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in the office occurring by reason of his death or resignation, it is to be filled by appointment of the President on the nomination of the Secretary of War, and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and no officer of the Army is to be detailed for service as Commissioner or to enter upon the duties of Commissioner unless appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and all assistant commissioners are to be appointed by the Secretary of War on the nomination of the Commissioner of the bureau. In case of vacancy in the office of Commissioner happening during the recess of the Senate the duties of Commissioner are to be discharged by the acting assistant adjutant general of the bureau until such vacancy can be filled. According to the section, the Commissioner of the bureau, on the 1st day of January next, is to cause the bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which the bureau has acted and its operations discontinued as soon as it may be done without injury to the Government. But the educational department of the bureau and the collection and payment of moneys due the soldiers, sailors, and marines, or their heirs, is to be continued as now provided by law until otherwise ordered by act of Congress; but the provisions of this section are not to apply to any State which shall not, on the 1st of January next, be restored to its former political relations with the Goverrnment of the United States, and be entitled to representation in Congress.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment.

Mr. DAVIS. When did that bill receive its second reading? Did it receive its second reading to-day?

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It has been read the first and second time. The question now is on ordering it to be engrossed for a third reading.

Mr. DAVIS. I desire to make some observations in opposition to this bill. It has been called up pretty suddenly. I will read the first section:

That the duties and powers of Commissioner of the Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees shall continue to be discharged by the present Commissioner of the bureau, and in case of vacancy in said office occurring by reason of his death or resignation, the same shall be filled by appointment of the President on the nomination of the Secretary of War, and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and no officer of the Army shall be detailed for service as Commissioner or shall enter upon the duties of Commissioner unless appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and all assistant commissioners shall be appointed by the Secretary of War on the nomination of the Commissioner of the bureau. In case of vacancy in the office of Commissioner happening during the recess of the Senate, the duties of Commissioner shall be discharged by the acting assistant adjutant general of the bureau until such vacancy can be filled.

Now, Mr. President, that is a subterfuge to make another encroachment upon the appointing power of the President.

All assistant commisioners shall be appointed by the Secretary of War on the nomination of the Commissioner of the bureau.

That selects the Commissioner. hi:nself as the appointing power. The Constitution provides that Congress may authorize the heads of Departments to appoint subordinate officers, but it nowhere authorizes Congress to give the power of nomination to an inferior of the head of a Department. But, sir, the last provision in this section is the one that is most exceptional in its principles:

In case of vacancy in the office of Commissioner happening during the recess of the Senate the duties of Commissioner shall be discharged by the acting assistant adjutant general of the bureau until such vacancy can be filled.

The express provision of the Constitution is that where vacancies in any office occur during the recess of the Senate the President shall have the power to fill them. Here is an important office, not important for its duties to the country or to the Government, not important for the necessity of the office, but important in a political point of view. Here is a sort of political adjutant general denominated the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, and this portion of the section provides that in the event

of that commissionership becoming vacant by the death of the Commissioner during the recess of the Senate, the President shall not exercise his constitutional function and power to fill the vacancy. That is doing by indirection and obliquely what the Senate cannot do directly. It is worse than that; it is attempting by this bill to strip the President of his plain right of making an appointment pro tempore, for the time, in the event of a vacancy occurring. Sir, will this party in Congress never pause? Will it never stop in its aggressive march upon the President of the United States in his constitutional power? Will it know no suspension in its efforts to break up the division of powers made by the Constitution, and absorb all the powers of the President? I should suppose that it ought to be somewhat appeased by its great though temporary success; but instead of that its appetite seems to be whetted by that upon which it feeds. It only seeks to gormandize upon and absorb one executive power in order to increase its appetite and its capacity to move on upon another.

Mr. CONNESS. That is savage!

Mr. DAVIS. Well, this is a most savage bill in a small way. Not satisfied with having crammed down its capacious maw the great and vast constitutional powers which were secured by the Constitution to the President, the little remnant of presidential power which has been left by its aggressions upon the President of the United States it seems determined in its voracity to wrest from the proper constitu tional officer, and to exercise it itself, or that some of its minions, instead of the President, shall exercise the power. Let me read this

clause:

In case of vacancy in the office of Commissioner happening during the recess of the Senate, the duties of the Commissioner shall be discharged by the acting assistant adjutant general of the bureau until such vacancy can be filled.

