BHUGERT ii FORSTER, Editor*.
VOL. I.
CENTRE DEMOCRAT.
BELLEFONTE, PA.
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HISTORIC PARIS,
BT OVID r. JOHNSON.
TBE rABTBEO*.
One visiting the Pantheon, a stranger
to its history, has reached the limit nf
it* attraction for him, after having
glanced at its strange vaults, and then
climbed up among it* frescoes on to iia
high dome and enjoyed that beautiful
view of Paris like a great map spread
out below him. But for one who has
seen the Pantheon aa drawn by the pen
of the Historian, and to whom it every
incident is familiar, there is a further
magnetism about it; not so great of
course aa those interesting associations
clustering about the graud old pile of •
ML Denis or magnificent Notre Dame,
rich and plethoric with their circum
stanoe and atory. The elemmta of
almost a century have beaten and
worked upon it; the stoira. and tem
pests of wur and revolution have spent
their wrath about it. 11 baa defied them
all, and stands a little more proy and a
little more seamed by the hand of time,
but yet the same looking down upon
bumble humanity of today, just e it
looked upon kings and queens who at
times have moved within its wall, but
who liave long since slipped into dust.
The River Meine in iu course through
Peris almost describes a crescent, but
virtually flows from east to west, thus
dividing the city into two partm r.ot
widely differing in point of population
and geographical limits; the north side
is termed the Right bank and the south
aide the Left hank. The Pantheon is on
the Left bank about one-third of a mile
back from the river. It was built upon
the site of and designed to replace a
church dedicated to the Patron Maint of
the city, Bt. Genevieve, who was many
centuries ago buried upon the spot.
Louis XV. commenced the present
structure, but it was not completed
until twenty six years later (I"U ). In
tha following year the National Assent
bly diverted it* uses and appropriated it
as a place of sepulchre for the distin
guished men of France, its name was in
accordance changed to "The Pantheon,"
and the inscription. "A*ur grand* Kommtt
la patru rroomndtuanls' (To great men the
grateful country j was placed upon the
frieze of the portico. Napoleon the
First, when in power, revived it* origi
nal name and its declination a* a church,
reserving iu vaults for the purposes the
Assembly had decreed them, in 1822
Louis XVIII. had the French inscrip
tion removed from the front and the
following Latin inscription substituted i
"/). O.Mtrb iaroe S. QF.SOVEF.K
IM XV. ftrarU Ud XVill. rritiltit"
(To the Almighty God through the
invocation of St. Uenev'eve Louis XV.
consecrated it, Louis XVIII. restored
it.) After the Revolution of 1830, which
waa followed by the abdication of
Gbarlas X.. this inscription was remov
ed and (be oiiginal renewed as it now
appear*. The building fronts upon a
large open paved space which spreads
away from it like a funnel, the neck of
which is the Rue Muflbn running a few
block* on until broken off short by the
Gardens of the Luxembourg. Thi*s|tace
was barricaded by the people as alio
the streets debouching from it in 1848
when Louis Phtllipoe was driven from
the throo#, and by the Communist* in
the aftur of 1871. Upon both occasion*
the conflicts between the troop* and
defendeaa of the barricade* were terri
ble, resulting in the sacrifice nf many
lite*. The ground plan ol the building
is cruciform and the elevation of beau
tiful design ami proportion, swelling off
into a lofty dome which terminates in a
high lantern. A gallery supported upon
Corinthian column* encircles the outer
base of the dome and another the outer
base of the lantern. The main entrance
looking towards the Rue Hufflot la
adorned with a portico, the roof of
which is sustained by rows of Corinthian
columns. In the tympanum or pediment
above are grouped in high relief colos**!
figures of Frenchmen, eminent in let
"EqCAt. ARD EXACT JWICI TO ALL MEN, Of WHATEVER STATE OR 1-r.RMAMION, EEL IQI OUR OR roLmCAL."-Jff*Noa.
tor*, wur, 11o Art* nn<l science*. Under
the portico ere two pieces of statuary,
tho finest of which 14 "St. Genevieve
imploring AttiU, the leader of the lltin*.
to spare lite City of I*trie." At tho
bronze door to Iho loft I purchased
ticket* jo tho dome and vaults for about
a franc—tho object of a charge is com
inondable, being, as stated on tho tick
ets, to secure fund* to complete the
decoration of the church, it certainly
is in want of it, for notwithstanding its
frescoes it lacks a comfortable finish,
the result of which is to give it a cold
and cheerles look. These frescoes,
which are handsome, were almost all
done by either GKOM, who so beautifully
frescoed the ceiling in part* ot the
museum ot the Louvre, or tierard, who
produced the most perfect face I ever
saw on canvas—that of Psyche. The
painting hangs in the Salle Des Sept
Cheminees of the Louvre and is entitled,
"Psyche receiving the first kin* of
Cupid."
