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A. J. GERRITSON,
Debt and Currency of the Cotintry
13.1= 1 . .115 Ct MX,
OF
Hon. Geo.W.Woodward,
DELI/BRED IN THE HOUSE OF ERPEESEN-
TA.TTVES, JAN. 18, 1868.
Mr. Chairman : I have somewhat to
submit on the debt and currency of the
country. When I found myself elected
to this Fortieth Congress, 1 felt, and all I
saw'and beard tended to confirm the im
pression, that the financial condition of
the country-was the subject most worthy
to engage the attention of a Representa
tive sincerely desirous of relieving the in
dustry of his constituents from the bur
dens and embarrassments that were
weighing it down.
But the subject was many-sided, and in
its details quite complex and intricate ;
and, besides, it lay out of the line of stu
dies to which my life had been devoted.
I felt, therefore,_more sensibly than ever
before, the wantbf aguiding band to con
duct me through_these unfamiliar mazes
of finance. I looked around for an oracle,
and I found so many, and beard such dis
cordant responses, that instead of being
enlightened and guided, I was bewilder
ed and puzzled. I doubt if the builders
of Babel understood each other sp badly
as the men who, through newspapers,
magazines and pamphlets, have discussed
the fiscal affairs of the country.
' A few weeks ago:a public letter from a
distinguished source, marking out a finan
cial policy, was extensively read, which
an intelligent friend in the eastern part of
the Slate of Pennsylvania very earnestly
commended to my attention as a wise and
comprehensive statement of what was best
for us ; and about the same time a friend
of equal intelligence in the - western part
of the State wrote me to express his,sad
ness at the exhibition of mental imbecili
ty which the author of that letter had pre
,en ted. This illustrates the contrariety
-f opinion which prevails in regard tri:e.v.
..ry scheme of finance that is proposed.—
And when I came into this House and lis
;nee) to honorable members, I found the
aame diversity of opinion at prevailed
outside. A former Ho use, „with s:ngular
unanimity, approved of the policy et' the
secretary of the Treasury for contracting
ii,e volume of paper money; this House
suspended contraction. We repeated the
tav on cotton ; the Senate virtually re
stores it. Some gentlemen insist.de pay
:,g the five twenty bonds in greenbacks;
~ ttiers would postpone it. " to the last syl.
aide of recorded time." The national
;,,anks are praised and abased as thewis
est and worstof institutions. Tariffs.and
:ax I#s are made and altered until they
become so unwieldy as to defy the best
efforts to execute them. Public loans are
proposed to consolidate our debt at the
same time we are impairing the public
credit. And thus we flounder on, con
founding and confounded, darkening
counsel with words, and setting and ad
hering to no stable policy.
Lcsiw, sir, in the tuilfst of all this jargon
and discord of opinion, I know of no wig..
er course than to recur to certain great
first principles which are either universal
ly confessed to be true, or which can be
easily defended. This in necessary , in nll
seasons of denbt. The storm-tossed mar
iner corrects his reckonings by the meri
dian nue, the mathematician, when lost in
the labyrinths of the differential calculus
recurs to the axioms and first principles
of his science ; and though in moral and
political science we have not the same
simple and sure standards of truth to ap
peal to, yet the habit of frequent recur
rence to fundamental principles is as
necessary and wise in these departments
of knowledge as in the more exact' scien
ces. If lam incapable of, seeing how a
.particular line of policy is going to affect
the business of the country, and ani,there
fore, unable tajudge of it by its fruits
and consequences, I con bring it to the
test of certain great and well ascertained
truths upon which our political fabric is
built, and if it will not bear .!that•
will reject it, however ;=promising its pro
posed results, or however Speciolls and
plausible the reasoning by which it Is sup
ported. , ' .