If the bill proposed to abolish the office on the death of the Commissioner it would be right enough; but it continues the office after the death of the Commissioner, and it provides how the Commissioner shall be appointed; in other words, it directs that the acting assistant adjutant general of the bureau shall himself act as Commissioner. Does any gentleman contend that Congress has any power to pass such a bill? Suppose such a provision as that was offered in relation to the other departmental officers of the Government. Take, for instance, the Adjutant General, the Commissary General, the Quartermaster General. Suppose a bill in relation to those and all other similar offices was passed, that in the event of one of those offices becoming vacant by the death of the incumbent, it should be filled by some named officer until it could be filled during the next session of the Senate according to the direction of the act. Can gentlemen say that that would be proper, legitimate, or constitutional legislation?

The object of this provision cannot be disguised, and it could not be concealed if it was attempted to be disguised. It is purely an electioneering office, an officer maintained at the cost of the Treasury of the United States, and the object is to continue it under its present auspices in the interest of the party in power until after the next presidential election. Therefore, this clause provides that in the event of the office becoming vacant by the death of the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau before the next session of Congress, another officer known to be in the interests of the party in power shall assume the exercise of the duties of that office, and in that way the President is to be excluded from his plain constitutional power to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the incumbent during the recess of the Senate.

Sir, the provision is outrageous; it has no authority whatever; and Congress is not competent to pass a law that will oust the Presi dent of his right to fill an office made vacant by the death of the incumbent during the recess of the Senate, and to fill it itself by its own direction, and by the designation of another

officer who shall make the appointment pro tempore an ad interim appointment. Sir, we have lately heard a great deal said about ad interim appointments, and protempore appointments. This bill provides for an ad interim appointment. What functionary of the Government has the constitutional power to make an ad interim appointment under an act of Congress? The President; because he has the sole appointing power in the absence of the Senate, and the sole nominating power when the Senate is in session. In relation to all other offices, the laws have made an explicit general provision that in the event of their becoming vacant during the recess of the Senate, the President shall have the power to make ad interim appointments to them. Here this fertile and advancing party is improving and expanding upon that idea; and, instead of allowing to the President, as the general appointing power of the Government, the right to fill the vacancy thus created, it proposes to fill it itself; and thus obliquely and indirectly to deprive the Executive of the power of making the appointment ad interim.

Now, sir, protesting against this section, I will move to amend it by striking out all after the word "Senate" in line sixteen of the first section to the end of the section, and inserting "said office shall thereupon cease and determine;" so as to make the clause read:

In case of vacancy in the office of Commissioner happening during the recess of the Senate said office shall thereupon cease and determine.

Mr. CONNESS. To pass that would be a premium on taking the life of the Commissioner. Mr. DAVIS. I ask for the yeas and nays upon the amendment.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

Mr. POMEROY. The bill ought to be amended; but if this amendment is voted down, it can be done afterward. I think I can suggest an amendment that will remove the difficulty.

The question being taken by yeas and nays, resulted-yeas 3, nays 26; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Davis, McCreery, and Vickers-3. NAYS-Messrs. Anthony, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Drake, Edmunds, Harlan, Howard, McDonald, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye. Osborn, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Stewart, Thayer, Van Winkle, Wade, Welch, Willey. Williams, Wilson, and Yates-26.

ABSENT-Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, Corbett, Cragin, Dixon, Doolittle, Ferry, Fessenden, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks, Howe, Morgan, Norton, Patterson of New Hampshire, Patterson of Tennessee, Rice, Ross, Saulsbury, Sprague, Sumner, Tipton, and Trumbull-28.

So the amendment was rejected.

66

Mr. HOWARD. I move to amend the bill in the thirteenth line by inserting after the words assistant commissioners" the words "agents, clerks, and assistants,' making the bill far more perfect than it would be otherwise. The clause will then read:

All assistant commissioners, agents, clerks, and assistants shall be appointed by the Secretary of War on the nomination of the Commissioner of the bureau.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. POMEROY. I think the proviso to the second section should be stricken out. It defeats the object of the section. The object of the section is to continue the educational department of the bureau, and the collection and payment of moneys due the soldiers, sailors, marines, or other heirs. It provides that that work shall be continued, and it ought to be continued whether the State is represented or not; but if the proviso is allowed to remain, it defeats that. It is the best provision of the bill, and it ought to be continued in those States not represented. There may be three or four States that will not be represented here, and we ought to continue the system of paying bounties and helping the colored soldiers

of that section.

Mr. HOWARD. That proviso is manifestly an oversight, and it ought to be stricken out. I hope it will be stricken out.

Mr. POMEROY. I move, then, to strike out the proviso.

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and it was read the third time.

