The herald and mail. [volume], February 08, 1878, SUPPLEMENT, Image 5

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The Great Leader.
Pull Text of Senator Voorheea'
Great Epeech.
The Cause of the People at Last
Finds a Worthy Champion.
The Ke-Note to the Campaign of 1880
and the Formal Inauguration of a
New Era' of Peace, Prosperity
and Human Progress-
CoDgresioDal Record, Jan 15.
Mr. Voorheea: Mr. President, on the
13:b of Ddcember I had the honor to
introduce in this body the following
resolution:
Reerlrei, Thjt it t of the l'rt"t im
portunes tnai the financial credit vf the
Country be maintained, and. in order to do
io tne government H-ell, in U H" department-,
inould in good faitn kvep all t -traota
and orligauona entered into wltn Ita
own cltiaena.
And in pursuance of a notice then
given I now call it up for the purpose
of discussm the subject to which it re
lates. The agitation of the question of
finance has continued without a mo
ment's intermission from the eommenc
ment of our present system until this
hour. Nor is it likely to cease for
many years to come. In tact it will
never cease until the people are satisfied
that our vast debt is in progress of ex
tinction upon principles of justice to
tT.nini labor, or until, on the other
hni thv are subiugetsd ititJ silent
submission and the government itself
becomes changed in spirit and form
into a moneyed aristocracy. It may be
that thia Uttnr alternative is to over
take us. There are dark and plentiful
omens in our recent history indicating
such a conclusion, and there is a numer
ous and powerful class in our miaai
vho Relieve, as Alexander Hamilton
HArUrAd that the British government,
on this as well a on ether points, is the
hunt ever devised bv the wiadom of man.
Those entertaining this opinion have
thus tar triumphed in the financial leg
i.i.iinn nf ihn United Stites. and tbe
time baa now arrived when their victo
ries must be reversed or soon this gov
ernment will cease to be republican and
the neonle no longer fe free.
Tn iv.linv of this victorious interest
;n thia enuntrv. as in all others, has
been vigilant for opportunities of greed
andeain. and aggressive in appropriat
ing thnm tr its own advantage. In its
tnnai-ious rjursuit of this policy it has
during the last sixteen years pressed its
mi and uHuat demands upon tbe
Am rian rteorjle in a variety of shapes
J uat now it assumes a manner swollen
with arrogance, haughty, denani, ana
filled with iDBolence toward all oppo
nents. Those who are ranged on the
side of grasping wealth affect a high
disdain a those who choose to remem
ber that labor has rights which this
government Is called upon to protect.
There seems to be an immense sneer oo
the face of sordid, inactive capital, as if
its pretentions wer beyond the criti
cism cf ordinary mortals. Its advo
cates outside of Congress do nut conde
scend, as a general thing, to argument
at all. Denunciation Is now their prin
cipal weapon. There Is no epithet,
however bane, no insinuation however
infamous that is not of daily use against
all who dare to differ in opinion with
them. A curious spectacle is presented
on this subject by a large portion of
tbe Eastern press, hire and there aided
by a newspaptsr in the West. Their
columns reek from day to day with
clamorous abuse of all who venture to
believe as I do that, to a great extent,
our whole financial evsiem is an organ
ized crime against the Uboring, tax
paying mn and women of the United
Slates. Those who think as I do that
a irreat work of financial reform is de
manded in order t j secure the people
from slaverv in fact, if not in mime, are
denounced in the same spirit, and in the
exact language with which every crimi
nal abuse in government, uirouguouiau
history, has sought to jaralyze the
work of reformation and beat back tbe
tide of human progress. Wherever in
tbe annals of tbe bumnn race unholy
avarice, bas built its strongholds, and
nrivileered classes have entrenched them
selves; wherevar superstition has held
tbe human mind in bondage for the
hum fit of it)-ritual tyrant; wherever
man in anv war has had unlawful mas
terv over bis fellow-man and gathered
in what belonged to another, there the
same cry which we now hear bas always
bean raised against any intrusion or aia
lurbance of established arid venerable
iniquity. Nor does the parallel stop
here. The great plea of the present
hour for the continuation of wrong and
imustice is that good faith requires it
Those who. finding a monstrous evil
embeded in the laws of their country,
which to eradicate it by personal legisla
tinn am at once and with the utmost
fury assaulted as violators of tbe public
faitb. enemies of tbe national honor,
and wore if possible than common
swindlers. It matters not bow de p
and burning the outrage may be or how
fr.i.rinlnntl v it may have crept into our
statutes, crood faitb. in the estimation of
thort who profit by the outrage, requires
there forever, though it
should aid day by day tbe ghattly
nrb cif ruin that now pervades the
land. When the peasantry of Fianc,
in 1789. worn out with the extortions of
five centuries, arose against kiug,
priests and nobles, they were told that
ihAi were breakinz the faith of tbe
nation which had been pledged a thou
sand times for their silent submission to
any wrong, to person or property, how
.vur hnrrible or wdescricabl. When
.car th starving people of Ireland, in
ik. a nun ranturies of the past, have
rrnwn uneasy in their bondage and
struggle against their tetters, tbey have
Kaon flroelv reminded that the good
laith of England is solemnly pledged to
maintain existing laws and perpetual
abuses.
Sir, this plea, so loud now in our ears,
has been invoked in bubalf tf every
wickednsss that ever cursed the world.
The usurper invokes it to protect tbe
throne be bas stolen, as soon as he is
seated. The tyrant invokes it to ebe'
ter bis prerogative, and his nobility
in turn invoke it in order to live in
ease and splendor off the labor of cth
rs. It is my purpose on this occasion,
however, to show what the obligntions
nf vaoA faith require of us on the grebt
question of our finances, and to arraign
those who havesystemaUcally broken it
whenever their interest prompted them
to do so. It is my purpose alsj to show
that while if is of the highest impor
Wnceto maintain cur financial credit, it
can only be done by tbe government
keeping all its contracts and obligations
with iU own citizens. This issue has
been preieoted of la'.e in a manner so
persistent and offensive, especially to
western men and western interests, that
it shall now be met, as far as may hum
ble capacity enables me to meet it.
Sir, I appeal to the history of our fi
nancial legislation. I challenge its eol
em n records for Judgment against the
actual repudiatcr of national faith anc
honor. Ita pages contain the facts, the
immutable facts, from wbicn the iu
ture historian will judge this question.
