*is bulletin of the 



174th Meeting. January 31, 1880. 



The President in the Chair, 



Forty-four members present. 



The minutes of the last meeting were read and adopted. 



The order of exercises for the evening consisted in the reading 

 of a paper by Capt. C. E. Button on 



THE SILVER QUESTION. 



By the Act of February 28, 1818, the Secretary of the Treas- 

 ury is required to purchase monthly not less than two million 

 nor more than four million dollars' worth of silver, and coin the 

 same into dollars, each dollar weighing 412|- grains, and being 

 nine-tenths fine. The dollars so coined are declared by the same 

 law to be legal tender, in any amount, for all debts public and 

 pi'ivate, including duties on imports and interest and principal 

 of the public debt. The Secretary of the Treasury is also au- 

 thorized and required to issue certificates, payable on demand 

 in silver dollars, provided that the amount of certificates so issued 

 shall not be in excess of the silver coin deposited in the Treasury^ 

 and the denominations of the certificates shall not be less than 

 ten dollars. These also are legal tender to the same extent aa 

 the silver dollars themselves. 



There are many careful thinkers who believe that the passage 

 of the law of February 28, 18Y8, was ill-advised, and that it 

 should be repealed, or radically modified. These objections are 

 met by the reply that the country is now in a highly prosperous 

 condition, and it would be best to "let well enough alone." Ta 

 this the rejoinder is, that it is certainly best now and always te 

 let well enough alone, but this aphorism, like many others, is- 

 merely a curt way of begging the question. The real question 

 which is raised is, whether the present silver law is well enough;, 

 if so, then by all means let it alone ; if not, then it should be 

 reconsidered, and either amended or repealed. The object of 

 this paper is to inquire whether the silver law is well enough to 

 remain upon the statute book, or ill enough to demand a recon- 

 sideration. 



Among the causes which tend to promote prosperity is a wise 

 system of monetary laws. Among those which tend to bring 

 adversity is an unwise system of monetary laws. The wise sys- 

 tem, however, will not alone insure prosperity, though it may 

 go far towards it, and prosperity may come and abide with us 

 for a season in spite of the bad system which will make itself 

 felt only in the long run by making the adversity, which is sure 

 to follow, the more severe. If the silver law be a bad law, 

 therefore, we need not expect to feel its effects sorely during the 

 flood tide, but we cannot hope to escape its pressure during the 

 ebb. If it be a bad law the time to amend it is most assuredly 