Mr. DAVIS. I believe, standing solitary and alone, I shall call for the yeas and nays on the passage of this bill. I beg pardon; I see one friend in his seat, [Mr. VICKERS.] I frankly admit that I generally have to rely upon the courtesy and magnanimity of our opponents in this Chamber to sustain me in calling for the yeas and nays. I ought to call for the yeas and nays upon the passage of this bill; but the men who profess to act with me are not here to enable me to secure the yeas and nays, or to vote and put themselves properly upon the record. That is not my fault. I shall stand up here, or endeavor to stand here, in opposition to all such measures.

Mr. HOWARD. We are very anxious to have the yeas and nays on this side of the Chamber for the purpose of enabling the honorable Senator from Kentucky to put himself on the record.

Several SENATORS. Let us have the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONNESS. I only desire to say that I am very much astonished at my friend from Kentucky who has belabored us so much from time to time for passing these Freedmen's Bureau bilis, that now, when we have a bill before us providing for its abolishment and discontinuance, he abuses that bill with might and main.

Mr. DAVIS. You do not dispose of it quite so soon as I would wish. To be sure I wish the gentlemen many years of life; I do not want them to die naturally; but I do not care how soon this concern dies officially.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. On the passage of the bill the yeas and nays are demanded.

The yeas and nays were ordered; and being taken, resulted-yeas 34, nays 3; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Ferry, Harlan, Howard, McDonald, Morrill of Maine, Morril of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Osborn, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Ross, Sherman, Stewart, Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Welch, Willey, Williams, Wilson, and Yates-31.

NAYS-Messrs. Davis, McCreery, and Vickers-3. ABSENT-Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Cameron, Corbett, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden. Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Grimes, Henderson, Hendricks, Howe, Morgan, Norton. Patterson of Tennessee, Rico, Saulsbury, Sprague, and Sumner-20.

So the bill was passed.

DISMISSED ARMY OFFICERS.

Mr. WILSON. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the bill (H. R. No. 201) declaratory of the law in regard to officers cashiered or dismissed from the Army by the sentence of a general court-martial.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

PUBLIC ROAD THROUGH A RESERVATION.

Mr. WILSON. I now move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the bill (S. No. 16) donating a portion of the Fort Leav enworth military reservation for the exclusive use of a public road.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill. It provides that a strip of land one hundred feet in width along the southern boundary of the Fort Leavenworth military reservation, in the State of Kansas, extending from the Missouri river to the western boundary thereof shall be set apart for the perpetual and exclusive use of a public road.

The Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia reported the bill with an amendment, to add to it the following words:

And the said road shall be and remain a public highway for the use of the Government of the United States, free from tolls or other charges upon the transportation of any property, troops, or mails of the United States.

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill was reported to the Senate, as amended, and the amendment was concurred in. Mr. CONNESS. I should like to inquire of the chairman who reported the bill, whether this is to be a road built by private parties. I understand that this is a grant of land for the purposes of a common road, with the guarantee that the Government shall not be charged for its use. What is the condition of the com pany or persons who are to undertake to make the road? Are they to get a gift of this land, and then private persons to be charged for its use?

Mr. WILSON. I will, in reply, call on the Senator from Kansas, [Mr. Ross,] who introduced the bill, and who knows all about the facts of the case, and can state them with inore precision than I can.

Mr. CONNESS. I will state to the Senator from Kansas what my inquiry was. The bill proposes to make a gift of land for the purpose of establishing a public road to be established for that purpose, and forever securing the free use of it to the Government. I inquire by

whom the road is to be established and built, and whether private persons are to be charged tolls, or under what condition it is to be used?

Mr. ROSS. The design is what the bill expresses a public road for the purposes of the Government as well as of citizens. It is

upon land owned by the Government, and is

to be free.

Mr. CONNESS. That is all I desire to know.

Mr. ROSS. The company make the road running through the reservation.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. MCPHERSON, its Clerk, announced that the House had passed the following bills and joint resolutions, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. No. 1227) to provide for the distribution of the reward offered by the President of the United States for the capture of Jeffer son Davis;

A bill (II. R. No. 1320) for the relief of L. Merchant & Co., and Peter Rosecrantz;

A bili (H. R. No. 1341) making appropriations and to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the service of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes;

A bill (H. R. No. 1366) for the relief of Captain A. G. Olivar;

A bill (H. R. No. 1370) to fix the time for holding the terms of the United States district court in Virginia:

A bill (H. R. No. 1378) to declare the meaning of the several acts in relation to retired officers of the Army;

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 288) amendatory of joint resolution for the relief of certain officers of the Army, approved July 26, 1866;

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 810) to extend the provisions of the act of July 4, 1864, limiting the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims to the loyal citizens of the State of Arkansas; and

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 331) to grant an American register to Hawaiian brig Victoria

The message also announced that the House had passed the bill (S. No. 355) authorizing the construction of a bridge across the Missouri river, upon the military reservation at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with an amendment, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate.