1 circulated iilxiut for n short time
through the transepts and under the
great dome receedtng as it does in
concentric circles, when a man in the
dress of a policeman called out, "This
way to see the vaults." In a moment
about thirty of the curious rolled to
gether into a crowd and followed him.
1 dropped into tho rear, lie led us past
the altar to tho liack of the church:
there we descended a broad flight of
stairs. He unlocked a great door, and
a* we step|wsl in among the mys
teries a cold blast struck against our
face*. The very air seemed to want to
break out and away as though to flee
from a further companionship with
epitaphs and tombs. Groping after the
guide through a waste of s-one piers
and almost total darkness—for no light
Knetrates these sombre precinls save a
sited number of rays that struggle
through n few narrow openings—soon
we brought up at the entrance to two
small sections. Occupying the centre
of each of these chambers was a great
wooden tomb of heavy construction In
imitation of a Sarcophagus; the one
bears a hand holding a bUxitig flambeau
—the remains of Kusheau once rested
within it; the other presents a long
laudatory inscription—it held Voltaire.
After the throne was restored to the
Bourbons all earthly remnant of these
two philosophers was quietly remove!
to some spot less hallowed—the wooden
saroophsgi were allowed to remain.
Direcriy in front of the tomb of Vol
taire is that of Moufflit, the architect of
the building, who it is said died of grief
because he found the dome to weighty
for the means of support be had pre
pared ; bis successor resorted to lullar*
and arche* in order to cure the defect.
He was an able architect who could
design the Pantheon if he did make
this mistake; and so the times judged
him, for they buried him within this
monument of his own ability and named
the street in front of it after bim. I
tried to imagine an architect of n public
building in the United Hiate* tailing
into such an error, scorning to patch
it up to hold until the contract would
be taken off his band*, but allowing his
mistake of judgment to overcome him
and calmly pining away of the same
complaint that carried ofT Mr. .SoutHot.
Under what I preauine is the centre of
the building the guide hailed and
ranged us along a semicircular si retch
or wall, but with some little difficulty,
a* the curiosity of some prompted them
to step out of line in order tn see if
possible in the faint light what was
coming next. I had scanned my asso
ciates on the way down ; among them
were several Americans and English, a
Zouave with a face the color of sole
leather and with baggy red breeches, also
a tall young woman who I inferred was
from the provinces, with a percept aide
mole on her face and two very promi
nent front teeth. 1 was sandwiched
between these two individuals. Mars
on my right and Diana on my left. The
peculiar ingredients of soap fat waa the
predominating odor eafted from my
right, and garlic from my left. All being
iu order, the guide went off some dis
tance and gavu a terrible yell. The
audience started, giggled, the line
trembled— in a moment the echo came
beck loud and clear. Then he gave a
scream; then continued blows uiion
some infernal invention that cracked
like a cannon. Each sound came back
in succeeding echo*; *t time* the last
reverberations would resound multi
plied many times in strength. After
that he plied a long eerie* of trifling
1 questions which were in turn borne
hack. Diana seemed to exprese surprise
in some imcomprelieusible paiot ,- Mars
seemed to "scent the battle troin afar,"
for after each blow he swore wildly to
himself, el the same time audibly. At
: length the guide went beck to making
: thunder; the thing was getting tire
! some; he repeated tile first programme
i with it* full variation*. 1 began to think
; the storm was going to continue all day,
aud that the ibutnptng and hammering
' would ceaa*e only with *unaet on the
I outer world. I would have accepted
any tune for a change. Pull twenty
minutes of thi* banging passed, when a
voice from beyond the maiden at my
•ide sieved an opening between the
blaet* and cried tn Kugliah, "Jupiter,
draw off vour thunder and give us clear
weather!" It was u*elea# to address
other than French to him. lie waa in his
element; the skill with which he pro
duced sound at onoe convinced roe that
the operator was far from being a neo
phyte. He kept on, but finally .be
weakened and stopped, as I firstly' b
Here, only when his arm refused to
serve him longer. Thrn he led off to
the sepulchre of aome gentleman whose
name I have forgotten,
j The vaults are all of the same mould,
j small room* in appearance. Where the
tombs bare bees undisturbed the atone
BELLEFONTK, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1879.
