silver, but that he will receive
whichever is most convenient for the
Government. In addition to The
notice printed upon his bond, every
bondholder has had the foregoing pre-
amble and resolution Of Congress, te
teach him how false and frauduien
are the promises made to him II
newspapers and by Presidents ano
| lSecretaries of the Treasury that h'
shall be paid in gold. This notice
has been standing for eighteen years
! No gold monometallist has dared tt
offer a resolution to rescind 1t. Mr.
Cleveland and the Morgan syndlcat
themselves bore testimony that tn
bonds were not payable in gold whel
they beset Congress last year and tn
year before to pass law making then
payable in gold. 1t will be remem
bered that Mr.. Cleveland lecture'
Congress severely on this subject, ant
plainly declared that the reason b
could not sell the bonds at a hlghe
price was because they were not paya
bic in gold. An effort to make then
! payable in gold was defeated in Con
gress.
Stanley Matthews was good lawye
and it IS we'll known ,ha, he was ap
pointed Supreme Judge of the unlte'
: States by President Garfield at the re
quest of Mr.. Hayes, who did not ap
poin, him because he was his relative
His resolution, above quoted, con
Cured in by the great body OF tn