The message further announced that the House insisted upon its disagreement to the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. No. 344) to incorporate the Washington Target-Shooting Association, in the District of Columbia, agreed to the conference asked by the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and had appointed Mr. J. D.

BALDWIN of Massachusetts, Mr. M. WELKER of Ohio, and Mr. A. J. GLOSSBRENNER of Pennsylvania, managers at the same on its part.

EDWARD B. ALLEN.

Mr. HENDRICKS. I move to take up House bill No. 1080, for the relief of Edward B. Allen.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill. It is a direction to the Paymaster General of the Army to pay to Edward B. Allen, of the State of Indiana, out of any money appropriated for the pay of the Army, the full amount of the pay and emoluments of a captain of infantry from the 18th day of August to the 1st day of November, 1862.

Mr. HENDRICKS. I will make a brief statement for about a minute about this case, and then if the Senator from California, [Mr. COLE,] who reported adversely upon it, desires its recommittal, I shall have no objection. The facts that I state I believe are known personally to my colleague, who was the Governor

of the State at the time.

Captain Allen was elected captain of his company and went into the service; but he was not commissioned, and therefore did not receive his pay as a commissioned officer. Perhaps he did not desire to take his commission, because at the time he was holding a lucrative county office, the office of county auditor, and it was supposed if he did not take the commission and went into the war and discharged the duties, the county office would not be disturbed; but the supreme court of the State decided that the taking of the command without a commission took away his county office. That is a fact which was not known to the committee at the time they made their report.

If upon this statement of the facts, the committee desires the recommittal of the bill, I have no objection to it; but it seems to me, as the bill is so inconsiderable, it might as well be passed. The other House passed it, knowing these facts which were not communicated to the committee of this body. It is simply to give him the pay of the command that he actually had. He went into the field and com. manded a company, and was an able officer. His pay was not allowed him at the Department because he had no commission, and he had not a commission because he held a county office, which county office, worth three or four thousand dollars a year, he lost because he took the command.

Mr. HARLAN. I ask the Senator if he drew the pay for the county office during any part of the time for which this bill is reported?

Mr. HENDRICKS. No; the litigation came up, and it went to the supreme court, and the supreme court decided that he was not entitled.

Mr. HARLAN. For any part of it?

Mr. HENDRICKS. I suppose not. The exact details I cannot give. The supreme court decided that the taking of the command lost him his county office.

Mr. COLE. The committee to whom this bill was referred had less objection to paying this very small amount claimed by Mr. Allen for his proper services than to establishing a precedent. But as stated by the Senator from Indiana, it was not at the time known to the committee that the party was deprived of the civil office that he was occupying. That did not appear in the papers referred to the committee, and the report of the committee was based upon the presumption, among others, that he was at the time occupying a civil office and receiving compensation for that. I wil not insist upon a reference of the case to the committee.

Mr. MORTON. I had personal knowledge of this transaction at the time it took place. It was some time ago. I take it my colleague bas stated the facts correctly. Mr. Allen did not receive actually a captain's commissiou at the time with a view of holding on to and receiving the emoluments of the office of

county auditor; but the supreme court decided that accepting the command was equivalent to receiving a commission. He therefore lost the office of county auditor, and having no commission he got no pay for his services in the Army. I think he ought to be paid.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

COMPANY F, EIGHTEENTH INFANTRY. Mr. THAYER. I am directed by the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. R. No. 281) authorizing the issue of clothing to company F, eighteenth regiment United States infantry, to report it back without amendment and recommend its passage; and I ask for its present consideration. It is a resolution of but a few lines, and will occupy only the time required in reading it.

end of said amendment add the following words: Provided, That the office of examiner of claims shall be abolished on the 30th day of June, 1869;" and the Senate agree to the same as so modified.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the fifty-third amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with the following amendments: strike out of said amendment the following words: And for temporary clerks $9,000;" and in line two of said amendment strike out the words "fifty-two thousand seven hundred" and insert in lieu thereof the words "forty-three thousand seven hundred and forty;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the sixtieth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out of said amendment the word "three" and insert in lieu thereof the word "two;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the sixty-third amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out of said amendment the words "forty-two thousand and seven hundred" and insert in lieu thereof the words "forty thousand nine hundred and twenty; and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the sixty-fourth amendment of the Senate, and agree

out of said amendment the word "four" and insertin lieu thereof the word "three;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the sixty-sixth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: strikeout of said amendment the word nine" and insert in lieu thereof the word "seven;" and on page 14, line nine of the bill, strike out the word "three" and insert in lieu the word "five;" and the Senate agree to the same.

