CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



IM 



AMINT MeMrs. Alcorn, Bayard, Bputwell, 

 I{P'\VMI.., Buckingham, Conover, Denni*, K.l- 

 niuiui.-. K-n-v i.f < .'imuetiout, Flanugun, Gilbert, 

 Gordon, Mitchell, Morrill of Maine. Ranaom, 

 Sprague, Stevenson, Stockton, and Wright 19. 



S<> the bill was passed. 

 Mr. Wright: "I move to amend the title of 

 the Mil so as to make it road : " 



A bill to fix the amount of United States notes and 

 tculation of national bunks, aud for other pur- 



Tho motion was agreed to. 

 On April 14th the bill passed the House by 

 the following vote : 



YKAS Messrs. Albright, Arthur, Atkins. Averill, 

 Barber, Barrere, Begole, Bell, Biery, Blana, Blount, 

 Hiiwi-n, Bradley, Bright, Brown. Buckner, Bundy, 

 Burohard, Burrows, Benjamin t . Butler, Roderick 

 K. Butler, Cukhvell, Cannon, Caaon, Cessna, Amos 

 Clark, Jr., John B. Clark, Jr., Clements, Clinton L. 

 Cobb, Stephen A. Cobb, Coburn, C'omingo, Conger, 

 Cook. Corwin, Crittonden, Crossland. Crounse, 

 Crutehfleld, Curtis, Darrall, Davis, Dobbins, Don- 

 inuinell, Durham, Farwell, Field, Fort, Foster, 

 :*, Hiirmer, lli-nry R. Harris. John T. Harris, 

 Harrison. Hatcher, Havens, John B. Hawley, Hays, 

 (i.rry W. Hazelton, Hereford, Hodges, Houghton, 

 Howe, Hubbell, Hunter, Hunton, Hurlbut, Hyde, 

 Hynea, Jewett, Kasson, Killinger, Knapp, Lamison, 

 Lewis, Loughridge, Lowe. Martin, Maynard, Mo- 

 Crary, Alexander S. McDill, James W. McDili, Mc- 

 Junkin, McKee, McNulta, Milliken, Monroe, Morey, 

 Myers, Neal. Nunn. Orr, Orth, Packard, Packer, 

 Isaac C. Parker. Pelham, Phillips. Pratt, Purman, 

 Kapler. Ray, Richmond, Bobbins, James W. Robin- 

 son, KOKB, Rusk,' Sawyer,- Milton Sayler, Sener, 

 Shanks, Sheats, Sheldon, Sherwood, Lazarus D. 

 Shoemaker, A. Eerr Smith, George L. Smith, 

 Snyder, Southard, Sprague, Stanard, Standiford, 

 Stowell, Christopher Y . Thomas, Tyner, Vance, Wal- 

 lace. Jasper D. Ward, Wells, White, Whitehead, 

 Whiteley, Charles G. Williams, William Williams, 

 Wilshire, James Wilson, Jeremiah M. Wilson, 

 Wood worth, and Pierce M. B. Young 140. 



NATS Messrs. Adams, Albert, Banning, Barnum, 

 Buss, Beck, Brornberg, Buffinton, Burleigu, Clayton, 

 Clymer, Cotton, Cox,' Creamer. Crooke, Danford, 

 DaweSjDeWitt, Eames, Eden, Eldredge, Frye, Gar- 

 field, Gooch, Gunckell, Eugene Hale. Robert S. Hale, 

 llainilton, Hancock, Benjamin W. Harris, Hathorn, 

 Joseph B. Hawley, Herndon, E. Rockwood Hoar, 

 George F. Hoar. Holman, Hooper, Hoskins, Kelley, 

 Kellogg, Kendall, Lamar.Lawson, Lofland, Lowndes, 

 Magee, Marshall, MacDougal, McLean, Mellish, 

 Merriam, Mills, Mitchell. Moore, Nibluck, Niles, 

 O'Neill, Page, Hosea W.Parker. Parsons, Pendle- 

 ton, Perry ,r helps, Pierce, Pike, James H. Platt, Jr., 

 Thomas C. Platt, Poland, Potter, Rainey, Randall, 

 Read, Rice, Ellis H. Roberts. William R. Roberts, 

 John G. Schumaker, Scoflcld, Isaac W. Scudder, 

 Sessions. Small, Smart, H. Boardman Smith, John 

 Q. Smitn, Speer, Starkweather, St. John, Stone, 

 Strawbridge, Swann, Tremain, Waldron, wheeler, 

 Whitehouae, Witthorne, Wilber, Charles W. Wil- 

 lard, George Willard, John M. S. Williams, Willie, 

 Ephraim K. Wilson, Wood, and Woodford 102. 