In us candidly review them. The
act of February 25, 1862, is the begin
I ning of our bonded debt. The preciouf
, molals were found to be unequal to th
emergency of -war. Specie payment
J were abandoned as soon as the hour ol
trial came, and gold ana silver cow
ered in the rear, while the legal tender
dollar went to the front with the flag
and stayed there. I was among those
who doubted our right to issue it, bui
experience has shown it the bes'
money, all things considered, that eve'
circulated on American soil. By thit
act of February, 1862, and by similai
legislation at subsequent periods, every
bond issuea oj tne uovtrumcui """
did not on its face stipulate ior pay
ment in coin was made payable by the
express words of the law in legal ten-
der cotes, it was piainiy wmwu
the statute that these notes, now known
as greenbacks, "shall be receivable in
payment of all taxes, internal duties,
excise, debts, and demands of every
kind due to the unnea Diaiw, exuepi
duties on imports; and ot ail claim
and demands against the United States
tf every kind whatever, except for in
terest upon bonds and notes, which shall
be paid in coin ; ana snau ama oe law
ful money and a legal tender in pay
ment of all debts, publio and private
within the United States, except duties
n imooits and interest as aforesaid.
This simple, explicit, and at the same
time comprehensive enactment guaran
teed to the American people me rigui
to nav three-fourths of their national
debt in national currency. It was the
i.n nt th contract when all tne a 4u
bonds, amounting to over fifteen bun
rirnd millions, wtra purchased from th
Government by the bondholders, and
paid for in this currency at par, when
it vaa nuoted at from 40 to 60 pr Of nl.
hnl.tw tar in coin. Every one under
stood the law to be as I have stated at
the time of its passage. In tact, tne
great struggle then was whether even
the interest on the bonds I have men
tioned should be paid in coin. Tbe act
.f February 25. 1862. first passed the
House without any provision at ail for
thn enin payment of interest. That fea
tare of the law was attached here in
the Senate, as an amendment, and when
tbe act, thus amended, was returned to
th House, a violent conflict at once
arose. An examination of the Con
gressional Record for the second ees
fiion of the Thirtv-seventb Congress, at
tiases 821 and 900. will show that both
Mr. Sualdinp. of New York, and Mr
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, the leading
members of the Committee of Ways
and Means, and one ltd chairman
united in denouncing the Senate
amendment in the bitterest and si
verest terms. Tbey contended, in stern
and determined language, that even
tbe payment of interest in coin was an
odious and uniutt discrimination in fa
vor of the bondholder and against tbe
soldier, tbe sailor, and the citizen, who
were comoelled to receive tne legal ten
der currency, greatly depreciated ny
this very discrimination
No one by a single word in that en
tire debate made tbe slightest pretense
or intimation that tbe principal of tbe
bands was payable in com. .During
tbe full term of seven eventful year
that followed there is cot a platform ot
either political party in any Male 1
the Union which makes such an aaser
tion. No claim for such a construction
of the law in behalf of the bondholder
ever fell from the lips of a leading
member of the party in power dunn
the same length ot time in eitcer
oranch ol Congress, or anywhere else.
a far as tbe public is advised. On tbe
contrary in many States, and notably.
in Ohio, tbe home ot tne .rresiaeut an
his Secretory of the Treasury, the dom
insnt paity in its atate tjonvenuou
1868 expressed iu deliberate "convic
tion that according to the laws under
which tbe 6-20 bonds were issuea, sai
bonds should be paid in the cuneocy of
tbe country which may be legal tenders
when tbe Government shall be prepared
to redeem such bonds." Oo this doc
trine the present chief magistrate and
bis secretary took their stand only nine
years ago and told tbe people tbal lb
doctrine was true. Not only so.butSecra-
tarv Sherman, who. now in his recent re
port, warns ns against repudiation, then
' . . . . a a n sv t n r a
gave in a letter aatea jaarcn tv, iooo
ami widely published his idea of what
constituted a repudiator. Speaking on
j s
this sobjoct, he says;
"Ukitid States Sinati Chimbc,
Wabhibutom, Marcn 'A .bee,
"Dkar Sib I was glad to receive
your letter. My personal interests are
the same as yours, but. like you. I do
not intend to be influenced by them
My construction of the law is the resu
of careful examination, and I (eel quite
sure an impartial court would connrm
if the case would be tried before a court
I send you my views, as fully stated
a speech. Your idea that we propose
to renudiate or violate a promise when
we offer to redeem tbe "principal"
lecral tenders is erroneous. I think tbe
bondholder violates his pron when
be refuses to take tbe same kind
money be paid for the bonds. If th
case is to be tested by tbe law. 1 am
right: if it is to be teated by Jay Cooke'
advertisements. I am wrong. I hate
repudiation or anything like it; but we
ought not to oe aeterrea irom wuat i
right for fear ot undeserved epithet
It under the law as it stands the hold
ers cf five-twenties can only be paid
gold, tne bondholder can demand rnly
the kind of money be paid, then he is a
reDudiator and extortioner to demand
money more valuable than he gave.
Truly yours,
"John Shcbmam.''
When it is remembered that the bond
holder never paid a dollar in coin for
a bond of any description, but pur
chased them all with government cur
rency, which the government iuelt ha
depreciated by refusing to take it fur
custom dues and interest, tbe full mean
inc of this letter becomes very pi
and very forcible. It is not the off-
nrinir of impulse or inexperience. Its
author was then Chairman of the Fi
nance Committee of this body, and he
wrote, as he ssys, after "careful exami
nation." By the light which he here
thenwa upon the subject we may see
tbe exact beginning of repudiation and
hh,M the furtive and ravenous move-
menU of the actual repudiators as they
hurry up and down tne precinu ot leg
islation during the last nine years o
our hu-torv. By us light too we behold
the present Secretary ot the Treasury,
judged by his own words, as the chief
of repudiators, foremost amou wo di
lators ot contracts, ana a leauer -muug
those who have in no instance kept the
good faith of the government with its
own people a moment after tbey found
that bad faith would bring them
richer gains. In less than ten
months after this lettfr was written,
and alter tbe enunciation cf the
Ohio platform, lion. John Sherman,
then a senator, advocated and procured
the passage of the act of Msrcb, 1869,
for tbe paymnnt of all the bonds in coin,
which he had declared payable in cur
rency, thereby establishing an open re
pudiation Of a solemn and binding con- j
tract and fastening an extortion of not
eat than $500,OCO,000 on the staggering
ndustries of the country as the pecu-
Utive profits of the operation. " In tte
hft a flntnt nictnrv or ma civiuzeu
world no parallel can be found to this J
audacious aeea ot proaeu iitu, uouutw
ate treachery to tbe people, and national
dishonesty. It ttands out by itself,
towering high above all common
frauds and dwarfing mem . in compari
son with iu own vast proportions. It
will bear the names of tooee who enact
ed it to distant generations amidst tbe
groans, tbe curses, and tbe lamentations
of those who toil oo the land and on tbe
sea; and more deeply engraven than
any otner name
ill be forever touna
that of tbe Secretary of tbe Treasury a
the author of what be nimseii saia con-
tituted the two-fold crime of repudia
tion and extortion. Do I state the caie
too stronijly T Does any Senator thiLk
that I am not justified in tbe language
use or in tbe conclusion 1 state i xi
so, I pray him to recall the utterances
of my lamented and distinguished pre
decessor in this body. When this mon
strous act of repudiation was on us pas-
age here in March. lHb. Benaior mor
on pointed out in tbe plainest and most
explicit manner four distinct acts of
. . ... ..!