By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike Committee of the Whole, proceeded to cousider the joint resolution. It is an authority to the Secretary of War to issue to the thirtythree enlisted men of company F, eighteenth regiment United States infantry, clothing in lieu of and equal in amount to that lost by them in crossing the North Platte river, in June, 1866, as shown and recommended in the report of the board of survey convened under Special Orders No. 3, headquarters post Fort Bridger, Utah, of date of January 24, 1867.

The joint resolution was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

LEGISLATIVE, ETC., APPROPRIATION BILL. Mr. MORRILL, of Maine. I desire to submit a report from the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill, which I send to the desk to be read.

The Chief Clerk read the report, as follows: The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H. R. No. 605) making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1869, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend, and do recommend, to their respective House, as follows:

That the House of Representatives recede from their disagreement to the amendments of the Senate numbered 2, 3, 12, 18, 19, 32, 37, 39, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 143, 145, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 163, 184, 194, 199, 200, 201, 202, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 318, 219, 220, 221, 223, and 227, and agree to the same.

That the Senate recede from their amendments numbered 15, 38, 50, 68, 69, 76, 77, 84, 86, 89, 92, 921. 96, 964, 98, 101, 101, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 135, 136, 166, 167, 185, 186, 187, 197, 198, 204, and 226.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the eleventh amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: at the end of said Senate amendment add the following: "Provided, That after the 30th June, 1869, members of the Capitol police shall furnish at their own expense, each his own uniform, which shall be in exact conformity to regulation, and all provisions of law requiring an appropriation for such uniform are hereby repealed."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the fourteenth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: strike out of said amendment the word "five" and insert in lieu thereof the word "eight:" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the thirtieth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: strike out all of said amendment and insert in lieu thereof the following: "For compensation to the Private Secretary, assistant secretary, who shall be a short-hand writer, two clerks of class four, steward, and messenger of the President of the United States, $12,500: Provided, That so much of the fourth section of the act of July 23, 1866, making appropriation for legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1867, as authorizes the President of the United States to appoint a clerk of pardons, and one clerk of the fourth class, is hereby repealed;" and the Senate agree to the same as so modified."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the forty-first amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: at the

That the House recede from their disagreement to the seventy-eighth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: strike out of said amendment the words one hundred" and insert in lieu thereof the word "fifty;" and on page 17 of the bill, after the word "dollars," in line twenty-three, add the following words:" and it shall be the duty of the Secretary to lay before the House of Representatives annually with his report of receipts and expenditures a statement in detail of the disbursements made from the same hereby appropriated;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the Senate agree to the amendment of the House to the seventy-ninth amendment of the Senate.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the eightieth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with the following amendment: in line two of said amendment strike out the following words, "and fifty."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and second amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: in line one of said amendment strike out the word "four," and insert in lieu thereof the word "seven," and strike out of said amendment the words "six thousand four" and insert in lieu thereof the words "eleven thousand two."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and eleventh amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out of said amendment the word nineteen," and insert in lieu thereof the word "twelve:" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and twelfth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out of said amendment the word thirty;" and insert in lieu thereof "nineteen;" and on page 23 of the bill, line twenty-seven, after the word thousand" strike out the word "four" and insert in lieu thereof the word "two;" and the Senate agree to the same.

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That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and thirteenth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with the following amendment: strike out of said amendment the words "fifty-two" and insert in lieu thereof the word "thirty:" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and fourteenth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: strike out of said amendment the words "fifty-eight" and insert in lieu thereof the words "forty-two;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and twenty-eighth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: strike out of said amendment the words "twenty-five" and insert in lieu thereof the word "fifteen;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and twenty-ninth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: Strike out of said amendment the word thirty," and insert in lieu thereof the word "eighteen," and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and thirty-seventh amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: on page 26 of the bill, line three, after the word "for" insert the following words: "Chief Clerk $2,000;" and also strike out the word "four" in said amendment and insert in lieu thereof the word "three."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and thirty-eighth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out "seven thousand two" and insert in lieu thereof "five thousand four:" and

in line four of the bill, on page 26, strike out the word one" where it first occurs and insert in lieu thereof the word "two;" and in the same line strike our the word "one" where it occurs the second time, and in lieu thereof insert the word "three:" and in the same line strike out the word six" and in licu thereof insert the word "two."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and thirty-ninth amendment of tho Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out eight" and insert in lieu thereof the word "six."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and fortieth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with the following amendment: strike out eleven thousand two" and insert in lieu thereof "eight thousand four."

