Year: 1878




leries were full and all the vacan


space in the Senate Chamber was
filed when Voorhees,, of Indiana,
called up the resolution submitted
by him on the. 18th Of Decembel
last, declaring it is Of the highes


Importance that the financial credit
of the Government be maintained


and in order to do so, the Govern.
ment itself in all it's Departments
should, in good faith, keep all its
contracts and obligations entered
into with its own citizens. He re


ferred to the contained agitation OF
the financial question. and said il
would never cease tilt the people
are satisfied that their own volunta-
ry debt is in process of extinction
on the principle of justice to the
tax-paymg laborer, or oruntil. on the
other hand. they are subjugated in
to silent submission, and the gov
ernment itself becomes changed in
spirit and form into monyed aris'
tocracy. II may be that this latter
alternative is to overtake us. There
are dark and plentiful omens in our
recent history indicating such a
conclusion. aud there is numerous
and powerful class in our midst
who believed as Alexander Hamil-
ton declared, that the British Gov
ernment on this, as well as on other
points, is the best devised by the
wisdom of man. Those entertain
ing this opinion have thus far tri
umphed in the financial Legislation
Of the United States. and the time
has now arrived when these victories
must be reversed, or soon this gov
ernment will cease to be republican,
and the people no longer be free.
He argued to a great extent that
our whole financial system is ruin
Gus crime against the laboring and
tax-paying men and women of the
United States. and those who
thought as he did, that the great
work Of financial reform is demand
ed in order to secure the people
from starvation in fact and not name,
were denounced. He spoke OF un-
holy avarice having its strongholds,
privileged classes having eutrenched
themselves, and said this plea of
good faith now so loud in our ears,
has been envOkeG in behalf of every
wickedness that ever cursed the
world. He then spoke of the act Of
Feb. Is, 1862, as the beginning of
our bonded debt, The precious me-
tails were found to be inadequate to
the emergency of the war. Specie
payments were abandoned as soon
as the hour of trial came and gold
and silver covered in the rear while
the legal tender dollar went to the
front with the flag and stayed there.
He was among those who doubted
our right to issue it, but experience
had shown it, all things considered,
the best money that ever circulated
on American soil. He argued that
by this act. and by similar legisla-
tion at subsequent periods the bonds
issued by the Government which did
not on its face promise for payment
in coin, was made payable by the
exposes words of law in legal tender
notes. He quoted from the Ian
guage of the late Thaddes Stevens
to The effect that even the payment
of interest on bonds in coin was an
odious and unjust discrimination in
favor. of bondholders. He also
quoted from the speech of Senator
Sherman 10 shew that ne expressed
the opinion that the bends were
payable in legal tenders. Mr..
Voorhees, characterized the acts of
Congress proposing to pay bonds
in coin as the beginning of repudia-
tion-for the present Secretary of
the Treasury was the chief of repu-
diators, foremost among the viola.
tors of the contract, and leader
among those who have In no wise
kept the good faith of the govern
ment with it's own people moment
after they had found that bad faith
would bring them rich gains. He
commented at some length on the
act of 1869 to pay bonds in coin,
and said in some countries the habit
prevailed of building pile of stones
to mark the spot where tragic events
had happened; so let the American
taxpayers. whenever the act eff 1869
is cited, cast stone on it to mark
the place in Americas history where
Reputation began and were the
rights of the people were mereiless-
ly and treacherously slaughtered.
He next commented on the repudia-
ting act of July l4th, 1870, and said
it was brought in to aid the false
assertion OF the act of 1869 that our
whole bonded debt was payable in
coin. He urged that both Of the
acts were framed in the interest of
the boRdh0lders, and under their di-
IectiOn. But even under these acts,
bonds were payable with either gold
or silver coin, and not payable with
gold alone. Mr.. Voorhees, then
spoke at some length in regard to
the advantage of silver coin, and
said the silver dollar came to US
with the faith of our government.
1t was devised as unit of value
by Thos. Jefferson, and adopted by
Congress in the days of Washing
ton, Hamilton and Morris. 1t stood
as much honered as gold through
every storm that beat on this gov
eminent. 1t is associated with all