Congress under wnicn tne people una
acquired a vested right to pay tbe 5 20
bonds in legal tenaer notes, ana wdicu
were to be broken and set asiae oy tne
measure then under discussion. Among
other things he said:
"And now I propound tbe question :
It is either intended by this bill to make
a new contract or it is not. xi it in
tended to make a new contract, I pr
tet against it. We should do foul in-
iuetice to tbe government and tbe peo
ple oi the U nitea states auor we nave
sold these bonds on an average for not
more tban sixty cents on the dollar now
tr make a new contract for the benefit
of the holders."
Again be says :
"It gives to those laws a construction
that I do not believe in and tbst I bave
shown is contradicted by at least four
acts of Congress.''
And again Senator Morton exclaimed
with that power of statement which al
ways so greatly characterized him :
"Sir, it is understood, I believe, that
the passage of a bill ot this kind would
have tbe effect in Europe, where our
financial questions are not well under
stood, to increase tbe demand, and that
will enable the great operators to sen
the bonds they have on hand at a profit.
It is in the nature of a broker's opera
tion It is a bull movement intended
to put up tbe price of bonds for the in
terest of parties dealing in them. This
great interest is thundering at the doors
of Congress, and has for many months
and by every means attempted to drive
us into legislation for the purpose of
making money for the great operators
That is wnat it means and nothing else."
These are words of intense and over
whelming force. Where in the whole
range of debate can be found a more re
volting picture ot bad taith inspired oy
base cupidity than is here portrayed by
the greatest party leader perhaps ever
known in the American Congress ? He
bas passed away, bis voice is silent, and
he reeU after life's fitful fever, but this
accusation hurled against crimina
wrong-doing survives, and will con
linue to survive so lung as it remains to
be determined who have repudiated tbe
sacred obligations and the plighted
faith of tbe American Republic. In far
distant times generations now unborn
while examining tbe sources of the bur
dens that bave descended to them, will
read the charge made in this pre
ence by the late Senator from Indiana.
that a combination of stock jobbers as
destitute of conscience as pirates, and
inspired alone by'ereed tor money, sue
cessfully thundered at these doors, and
finally drove this government into the
most stupendous act of bad faitb and
legalized robbery ever practiced upon
any people since the dawn or history
Five hundred millions made by tbe
great operators, and five hundred mil
lions lost to the plowman and the me
chanic, who have it all to pay I
And yet the authors, the instigators,
the abettors of this crime, and tbe par
ticioators in its proceeds, fill tbe ai
with railing on tbe subject of repudia
tion. and point their fingers, stained
with plunder, at honest men, as repudi
ators. because tbey believe that a con
tract for the benefit of the people should
be held as sacred as one for the benefit
of tbe bondholder. Sir, forbearance on
this point tai ceased to be a virtue.
Those who have at all times labored to
keep the faith of the government with
tbe citizans and tbe creditors alike, can
lot submit any longer to insult added
to iciury. to wholesale calumny added
to national plunder. In some countries
the habit prevails of building a cairn
pile cf stones, to mark tbe spot where
some traglo event baa happened. So
let American taxpayer?, whenever the
act of March. 1869, is cited, each east
stone noon it to mark tbe place in
American history where repudiation be.
gan, and where the rights of tbe people
were mercilessly and treacherously
slaughtered.
The next step in the systematic, viola
lion of its obligations to its own citi
zens by the American government, was
taken in the enactment of tbe law of
July 14, 1870. known as the act for rr
funding tbe national debt. Tbe motive
which prompted this legislation bas
never yet been fully exposed. It bas al
ways been held up in tbe innocent guise
of an attempt to reduce the rate of inter
est. It was in fact, however, the on.
soring of an apprehension remaining in
certain minds, even after tbe act of
March. 1869, that tbe work of repudi
ating the contract for the payment of
tbe 6 20 bonds might not be complete
and final. These bonds were out
standing, and although tbe law of thei
payment had jutt been repealed, yet
their holders feared that tbe peopl
migbt sooner or later in turn repeal tbe
faithless act of March, 18C9, and declare
agtin for the payment of those origins.
bonds according to tne original con.
tract.
Therefore -this act of July 14, 1870,
called tbe refunding ant, was brought
in as supplement! to that of .March
1869, and in aid of iU false assertion
that our whole bonded debt was pay
able In coin. By a sort of moral forgery
on the American people tne reiuna
ing act provides for the issue of new
. . . . a. e i sr n rri
bonds to tne amount oi i,ouv,wu,uuu,
with an agreement for coin payment
written on their face; and then further
provides that these new coin bonds shall
ha substituted for the original 6-20
bonds, one in exchange for tbe other,
dollar for dollar. Avarice in the ordi
nary affairs of life bas often tempted
the bolder of a deed, a will, a bond, or
other obligation for money or property
to obtain a false construction, if possi
ble or even to change the terms of the
instrument in order to enhance its
value. Here both tnese ODjecu nave
been "obtained by tbe money power,
first, a flse construction of theoontract,
and next a direct change oi us most
vital terms. It is true that a reduction
of the rate ot interest on iu now
coin bonds is provided for in the act
of July, 14, 1870; two hundred mu-
lions of these bonds to bear 5 per cent.,
three hundred millions to bear 4 per
cent., and a thousandTmillions to bear 4
per cent. This redaction in the rato o
interest bas, at first, the appearance cf
a concession to tbe people, but
mo
ment's, calculation win enow . tne
amount ' thus saved utterly trifling in
comparison with the enormous lost
they sunerea Dy tne wnoie iransacuou.