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That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and forty-first amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out "twenty" and insert in lieu thereof "ten.'

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and forty-second amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment. as follows: strike out "twenty-four" and insert in lieu thereof "twelve;" and the Senate agree to the

game.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and forty-sixth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: in lines two and three of said amendment strike out the words "three thousand five hundred" and insert in lieu thereof the words "two thousand six hundred and sixty-three;" and at the end of said amendment, add the following: "Provided, That this office shall cease on the 4th day of March, 1869, and no further appropriation for its continuance shall be made until said office shall have been established by law;" and the Senate agree to the same as so modified.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and forty-eighth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: in line one of said amendment strike out the word "four" and insert in lieu thereof the word "three;" and in line two of said amendment strike out the word "four" and insert in lieu thereof the word "three," and in the same line strike out the word "eight" and insert in lieu thereof the word

six."

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and ninety-third amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: at the end of said amendment add the following: " Provided. That from and after the 30th day of June, 1869, the Department of Education shall cease, and there shall be established and attached to the Department of the Interior an office to be denominated the office of education, the chief officer of which shall be the Commissioner of Education, at a salary of $3,000 per annum, who shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, discharge all such duties, and superintend, execute, and perform all such acts and things touching and respecting the said office of education as are devolved by law upon said Commissioner of Education;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and ninety-four and a half amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with amendments, as follows: in lieu of said Senate amendment insert the words "four hundred;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and ninety-fifth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with the following amendments: in line two of said amendment strike out the word "eight" and insert in lieu thereof the word "seven;" and in line six of said amendment strike out the words "twenty-five hundred" and insert in lieu thereof two thousand;" and in line six of said amendment strike out the words "two thousand" and insert in lieu thereof " eighteen hundred;" and the Senate agree to the same.

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That the House recede from their disagreement to the one hundred and ninety-sixth amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out of said amendment the words "ninety-one" and insert in lieu thereof the words seventy-five;" and the Senate agree to the same. That the House recede from their disagreement to the two hundred and third amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: strike out of said amendment the words fiftyseven" and insert in lieu thereof the word "ten;" and the Senate agree to the same.

That the House recede from their amendment to the two hundred and twenty-fifth amendment of the Senate, and the Senate recede from said amendment and agree to the following as a substitute for both amendments:

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That all advertisements, notices, proposals for contracts, executive proclamations, treaties, and laws to be published in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, shall be published in the papers now selected under the provisions of section ten of an act approved March 2, 1867, entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes," and shall also be published in the paper selected under the provisions of the second section of this act: Provided, That no advertisement from any State, District, or Territory other than the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia shall be published in the papers designated, unless at the direc tion first made of the proper head of a Depart

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the amendment of the House to the two hundred and
twenty-eighth amendment of the Senate, and agree to
the same.
E. B. WASHBURNE.
CHARLES E. PHELPS,
C. DELANO.

Managers on the part of the House.
L. M. MORRILL.
TIMOTHY O. HOWE,

T. A. HENDRICKS, Managers on the part of the Senate. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The ques tion is on agreeing to the report of the committee of conference.

Mr. MORRILL, of Maine. I will make a general statement in regard to it.

Mr. CONNESS. Let me call the Senator's attention to one point before he begins. The provision in regard to advertising, as it appears to me, as I heard the latter part of it read, by implication clearly authorizes the publication of such advertisements in other papers than those named, "unless selected by the head of a Department."

Mr. MORRILL, of Maine. No, sir.

Mr. CONNESS. I ask the Clerk to read the latter part of that provision, and I call the attention of the chairman to it.

The Chief Clerk read as follows:

Provided, That no advertisement to any State, district, or Territory, other than the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, shall be published in the papers designated, unless, at the direction first made of the proper head of a Department.

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Mr. CONNESS. Now, sir, it appears to me clearly, by implication, they may publish them, if not directed by the head of a Department," that is under other circumstances, in any other paper.

Mr. MORRILL, of Maine. This report presents the bill very much as it came from the Committee on Appropriations on the part of the Senate and as it was perfected by the Senate when it was returned to the House of Representatives. It is substantially that. I will name the general exceptions in which it differs, and then I will notice what the honorable Senator from California has drawn my attention to.