Nor VOTING Messrs. Archer, Ashe, Barry, Berry, 

 Cain, Freeman Clarke, Crocker, Duell, Elliott, Free- 

 man, Giddings, Glover, John W. Hazelton, Hendee, 

 \ , Lamport, Lansing, Lawrence, Leach, Lut- 

 tn-11, Lynch, Morrison, Negley, Nesmith. O'Brien, . 

 Banaler, James C. Robinson, Henry B. Sayler-Henry 

 J. Scudder, Sloan, Sloss, J. Ambler Smith, William 

 A. Smith, Stephens, Storm, Strait, Sypher, Taylor, 

 Charles R. Thomas, Thornburgh, Todd, Townsend, 

 Waddell, Walls, Marcus L. Ward, William B. Wil- 

 liams, Wolfe, and John D. Young 48. 



On April 22d the following veto 

 was received in the Senate irout 

 Grant : 



To tin Senate of tJu Uniitd State* : 



Herewith I return Senate bill No. 617, entitled 

 " An net to fix the amount of United State* note* 

 and the circulation of national bank*, and for other 

 purposes," without my approval. 



In doing so, I munt express my regret at not being 

 able to give my assent to a measure which ha* re- 

 ceived the sanction of a majority of the legislator* 

 ohoaeti by the people to make laws for their gui- 

 dance, and I have studiously sought to find nut!i- 

 oient arguments to justify such assent; but unsuc- 

 cessfully. 



Practically, it is a question whether the measure 

 under discussion would give an additional dollar to 

 the irredeemable paper currency of the country or 

 not, and whether oy requiring three-fourths of the 

 reserves to be retained by the hanks, and prohibiting 

 interest to be received on the balance, it might not 

 prove a contraction. But the fact cannot be con- 

 cealed that theoretically the bill increases the paper 

 circulation $100,000,000, less only the amount of re- 

 serves restrained from circulation by the provision 

 of the second section. The measure has been up- 

 ported on the theory that it would give incr 

 circulation. It is a fair inference, therefore, that 'if, 

 in practice, the measure should fail to create the 

 abundance of circulation expected of it, the friend* 

 of the measure, particularly those out of Congress, 

 would clamor for such inflation o would give the 

 expected relief. 



The theory, in my belief, is a departure from the 

 true principles of finance, national interest, national 

 obligations to creditors, congressional promises, 

 party pledges on the part of both political parties 

 aud of personal views and promises made by me 

 in every annual message sent to Congress, aud in 

 each inaugural address. 



In my annual message to Congress in December, 

 1869, the following passages appear : 



" Among the evils growing out of the rebellion and 

 not yet referred to, is that of an irredeemable cur- 

 rency. 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 citizen 

 a medium of exchange of fixed, unvarying value. 

 This implies a return to a specie basis, and no sub- 

 stitute for it can be devised. It should be com- 

 menced now, and reached at the earliest practicable 

 moment consistent with a fair regard to the intm -t 

 of the debtor class. Immediate resumption, if prac- 

 ticable, would not be desirable. It would compel 

 the debtor class to pay beyond their contracts the 

 premium on gold at the date of their purchase, and 

 would bring bankruptcy and ruin to thousands. 

 Fluctuations, however, in the paper value of the 

 measure of all values (gold) is detrimental to the in- 

 terests of trade. It makes the man of business an 

 involuntary gambler; for in all sales where future 

 payment is to be made both parties speculate as to 

 what will be the value of the currency to be paid and 

 received. I earnestly recommend to you, then, such 

 legislation as will insure a gradual return to specie 

 payments and put an immediate stop to fluctuation* 

 in the value of currency." 



I still adhere to the views then expressed. 



As early as December 4, 1868. the House of Repre- 

 sentatives passed a resolution, py a vote of 144 yea* 

 to 6 navs, concurring " in the views of the Secretary 

 of the Treasury in relation to the necessity of a con- 

 traction of the currency, with a view to as early a re- 

 sumption of specie pavmenU as the business inter- 

 ests of the country will permit," and pledging " co- 

 operative action to this end, as speedily as possi- 

 ble." 



The first act passed by the Forty-first Congress on 

 the 18th day of March, 1868, was as follow* : 



