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PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. Message of President 

 GEANT to the two Houses of Congress at the 

 commencement of the second session of the 

 Forty-first Congress, December 6, 1869. 



To the Senate and House of Representatives : 



In coming before you for the first time as Chief 

 Magistrate of this great nation, it is with gratitude to 

 the Giver of all good for the many benefits we enjoy. 

 "We are blessed with peace at home, and we are with- 

 out entangling alliances abroad to forebode trouble ; 

 with a territory unsurpassed in fertility, of an area 

 equal to the abundant support of five hundred millions 

 of people, and abounding in every variety of useful 

 mineral in quantity sufficient to supply the world for 

 generations ; with abundant crops ; with a variety of 

 climate adapted to the production of every species of 

 the earth's riches, and^ suited to the habits, tastes, 

 and requirements^ of every living thing ; with a popu- 

 lation of forty millions of free people, all speaking 

 one language ; with facilities for every mortal to ac- 

 quire an education ; with institutions closing to none 

 the avenues of fame or any blessing of fortune that 

 may be coveted ; with . freedom of the pulpit, the 

 press, and the school ; with a revenue flowing into 

 the national treasury beyond the requirements of the 

 Government. Happily, harmony is rapidly being re- 

 stored within our own borders. Manufactures, hitherto 

 unknown in our country, are springing up in all sec- 

 tions, producing a degree of national independence 

 unequalled by that of any other power. These bless- 

 ings, and countless others, are intrusted to your care 

 and mine for safe keeping for the brief period of our 

 tenure of office. In a short time we must each of us 

 return to the ranks of the people who have conferred 

 upon us our honors, and account to th em for our stew- 

 ardship. I earnestly desire that neither you nor I 

 may be condemned by a free and enlightened con- 

 stituency, nor by our own consciences. Emerging 

 from a rebellion of gigantic magnitude, aided as it 

 was by the sympathies and assistance of nations with 

 which we were at peace, eleven States of the Union 

 were, four years ago, left without a legal State gov- 

 ernment. A national debt had been contracted; 

 American commerce was almost driven from the 

 seas ; the industry of one-half of the country had 

 "been taken from the control of the capitalist and 

 placed where all labor rightfully belongs, in the 

 keeping of the laborer. The work of restoring State 

 governments loyal to the Union, of protecting and 

 fostering free labor, and providing means for paying 

 the interest on the public debt, has received ample 

 attention from Congress. Although your efforts 

 have not met with the success in all particulars that 

 might have been desired, yet, on the whole, they 

 have been more satisfactory than could have been 

 reasonably anticipated. 



Seven States which passed ordinances of secession 

 have been fully restored to their places in the Union. 

 The eighth (Georgia) held an election, at which she 

 ratified her constitution, republican in form, elected 

 a Governor, members of Congress, a State Legisla- 

 ture, and all other officers required. The Governor 

 was duly installed, and the Legislature met and 

 performed all the acts required of them by the re- 

 construction acts of Congress. Subsequently, how- 

 ever, in violation of the constitution they had just 

 ratified, as since decided by the Supreme Court of 

 the State, "they unseated the colored members of 

 the Legislature, and admitted to seats some members 

 who are disqualified by the third clause of the four- 

 teenth amendment to the Constitution, one article 

 which they themselves had contributed to ratify." 

 Under these circumstances, I would submit to you 

 whether it would not be wise, without delay, to enact 

 a law authorizing the Governor of Georgia to convene 

 the members originally elected to the Legislature, 

 requiring each member to take the oath prescribed 

 by the reconstruction acts, and none to be admitted 



who are ineligible under the third clause of the four- 

 teenth amendment. 



The freedmen, under the protection which they 

 have received, are making rapid progress in learning, 

 and no complaints are heard of lack of industry on 

 their part, when they receive fair remuneration for 

 their labor. 



The means provided for paying the interest of the 

 public debt, with all other expenses of the Govern- 

 ment, are more than ample. The loss of our com- 

 merce is the only result of the late rebellion which 

 has not received sufficient attention from you. To 

 this subject I call your earnest attention. I will not 

 now suggest plans by which this object may be 

 effected, but will, if necessary, make it the subject of 

 a special message during the session of Congress. At 

 the March term. Congress, by a joint resolution, 

 authorized the Executive to order elections in the 

 States of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, to submit 

 to them the constitutions which each had previously 

 in conventions formed, and submit the constitutions, 

 either entire or in separate parts, to be voted upon at 

 the discretion of the Executive. Under this author- 

 ity elections were called. In Virginia the election 

 took place on the 6th of July, 1869. The Governor 

 and Lieutenant-Governor elected have been installed. 

 The Legislature met and did all required by this 

 resolution, and by all the reconstruction acts of Con- 

 gress, and abstained from all doubtful authority. I 

 recommend that her Senators and Representatives be 

 admitted, and the State be fully restored to her place 

 in the family of States. 



Elections were called in Mississippi and Texas, to 

 commence on the 30th of November, 1869, and to last 

 for two days in Mississippi, and four days in Texas. 

 The elections have taken place, but the result is not 

 known. It is to be hoped that the acts of the Legis- 

 latures of these States, when they meet, will be such 

 as to receive your approval, and thus close the work 

 of reconstruction. 



Among the evils growing out of the rebellion, 

 and not yet referred to, is that of an irredeemable 

 currency. It is an evil which, I hope, will receive 

 your most earnest attention. It is a duty, and one 

 of the highest duties of Government, to secure to 

 the citizens a medium of exchange of fixed and un- 

 varying value. This implies a return to a specie 

 basis, and no substitute for it can be devised. It 

 should be commenced now, and reached at the earliest 

 practicable moment consistent with a fair regard to 

 the interests of the debtor class. Immediate resump- 

 tion, if practicable, would not be desirable. It would 

 compel the debtor class to pay beyond their contracts 

 the premium on gold at the date of purchase, and 

 would bring bankruptcy and ruin to thousands. 

 Fluctuation, however, m the paper value of the meas- 

 ure of all values, gold, is detrimental to the interests 

 of trade. It makes the man of business an involun- 

 tary gambler, for, in all sales, where future payment 

 is to be made, both parties speculate as to Avhat 

 will be the value of the currency to be paid and re- 

 ceived. I earnestly recommend to you, then, such 

 legislation as will insure a gradual return to specie 

 payments, and put an immediate stop to fluctuations 

 in the value of currency. The methods to secure the 

 forzner of these results are as numerous as are the 

 speculations on political economy. To secure the lat- 

 ter, I see but one way, and that is, to authorize the 

 Treasury to redeem its own paper at a fised price 

 whenever presented, and to withhold from circula- 

 tion all currency so redeemed until sold again for 

 gold. The vast resources of the nation, both de- 

 veloped and undeveloped, ought to make our credit 

 the best on earth, with a less burden of taxation 

 than the citizen has endured for six years past. The 

 entire public debt could be paid in ten years, but 

 it is not desirable that the- people should be forced 

 to pay it in that time. Year by year the ability 

 to pay increases jn a rapid ratio, but the burden 

 of interest ought to be reduced as rapidly as can be 