Nor is it to be enpposed that the bold
era of tbe 6-20 6 per cent, bonds would
surrender them voluntarily in exchange
for bonds of a less rate of interest, un
less tbev knew they were getting bonds
of higher value and were to reap sub
stantial advantages by the operation.
To draw a different conclusion would
be to reverse the well ascertained laws
f human nature. The archives ol his
tory may be ransacked in vain to find a
single instance where a moneyed in
vestment reunquisnea wunoui compui-
ion a superior tor an interior security.
Such a thing was never known and
never will be.
When, however, . this elaborate
scheme for the destruction of the rights
of the people in regard to the payment
of the 5-20 bonds was supposed w oe
fioished; when the gateways ol justice,
of law. and of publio morality bad
all been clcsed, and double
barred, and bolted against the
tax-payers by the repudiating acts of
March, lBe, ana Juiy, ioiu, am w
practice of bad faith on tbe part of tbe
government toward iU own cit'eens
stop even then? A finality appeared to
have been attained, x-rociamauuu w
made in every quarter that a per ma
nout settlement had been reached of the
manner in which every dollar of our na
tional debt should be paid. We were
constantly reminded from that day for
ward that no law-abiding, nonoraoie
citizen would ever again seek to reopen
or agitate the question, lhe Dona
holders were for the lime being content,
but thev did not remain so a moment
longer than a new opportunity present
ed itself for another encroachment upon
the heavily taxed industries ot the
country. By both the laws or juarcn.
1869. and July. 18", iramea in ineir
interest and under their dictation, it is
so plainly written that the bonds then
. a . . J a I I J
ouUUnaiDg ftna aiierw&ra a ue uuuou
were payable in ooln not in goia aione.
. . . . i i
nor in silver alone, but in coin that it
is impossible to construct an argument
against th proposition. '
Indeed, it is almost equally difficult
to make an argument in iU tavor, tor a
truth that is self evident does not admit
the ordinary methods of reason in its
aurtnort. In the first section of the act
of July 14, 1870, the bonds therein au
thorizad are made "redeemable in coin
of the present standard value." What
is there here tor construction, w nai
word here taken from the law can tbe
keenest causist construe into even
doubtful meaning? We all know what
the term coin means in connection with
thn use of the precious metals in the
trade and commerce of the world. Even
however, if we did not, and we desired
to seek a still plainer and more explicit
guarantee, we bave only to turo to me
act of Marcb. 1869 It declares iu ob
ject in the following language:
That in order to remove any uouoi
as to the purpose of the government to
discharge all iU obligations to the pub
lic creditors ana to seine conuicwng
questions and interpretations oi tujs
laws, Dy Virtue oi wnicn aucu uuin
tions have been contracted, it is hereby
provided and declared that the faith of
the United States is solemnly pledged
to tbe payment, in coin or its equiva
lent, of all the obligations of the United
States not bearing interest, known as
United States notes, aod of all the interest-bearing
obligations of tbe Ucited
Slates, except in cases where tbe law
authorizing the istue of any such obli
gation has expressly provided that the
same be paid in lawiui money or ut.ier
currency than goia ana euvcr.
False and perficlous ai this law is
known to bt. yet it has at least one
merit. It is absolutely clear and un
ambiguous. If human language can
be made to convey an unequivocal
meaning, then this law pledged tbe
fith of tbe government to the peopl
and to the world, for tbe payment tf
the national debt in "gold and silver.
It is a rule of court, however, in find
ing tbe true meaning of a law under
consideration, to resort, if necessary, to
tbe opinions ot those t-y whom it was
enacted. If we do so in the present in
stance we are amply rewarded by rich
discoveries. Wiltiam Pitt Fessenden,
then a Senator from Maine, and who
also served as Secretary of the Trees
ury, used on this floor tbe following
laneuaee
"Sir, I meant what I said, and the
Congress of tbe United States meant
what it said, that it would pay so many
dollars. What was a dollar? A dollar
was defined by statute. It was gold or
silver coin."
Senator Morion, when pleading here
for tbe payment of bonds according to
the original contract, made the follow
ing statement:
"When you return to specie pay
meits you have nothing to pay any of
your bonds witn out goia or its equiva
lent, and therefore the exception here
in favor of bonds payable expressly in
currency is utterly worthless, because
we shall have nothing then but gold
and silver with which to pay these
bonds."
But the evidence on this point would
not be complete if 1 did not call Sena
tor Sherman, now Secretary of tbe
Treasury, to refute not only all th
present enemies of silver as a coin cf
legal tender, but especially to refute
and confound, as neaal, his own subse
quent views. In bis recent report on
the state of tbe finances, now on our
tables, he says:
"If the market value of the silver in
the new coin is less tban tbe gold dol
lar. a forced payment in tbe new coin
is a repudiation of a part of tbe
debt."
Now it is repudiation to pay the na
tional debt in anything but gold. What
wa his position when tbe act of Marcb,
1869, was here on iu passage T At that
time be exclaimed:
"What is the first section of this bill?
It is simply a solemn pledge of tbe
United Stales tbal all tbe obligations of
the United States, notes and bonds,
shall be paid in gold and silver coin, ex
cept only those where the law expressly
provides mat tney snau oe paia in jbw
ful money."
And again, in speaking of the re
sumption oi specie payments, he sayi
"Tbe honor of the country, the good
faith of the nation, the interesU ot the
laborer, the rich and the poor, an
classes, demand that we should resume
specie paymenU as early as possible
and nlaee all tbe obligations cf tbe
people of the United States upon the
solid basis of gold and silver coin."