aiircopltugi are wnlle'l in nlong the side*.
Ill" remains of Descartes, Marshal
Li tine* und other men f national rep
ii'iiion have been deposited here, the
great orator, Mirabeatt, nmnng the
nuinher. A half million of sorrow
ing people witnessed hi* funeral; a
■ulule of twenty-five thouand nin-kets
iva* lilcd us a mark of reaped. A few
vear* later, when sober judgment lost
its *wuv, the representative* of these
-nine people in fluid fury bad him
disinterred by night, and placed in the
cemetery for erim'nal*. The blood
thirsty wretch of the Revolution, Mar
at, s*Mis*iriiitd by Charh UeCJordny and
buried in (he court nf the dub f the
Cordeliera with all i bo funereal pompßnd
magnificence that money could purchase
und adoration suggest, was subsequent
ly removed here, ilia stny also was a
brief one, and the remains of litis cren
lure, whose heart bad been enclosed in
an urn as the precious relic of a God
and whose statute it was decreed should
stand beside that of lleutu*. were drag
ged out. carted away, and pitched into
the public sewera where they pro|>erly
l>oiong. Much are the vaults of the
Pantheon.
We ascended a stairway leading info
the front of the church and from there
I started for the dome. On the nay up
I had an opportunity to examine the
celebrated frescue—St. Genevieve receiv
ing homage from Clovis, Charlemagne,
Mi. 1/ouisand other*. The birds-eye view
'rom this dome waa supremely grand;
shining beautilully white in the sun
light and clear atnioapliere wa# irnniene
Pari*. I do not think there i* a city in
the world can present a more inviting
prospect; long tine* of avenues border
ed with horse chestnuts in full leaf
stretched away in every direction. The
greet Bouleyard* circled around joining
hands aa it might be said; enchanting
parks and gardens spring up green and
inviting here and there. But all this
must l> seen to be properly appreciat
ed. I can only approach a portrayal of
it when I say it is indiacrihably magnifi
cent.
GOVERNMENT PAPER MONEY.
AM IMPORT ART DRCISIOX BT MR Jt'STfCR
CLirroßD, or THI arrRXUK COVET.
All writer* upon political economy
agree that money is the universal standard
of value and the measure nf exchange,
foreign and domestic, and that the power
lo coin and regulate the Talue of money |*
an assential attribute of national sover
eignty. ##* Much qualities, all agrro,
are unifed in a much greater degree in
gold and stiver than in any other known
commodity, which was a* weli known tn
the member* of the convention who fram
ed the Constitution as to any body of
men since assembled and intrusted, to any
extent, with the public affair*. They not
only knew that the money of the commer
cial world ws* gold and silver, but they
also knew from bitter experience that
paper promises, whether Iwueil by the
Mtates or by the United Mtates, were utter
ly worthless a* a standard of value for any
practical purpose.
THE OPIRIORS Of THE FATHERS.
Evidence of the truth of the*" remark*
of thn mo*t convincing character Is to be
found in the |Hih|i*hed proceeding* of that
convention. Debate upon the subject first
arose when an amendment wa* proposed
to prohibit the State* from emitting hill*
of credit or making anything but gold and
diver eoin a tender in payment of debt*.
From the character of tnat debate and the
vole on the amendment it hecame appar
ent that paper money had hut few If any
friend* in the convention. Article 7of the
draft of the Constitution, as rq->rt<-l to
the convention, contained the clause, "and
emit hill# on the credit of the United
Mtates." appended to the grant of power
rested In C-ongrese *o borrow money, and
it wa* on the motion to strike out that
clause that the principal discussion in re
spei tto paper money took place. Mr.
