CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



167 



three hundred and odd millions of legal ten- 

 ders, they may meet their obligation ; but the 

 amendment of the Senator from Delaware takes 

 away that power of the national banks to re- 

 deem. 



"The Senator from Georgia does not intend 

 by his amendment that coin shall reach the 

 Treasury of the United States in any way 

 whatever. The Senator from Delaware does 

 make a reservation that duties on imports shall 

 still be paid in coin. Even that conservative 

 clause the Senator from Georgia moves to strike 

 out, and moves then to put us upon a basis of 

 paper money in which the United States no- 

 where is in receipt of coin, and which has no 

 power to pay debts between man and man. I 

 cannot imagine a more ingenious contrivance 

 for rendering confusion in the financial world 

 worse confounded than the joint amendments 

 of the Senator from Delaware and the Senator 

 from Georgia. 



" Undoubtedly this whole question of re- 

 sumption has been radically changed by the 

 coinage of the silver dollar. I do not see whence 

 the honorable Senator from Vermont, whose 

 committee has charge of the bill, derives his 

 fear that the paper money of the United States 

 is going below the silver dollar. The Secre- 

 tary of the Treasury may begin resumption 

 to-morrow with $10,000,000 in silver, in my 

 judgment, with perfect safety." 



Mr. Morrill : " On the proposition of not re- 

 ceiving it for duties, I should have stated." 



Mr. Elaine : " Oh, of course, on the propo- 

 sition not to receive it for duties ; but let it 

 stand as it is. My vote is largely influenced 

 by the fact that the entire financial situation of 

 the country has been changed by the introduc- 

 tion of the silver dollar. No man pretends 

 with his eyes open that the silver dollar has 

 the value of the gold dollar. No man pretends 

 that when the silver dollar begins to fill the 

 channels of circulation the Government will 

 receive any gold whatever for duties. No man 

 pretends that if you open the sab-treasury to- 

 morrow in New York and invite every holder 

 of a legal-tender note to go and get silver in 

 exchange for it, there will be any demand for 

 the silver. You cannot do that with gold. I 

 should say, then, to formulate the matter, that 

 resumption in silver you have got plenty of ; 

 resumption in gold you have not half enough. 



" I have no faith that this Government will 

 pay gold next January; I have abundant faith 

 that it can pay silver to-day. There is the 

 problem, and it has rendered me entirely care- 

 less on the question whether you contract the 

 legal-tender notes any further. It is not going 

 to make one hair white or black in regard to 

 resumption whether you contract, as has been 

 the habit, or whether you cease according to 

 this bill. Your resumption is equally easy in 

 silver whether you contract or whether you 

 cease to contract; you are not able to resume 

 in gold. There is the whole problem to my 

 mind." 



The Presiding Officer : " The question is upon 

 agreeing to the amendment of the Senator from 

 Delaware (Mr. Bayard)." 



The roll-call having been concluded, the re- 

 sult was announced yeas 18, nays 42. 



The bill was reported to the Senate without 

 amendment, ordered to a third reading, and 

 read the third time. 



The Presiding Officer : " The question now 

 is on the passage of the bill." 



The roll-call having been concluded, the re- 

 sult was announced as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Armstrong, Bailey, Beck, 

 Blaine, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Cameron of Wis- 

 consin, Cockrell, Coke, Conover, Davis of Illinois, 

 Dennis, Ferry, Gordon, Grover, Harris, Hereford, 

 Hill, Ingalls, Johnston, Jones of Florida, Kellogg, 

 Kirkwood, McCreery, McDonald, McMillan, Mat- 

 thews, Maxey, Merrimon, Morgan, Oglesby, Pad- 

 dock, Ransom, Saunders, Spencer, Teller, Thur- 

 man, Voorhees, Wallace, Window, and Withers 41. 



NAYS Messrs. Anthony, Barnum, Bayard, Burn- 

 side, Butler, Christiancy, Conkling, Eaton, Hoar, 

 Howe, Keruan, Mitchell, Morrill, Randolph, Rollins, 

 Saulsbury, Wadleigh, and Whyte 18. 



ABSENT Messrs. Booth, Bruce, Chaffee, Davis of 

 West Virginia, Dawes, Dorsey, Edmunds, Eustis, 

 Garland, Hamlin, Jones of Nevada, Laniar, McPher- 

 son, Patterson, Plumb, Sargent, and Sharon 17. 



So the bill was passed. 



In the House, on June 14th, Mr. Burchard, of 

 Illinois, offered the following resolution relat- 

 ing to the Presidential title : 



Whereas, At the joint meeting of the two Houses of 

 the Forty-fourth Congress convened pursuant to law 

 and the Constitution, for the purpose of ascertaining 

 and counting the votes for President and Vice-Presi- 

 dent for the term commencing March 4, 1877, upon 

 counting the votes Rutherford B. Hayes was de- 

 clared to be elected President and William A. 

 Wheeler was declared elected Vice-President for 

 such term : therefore, 



Resolved, That no subsequent Congress and nei- 

 ther House has jurisdiction to revise the action at 

 such joint meeting, and any attempt by either House 

 to annul or disregard such action or the title to office 

 arising therefrom would be revolutionary and is dis- 

 approved by this House. 



Mr. Burchard: "I call for the yeas and 

 nays on the resolution." 



The question was taken, as follows : 

 YEAS Messrs. Aiken, Aldrich, Atkins, Bacon, 

 Bagley, John H. Baker, William H. Baker, Banks, 

 Banning, Bayne, Beebe, Bell, Bicknell, Bisbee, 

 Blair, Blount, Bouck, Boyd, Brentano, Brewer, 

 Bridges, Briggs, Bright, Brogden, Browne, Bundy, 

 Burchard, Burdick, Cabell, John W. Caldwell, W. 

 P. Caldwell, Calkins, Campbell, Cannon, Carlisle, 

 Caswell, Chalmers, Chittenden, Claflin, Clark of 

 Missouri, Rush Clark, Clarke of Kentucky, Clymer, 

 Cobb, Cole, Conger, Covert, Jacob D. Cox, Crapo, 

 Cravens, Crittenden, Culberson, Cummings, Cutler, 

 Danford, Horace Davis, Joseph J. Davis, Dean, 

 Deering, Denison, Dibrell, Dickev, Douglas, Dun- 

 nell, Durham, Dwight, Eames, Eden, Ellsworth, 

 Errett, I. Newton Evans, James L. Evans, John H. 

 Evins, Ewing, Felton, Finley, Forney, Foster, 

 Franklin, Freeman, Gardner, Garfield, Garth, Gause, 

 Gibson, Giddings, Goode, Hanna, Harmer, Benja- 

 min W. Harris, Henry R. Harris, Harrison, Hart, 

 Hartzell, Haskell, Hatcher, Hayes, Hendee, Hender- 

 son, Herbert, G. W. Hewitt, Hiscock, House, Hub- 

 bell, Humphrey, Hungerford, Hunter, Hunton, Itfc- 



