186 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



NOT 

 Bingl 



fSchoison. Pierce, Pile, 



McCullough, Morrissey, 

 Polsley, Prince, Pruyn, 

 Svher, John Trimble, 



"Now, sir, what has been the cause of our 

 expenditure since the war closed? We are 

 more indebted now than we were then, not- 

 withstanding a system of taxation more heavy 

 than was ever before imposed upon any people 

 living under a republican form of government. 



Notwithstanding these drafts upon our re- iimu ^ f , TWSlt uuii>, 

 sources, our debt has been accumulating, and bridge, and Woodward 

 we are farther from specie payment than three 

 years ago ; and so it will be until we have a 

 sound system of finance on the part ^of the 

 Government a sound system of taxation on 

 one side levied on a few articles, and a wise 

 svdt-om of exoenditure on the other. Until we 



3?that we shall have to give the public credit- also to strike out ine proviso at me 

 ors renewefp"es to g pay. On the other first section m the following words: 

 hand, a wise, sound, and judicious system of 

 finance can bring us to specie payments in a 

 very few years. But Congress can do nothing 

 by legislation of this kind. It is futile, it is 

 useless, it is deceptive. The first section of 

 this bill, so far as I can see, means nothing. 

 If it means more than the former statutes do, 

 then I submit that this is not the way to meet 

 that question. If this Government is to come 

 under increased and enlarged obligations, this 

 whole thing should be fairly and squarely con- 

 sidered in open debate, giving an opportunity 

 to all gentlemen to advance their respective 

 views in regard to it, and we should determine, 

 by conjoint effort, in what way we can best 



Bailey, Barnes, 

 Gary, Dickey, 



VOTIKO Messrs. Adams, 



iJingnam, Boles, Boutwell, Bucklau.u, \j.ij , +si.<^i*.^j , 

 Dockery, Edwards, Garfleld, Gravely, Hamilton, 

 Hau<rhey, Asahel W. Hubbard, Lincoln, Loan, Lo- 

 gan Mallory, McCarthy, * 



, 



Eandall, Selye, Sitgreaves, Svpher, John Trimble, 

 Lawrence S. Trimble, Van Auken.Van Wyck, Vidal, 

 Elihu B. Washburne, Stephen F. Wilson, Wood- 



In the Senate, on February 26th, the bill 

 was reported back from the Committee of 

 Finance to whom it had been referred, with 

 an amendment to strike out in line nine of the 

 first section the words "interest-bearing," and 

 also to strike out the proviso at the end of the 



Provided, Tiowever, That, before any of said interest- 

 bearing obligations, not already due, shall mature or 

 be paid before maturity, the obligations not bearing 

 interest, known as United States notes, shall be made 

 convertible into coin at the option of the holder. 



Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, moved to recommit 

 the bill, with instructions to the committee to 

 report a bill embodying the following proposi- 

 tions : 



First. That gold and silver coin is the measure and 

 the par established by the world and adopted by the 

 Constitution of the United States for all property, 

 values, debts, and other pecuniary liabilities ; and the 

 Government of the United States having, on % the 

 sale of the bonds which constitute the bulk of the 

 eceived greatly less, when measured 

 'Id and silver coin, than their nominal 



protect the credit and power of the country. "mount: said" Sends should be discharged by the pay- 

 The bill was ordered to be engrossed, read ment i n ' com O f their value by that par at the daya 

 a third time, and passed, by the following 

 vote: 



they were respectively sold by the Government ; and 

 the future interest upon said bonds should be reduced 

 to four and a half per cent, per annum on their value 

 , Arnell, as aforesaid, payable in coin. 



YEAS Messrs. Allison. Ames, Anderson, Arnell, as aforesaid. paya^ u ^ ^^. 



Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Axtell, Baldwin, Second. That all other debts and pecuniary liabili- 

 Banks, Barnum, Beaman, Benjamin, Benton, Black- ties created or incurred since the issue of legal-tender 

 burn, Blaine, Blair, Boy den, Boyer, Brooks, Broom- notes, and which do not express to be payable in gold 

 all, Buckley, Callis, Chandler, Churchill, Reader W. or silver coin, were contemplated and intended by 

 Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Clift, Corley, Cornell, Cullom, the parties to be met and paid in currency ; and on 

 Dawes, Delano, Dixon, Dodge, Driggs, Eckley, the general resumption of specie payments such debts 

 Thomas D. Eliot, James T. Elliott, Ferriss, Ferry, and liabilities should be discharged by^ the payment 

 Fields, Getz, Glossbrenner, Gove, Griswold, Halsey, 

 Harding, Heaton, Higby, Hill, Hooper, Hotchkiss, 

 Chester D. Hubbard-Richard D. Hubbard, Hulburd, 

 Jenckes, Alexander H. Jones, Judd, Julian : Kellogg, 

 Kelsey, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, Laflm, Lash, 

 George V. Lawrence, Lynch, * 



in gold or silver coin of their value by that par when 

 they become due and payable. 



Third. That the annual expenditures of the Gov- 

 ernment should be reduced within the following 



general scale : for the civil service, $45,000,000 ; pen- 

 Marvin. MaynardJ sions and Indians, $30,000,000 ; Department of War, 



McKee, Mercur, Miller, 'Moore, Moorhead, Mor- $25,000,000 ; Navy Department, $20,000,000 ; contin- 

 rell, Mullins, Myers, Newcombe, Newsham, Norris, gencies and miscellanies, $10,000,000 : and interest 

 O'Neill, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pettis, Phelps, on the public debt, $50,000,000 ; and the whole sur- 

 Plants, Poland, Pomeroy, Price, Raum, Robertson, plus of the revenue should be faithfully applied to 

 Robinson, Roots, Sawyer, Schenck, Sconeld, Sheila- the extinguishment of the public debt, 

 barger, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Stewart, 

 Stover, Taber, Taylor, Trowbridge, Twichell, Up- 

 son, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van 



Horn, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, William B. aggregate amount; ana a aay, wiuun iimse yuan 

 Washburn, Welker, Whittemore, Thomas Williams, should be named for the general resumption of speci 

 James F. Wilson, and Windom 120._ payments. 



The motion of Mr. Davis was not agreed to. 

 The question was then taken on the amend- 

 ment of the committee, and it was agreed to. 



. 



Fourth. The taxes, which are now so grievous a 

 burden upon the people of the United States, should 

 be reduced at least $100,000,000 annually, of their 

 gate amount; and a day, within three years, 

 s med for the eneral resumtion of secie 



NATS Messrs. Archer, Baker, Beatty, Beck, 

 Bowen, Bromwell, Burr, Benjamin F. Butler, Rod- 

 erick R. Butler, Cake, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Covode, 

 Deweese, Donnelly, EWleston, Ela, Eldridge, Farns- 

 worthj Fox, French, Golladay, Goss, Grover, Haight, 

 Hawkins, Holman, Hopkins, Humphrey, Hunter, 

 IngersolL Johnson, Thomas L. Jones, Kelley, Kerr, 

 Knott, William Lawrence. Loughridge, Marshall, 

 McCormick, Mungen, Niblack, Nunn^ Orth, Pike, 

 Ross, Shanks, Stevens, Stokes, Stone, Taffe, Thomas, 

 Tift, Van Trump, Henry D. Washburn, William 

 Williams, John T. Wilson, Wood, and Young 60. 



Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, moved to strike 

 out the second section, which was lost by the 

 following vote : 



YEAS Messrs. Chandler, Cole, Davis, Doolittle, 

 Fowler, Howe, and Wade 7. 



NAYS Messrs. Abbott, Anthony, Cameron, Cat- 

 tell, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Dixon, 