What I proposoto-day is simply to eittr
up the pure minds of the:. House to a re
membrance of some of the principles of
political economy and .of constitutional
law in connection with the financial condi
tion of the country. I have no scheme of
finance to propose. The great political
party with which I have the honor to act
m out of power end is unableto carry out
policy, if it should mark one out never
so plainly. When Abo responsibility - of
administering the -government is again
laid upon the shoulders of that party, as
it no doubt will be 'next year , it will be
mon enough to develop the line of policy
upon which the party shall. move. Mean
while the ,responsibility feats upon the
RepubliCan party under whose adminis
tration the public debt, from about $BO,-
000,000 in 1860, grew in five years to the
enormous sum of $2,757,889,59; 43. Ac
cording to the report of the Secretary of
the Treasury this debt had been reduced
on the Ist of Noyember to $262V•02,-
48 02. This may be taken asthe agre-.
gate of the pnblie debt` ...as,,avertainek
itttled and regletered upon the books of
rym:~.~oe~~~~;c:;:ir;`>~~v:.;~-:.-s.~.,:-~arT-__--`"'s~:.'~zaa:~a:~__ _-.x ; ~ ~~:n.;:z .::,.- ~;~_:;~s:s~~..:.:~s:...~{~...~....:~:.
the TrcasUry , Departraent, but it does not
inclttde numerous, claims upon the Gov
ernmentt growing.out of the war, which
are as yet unadjusted and insusceptible of
even 'an r 'appioxirtiate estimate.• While
some:of these , Claims hie ex horbitant; un
reasonable, and ,- dishonest, many are
doubtless equitable:and just, and such as
the cooscieuee of the country will ulti
mately acknowledge. Whatever the ag
gregate of these claims may be, it will, by
- sotntieh, swell the public debt beyond
the big figures which now express it.
The annual interest we pay on this debt
in gold is $143,781,591 91. This was the
sum the Secretary stated we paid during .
the fiscal year ending' June 30, 1867, but
for the quarter ending Septewber 30,
1867, the interest on' the: public debt was
stated at $38,515,640 , 47, indicating con
siderable increase of interest, if not of
debt, for the'current year.
Although the debts of some of the
principal governments of Europe exceed
the aggregate , of our registered debt, the
people of this country pay annually a Jar.
I ger itecrest • than is extorted from the
peoplOof Great, Britain, France, Russia,
Austria or Prussia, and a t.um nearly twice
as large as was required for all the annual
purposes ofthe government before 1860.
Yes, sir, the men of this generation grew
up:under an-2111MM expenditure by the
government, to support the civil list, the
army and navy, the pension list, internal
' improvements, and all the other objects to
which appropriationswere made, of half
the'sum which is required now to defray
the single, item of interest. And then di
rect taxation was unknown. Now the
the land swarms,,with tax gatherers, who
eat up the substance of the people like lo
custs. The estimates for the War and
Nervy departments and the civil list for ;
1868 is $182,000,000, which is more than
five times as much as the actual cost of
the same service ,in 1860.
That the people should be restive and
uneasy under such extraordinary burdens
i s not t o be wonder e d at. Nor is it strange
that this monstrous debt depresses indus
tryland enterprise. It rests like au ineu-
bus upon the labor of the people, and it' it
iS . ever paid : their labor must pay it ; fur, ,
thongli , lsbor not the only source of val- '
ue (time, place,and circumstances may all :
lie sources) yet it is the great, the chief :
source ofall individual and nationalwealth
'
It, is fasliiOnable'to dis'course largely cn ,
the wonderful 're''Ffllireeg of this country;'
and it is•true, indeed, that a bonntifnl
Providence has given us a vast extent of
ferti'e lands, and inexhanstable minera's
that match the wr,ealtlisif all the world be- I
sides, but what are all these resources ex- !
cept as the hand of labor cultivates and
develops them ? •
The fertile fields, if the farmer plows
them not, the rich minerals, if the miner
digs them - not. will never pay a dollar of
tits debt. .1 want to emphasize this tho't.
I would have the government and all its
creditors realize bow entirely they depend
on the producing classes of the country,
the laborer, whether he tills the soil, or
delves in mines, or toils in shops and fac
tories. 'Even gold itself derives its value
from-the labor necessary to produce it.—
Were it as common as stones, and as-eas
ily picked up, it would , be no more valua
ble than stones. And then see what a
load of debt we have laid on labor! It
has to bear municipal and State taxation,
support and educate children,. build up
homes and construct highways; and , yet
the Federal govefnment taxes the citi
zen higher than either' England 'or France
tax their 'subjects. 1 have seen a compar
ative stitement,of t our taxes and those of
England and France for the fiscal year
1866, reckoning both in our currency, as
follows:
English taxes, $0,09 per et. on - valuation.