Sir, this theme becomes humiliating
to every honest American mind. It
fills with shame every honest, patriotic
heart. Tbe naked fact confronU us at
every step that no pledge however
hi h. solemn, or'bindmg in law and
morals, has been strong enough to com
pel the authors of our financial legisla
tion to obey it. No sense of national
honor or good laun naa renraincu
for a single moment tne anoriaiea
avarice of idle interest bearing capital
whenever ' it has been tempted, like
some hungry, marauding animal, to
break oyer the barriers erected between
it and new fields of spoilage that lie be
yond. The silver dollar came to us
with the birth of our government., it
was devised as a unit of value by
rhomas Jefferson and adopted by Con
gress in tbe dajs of Washington, Ham
ilton and Morris. It stood as honored
as gold through every stt rm that beat
upon the government. It is associated
with all our development, oar strengtn,
our growth and our glory. With it as
a currency, more than any other, tbe
picket lines of civilization bave puanea
westward. The pioneer la tne snaaow
of the great forests or on the wide
prairies, toiled to lay it by, one by one,
until the coveted sum of one hundred
lav before him. ' Then tightening tbe
girths of his saddle, be rode with speed
to tbe distant land otnee, where toe gov
ernment toss bis one hundred silver
dollars for eighty acres of land, which
thenceforward became that most blessed
spot of earth, a borne; a home where
trees were planted, where cnuaren were
born and grew to De men ana women
and then in turn went frth , into the
great world, stilt to the west, there to
live over again in labor ana privation
the lives ot tbe father and mother left
behind.
Tbe silver dollar is particularly the
laboring man's dollar, as lar as he may
deeire specie. When specie payments
were authorized before toe war it was
tbe favorite currency with the people,
and it will be so again whenever a gen
eral circulation of coin is obtained, if
that shall ever happen. Throughout
all tbe financial panics that have as
sailed this country no man has been
bold enough to raise his hand to strike
it down : Jio man has ever dared to
whisper of a contemplated assault upon
it; and when tbe hour of its danger and
destruction drew nigb, wnen the 12th
day of February, 1873, approached, tbe
day of doom to tbe American dollar, the
dol ar of our fathers, bow silect was tbe
work ot the enemy I Not a sound, not
a word, do note of warning to tbe
American people that tbe.r favorite coin
was about to be destroyed as money ;
that tbe greatest financial revolution ol
modern times was in contemplation and
about to be accomplished against their
highest and dearest righu I Tbe tax
payers of the United SUtes were no
more notified or consulted on this mo
mentous measure tban tbe slaves on a
southern plantation before tbe war
when their master made np his miod to
increase their task or to change them
from a corn field to a cotton field.
Never since tbe foundation of this gov
ernment baa a law of such vital and
tremendous import, or indeed of any
importance at all, crawled int our
t-talule books so furtively and so noise.
lessly as this. I.s enactment there was
&i completely unknown to the people,
and indeed to four-fifths of Ocngrees it
self, as tbe presecce of a burglar In a
bouse at midnight is to ita steeple? in
mates. This was redered possible part y
because the clandestine movement was
ao utterly unexpected, and partly from
tbe nature of the bill in which it' oe
curred. Tbe silver dollar of American
history was demonetized in an act en
titled "An act revising and ameodiog
the ltws relative to tbe mints, assay
offices, and coinage of the United
Staler." The avowed and ostensible
nurpose ot this act is set lorlh by . Dr.
Linderman, the director , of the mint,
in his recent work on Money and L"gal
Tender. After citing very - fully the
legislation of this country on the sub
ect of minU and coinage, he says :
"There were, however, provisions of
law, conflicting in their character, as to
tbe relative powers and daties of the
Sncrtttry of the Treasury and the
director! of tbe mint. To remedy this
a .d to consolidate coinage ensctments
were the chief otjects of the act ap
proved February 12, 1873, revising and
amending the laws relative to tbe
m nts, is-ny i ffice, and coinage of the
U oiled States.
This act embraces sxfv-seven sec
tions, and fills twelve closely printed
pages of the seventeenth volume of the
United StitrfS statute al large, from
this voluminous and prolix . measure,
proclaiming, as it did, other and totally,
difie'-i.t ! l i'U to acoompnsn, it
oi ly necessary to silently omit the few
words that f t nearly a hundred years
had floated the ol 1 familiar dollar as a
full l'gl leader down the stream of
Time. This was done in the fifteenth
section, which 1 quote in full in order
that the people may see for themselves
exactly bow this great wrong was ef
fected. It reads as follows:
"That the silver coins of the United
States shall be a trade dollar, a half
dollar or a fifty cent piece, a quarter
dollar or twenty-five cent piece, agdirne
or ten cent piec; and tbe weight of tbe
trade dollar should be 420 grains troy:
the weight of the halt dollar shall be
twelve grains fcrammes) and one-half
of a gram (gramme); the quarter dollar
aod tbe uime shall be respectively one
half and one-fifth of the weight of said
half dollar: and said coins shall be
legal tender at their nominal value for
any amount not exceeding five dollars
in anv one payment.
Thus it will bo seen that in declaring
what tbe silver coins of tbe United
States should be, tbe dollar, so long im
bedded in our history, was dropped
literally throw away as useless; and
another coin, styled a trade dollar, of
no service to the people as legal tender,
was inserted in it place; or, as the
director of the mint expresses it:
"Under the provisions of this act the
coinage and issue was discontinued, of
the silver dollar of 412 grains, the
three cent silver piece, and tbe two cent
bronze piece."
And by a subsequent act cf Congress.
July 22, 1876, the legal tender quality
of tbe trade dollar for even the small
amount of five dollars was repealed, and
now it is not a legal tender lor any.
thing, or any amount.
But, sir, having pointed out the false
pretenses under cover ot which the
American silver dollar was eliminated
from our mousy system, it yet remains
to inquire into the real raasons for such
an act. In th- first place bad silver
failed in its functions as a specie basis
anv more tban gold? Had it been
found any less capable tban its twin
metal in upholding a paper currency
on which tbe commerce and business of
tbe world baa been transacted since the
beginning ot civilizttion? These two
metals of gold and silver bave come
down to us together, from tbe days of
Abraham, Isaao and Jacob. They
were in grat abundance and in high
tavor when Israel built ber temple and
adorned the city cf Jerusalem. Tbey
crept along the shores and island of tbe
Mediterranean hand in hand, as arbi
trary factors in human affairs. Tbey
spread over Europe, as inseparable al
lies, during the dark and barbarons
ages tnat miervenea Between tne
downfall of Rome and the discovery of
the art of printing, the revival of learn
ing, in the fifteenth century. Tbe
cupidity of man has delved into
the earth, toiiea across tne stormy sua
bnkea solemn treaties, sworn
false oaths, murdered his fei-low-man,
and bartered away bis
sonl alike for them both. The Span
iard and the Portuguese swept whole
races in tbe West Indies, Mexico, Cen
tral and South America,first into slave
ry and then out of existence, in their
accursed greed and thirst for gold and
silver. Throughout all our colonial
history these metals were nncea to
gether ia an embrace that no convulsior
conld tear asunder. And .when our
government emerged, weary and blood
stained from the revolution, our fatherr
found them standing . together on the
threshold as a mighty tradition of all
the past. They were adopted together
as our measure of values, because other
nations had done the same. Tbey en
tered their career as American money
together, equal in dignity before the
law. By the Constitution oi tne u niteo
Sta'es tbey were introduced into each
new incoming State of our expanding
anion, on terms of absolute equality
We find by article l.section lO.of that in
strument, that "no State shall
coin money, emit bills ot credit, make
anything but gold and silver coin a len
der in payment of debt."