Madison inquired if it would not he suf.
Anient to prohibit the making of such bill*
a tender, a* that would remove the
temptation to emit them with unjust view*.
Promissory notes, he said, in that shape,
that i* when not a tender, "may in some
emergencies he heat." Moma are willing
to acquiesce in the modification suggested
by Mr. Madison, but Mr. Morns, who
submitted the motion, objected, insisting
that if the motion prevailed there would
•till be ro-m left for the note* of a respon
sible minister, which, aa he said, "would
do all the good without the mischief."
Decided objections were advanced by Mr.
Ellsworth, who said he thought the mo
ment a favorable one to "shut and bar the
door against paper money j" and other#
etpro*e<l their opposition to the clause in
equally decisive language, even saying
that they would sooner see the whole plan
rejected "than retain the three word*, "and
emit hill*." Mufflee it to my, without re
producing the discussion, that ins motion
prevailed—nine Mtatea to two—and tbe
clause was stricken out and no attempt
was ever made to restore IL Paper mon
ey a* legal tender bad few or no advocate*
In tha convention, and d sovr had miss
| than one open adooeaU throughout the
I period the Constitution was under discus
| don, either in the convention which
framed it or in (ha conventions of the
Mtates where it wa# ratified. Virginia
voted in the affirmative on the motion to
strike out that clause, Mr. Mudiaon being
satisfied that If tha motion prevailed it
would not Have the effect to disable the
government from the uae of Treasury
notas, and being himself In favor f "cat
ting off the pretext for a paper currency,
and particularly for making the bills a
legal tender either for public or private
debtvj When the draft for the Constitu
tion was reported, tbe elan*e prohibiting
the Mtndra from making anything but g..!d
and slHrr a lender in payment of bills
contained an eiccfgiou, "in uese Cor.grasa
coMCaWd," bat the convention struck out
the exception end made th# prohibition
absohtit, one of tbe members remarking
llMM R favorable moment to crush
outttW* and all or nearly art of
the convention Waned to wf la tbe
sentiment. Contemporaneous act* are cer- '
teinly evidence of intention, and If o it is
difficult to *,) what more is needed to
show that the member* of that conven
tion intended to withhold from the States
Mini from tho United Hutes nil power to !
make anything hut gold and *ilv.-r n stan
dard of value or n tend -r in payment <>f
debt*. Equally decisive pritof to the same
effect is found in the debates wldeh subse
quently occurred in tho conventions of
the several Stale,, u, which til" Constitu
tion, as adopted. ws submitted for ratifi
cation. .Mr. Martin thought that the
Slates ought not to U totally deprived of
the rlglll to emit hill, of credit, but he
says that "the convention vvn so smitten
wi'h Ihe p|a-r money dread that it insist
ed that the prohibition should be abso
lute. "
rXIIKRAL MOSET MUST UK METAL MoXr.T.
Currency is a word much more compre
hensive than the word money, as it msy in
clude hank tolls and even hil'lsof rEchauge,
as well as coins of gold and silver ; but ihe
w od money, as employed in the grant • I
("■wet und-r consideration, means the
coin* of gold and silver, fabricated and
tam;a-d as required by law, which l.y vir
tue of their intrinsic value, as universally
acknowledged, and their • fil is I or gil,
become tha medium of exchange ami the
standard by which all other value* are
expressed and dischurgi-d. Sup;s>rt tn the
pro|Hition that the word money, as em
ployed in that clause, was inU-ndi-d to te
nsed in the sense here sup|s>s<-d is also de
rived from the language employed in cer
tain numbers of the fVrfsrnful, which, as
is well-known, were written and publish
ed during the jicriod when the question
whether the State* would ratify the Cn
stitution was pending in their several con
vention*. Much men a* the writers of
thon essay* never cssuld have employed
such language if they had enlcrtaiiM-d the
remotest idea that ciongres* possessed the
power to make paper promises a legal len
der. Like support is also derived from
tho language of Mr. Hamilton in hi* cele
brated report recommending the incorpor
ation of a national hank. He first stain*
the objection to the pr-qseed measure that
hank* tend to banish the go|J and silver of '
the country, secondly be give# the answer to
that objection made by the advortes of the
bank, that it is immaterial what serves the
purpose of money, snd then says that the
answer is not entirely satisfactory, as the j
rieratanent increase or decrease of the prec
ious metals in a country ran bardly ever
be a matter of Indifference. "As s" com- j
modify taken in lieu of every other, it
(coin) is n species of the nnsst effective
wrnllh, snd ss tha money of tho wurid it
U of great concern t the Hiate that pa
asset s sufficiency of it to face any de
mands which the protection of it* external
interests may create," ll* favored the ia
rorjmraUon of n national bank with power
to issue bills am) note* payable on demand
in gold and silver, hot ha eapreawd him
self ■* utterly opposed to paper en,lesions
by the United Mtatea, character! King them
as so liable to abuse and even so certain of
being abused that the Government ought
never to trust Itself with the use of so se
ducing and dangerous an element. Op
posed a* he was to paper emissions by the
United Htate., under any circumstances,
Il Is past belief that he could ever have
concurred in the proposition to make such
emissions s tender tn payment of debt*,
riiher t* a member of the convention
which framed tha • 'onstttution or a* the
head of the Treasury Department.