U. S. taxes, 3,93 " tt
English taxer, $10,92 per capita.
French taxes, 7,97 per capita.
United States taxer, 16,90 per capita.
Thus it appears, sir, that we have, in
the last few years; outgone the principal
nations of the Old World in charging in
dustry with annual interest and in impos
ing general taxes upon our people. In 7
years we. have built a pyramid of debt
like that which it took them more than
seven 'Mildred years to rear. And now,
the party , 'under Whose administration
these burdens have fallen upon the peo
ple, have restingbpob them the responsi
bility of devising , , measures of relief. To
their wisdoni and statesmanship the
country has aright to look for such reas
onable and practical measures as shall in
crease revenues while they lighten taxes,
and shall stimulate and .reward industry
and enterprise. I,3nt those of us who bave
been sent here by Democratic constitu
encies 'are bound to contribute our best
cohnsels to the dominant party. ' We have
no tight to say to the Republicans, your
seetionalTrinciples and policy brought on
secession and war, and overwhelmed the
countrjrwith debt and taxation, and now,
without our help, extricate the couhtr r y
as'best yon may,-from the diffie.ultiew into
which yoir brought it. However just,
Such imiguagothight be by a-party out of
power when addressed to a party in pow
er, &alba ugh' who" are - Placed" in respon
sible positions, though they May belong ,
tos party that is out of power, are bound
to Ovise, and-ciouniet, and Waropaceord,
ing to their ability, for the good of all
MONTROSE, PA.., TUESDAY,
,FEB. 4, 1868
parties and of the whole country. They
have no right to fold their arms and let
the ship of State drift to destruction be
cause they are not at the helm. if they
see dangers ahead they are obliged to
point them out, and then, if the dominant
party will persist in running us upon
rocks and sh9ala, all that can be done is for
die masters of the crew to throw them
overboard and restore the ship to those
who have safely guided it through many
storms and dangers. In discharge of my
personal duty I proceed, therefore, to
point out certain general views and prin
ciples which ought never to be lost sight
of by those who have the power to give
shape to public measures—general views
and principles upon which the public debt
and its incidents and consequences ought
to be treated.
And first, the public debt should not
be regarded as a permanent future, to de
scend to posterity, but should be put in
process of liquidation, so as to be paid off
or reduced within manageable propor
tions during the present generation.
The author of all mischief never inven
ted a, worse falsehood than the saying
that a national debt is a national blessing.
Debt is no more a blessing to a nation
than to an individual, and most of us
know how it oppresses the individual man,
cramping his energies, depressing his am
bition, and virtually making him a slave,
if not of his creditor, of his circumstan
ces. "The rich ruled, over the poor, and
the borrower is servant to the lender."
However congenial a great national
debt may be to monarchical institutions
which rest upon the principles of primo
geniture and an hereditary aristocracy,
no representative and popular Govern
ment like ours can be truly independent
beneath such a load of debt as has been
piled upon us. Why, sir, at this moment
we are restrained from buying territorial
additions, and from exploring the extent
of the precious metals in the public do.
main, and from other necessary and ad
vantageous expenditures, by the presence
of this debt. It stands like a hideous
spectre in the path of our progress. And
suppose we had to resent a national af
front, or vindicate a national right, by
war; suppose, for example, what is quite
supposable, that to compel European na
tions to respect the doctrine of expatria
tion, upon which our system of naturali
zation is built, we would find it expedi
ent to adopt a belligerent policy, would
not this debt tend to make us timid, ob
sequious, self sacrificing? I fear it would
make some politicians
Crook the preg,nant hinges of the knee,
Where thrift may fullow fawning."