From that day to this I challenge
everv page of American history to sho
a aincla instance in wb'ich the silver
dollar has not beeo as brave, as firm
and aa reliable as the gold dollar. I
challenge tbe sad records of every A nan
cial alarm, panic, or crash that ever
befell us to show where for a single day
or hour silver was not as intrepid and
fear'eas in the money markeU as gold
From 1792 to 1873, from the coinage
of thn American silver dollar to toe
dav nf iu insidious destruction, eighty
one years, gold and silver never fluc
tuated in their relation to each other
but a fraction over 3 per cent, and du
ring most of that time silver money
ranked hieher than gold money, and
did so the day it was destroyed. It is
true that both these metals, so precious
in tbe traditions ot mankind, broke
down at once when this Government
was called on to fight for iu life, when
the ultima' e and extreme necessity of
the hour demanded a money stronger
than them both, based on tbe confidence
of tbe people that their Government
would live and not die; yet wneu tney
fell, tbev tell together. 4 either tbe
one. nor the other, nor both united were
sufficient to make even a reepectaDie
ttrupcle for national existence, and
they abandoned tbe field on the first
roar of hostile cannon, out suver uiu
not fie any sooner or get under cover
anv Quicker than gold, it may men, x
think, be safely assumed in the light of
all experience that tne real reason nr
demonetizing silver is not to be found
in iu failure to be the peer, under all
nirmm stances, in all ages, and in all
nations, of the other precious metal,
which has now become to strangely, so
suddenly, and so surreptitiously ex a. ted
in the eyes of the money power as the
sole standard ot values.
Pursuinir our ioauirv. therefore, on
this point, we come next upon one
therjrincioal reasons now assigned
of
for
abandoning silver coin as money. It is
true that the sincerity of this reason is
open to the suspicion which always
taints an argument brought forward as
an afterthought to juslityan act wnicn
evaded all discussioa at tne time oi
nansap-e. but .nevertheless it shall be
fairly considered, even at this late day
It is now urged, with great vehemence,
by tbe advocates of tne gold standard
alone, that Decause cere tnu tuero
European, monarchy, with tbe hardest
worked and poorest paid peasantry on
the face of the earth, nas panisneu su
ver, we are called upon by our business
relations to do the same, it is urzeo
that we are to follow and not lead in
ibe affairs of tbe world. According t
thia argument, we are to trail in tbe
fooU eps of governmenU whose princi
pies we denounce, and whose laboring
people are fleeing in constant streams
from their shores 10 our own, iu orut
to escape oppression aod starvation.
Sir, no one disputes tbe fact that all
civilized governments nave certain com.
munities ot interest, but to my mind
the American republic is less depend
ent for its strength and prosperity on
tbe conduct and policies of ether cations
than anv other government now in ex.
Utnncn. Nature in ber niott lavish
mood lias conspired to make the Amtr'..
can people, in tact a well as in name,
an independent people. Our p'ace on
the map of tbe globe is an isolated one
M iir htv oceans stretch out between us
and all the firs -class power of
world. What foreign neighbors
the
we
have on our immediate borders are
weak and unimportant. We are not
only substintially alone as a p ilitical
power on the North Amer.can
conn
nent. and separata oy long aitst-iucea
't
from all the great nations oi toe eaitn,
hut we Docseas within ourselves, in uu-
failing abuLdance. tv.ry article and
mi element of national weal.h and
glory. Our vast domain will feed un
counted millions; mountains of iron
and of all other useful ores respond to
every call of scientific progress, while
thA intelligent induttry cf man. if not
paralyzed by bad government, will foi
ever supply all bis wants, comforts and
luxuries. On such a th satre our groatett
re-ource is self-reliance, and we bave
hut litil) need cf examples or alliances
furnished by less fortunate nations
Admitting, however, the argument
for the sake of meeting it, that our
financial policy in regard to a specie
baiia ought to be in harmony with the
rect of the world, let us examine into
the actual facU as tbey now exist i
the var ous money systems or every
people with whom we have tbe slightest
r - . ti - - ! . ;
commercial intercourse, uh buoi i
the general trade and business of n
lions fallen into such discredit that we
are compelled to cast it aside in order
to keep pace with a wide-scraad fioan
cial revolution? Is it held in such dis
honor as a medium of traffic through
out the world that we can no longer
UDhi 1 1 it with credit to ourselves? O
tbe contrary a careful estimate shows
tbal silver is an enormous and over
whelming favorite. Of tbe entire trad
ing and commercial population of tbe
whole earth 696.250.000 more peopl
bave silver alone as their standard of
values, and transact alt their business
upon it as a specie baais.tban those who
bave gold alone tor similar purpoiei
From the same source of information
we learn that 744.200,000 more people
use silver alone than use gold and silver
both as their metalic currency. In this
last statement I include the population
of tbe United Bt.tssas using tbe dot
tle standard, fur we shall return lo it al
once, as far at least as a specie basis can
now exist. The great fact, therefore, is
tbat in the mighty bulk of intelligent
mankind more than lour times as many
people bave chosen silver as have
chosen gold aod silver together.
Tbe following table giving tne finan
cial systems and tbe populations ot the
various governmenU of the world win
be found in tbe main correct:
KATIOHS UBDXR GOLD ALONE.
Population.
Great Britain
Canada....
Autiana...
Portugal ......
s ,o , o
4,6X',iiO
)r,-M',lO i
4,'iS vJOO
2,8V
... 6,t i',
lO.UOO.ODO
l,SO0,'U
g,0O , Ml
4l,OU0,l
... 4,'46O,q0O
Turkey in Europe and Aw
Peraia ......... .
Argentine Republic ..
Kef Dt ..