HISTORY or TRRASt-RT ROTES.
Treasury note*, however, have been ro
paatirily authorised by Congress, com
mencing with the net of -loth f June,
1812, but it was never eup|*wad before
the time when the MI vera I act* in question
were passed that Congress could make
such note* a legal tender in payment of
debts. Much notes, il was enacted, should
be received in payment for public land#
sold, by the Federal authority. Provision
wo* also made in most or all of the acts
that the Secretary of the Tri-asury, with
the approbation of thn President, might
causa Treasury notes to he issued, at the
par value thereof, in payment of services,
of supplies, or of debts for which the
United Mlales were or might he snswpr
abln by law, to such person or persons a*
should be willing to accept the same in
layment; but it never occutred to the |
legislator* of that day that such notes !
could be made a legal tender in discharge
of uch indebtedness, or that the public
creditor could be compelled to accept I
them in |mymentof hi* just demands.
Financial embarrassments, second only
in their disastrous consequence* to those
which preceded the adoption of the Con
stitution, arose towards the close of tile 1
lost war (1812) with Great Britain, and it
is a matter of history that tho*e embarrass
ments were too great and presiding hi I
be overcome by lh use of Trsasurv notes '
or any other paper emissions without a
spuria bssi*. Kx;iedlenta of various kind* ' t
were suggested but never occurred either
tn tha Executive or to Congress that a
remedy could be found by making Treas
ury notes, n* then authorised, a Irgnl ten
der, and the result waa that the second
hank of the United Mtatea was Incorpor- |
aled. Paper currency, it may be said, j
was authorised by that net, which 1# un
dfib*ed!y true; and It I* also true that
the bill* or note* of the bank were made I
receivable In ail payments In the United
Mutes if the same were at the time par** i
hie on demand, but the net provided that i
the corporation should not refuse under n j
heavy penalty tho payment in gold and
silver of nay of IU notes, hills or obliga
tions nor of any moneys received upon de
posit in the bank or in any of its office* of
discount and deposit.
Bri<ni attempt U made, strange to nay,
to fortify the proposition that the net* in
question are constitutional from the fact
that Congress, in providing for the use of
Treasury note* and In granting the '.-bar
ters to tha respective national honks, made
the note* and bill* receivable in payment
of duties and taxes, hut the *-wet U> the
suggestion ia to obvious that it Is hardly
nno"*ary to pause to suggest It* refutation.
Creditor* may exact gni'i Sod *!ivr of ,
they may waive tUc rtghi Wivqolsfi u. h
money and nceepl credit currency, ><- -v.tu
mndlUe* of her than gold and *lrr, and
the United Mtatwi n* creditor#, or in the
, exercise# of their exprea# power to lay and
collect tuxes, duties, impost* and excise*
may, if t)iy see (It, accept the Treasury
note# or bunk bills in such payment# *
•übstitutc* for thn constitutional currency. ,
Further di*cus#ion of tho proposition i
unneee*#ny, ns it I* plainly destitute of I
any merit whatever. Resort WHS nlo had
to Treasury note* in the revulsion of 1 H'l" |
and during the war wit It Mexico, and al*o
. in til"great reviil-lon of 1877, hut the new
, theory that (fongresa could make Treasury
note* a legal tender wit* not even suggest- ■
••<1 even bv the President <>r by any mem
ber of Ounjrro.