I have said, sir, that if the debt he ev
er paid labor must pay it ; but to enable
labor to do its work it must have the as
asistance of capital; and capital, habitual
ly timid, is scared away from enterprises
of pith and moment by this overshadow
ing cloud. At this moment every indus
trial interest in the country languishes,
and every look out into the future dis
courages both capital and labor. Be
tween capital and labor there is, natural
ly, not only no antagonism, but a strong
elective aflit.ity, which, if undisturbed by
repelling forces, will draw them into har
monious co operation. A national debt is
the worst of all repellingforces. In Eng
land and France individual wealth may
be invested in public funds without mate
rial injury to labor, because the Govern
ment becomes the employer of labor and
dispenses the wealth which is lent to it;
but with ns the Governinent is and ought
to be confined to its appropriate functions
as a political power, and can engage in
no internal improvements or public works,
which are not necessary for common de
fense or ordinary governmental purposes.
All the wealth, therefore, which the Gov
ernment concentrates in public loans is so
much withdrawn from the common avoca
tions of life and from the rewards of labor.
When, as in the instance before us, a sys
tem of banking is based upon the Govern
ment bonds and the Government ab
stracts from the labor of the country a
gold interest to pay to the bankers, who
sell it at a premium and divide the profits
among themselves, the public debt be
comes a peculiar curse to the people. The
only currency which the banks furnish
the people is a depreciated paper curren
cy, which has the effect of enhancing the
price of all the necessaries they consume,
while they return to the banks a coin in
terest to swell the profits of these favor
ed corporations.
But a more comprehensive objection to
a permanent public debt is its consolida
ting power. This is strikingly illustrated
in England, where, under the operation of
their public debt and their system of in
testacy, an aristocracy has 'grown up
which possesses most of the wealth of the
country and controls its legislation. This
moneyed aristocracy has grbtind the mill
ions down into abject poverty. Dwelling
itself in mansions of regal splendor, it has
sent labor to eat its scant meal and sleep
its hard sleep in small and mean cottages,
sometimes made of mnd, and often with
no roof but a thatch and no floor but the
ground. 11l smothered discontent and
often Open outbreaks of popular passions
have been the consequences of the false
relation that exists between capital and.
labor in,that:zonotry. Hence the neces
sity for a standing army, an ulna pPlicei
and a hireling constabulary to keep the
pecple'in order and to enable capital to
wring the last drop of sweat from the
brow Of industry. All this, I repeat, may
be well enough fbr a monarchy, but let
not otir'bithple i✓epublican institutions fall
under thevontrol of moneyed aristocra
cy, else the people of this country will
share the fate of their kindred in the
mother country. Everything which:tends
to a consolidation 'of money power, or po
litical power, is inimical to the principles
and genius of our American liberty. Our
system of intestacy is one of the best in
stitutions of the country, for it diffuses
the accumulated wealth of families ; but
charters of incorporation avoid and defeat
the operation of the intestate laws. When
we see a vast array of banks, based upon
a great public debt, and rapidly accumu
lating wealth, while the people at large
are embarrassed to pay their taxes, we
may well take alarm and conclude that if
we would preserve and perpetuate repub
lican institutions we must get rid of that
debt.
Ido not propose to pay the debt at
once. It is too big to be wiped•out sud
denly, but we can place ourselves upon
sound principles, which, if steadily adher
ed to, will extinguish the debt within the
lifetime of living men. And the moment
the world sees that we have adopted a
system of finance that shall be based upon
the world's measure of values, that we
have begun to retrench expenses in ear
nest, that we have levied such reasonable
taxes as can be collected, and that we
consider no debt paid until it is redeemed
in gold and silver, our debt, great as it. is,
will, for all practical purposes, disappear.
It will be virtually paid from that hour.
My next observation is that Govern
ment bonds ought to be taxed as bonds.
The text of several of the acts of Con
grees under which they were issued ex
empts from State and municipal taxation,
but not from taxation for the purposes
of the Federal Government. The income
deprived from them by our own citizens
is, I believe, included in taxable incomes,
but as distinct forms of propert y they
have escaped taxation, while all other
forms of property have been laid under
contribution to pay interest on these very
bonds, aad to support the Government,
which gives them all the value they pos
sess. This is not equitable or just.