German Empif
bvcdta
.. i.son.oi-o
1,750,' -HI
S3.-W ,'H.O
No way.....
uhdi.
a pan
Total . llfi.tS.OOu
NATIONS TJBTDBR BILVKK ALONE.
Population
R nmia B'.ouyHiu
Au-tri . . S ," ,
Centra! Amt-nCA.. ,'',
Rcq under.., . - l'p
Chi.... - ,.4io.. 0 ,i
ailia ... ju,i. ,o.ki
M-x cu .....
9,00 .1X10
i.W.0,001
S.T0. ,.
1, u ,uu
x t il mo
3.70 ,noi
1,41 ,UOU
United K la lea of
olombia
Tilpoli......
Holl.n.i
Venccutl
Total 87,7i0,'M!
HA TION S UN DIB GOLD ANP SILVER.
PopuUnon.
Bel t um ,. . '.",'""
B liiia, I, S O,'
Franca-
Grmo.. . l,Mi,Mi
ltalr... .. . f,!M.U J
8 pa a
.. 1' ,m,o i
. S.70O,
swll se lnil.
(Jailed fitatee.
, 4,o0u,O
Total lsa,5v oi
It will be seen from this statement
that silver coin, as money, not only
meets the desires ot lour-UiLua oi tne
human race, but that those who use it
as a standard occupy more than three
quarters of the inhabited parts of the
globe. Germany is perhaps prema
turely placed in tne list oi naaons using
gold alone. It is true she has attempt
ed to adopt the gold standard.but there
are still two hundred millions of silver
currency in the hands of her people,
and tbey are reluctant to give it up ana
see it driven away troui latnenanu
Whether the empire will be entirely
8ucoe68ful in depriving- its subjects ol
thi favorite money yet remains to pe
proven. In view of all the foregoing
tacts, however: in view of the history
and condition of the world on this ques
tion, the enemies of the suver dollar in
the United States who. havinsr first de
stroyed it.seek now to justify themselves
bv slandering tbe reputation of its
metal in distant lands, must stanu De
fore their iniured countrymen covered
with shame and confusion. Tbey are
utterly overwhelmed and beaten from
their position Dy tue general testimony
of the civilized races of men, and we
are left at this point to follow them
next to their final and in tact real rea
son for their assaults upon silver
money.
Sir. I touch now upon an issue as
old as human society and as universal
as the loaning or money at interest
and the investment of capital for in
come. Two classes nave existed in
evety age of history on the question of
money. All such as plow, sow, and
reap; who spin, weave, and make mer
chandise for sale; who manage and
work the caverns of coal and iron, and
the blast furnaces nd forges; who con
struct railroads, build ships, and found
cities; all such as are in any way push
ing on the cause of progress and ma
terial development and who desire to
keep their capital, whatever it may be,
and especially that greatest of all capi
tal, the bone and muscle of the laborer,
actively employed, constitute one class.
Those who have stepped aside from
the active moving column of affairs
and withdrawn themselves and all
they own from the trade and business
of the world, intending thenceforward
to fasten their idle wealth on the pro
ductions of labor as a consumer, and
not a J an assistance, constitute the
other. Of these two classes, those
who compose the first desire money to
be plentiful and cheap, for they are
Denmark.
working to obtain it, while those who Jijisiberable, isilone in this coin, the
compose the latter, desire money to teTnative8 preterrinjlt to the Mexican
scarce ana dear. Decause tuey mreau y
have it in abundance to loan and to
invest at high rates of interest and
profit. And it was in the real and
actual interest of this latter powerful
class that silver was demonetized in
February. 1873. not because it was less
valuable as money than irold, nor be-
ranae such a chancre was demanded by
the policies of lorelsrn nations, but
Rlmnfv because retired capital desired
r.n diminish the amount of money of
every kind circulating in the hands of
the people.
Silver was selected as the victim for
sacrifice on that occasion, because it
was thought, on account of certain
circumstances yet to be noticed, that
it could be more successfully assailed
than the other kinds of money then in
existence. The managers of the great
money cwntrea in this country and in
Europe saw with avaricious alarm the
bright streams ot silver beginning to
increase in volumes and value as they
Mowed from the mouths of our mines,
and now we hear from their angry
throats, and from an apparently still
angrier newspaper press which they
control, a cry without ceasing
against silver inflation arising from au
overproduction of the metal. They
have heretofore filled the world with a
hostile clamor mainly against a paper
currency not immediately convertible
into coin of intrinsic value, but It now
appears that there can be, in their
own amiable language, an insane in
flation of currency which has this very
intrinsic value itself. We have heard
much talk to prove that gold and silver
are only the real money, and they have
an absolute value as such every where
and at all times; but we now sliscover
that even these precious metals may
become more abundant tban is agreea
ble to those who want the purchasing
power of money increased hy lessen
ing the quantity in circulation until
fifty dollars will buy in a farm worth
a thousand under the foreclosure of a
mortgage. Is It true, however, that
for the genuine interests of the Amer
ican people, for their advancement
In trade and development, and
for the prosperity of our commerce
throughout the world, too much silver
has been produced in the United States
or anv where else? Has silver, as now
claimed, ever threatened to pour Into
the channels of business such floods
and torrents as would sweep away all
the landmarks of safety? We will
examine this question.
The history of the production of the
precious metals Is one of great and pre
vailing interest. Although they have
been arbitrarily determined upon as
the money of mankind, yet it has never
been possible for the highest human in
telligence to ioreteit tneir suppiy or
to sav with certainty that their pro
duction will not fail al tog-ether. The
quantity of a circulating medium suffi
cient to meet the legitimate demands
of trade can be estimated, but who has
ever been able to look into the mines
and declare how far their veins of ore
extend or hew soon they will cease to
yield? Who has ever been able to
point out where new mines may be
opened Into the hidden riches ol the
earth to take the place of those that are
worn out, sterile and barren? The re
sult has been that while the precious
metals have been declared the standard
of values, they have themselves always
been an unknown quantity, and the ir
regularity, uncertainty and insuffici
ency of their production have caused
frenuent and crushing disasters in all
countries and in every period -of his
tory, and have often compelled the
strongest governments ot ancient and
mouera uuies iu cuuicijr
them.
It is not my purpose, however, to
dwell on this point further than to
meet the argument bated upon an al
leged over-production of silver in re
cent years. From a report made not
long since by a committee in the
British parliament it appears, as nearly
as can be estimated, tnat tne entire
production of silver throughout the
world during the last twentv-live
yerrs has reached about $,400,000,000.