WAKIIIXCiTOg REJECTED fAt'Elt VIOSKT.
Seventy ynr# nre included in this re
vi< w, even if the computation is only e*r- j
rii d hark to the pu*-age .f the net >-*lab
ll*hitig the mint, snd it is clear that there
is no trace of any art, executive or legisla
tive, within that period which stT>rd the
•lightest iijqerl to the n< w constitutional
ih-ory that Congress can by law constituU
paner end**ion a tender in payment o!
debts. Even Washington, the fath'-r ol
'•ur country, refused to #•< ept paje r money
inpayment <-f <lel<t* contra- ted before the
War of Indtqa-ndcnce, and the proof is ,
full to the |*>int that Hamilton, a* well a* ■
Jefferson *nd Madl-on, was opposed to
pajo-r end*-ion* by the nation*! authority.
rilK t'ATlir.Ra IXTKXDKD TO DETRtTECOX- j
ORKM OT THE POWER TO MARK PAPER
HOXET.
Power, a* before reinnrkcl, wa* v<-*t-d
in the Congress under the Omtoleration 1
to boirow money and emit bills ol < redit,
and history show* that the ;iwer to emit
•urh bill* had b-cn cx<-rei*ed before the
convention which framed the Constitution
assembled, to i,n amount exceeding fiXof*,-
000,(100. Ktil! the draft of the Constitution,
a* re|airte,l. contained the word* "and emit
bills append'-d Ui the clause authorizing
CYmgre** to borrow money. When that !
clause wa* reached, say# Mr Martin, a
motion was made to strike out the word# i
"to emit hill# of creditand his account
of what followed afford* the most persua
sive and convincing evidence that the con
vention, and nearly every member of it,
! intended to put an end t* the exercise of I
such a power. Against the motion, be ]
says, we urged that it would be improper
to deprive the O-ngreoa of that power ; j
that it would be a novelty unprecedented
to establish a government which should
not have such authority ; that it was im
possibia to 10--k forward info futurity so
'ar as to decid" that event# thst might not
h#pp<-n would r*nd"r the exercise of such a
power absolutely necessary, Ac. But a
majority of the convention, be said, being
wise beyond every event, and being wil
ling to rl*k any political evil rather than
admit the idea of a paper emission in any
porntble case, refused V" trust the authority
j to a government on which they were lav-
I Ishing the most unlimited powers of taxa
tion and to Lbs marry of whom they were
: Willing blindly to trust the liberty and
property of the citizen* of every Mtat* in
the Union, and "thev erased that clause
from the system." kfore forcible vindica
lion of the actlun of the convrntion could
hardly he made than is expressed in the
language of the AVrfrro/iaf, and the authori
ty of .frige Mtory warrants the statement
that the language there employed is "Justi
fied by almost every ootemperary writer,"
'and is "attested in its truth by facts" be.
yond the influence of every attempt at
contradiction. Having adverted to those
facts the commentator proceeds to say that
j "the same reasons which show the neenrsi
j ty of denying to the State* tha power of
! regulating coin prove with equal force that
, they ought not to b" at liberty to substitute
a paper medium instead of coin."
Emissions of the kind were not declared
by the Continental Congn-s* to be a legal
, tender, but Congrosa IJO*..| a resolution
declaring that they ought to be a tender in
(Mynienl of all private and public d< bt*,
i and that a refusal to receive lb- Wtriet
ought to be an extinguishment of the d< 11,
; and recommend the Mtat<* to pats* sucu
laws. They even went further end declared
that whoever should refuse to recriie thc
paper as gold snd sliver should be deemed
an enemy to tha public liberty ; hut our
i commentator say* that these measure* of
violence aud terror, so far from aiding the
circulation of tho paper, b-d on to still
further depreciation. New emiuion* fol
! lowed and new measure# were ad'-pted to
j give the paper credit bv pledging the pub
lic faith tor it* n-desnptiun. Effort follow
ed effort in that direction until the idea of
redemption at par was abandoned.
for one wa* offered and the Mtate* were re
quire! to report the bill# under that rcgo
| lotion, but few of the old bill* were ever
: reported, and of course fi-w only of tbe
| contemplated new note* were issued, and
the bill# in a brief j*-id ceased tocirra
' late and In the courreof that Tear quielly
' died in the hands of their possessors.