But it will be said these bonds were
placed in the market and sold with the
understanding, express or tacit, that they
were not, to be taxed. Sir, the taxing
power is vested in Congress as a trust for
the people, to be exercised for their pro
tection and benefit, but not to be aliened,
mortgaged, or given away. No former
.Congress could take the taxing power
away from this or any other future Con
gress. The dead cannot bind the living.
This Congress assembled with all its con
stitutional functions and powers unim
paired by what former Congresses or
Treasury agents bad said or done in re
spect of the taxing power. "Congress
shall have power to levy and collect tax
es," says the Constitution, and td argue
that we have not this power, because of
what our-predecessors did, is to make the
Constitution repealable by an act of Con
gress or a Treasury circular. The taxing
power is the vital breath in the nostrils of
the Government. if it may be suspended
in respect of one form of property, it may
in respect of all other forms of property,
and thus be extinguished, which would be
suicide of the Government.
But if the power exists, it may be ill
faith, a sort of repudiation to exercise it.
Not so. The public credit& knows what
the legislative powers of the Government
are when he lends his money, and he takes
the risk of a constitutional exercise of
those powers. Salaries are fixed by law
as solemnly as these bonds promise to
pay, and judicial salaries are protected
from diminution by the Constitution, yet
the Government does not, hesitate to tax
salaries, and nobody reproaches it with.
repudiation. The fact is, all forms of
property, whether they be houses and
lands, stocks, bonds, or offices enjoy gov
ernmental protection, and theretore owe
the correlative duty of support to the
Government. This is the principle upon
which the foreign bond holder can be
justly taxed. His property, so far as it is
invested in bonds, is here-to be protected
and defended by our Government. What
be holds in his strong box across the
ocean is only the title deed, the evidence
and sign of the thiug signified. The sub
stance is here in onr hands, to be guar
ded, preserved, and returned; and as all
these are governmental duties, whatever
and whoever enjoys governmental protec
tion is bound to contribute to the support
of Government. Nor will there be any
expensive - machinery necessary to collect.
this tax, for it can be deducted from each
coupon as it falls due, and go directly to
the relief of the Treasury. It wilt tend
also to .equalize end render uniform all
public burdens, and thus take away the
irritating contrast that is now presented
between ,: Government bonds and other
forms of property the invidious discrimi
nation between bond holders and tax
payers in general.
My third observation is, that we shoyld
fix a time for the , restinption -of Specie
payments, first, of all gunaktti:'itesiceeding
- twenty-dollars and a more distort day for
all tithetqb , Ttie fatiafififglitif
this now by a declaratory act would be to
give the country notice to prepare for
specie payments, and such is the elastici
ty and adaptability of our people that
they could, with ample notice, prepare
for thiS return to our normal condition
'without material sacrifice or inconveni
ence. The proposition includes,of course
the repeal of so much of the act of Con
gress of 25th February, 1862, and of sub
sequent'acts, as made Treasury notes le
gal tenders in payment of debts. By the
act of 1862 $150,000,000 were authorized,
and by subsequent acts some five hundred
and fifty millions more—making an ag
gregate of some seven hundred millions of
irredeemable notes that were made legal
tenders in payment of debt. How many of
these notes have been issued and are still
outstanding I am unable to ascertain from
the official reports, but they entered at
once into the circulation of the country,
and were used to pay off all debti that
had matured. Ground rents and mort
gages were paid off to a vast extent in
Pennsylvania—debtors hunting their
creditors as keenly as, in other circum
stances, creditors pursue debtors. As
these notes have not averaged in value
more than from sixty Ito seventy cents in
the dollar, and yet were made legal ten
ders at par, it is apparent that the debt
or who used them saved a third of his
debt and his creditor lost it. And yet all
the debts of the country, except such as
stipulated for payment in specific articles,
were contracted on the specie basis, and
were redeemable, before these acts of
Congress were passed in nothing but gold
and silver coins. If these coins were ex
pressly stipulated for in the contract, of
course the legal Obligation existed to ren
der them, but if they were not expressly
stipulated for the creditor had a right to
demand them, for nothing else was a legal
tender. When Congress created another
legal tender, worth only two thirds as
much as that upon the faith of which con
tracts bad been made, they tempted every
debtor to use the cheaper and baser cur
rency to pay his debts, and they annihila
ted a third of the debts of the country.