The first material exception to the statement I have made that this is substantially the bill as it was left by the action of the Senate is the appropriation for the execution of the laws in regard to loans. The Senate proposed to appropriate $1,500,000. This report leaves it at $1,250,000.

Then the Senate agreed to appropriate $8,000,000 for the expenses of the internal revenue. The House proposition was $6,000,000. The committee of the Senate and the Senate concurred in raising it to $8,000,000. This report puts it at $6,000,000 upon the ground that there has been a large deduction in the taxes, or rather in abatement of the taxes, which will necessarily tend to decrease the expenses, and then, as we understand, the large reduction in the force renders it probable that $6,000,000 will answer for the expenses of that Department this year.

There is one particular to which I think I ought to call the attention of the Senate, and that is the Department of Education. It will be noticed that the original establishment of the Department as a Department of Education is to cease at the close of the present fiscal year, that is June 30, 1869; but provision is made for a Commissioner, who is to be transferred to the Interior Department, and subject to the directions and authority of the head of that Department, and his duties are to be those of the present Commissioner.

Pretty much all the other amendments relate to the clerks in the several Departments. They are limited; but it is of no great consequence, I suppose, that I should detail the amendments in regard to those matters.

Now, in regard to the question to which the Senator from California adverts, the understanding of the committee is that all laws, treaties, and advertisements required by law to be published in the States of Virginia and Maryland, and the District of Columbia, are to be published in the papers which are authorized by law to make this publication.

Mr. CONNESS. I am satisfied.

Mr. MORRILL, of Maine. I understand the Senator is satisfied that the objection is not sound, and therefore, that unless some Senator desires a further explanation, I will say

no more.

The report was concurred in.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. MCPHERSON, its Clerk, announced that the Speaker of the House had signed the following enrolled bills; and they were thereupon signed by the President pro tempore of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. No. 373) to place the name of Mahala A. Straight upon the pension-roll of the United States;

A bill (H. R. No. 456) granting a pension to the minor children of Pleasant Stoops;

A bill (H. R. No. 518) granting a pension to George F, Gorham, late a private in company B, twenty-ninth regiment Massachusetts volunteer infantry;

A bill (H. R. No. 522) granting a pension to W. W. Cunningham;

A bill (H. R. No. 525) granting a pension to Jeremiah T. Hallett;

A bill (H. R. No. 661) granting a pension to the widow and minor children of William Craft;

A bill (H. R. No. 662) granting a pension to the widow and minor children of George R. Waters;

A bill (H. R. No. 663) granting a pension to Cyrus K. Wood, the legal representative of Cyrus D. Wood;

A bill (H. R. No. 664) granting a pension to the minor children of Charles Gouler; A bill (H. R. No. 666) granting a pension to Henry H. Hunter;

A bill (H. R. No. 669) granting a pension to the widow and minor children of Myron Wilklow;

A bill (S. No. 342) granting a pension to Thomas Stewart;

A bill (S. No. 359) granting a pension to Louisa Fitch, widow of E. P. Fitch, deceased; A bill (S. No. 381) granting a pension to Edward Hamel, minor child of Edward Hamel, deceased;

A bill (S. No. 427) for the relief of the widow and children of John W. Jameson;

A bill (S. No. 434) for the relief of Elizabeth Barker, widow of Alexander Barker, deceased; A bill (S. No. 456) for the relief of Sylvester Nugent;

A bill (S. No. 494) granting a pension to Elizabeth Steepleton, widow of Harrison W. Steepleton, deceased;

A bill (S. No. 495) for the relief of Henry Reens;

A bill S. No. 497) for the relief of Catharine Wands;

A bill (S. No. 498) granting a pension to Anna M. Howard;

A bill (S. No. 500) granting a pension to Lucinda R. Johnson;

A bill (S. No. 501) granting a pension to Harriet W. Pond;

A bill (S. No. 520) granting a pension to Martha Stout;

A bill (S. No. 549) granting an increase of pension to Catharine Eckhardt.

A bill (S. No. 807) for the relief of certain Government contractors;

A joint resolution (S. R. No. 81) placing certain troops of Missouri on an equal footing with others as to bounties;

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 292) directing the Secretary of War to sell damaged or unserviceable arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores; and

A joint resolution (S. R. No. 107) in relation to the Maquoketa river in the State of Iowa.