The increase in its production during
that period aroe from about $40,000.-
000, in 1852, to $80,000,000, in 1875,
and the annual amount produced at
this time may be placed at $70,000,000.
Of these amounts South America,
Mexico and the United Stales produced
all excepUne about $10,000 000 a year.
arising irom the silver resources of all
other countries. In our own country
the developement of this great agency
of national prosperity has all taken
place in the las eighteen years, sub
stantially in the last ten.
The following estimate, made by the
commissioner tor mining statistics,
shows the annual production ot lver
and iu increase In the United Su t js:
1869
is- o.
IfM',' O
861,
86 :,
.......... ,1','0
....- 4,54i,'iO
,4 jIHNl
ii,es,H)0
4v4l','0
........... r, ,)
.. 8, -a o,io
.......... SH.TfOOO
I.',!" ,IIUO
3 .' '. '
SOU
14 186U (avaia),
iaTo,
1871
Itfli,
87S
1874
187ft
Estimating the productions ot l7u
and 1877 the same as 1875, and we find
tnat the entire amount of silver yield
ed by the mines of the United States
since they begnn to pay lor working
tnem. nas readied Dut a ti ine over inu
comparatively small sum ot" $2."0,000,-
000. This is less tiian one-nan uie
amount of our present volume of cur
rency; yet when those who are inter
ested iu making and keeping a scarci
ty of money in circulation, noticed an
Increaae of only $12,000,000 from 1870
to 1872, they took the nl.iriu which re
sulted in the act of 1873, proscribing
and outlawing it from the companion
ship of gold as money. It will not do
to say that the demand for silver had
failed, for aside from what our own
people need at home, the demand from
abroad was so great that In the very
act demonetizing it here, pi oviuion was
made for the coinage of a dollar which
we found necessary for our foreign
trade. It was a dollar of the weight
of 420 grains troy, and the Secretary
of the Treasury, in his recent report
says:
"This provision was made at a time
when such a dollar was worth in the
market 102 12 in goldand was design
ed for the use of trade in Uliina,
where silver was the only standard."
The great demand for this coin.espe
cially in our trade with China, is shown
by "rejorts made by the two leading
foreign banks of China, the Oriental
Bank and the II on 2 Konjrand Shanghai
Banking corporation, dard respective
ly January 30 and 31, lS77,andlurnish
ed by the United States consulate at
Hong Kong, to the Secretary ot the
Treasury. 1 find these reports quoU;d
by the director ot the mint, and lex
tract from them the following state
ments: 'Hie United States trade dollar has
been well received in China, and is ea
gerly welcomed in those parts of the
couutry where the true value of the
coin is known. It is a legal tender at
the ports of Foochoo and Canton, in
China, and also at Saigon and Singa
pore; and although not legally current
in this colony, it is anxiously sought
after by the ChineRe,and in the bazaars
it is seldom to be purchased. Iu proof
of the estiuiai ion in which the trace
dollar is held in the south of China, we
need only slate tliat the bulk of the di
rect exchange business between Ilong
Konir and San Francisco, which is very
aoiiar. iaie auvices irom i r uuv.irr
eo renort that so irreat is the demand
for trade dollars lor shipment to China
that the California mint is unequal to
the task of tnring out the coin tust
enough to satisfy requirements.
My opinion is that ultimately It will ho
current all over China. It la the best
coin that has ever been Imported, and
being produced at the fountain head
of silver, can be laid down more
cheaply than any other dollar.
China requires many mlil.ons of dol
lars annually, and while the clean
Mexican dollar will be imported for
the north of China, the trade dollar
will be Imported for the south. I
would roughly estimate that the San
Francisco steamers will bring from
four to six lacs of trade dollar (Irom
four to six hundred thousand) eaJi
fortnightly trip all the ear round."
The Secretary of the Treasury also
informs us that since the trade dollar
was authorized, it ha b en coined to
the Urge amount of $30,710,400, mainly
to meet this and other foreign demand
lor silver money. It Is true, however,
that he further states that the export
demand for the trade di liar has now
almost if not quite ceased. It is not
strange tliat this should be so. when
this government has done all In its
power to dishonor it at home; first
limiting it as a legal tender to the In
significant sum ot $5, and hastening
soon afterward to strip it of even this
small badge of respectability. Distant
people, naturally suspicious of our
institutions, would necessarily reject a
coin on which we ourselves have placed
such a stigma of disgrace, however
great, as we have Btntn, may Ixs their
demand for silver money. In fact, no
artifice, no cunning device bus bwn
spared to bring the silver dollar Into
contempt and to drive it out of exist
ence,although the A uiericin peopleand
the pe-ople of ail lands and every form,
of civilization plead for its restoration U
favor and to an ample circulation.
If there are some, however, who still
think that these assaults on silver
were Inspired by any other motive than
the fear of too much money, allow me
to recall an Incident In financial history
full of teaching on this point. When
the revelation of gold took place in
California, and on the other side of the
world In Australia about the same
time, an impulse was given to the pro
gress of mankind greater than has
been produced by any other one event
since Columbus discovered America.
It quickened every energy of labor,
aroused all thejstreat indriistries every
where into new and sturlling activity,
revived the drooping ails of commerce
in every sea, and sent the loaded car
avans of railroad transportation flying
in every direction ever the face of the
earth. The whole world re joiced with
one exception. The creditor class In
every clime beneath the sun looked oil
in sullen distrust and dread. And in
1850, when the production of gold hud
reached its highest point, and when it
was supposed that it would continue
to increase, this class broke forth In
the different countries ot Europe In
favor of demonetizing gold, because
the supply was making money too
plentiful De Ojulncy, Chevalier,
and other writers, made earnest and
elaborate arguments to show that the
increase in the flow of gold was so great
that soon it would be within the easy
reach of all classes, and then its power
to purchase labor and property In large
quantities for very small sums would be
forever gone. Germany and Austria,
and some other European gevern-
ments, heeded those arguments, and In
1857 actually demonetized gold in or
der to maintain the scarcity of money.
The reason why this question did not
seriously agitate the financial circles of
tbe United States is to be found in the.
fact that at the time we had no great
creditor class in this countiy; we had
no stupendous national debt held as an
Investment for fixed incomes; no such
State, municipal and corporation debts
as bave since tilled all the stock mar-