Year: 1872

G IlusG WIN nave practical bearing | fully


colnpfehend that you are business men.


any any thaG tnlS Is q business hour, and that


whatever is said by me, at any rate. must
be very brief.


ain one of those who do not feel entirely


satlsned with the financial and commercial
| condition and prospects of the country.
reahze that we have just gathered very


4ouhaanG harVests and that these are very
| important elements of our commercial nrnS.
| perity | realize we have currency 6n;fa
abundant, IN its volume and acceptable at
nar over the larger portion of our country.
| we nave many elements of strength, and vet
| there seems to be also elements or portents


OF weakness which ought not to be passed
| over IN silence. You will bear me witness


ior the I&st two or three years we have


heard more, telt more, and suffered


more OF commercial collapse 1 might
| say commercial difficulty. from what
are popularly called rings than ever beforSss
IN the history of this country, and I think
IN the history OF any country Corners in
oagS; IN pork lgreat laughterl; corners in
| gold; IN stock, and SO on, and so on Now,
| gentlemen, am not here to saw that this
| particular clique which tried to force up
| the prlees,. or that the opposite CLIQUE. which
| Crled to force them down, was right or
| wrong any instance. | am not sufficient
| y 1anllar TO Judge, What l say and think,
! you must believe with me, is that these ex-


hibItlons, these ebulitions, are symptoms


OF hnanGlaI weakness, if not financial dis
| ease. They are Incidents which are not
| likely to occur in q perfectly sound and
| healthy condition of the commercial busf-
| ness and currency of the country. Well, we
| get on with them as we'll as we can: OF.


rather, we chase one away, and another
| soon presents itself. And every now and
| then, IN the great commercial centre where


my work has been carried on, there comes q


superior eorner-a kind of Black Friday
| OF something that threatens commercial
| dlsaster-h general disaster. Then appears


the Secretary of the Treasury with his thorn
| OF plenty" and he lets loose something or
| other. lie either buys stocks, or he sells
| gold, or be does both, and he puts us at ease


TOR little time again. Now, am not heret


10 decide that that is not the best he can do
| don't know about that. l do insist
| that the business of the country ought not
| to be in condition to require


this continual application of something


notwithstanding let down from above
| that there should be state of things where


IN the business men and business interests
| should take care of themselves, and not re-
| quire continual interruption of some public
| authority in a dictatorial form. Some men
| are swamped when he appears; other men


are relieved, perhaps The greatest good to
| the greatest number is accomplished for
aught know; but want to see state of
things when the government is not cOntin-


ually called upon to help us out. It reminds


me OF state OF things that existed in my
earlier days, when every once in a while
Nicholas Biddle was called to Wall streetin
about the same capacity that the Secretary


OF the Treasury is now to put his shoulder
to the wheel and lift us out of some catas~


trophe-lift us out of some mire, or ward


OFT some catastrophe. I think we ought to
be able-that you, gentlemen ought to be
able-to devise the ways and Means not


only OF getting us out of one particular cor
ner, but in preventing corners in the future,
rendering them impossible, or at ali
events, disastrous to their contriYers Now


| am supposed to be man of sms, OF


(what is the wOrd?) a man of hobbies on


this subject. Some men imagine that | am


very furious demander of the immediate
resumption of specie payment.


My opinion was years ago, and / havea
seen no reason to change it, that when we
had SIPS, ,000,0 900 in money in the treasury,
mainly gold, and when we had revenue
exceeding the necessary OUTLAWS of the
treasury by moro than $l0Q,000,0O0 per an
mum, we were then III q condition to resume
specie payment; that if the government had
chosen to say we will resume-we take our
greenbacks back and we receive them as
gold-there would have been no difficulty
i'll making that resumption under that state
of things. 1haye seen the Bank of England
resume; | have known banks of our country
to resume with very much smaller pro





the treasury of the United States had at that
time; so that it seems to me to be per
fectly feasible thing. But We did not resume
mainly because people, mean the bust
ness peOpie-did not want to resume, and
that, in my iudgmrnt, is the reason that
will operate just as well next year, two
years, five years hence as it operated then.
1t is my Judgment that we are not likely to
resume, / don't know when, but in any
near period of time. Then l say if we
want to resume, we need all the revenues
we had then, and we ought to have hus-
banded them carefully. But if we were not
(as you and | know we were notl to resume
for long time to come, then it seems to me
business, as policy, was Pequired of the
government, that is to pay out all its gold.
all its treasure, beyond a fair working
balance, reduce its debt by so much, stop
the interest," and so leave the gold and cur
rency in the hands of the business men in
stead of boarding it up in the treasury to
make one of those periodical the conclusion
of this sentence was drowned by applause.
But am not dogmatic | do not pre-
tend to present this as matured and settled
conclusion. What do here ask; what aek
this chamber to originate, as an in
quiry and Investigation, by men of
business and capital, as to where
the proper remedy for these disorders
of which | speak is to be found.
Let us be calm about it, let us take time,
let US luVesUI5aJo slowly Carefully anu let
the business men of the country come to
conclusion as to the proper remedy; not for
a particular disorder, but something which
shall be protection against the periodical
reoccurrence of these disorders. This l5
what-I would have the business men OF this
country do: Look at the matter as dis
ease, not at one particular symptom, and
determine just what and where is
the remedy. I venture to say, if
the men who compose chambers like
this will agree upon what that
remedy is, they can have behind them
the press of the country with scarcely
an exception, and the public sentiment of
the country; and whatever shall seem to-
them, after mature deliberation, after care
ful discussion, the true cure for our tinau-
cial disorders and dangers will be accepted
by the general judgment of the country and
carried into effect. This is all, gentlemen,
and with these few remarks 1 thank you
for your patient attention. [Great aP-
plause]


After the conclusion of Mr.. Greeley's
speech, he was escorted to the vestibule of
the hall, where he took a large number by
the hand as they filed out. de soon there
after proceeded to the hotel, when at half
past one O'Clock he was escorted by Major
Baker, of CovingtOn, aud others, with
band Of music, to C0yington and Newport,
where he was publicly received, prior to his
denarturo for Louisville The streets were
thronged with people, and he was received
with cheers in many places along the g
march. During his stay he received many
friends and citizens at the Burnet House.


NEW YORK.