If any man would measure the sacrifice
and•havoc of private rights which this
legislation has caused let him inquire into
the aggregate of debts public and private,
State; municipal, corporate and individu
al, that have been extinguished by green
backs, and a full third of that aggregate
may be regarded as lost to the' country,
confiscated, annihilated.
And now it is proposed to pay off the
five twenty bonds, which bear a six per
cent. interest in coin, with these green
backs that bear no interest, and it is ar
gued that the text of the act of 1962
authorizes this to be done.. I believe this
suggestion originated with Mr. Pendle
ton, of Ohio, but it has found an able de
fender in this House in the person of the
member from Massachusetts,' [Mr. But
ler.] The gentleman from Ohio [Mr.Ca
ry] also favors the suggestion, and indeed
he seems to think greenbacks are a better
currency than gold and silver. The gen
tleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Butler]
is not faithful to the cause ho as espous
ed when he admits that the indebtedness
of the Government, antecedent to the act
of 1802, must be paid in coin, and the rea
son he gives, to wit : That that indebted
ness was contracted on the specie basis,
would have applied to the millions of pri
vate and corporation debts that have been
paid in greenbacks. Does not the honor
able gentleman know that the courts have
decided that the act of 1862, the first le
gal tender law, applies to all antecedent
debts, public and private, even those ex
pressed to be payable in coin ? Interest
on the public bonds and deities are the on
ly exceptions mentioned in the act. All
other debts, public and private, are with
in its sweep. And though 'loans created
by subsequent acts, which stipulated for
coin, would not be within the operation
of the legal tender acts, these prior loans,
which the gentleman so carefully excepts,
would be, if we take the acts, as we are
bound to tape them, according to the ju
dicial interpretation they have received.
The question, then, is a somewhat lar
ger one than the honorable gentleman
seemed to suppose. It is no less than this '
whether not only all the Eve twenties but
all prior loans shall be paid in greenbacks?
Obviously the interest on these bonds can
not be so paid, for the bet of 1862, in es
tablishing the paper legal tender, express
ly saves interest on Government bonds.
This item of interest, being expressly ex
cepted out of the enacting clause, cannot
be paid in greenbacks and must be paid in
coin. Bet as to the principal of all bonds
except those issued under acts of Con
gress subsequent to legal tender nets, the I
question is, does the law authorize the
payment of them in greenbacks ? This ,
question touches the $500,000,000 author- 1
ized by the act of 1802 and whatever had
teen.authorized by prior acts, and it must
be confessed that the phraseology of the
act of 1862 favors the proposition to troika j
them payable in greenbacks. It does not
prescribe coin for any debts except inter
est and duties, and it does make Treasury
notes legal tenders -in payment of,' all
claims and demands against the United
States of every kind whatsoever," except
for interest on bonds; and it declares also•
that they a shall , be lawful money and a,
/col , tea inliglytnen 6 or. all dabts tinb.
lie and private within the United States,
11=Eiii
VOLUME XXV, NUMBE44:7
except duties on imports add inteiejd
aforesaid."
It Congress had power to make sable
an enactment most, certainly the holden
of five twenty bonds, and , of previous
bonds have no more right to complete
that they are paid in greenbacks.than . ,all
other private creditors bad, and, their
complaints were unheeded. The words
of the enactment are large and eompre'
hensive enough to include these bondhol
ders, and it is impossible to concerreofany
equity they have, above other creditors,
to be taken out of the enactment. The
gentleman from Maine [Mr. Blaine] was
at considerable trouble to show from our
current history that the bonds were ne
gotiated with the understandingthat they
were to be redeemed in coin; but it has
been well answered that the advertise•
ments and circulars issued by , the Secre
tary of the Treasury or any of - his agents
cannot alter the tenor of the law upon the
faith of which the botutt were, issued:
That law was open to the purchaser of tbe
bonds, and it must be presumed he pur
chased subject to it.