! Bill* of credit were made a lender by the
Mtates, but all stub, at well a* tbo*e issued
: by th# Congress, were dead in the hanJ* o.
! ikeir possessor* before the convention as
sembled to frame ihw Con*titu'ion.
Intelligent snd Impartial belief In th<
thaory that such men, so instructed, in
framing a govsrntm nt for the.r [••stcrity
i as well as for them set re*, would delihrrau*-
j ly vest such a power, either in Congress , r
tile Mtatea, as s part of fheir perpetual *T
i tern, can never. In my judgment, be oantriri
in th hie. f the recorded evidence* to the
contrary which the political and Judicial
j history "nf our country afford*, gm-k evi- i
donee, so persuasive and convincing ** U la.
must ultimately bring all to ike *wtcluiaa i
that neither tha Congress nor tbe Mtate* I
can moke anything but gold or siirrr coin
a tender in payment of debts. Exclusive
power to coin monry la coils Inly tested in
Congress, but "no amount uf reasoning can
show that executing a promissory note and
'irdering it lo be taken In payment of pub
lic and pt Irate debt* k* a specie* uf coining
money."
CQHIM MAT BORROW MOXRT WITS
TREASURY ROTGS
Authority, It b coticeuH. cxisb in C -R
--|feea to pas# laws providing for the i~u"oi
Treasury notm, based on the nauonai
credit, a* nscetoary end propag mean* for
Mailing thaondcM tbe .-j.re. power t
li ha dmibtcd at
this. Vty U*t ocW ,rv.-'xa vli 'ft issued by
the proper authority mv lawfi ily rircu
late at credit currency and that th.y may
TKRMS: HI.SH per Annum, In Advance.
In that conventional dmrmler bo lawfully
employed. If the act authorizing their iaena
mi provides, to pay duties, te x<-* and all the
public exaction* required to lie |i<linUi||i
National Tr-asi.ty. I'uMic creditor* may
alao b<- paid in rocli currency by their cm*
sent, and they may l<c u-d in all other
cwi where the payment in tuch note*
■'omporti with tbo term* of the contract.
K*lahlt>hed ion ago founded upon the prac
tice of tho Government, often repeated,
ha* tanctioned thew rule*, until It may now
I*' *itid that they are not oion to cntro
ver*yj hut the question in tile /MM* before
the court I* whether the Con grew may de
clare *u h tote* pi tie lawful money, maho
them a legal tend, r and imparl Pi such a
currency the quality of being a *tandard of
value, and compel creditor* to accept tbu
payment of their deb'* in *u b a currency
a* the equivalent of the moro-y recognized
and e*tab!bh' d by the Constitution a* tin
standard of value by wbieh the value of el!
other eonunodit'e* 1* to be m***ural. Fi
nancial megun of various kind* for bor
rowing money to rupply the want* of th
Trm-urv beyond the receipt* from t**r
lion ami the aale* of the public land* have
t—.n adopted by the Government *in<-e the
United State* became an Independent na
tion. Subscription* for a loan of sl*2 <**>-
000 were on the 4vh of August, 1700, di
rected to be npgid at the Trea*urv. Pi bo
made parable in C-rlifU *t* issued for the
debt, a<-cording Ui their specie value.
Measure* of the kind were repeated in
rapid -ucce-siotj for aevrfal year*, and law*
providing for l am in one form or another
ap|iearid to have been the | referred mode
ot borrowing, until the oOth of June, 1812,
when ib flrt aet wa paiand "to authoriao
the issueof Treasury note*.'' Loan* bad
la-en previou*lv authorized in rej>ep-d in
sUm-e*, a* wifl be cen by the following
reference*, to which many more might be
added.
