Year: 1878

Den Dutief beiverS himself Of a Big
Speech.


Washington, Feb. 26.--Butler got the


floor on the House going into the state


of the Union, and made his financial


speech. He declared himself in favor


of full restoration of silver coinage,


and that to make the silver dollar full


legal tender was honest, legitimate, and


demanded by the exigencies of the


times. He denied that sixty millions


in bonds or any such amount had been


retur ned from Europe, but wished it


were true. He wished that the six per


cents. and all others would return. He


wanted the silver and wheat sent


abroad to pay our debts and give us the


balance of trade. He saw neither wis


dom nor craftsmanship in locking up


our silver in vaults; reprobating the


withdrawal of paper currency and the


substitution of subsidizing silver. The


people we've to he taxed an enormous
sum, represented by the five per cent.
compound interest on fifty million for
thirty years; that if the Secretary of
the Treasury, who framed that meas
ure, had ever sat down and made cal
culations, and then foolishly cast this
enormous burden on the peorle, he
ought to be hanged to the nearest lamp
post for malice toward all mankind; if |
lie had not done so he ought to be
hanged at all events, for getting into !
an office which he could not fill. We |
want greenbacks for our currency and |
mean to have it; but / do not desire !
that greenback currency should he |
made to serve the country as it has |
done, vililied, insulted, deprecated by
act of the Government itself, being re-
fused not only to be received for all |
debts due the Government, but not |
even paid for all demands due from the |
government. The American system of |
finance, which will obtain in the near /
future, and hope at once, which l de-
sire, is first, a dollar that shall have ut |
all times certain fixed and staple !
value below which it cannot go; second, !
L demand that the dollar shall be issued |
by the Government alone, in the exer- |
else of its high prerogative and consti- |
tutional power, and that that power |
shall not be delegated to any corpora
tion or individual any more than Charles !
Second ought to have delegated his pre- !
rogative of stamping gold coin for the /,
benefit of his paramours as monopoly; (
third, want that dollar stamped on
some convenient and cheap material of |
the least intrinsic value, so that neither |
the wear nor its destruction will be any |
loss to the government issueing it; |
fourth, also desire the dollar to be
made of such material that it shall |
never be exported or desirable to carry
out Of the country, thus framing an
American system of finance; l do not |
propose to adapt it to the wants Of any |
other nation, especially the Chinese,
who are nearly one quarter of the |
world; fifth, desire that the dollar so
irsued shall never be redeemed; l see |
no more reason why unit of treasure |
of that value should be redeemed, or
redeemable, than that the yard stick
with which measure my cloth, or the
quart with which l measure my milk,
shall be redeemed; sikh, for conven-
ience only, propose the dollar so issued
shall be quite equal or little better than
the present value of the average gold
dollar of the world, not to be changed
or changeable if the gold dollar grows
lower in value or higher, not to be
obliged to conform itself in value in
any regard to the dollar Of any other
nation of the world, keeping itself
always stable and fixed, so that when
the property of the country adjusts
itself to it as a measure of value, it
shall remain fixed the standard forever.


Before Butler had taken his seat
Chittenden rose to ask him a question,
and colloquy, excited on the part of
Chittenden, and cool on the part of
Butler, ensued, Chittenden insisting
that Buffers plan would ruin the saw
ings banks and the people who patron
lied them, and that Butler would de-
serve the hanging he suggested for Sec
cretary Sherman. Butler SAID the
banks were mostly bankrupt now; they
were rotten and sinking already.


xxy. crJrNcrnNJ