The gentleman from Ohio Nr. ICsry]
has discovered, at length, that .the bond-.
holders did not buy their bonds upon any ;
high and patriotic motive, but simply
as a speculation.' Then it is no hardship
to treat them 'as we treat the soldier. who
fought our battles, and the soldiees wid--
ow, the day laborer, and all the other
most meritorious creditors of the. Gov,.-.
ernment.
So long, sir, as you will maintain. two
legal tenders, or diverse values. I shall ,
vote for paying " all debts," not exptess.
ly excepted, in the cbeapest of those:tea?.
ders. If you will pay the most meritori-
ous creditors of the Government in green-
backs; they are good enough, in my judg•
ment, for those bondholders whom the
honorable gentleman from Ohio - Dlr. Ca..-
rv] has found to be no more patriotio
than other people.
But, sir, Ido not believe thatCongress
had any constitutional power to make
greenbacks a leg al tender. I know the
courts of last resort in several States have
decided the act of 1862 to be constitution
al, by a bare majority of judges, and the .
Supreme Court of the United States have
not yet passed upon the question. So far
as the judicial mind of the cowry has
been expressed upon the subject, ',con %
fess myself bound to regard the act as
constitutional, and would, therefore, ft.':
the present vote fur applying it, to all
debts, public and private, which are not
excepted from its operation; but, believing
it to be of evil example, destruCtive of
that good faith which should belong to a:1 .
contracts, violative of the ecnstitution-1
rights of citizens, and not within the dol. •
egated 'powers which we are sent hero to
exercise, I would wire all such stains out
..
of our Aatute book. The effect of repeal
ing that bad legislation would 110 - happy
in many respects. It would take away
the ugly question started by Mr. Pendle- , 7
ton and so fiercely discussed on this floor,
because, instead of leveling the boodhol %
der down to - the bther creditors, it would . 1
level the other creditors - tip-,to the band..
holder. It would bring us back to 'gold -
and silier, the constitutional ..eurreney,. ,
which I was sorry to hear the honorable '
gentleman [Mr. Cary] sneer at hard
money" and " the idol of the Democratic , :
heart." It is hard, to be sure, hard to
get and hard to keep, but while you keep
it, it is so hard that it will not perish on
your bands. That it is Democratic teen-
ay is also true, beeause it is constitution- ,
al, and I need not tell so
.intelligent a
gentleman as my friend from Ohio that
all things which are constitusional are
democratic.
And if we would repeal thiii law by
easy stages, as I propose ,
_ it would occa-,
sion the country no shock; while if it
should happen to be knocked in the head
in the Supreme Court, the multifarioue ,
interests that are bound up in it would for
a time be greatly damaged. These are
my reasons for suggesting immediate .
steps for a gradnal repeal of a law that has
done us more dishonor and injury than
any other enactment of our day.
I will not to day argue the constitution
al question, but I wish to bring to the
notice of the committee the collocation of
the thoughts which led to the enactment .•
of the legal tender law of 1862, as eon--
taiiied in the report of the Comptroller of ;
the Currency, which has been . laid up,orl
our desks. If gentlemen will look „into
that report they will see that all the lest.
ding members of both Rouses,plaped the,
law, not upon the Constitution, but 'mon,
" uncontrollable necessity," . " the unnsu...,
al exigencies of the country," "necessity,. . ;
not choke." Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, brolt
out sharply the prevailing 'ithonitbkwhen
he said, " The Senator frotn,Yern,iont,-,
(Ur. Collamer,) whose, °Pluton, is certaini,L.
ly entitled to the highest consideration, s , .
and who supports it with au ..,able . argn ! ,,
ment, contends, that this tneasuie, is an. ..
constitutional. 'lnonfess" ho - adds, "ifl
did not feel its necessity, I w ould shkehi
myself behind his conviction iind.'vote
against it," Not a voice seems to .
been raised in behalf of the constitntion%b
ality orthe measure, but the iseeessigea„
of the time, real or imagined o -kere
mitfed Co set aside the Const4ation.
gut+ '4 B- . l *li. the line 9 f #90 1 r4k.. Ifiet
~ioiirts,' a y e if necessity 'Were hig her yaw
than the Constitution. I will not *Lite?