Year: 1868

VT Interest, ana tne government mas


fixed no time when il will pay it.


Under these circumstances the note


must be deprecated, the sOlveney or


ultimate ability OF the prOmiser to


pay never kept over due paper at par,


and never will. To do that there


must be certainty in the payment


and time of payment, and if the time


of payment be deferred compensation


must be made by the payment of


interest. The taking of the gold in


the treasury for the purchase of bonds


puts the redemption of thegreenbacks


out of the power of the government


and proclaim to the world that it does


not intend to return to specie pay


ments. The gold thus taken would


not enter into circulation, but would


sink back into an article of merchan-


disc to be gambled for as it now is in


Wall street. The greenbaek circula-


ton is part of the public debt, for


the redemption of which the faith of


the nation is sOlemnly pledged. The


redemption of this pledge is not only


demanded by every principal of ma


tiOnal honor; but it is imperatively


demanded by the interests of the


people, collectively snd individually,


and if the government were to take


the only means by which il can be


improved and apply it to the purchase


of bonds not due for many years, it


would merit and receive the indigna-


ton and contempt of honest men


everywhere. Mr.. Morton enforced


this proposition at length and then


said: To the man who lent his money


to the government to carry on the


war for the suppression of the re-


belliOn / am grateful. Whatever may


have been his motives, he was a


public benefaetor and entitled to the


thanks of the nation. To him the
government must keep faith, what


ever that faith may be b; but while our


creditors should receive all they are


entitled to in law and equity, 1t is not


bad faith to improve the condition of


the people. He then combated the


recommendation of the secretary of


the. treasury OF contraction as the


result of misapprehensiOn of the
causes which depreciate paper curren-


cy. and argued that the legaliZatiOn


of specific contracts to be executed in


coin would result in evils aud hard


ships without, and could not appre-


ciate the value of the currency any


more than common contracts for


future delivery of gold. He eOntro-


verted the other recommendation of


the secretary for the fixing of the


time when the United States notes


shall cease TO be legal tenders except


for government dues, as an act of


repudiati0n which does not differ in


principle from the proposition of the


President to apply in payment the
interest to the extinguishment of the
bonded debt when the greenbacks
have been brought to par and the
government stands ready to redeem
them, then and not until then can
these legal tender characters be taken
away without reputation.


In alluding to the Supreme Court
he said, if they have any doubts on
the question whether greenbacks are
legal tender they should be cast in IA
vor of the legislation of Congress-
The supreme court should be some
thing more than the rigid eXpOunder
of the statutes or collector of prece-
dents, and should view such questions
as statesmen as well as lawyers. He
had full faith in the learning, ability
and patriotism of that august tribunal,
and believed il would not render its
decision until the question has been
viewed in all its bearings and conse-
quences.


To return to specie payments with
out crash is the great desideratum,
and this can only be done by making
the process gradual. Time is q neces-
sary element, and the firstquestiOn to
be considered is the period, which !
should be fixed by the government, !
to begin the redemption of the green |
back notes, and in my bill have sta !
ted the LIST of July, 1871. Fixing a
time must be the starting point of any
plan which proposes to bring about !
without a crash and disas- !
ter. In proposing to give two years
and half TO begin the work of re- I
demption, l have several objects in !
view: first, by establishing the peri I
od of redemption, a fixed value sgiv- /
en- greenback nOtes-nOw its gold val /
ne is fluctuating and deceptive, some !
times varying as much as ten per cent Z
in sixty days, and scarcely ever re- !
the same for a week at a time !
but by fixing a time for its redemp- |
tiOn q certain value is given it. If a I
note is to he paid in gold on the 1st of |
July, 1871, its value to-day can he de !
termined by the ordinary rules of dis |
count, and will steadily improve as
the time for its redemption approach |
es; and other preparations being prop |
erly made, it will be at par on or be-
fore the day fixed for redemption by I
gradual appreciation by fixing the /
time of redemption. One chief ele- |
ment in the the value of all CONNER
cial paper is gained by the certainty |
in the time of its payment second, |
by fixing the period of redemption the
country is notified and may be prepa-
red for the change. People will have
il in view in making new contracts I
and arrangements in business, and
debtors fearing decline in prices of
will hasten to pay their
debts. During this two and a half
years the great body of existing debts
among the people will be paid. The
debt now contracted will not fall due
before two years and half; it is very
small, and generally for real estate.-l
The great difficulty generally attend
ing improvement in the value of the
in the resumption of specie
payments where they have been sus-
is the reduction in the nomi-
nal prices of property and labor, which
operates injuriously on the debtOrclass.
1t is true that, as the purchasing pow
ar of the currency is increased, the
prices of property are dimin-
ished. But this effect is sometimes
by the increase in the
value of the currency. The imitation
IF the currency, even though il be
composed of gold and silver exclu-
sively, increases the nominal prices of
of which we have a notable
instance in the history of Spain.


When resumption takes place all
gold and silver will be set free and
poured into the volume of the eurren-
cy, thereby initiating to considerable
extent because the whole amount OF
gold and silver is very mnch greater
than the whole amount of greenbacks
that will be presented for redemption,
but as before stated the perion OF re-
iemption is postponed so long that
that great body of the existing debt
will be paid before it arrives, and the
decision in the price of property,
which is likely 10 be small, would
effect but a very limited class and
scarcely reach the general business of
the country. The time given is so
long il will become stale in the public
mind, All excitement andpanic will
pass away and the change come so
gradual that the people will at least
,o,.. f,,orosf.p n uhaO II urrit-a-