144 



CONGKESS, UNITED STATES. 



the honorable Senator's resolution and pre- 

 amble has excluded. 



' " Now, sir, let us not forget that this is not 

 a case, and we are not sitting in judgment 

 upon the sharp bargain, of two stock-brokers 

 with their rights of ' option ' and of ' call ' and 

 other phrases of their trade; nor is it yet a 

 case of contract between two citizens ; but it 

 is a case in which a great Government is deal- 

 ing with a transaction in which its own law- 

 making power is to control its own case ; for 

 it cannot be denied that unless the existing 

 laws of the land are to be altered, the object 

 of this resolution and the law it foreshadows 

 will fail. That is to say, we are considering a 

 contract in which one of the parties must alter 

 the law in order to succeed in obtaining a con- 

 struction in its own behalf. 



" Now, Mr. President, what did Congress real- 

 ly do by the act of Februry 12, 1873 ? It sim- 

 ply relinquished the attempt to keep gold and 

 silver at an equilibrium of value by law, and it 

 dropped the silver unit of value, the dollar of 

 41 2 grains. Wisely or unwisely, it was done. 

 Such was the fact, that they relinquished the 

 attempt further to regulate and preserve the 

 equilibrium of value between these two units 

 of value of silver and of gold. 



" But the change has certainly taken place. 

 Silver to-day is worth in the markets of the 

 world 17 parts to 1 of gold. By the coin- 

 age law of 1834, which it is proposed now to 

 reenact, the ratio was declared to be 15.98, or 

 practically 16 parts of silver to 1 of gold. 

 "What is now proposed is that Congress shall 

 enact a law in this year of grace 1877, which, 

 under the pretext of regulating the value of 

 the two metals when coined, shall falsify their 

 true proportionate value. I ask any man with- 

 in the sound of my voice, is any piece of silver 

 containing 41 2^ grains United States standard 

 worth anywhere in the world 25.8 grains of 

 gold of the United States standard value ? No 

 man will venture to say so. Now I will ask, 

 does the power 'to coin and regulate the 

 value ' mean the power * to coin and falsify ' ? 

 Has Congress the right I do not say the power, 

 although those who realize the sanctity of the 

 trust of power will believe that right must 

 always enter into its exercise has Congress 

 the right to make this false declaration and 

 stamp it upon metal, that the lie may be the 

 better preserved ? 



" Let me ask the advocates of this resolution, 

 if Congress should declare by law that silver 

 should be equal to gold ounce for ounce, would 

 that be justice, would that be a regulation of 

 values, or would it not be their entire confu- 

 sion and derangement ? Yet I say to you that, 

 knowing that 412-J- grains are worth to-day in 

 any market in the world but ninety cents in 

 gold, it is but a question of degree, and not of 

 principle, whether you shall not stamp, coin, 

 and declare thereby that 4| grains of silver are 

 equal to 25.8 grains of gold. 



"It is but a question of degree, and not a dif- 



ference in principle; and then, I repeat, can 

 you demand that a piece of coined silver worth 

 but ninety cents shall be taken as the equiva- 

 lent of a piece of coined gold worth a hundred 

 cents? You undervalue one coin deliberately ; 

 you do not certify the truth as to its value, but 

 you stamp upon it that which you know at the 

 time is false. You cannot term such action 

 regulation. Is this an execution of the power 

 in its honest intent and meaning 'to coin 

 money and to regulate the value thereof? 



"It seems to me that, treating this whole 

 question in the light of the facts that surround 

 it, it is impossible to say that there ever was an 

 actual contemplation of using the metal of sil- 

 ver in the liquidation of this debt or its inter- 

 est, or in the sale of the bonds or any part of 

 them. I am speaking now of the question to 

 be determined by the actual facts, undeniable 

 and undisputed, that surrounded the transac- 

 tion." 



The Vice-President : " The question recurs, 

 Will the Senate agree to the resolution? " 



The Secretary proceeded to call the roll. 



The result was announced yeas 43, nays 22 ; 

 as follows: 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Armstrong, Bailey, Beck, 

 Booth, Bruce, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Cameron 

 of Wisconsin, Chaffee, Coke, Conover, Davis of Illi- 

 nois, Davis of West Virginia, Dennis, Dorsey, Eustis, 

 Ferry, Gordon, Grover, Hereford, Howe, Johnston, 

 Jones of Florida, Jones of Nevada, Kirkwood, Mc- 

 Creery, McDonald, McMillan, Matthews, Maxey, 

 Merriinon, Morgan, Oglesby, Plumb, Eansom, Sauls- 

 bury, Saunders, Spencer, Teller, Thurman, Voor- 

 hees, Wallace, Withers i3. 



NAYS Messrs. Anthony, Barnum, Bayard, Elaine, 

 Burnside, Christiancy, Conkling, Dawes, Eaton, 

 Edmunds, Hamlin, Kernan, Lamar, McPherson, 

 Mitchell, Morrill, Paddock, Randolph, Rollins, Sar- 

 gent, Wadleigh, Windom 22. 



ABSENT Messrs. Butler, Cockrell, Garland, Har- 

 ris, Hill, Hoar, Ingalls, Kellogg, Patterson, Sharon, 

 Whyte 11. 



So the resolution was agreed to. 



The Vice- President : " The question is, Will 

 the Senate agree to the preamble as proposed 

 by the Senator from Ohio? " 



The roll-call having been concluded, the re- 

 sult was announced, as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Armstrong, Bailey, Beck, 

 Booth, Bruce, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Cameron 

 of Wisconsin, Chaffee, Coke, Conover, Davis of Illi- 

 nois, Davis of West Virginia, Dennis, Dorsey, Eustis, 

 Ferry, Gordon, Grover, Hereford, Howe, Johnston, 

 Jones of Florida, Jones of Nevada, Kirkwood, Mc- 

 Creery } McDonald,McMillan, Matthews, Maxey, Mer- 

 rimon, Morgan, Oglesby, Plumb, Ransom, Saulsbu- 

 ry, Saunders, Spencer, Teller, Tnurman, Voorhees, 

 Wallace 42. 



NATS Messrs. Anthony, Barnum, Bayard, Blaine, 

 Burnside. Christiancy, Conkling, Dawes. Eaton, Ed- 

 munds, Hamlin, Kernan, Lamar, Mitchell, Morrill, 

 Paddoek, Rollins, Sargent, Wadleigh, Windom 20. 



ABSENT Messrs. Butler, Cockrell, Garland, Har- 

 ris, HilL Hoar, Ingalls, Kellogg, McPherson, Pat- 

 terson, Randolph, Sharon, Whyte, Withers 14. 



So the preamble was adopted. 

 No action was taken in the House on the 

 resolution. 