Karnest opposition vu made Pi the pe
age of the IJrt act of Congm* authorizing
ibi tenia ol Treasury note*, but the nioas
uro prevailed, and It may be remarked that
the vote on the icmiuh vu ever after re
garded a* having settled the quelion a* to
the conuitutionality of ucb an act. Five
million* of dollar* were directed lob* it
•ued by that act, and the Secretary ot the
Treasury, with the approbation of the
Pre* dent, wat empowered to cause such
portion of the note, a* he might deem ex
pedient PI be irued et (air "to tilth public
creditor* or other person* a* may chooae to
receive *urb note* in jaymenl. it never
having occurred to eny one that even a
public creditor could m compelled to re
-1 <*i\e uch note* in payment except by hi*
own content. Twenty other imue* ol such
| note* were aulhonwd by Congrats in the
\ nwrw of the fifty year* next after tho
passage of that act and before the passage
, of the act* making tuch note* a legal tender.
. and every one of tuch prior act*, being
'twenty in all, crntaint, either in express
j word* or by n-eatery implication, an
! i-qually decisive negation to the new con
tlitutional theory mat Cangn-es can niaha
i pat*r einiatSon* either a ttandard of value
; or legal tender.
j TKSAtCRT VOtß* CAXXT M MAPS If. AI,
TKXlitr.
£.i pel-added to the conceded fact that Iha
' Conttitution contain* no expna* w. r-ta P*
( support tuch a theory, thit long and utr
: broken mage that Tr-a*ury note* thall not
J bu constitute la standard < f value nor be
made a tenter in payment of debt* i* en
! titled PI J mat weight, and when taken in
connect on with the persuasive and eon-
I vine ng evub nee derived from the publith-
I f*l pio -esding* of the convention, that tho
i fratuer* of the Constitution never intruded
- to grant any tueh power, and from the r*
( c >rded teniiment* of the great men w-Ikm
-irgumenta in favor of the reported draft
procured it* ratification, and lUfipirtul a
. ihat view it hv the repeated d cition* of
i thl* Court, anil by the infalliable rulg of
- interpretation that the language of one
1 expret* power thail not be o expanded a*
to nullify the force and effect Of another
ex pro** power In the *ame instrument, it
wmi to me that it ought to be deemed
I final and conelutive that Congress cannot
I constitute *uih note*, or any other paper
omheion*, a constitutional standard ..f val
' He, or make them a legal tender in pay-
I m -nt of debt*, especially at it cover* the
) ♦ riod of two foreign war*, the creation of
j tit • second national bank, and the greatest
flua oial revulsion* through which our
, c -unify ha* ever pasted.
lather Tafl'v Depillgf,
• roaa IP P1.t1.-t- !*!, Two- J
A remarkable array of figure*, pur
-1 |M)tiin| to show the numtier of United
] States Ueputy Mataha!* u*e*l by At
| 'orney (irftrpl Tall in curry ing tbo
' '"lection of 1876 for the Republican*, •
' iirinled in ikxu* of the ppr. hi#
j aid that, by the Attorney General'*
own report, it appe-ra that twelve
i bou-anil five hatol, e*l and seventy nine
i |••.n were rtu loys-l in thw work,
j Their apporthnni* nt would nun to
■ iieve been on tl|e -.tuple basis **f |rti-
I -an necessities and without any regard
whatever to < o*t, legality r I ropnety.
In H<uih Carolina there Were tieariy
four hundred on duty at nwenwwn pr
i-ittct*; iu Lonteiana, seventeen hand
f ed for one hundred and twenty pre
' iuotai to Vug.nut, two hundred aiul
•ire for thirty five precinct*; in DeU
ware, one hundred and ibuly five for
j ten pminot*; in Maryland, twelve
hundred and twenty two for one htm
dred and fifteen precinct*, and to on,
the doubtful States having required the
mo*t hnking after. There t* no doubt
of the prostitution of thw branch ot
the | üblic service to partisan ends dur
ing General Grant's ad mine-'ration and
even riuoe. The Uow*e of Representa
tive* te quite right in wUtung to have a
bsll of particulars, and despite General
0 write Mr* ioejrplicwWe objection it ought
to have it. Ifpsrtta*n iur. ling* iw*
thus fastened auon the govern ntent
with the view of influencing the |wop|e '
in the choioe of their ruler*, it j. wmjile
justice that the people should know
egartlf who they are, exactly **},„
have done and exnotly what the service
coats ihs oouatry.
i
NO. 4.