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Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
payments officially and practically in 1823, and in 1825, just two 
years afterward, it suspended again, making the temple of British 
commerce a scene of unparalleled financial, commercial, and indus¬ 
trial wreck and ruin. 
These experiences do not invite us to resumption of the British 
system which, such statesmen as Gladstone and Lowe are now ready 
to abandon, or the perpetuation and attempted enforcement of the 
act of January 14, 1875, even assuming that the act contains the 
necessary provisions to secure a resumption of this system of re¬ 
sumptions and suspensions. In a word, without dwelling too long 
upon this subject, it may be suggested that you examine the records 
and ascertain whether under any system of finance it has been 
found practicable to redeem $100 of promises with anything less 
than $100 of the thing promised, if demand were made, and wheth¬ 
er it be true, as before stated, that demand for payment has been 
made in England, and suspensions and crises have occurred at in¬ 
tervals of 8 years since 1793; and in the United States since 1811 
at intervals of 5 years. 
As the question is upon the repeal of the so-called u resumption 
act,” and as the especial friends of that measure are of the old 
English school, as distinguished from the new English school, who 
are looking to an abolition of the fallacies of the old system, we 
will examine as to how often the act of “resumption” was post¬ 
poned by act of Parliament. It will be found that, while we in the 
United States have been living under a suspension of the specie- 
payment and specie-suspension sj^stem for thirteen years, and have 
not yet postponed the return to that s} r stem even once up to this 
time, England was under suspension continuously for twenty-six 
years, and repealed its resumption act eleven times , prohibiting pay¬ 
ment of specie by Bank of England February 27, 1797; extended to 
June 24,1797; June 22,1797, extended to one month after the meet¬ 
ing of Parliament; November 13, 1797, extended to six months 
after the close of the war; April 30, 1802—peace of Amiens—con- 
tinned to March 1,1803; February 28,1803, extended to six months 
after the meeting of Parliament; December 13, 1803, war having- 
been declared, extended to six months after the treaty of peace; 
July 18, 1814, Napoleon having surrendered, extended to March 25, 
1815; extended to July 5, 1816; March 21, 1816, extended to July 
5, 1818; May 28, 1818, extended to July 5, 1819; January, 1819, 