THE FUNDING BILL.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The morn

A bill (H. R. No. 670) granting a pensioning hour having expired, the unfinished busito the widow and children of Andrew Holman;

A bill (H. R. No. 521) to place the name of Solomon Zachman on the pension-roll;

A bill (H. R. No. 673) granting a pension to the widow and minor children of John S. Phelps;

A bill (H. R. No. 672) granting a pension to the widow and minor children of Charles W. Wilcox;

A bill (H. R. No. 676) granting a pension to Thomas Connolly;

ness of yesterday is before the Senate, being the bill (H. R. No. 1354) to provide for the issue of arms for the use of the militia.

Mr. SHERMAN. With the consent of the Senator from Massachusetts, I move to postpone the unfinished business and all prior orders and take up the special order for one o'clock to-day, the funding bill.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill (S. No. 207) for fund

A bill (H. R. No. 677) granting a pensioning the national debt and for the conversion of to the minor children of James Heatherly;

A bill (H. R. No. 770) granting a pension to John H. Finlay ;

A bill (H. R. No. 675) granting a pension to the widow and minor children of Cornelius L. Rice;

A bill (H. R. No. 771) granting a pension to John L. Lay;

A bill (H. R. No. 773) granting a pension to William H. McDonald;

A bill (H. R. No. 825) granting a pension to John W. Hughes;

A bill (S. No. 232) granting a pension to Henrietta Nobles;

A bill (S. No. 238) granting a pension to Carrie E. Burdett;

A bill (S. No. 282) granting a pension to Annie E. Dixon.

A bill (S. No. 291) granting a pension to Ann Kelley, widow of Bernard Kelley;

A bill (S. No. 292) granting a pension to Maria Raftery;

A bill (S. No. 316) for the relief of Rebecca V. Senor, mother of James H. Senor, deceased; A bill (S. No. 318) for the relief of Charlotte Posey, widow of Sebastian R. Posey;

A bill (S. No. 321) for the relief of Mrs. Mary Gaither, widow of Wiley Gaither, deceased;

A bill (S. No. 332) granting a pension to John W. Harris;

A bill (S. No. 383) for the relief of Julia M. Molin;

the notes of the United States.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by the Senator from Ohio, which will be read.

The Chief Clerk read the amendment, which was to strike out all of the original bill after the enacting clause and to insert in lieu thereof the following:

That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to issue coupon or registered bonds of the United States in such form and of such denominations as he may prescribe, redeemable in coin at the pleasure of the United States, after twenty, thirty, and forty years, respectively, and bearing the following rates of yearly interest, payable semi-annually in coin, that is to say: the issue of bonds falling due in twenty years shall bear interest at five per cent.; bonds falling due in thirity years shall bear interest at four and a half per cent.; and bonds falling due in forty years shall bear interest at four per cent. which said bonds shall be exempt from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, or local authority, and the same and the interest thereon, and the income therefrom, shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties to the United States, other than such income tax as may be assessed upon other incomes; and the said bonds and the proceeds thereof shall be exclusively used for the redemption. payment, or purchase of, or exchange for, an equal amount of any of the present interest-bearing debt of the United States, other than the existing five per cent. bonds and the three per cent. certificates, and may be issued to an amount, in the aggregate, sufficient to cover the principal of all outstanding or existing obligations as limited herein, and no more. but not to exceed $700,000,000 dollars shall be of the issue redeemable in twenty years.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there is hereby appropriated out of the duties derived from imported goods the sum of $135,000,000 annually, which sum during each fiscal year shall be applied

to the payment of the interest, and to the reduction of the principal of the public debt, in such a manner as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, or as Congress may hereafter direct; and such reduction shall be in lieu of the sinking fund contemplated by the fifth section of the act entitled "An act to authorize the issue of United States notes, and for the redemption or funding thereof, and for funding the floating debt of the United States" approved February 25, 1862.

SEC.3. And be it further enacted, That the holder of any lawful money of the United States, to the amount of $1,000, or any multiple of $1,000, may convert the same into bonds for an equal amount, authorized by the first section of this act, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe; and any holder of any of the bonds provided for in the first section of this act, may present the same to the Treasurer of the United States and deand lawful money of the United States for the principal and accruing interest thereon, and the Treasurer shall redeem the same in lawful money of the United States, unless the amount of the United States notes then outstanding shall be equal to $400,000,000; and such bond shall not be so redeemable after the United States have resumed the paynent of coin for their notes.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That any contract hereafter made specifically payable in coin shall be legal and valid, and may be enforced according to its terms, anything in the several acts relating to United States notes to the contrary notwithstanding.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. President, I do not intend to discuss the general subject of funding the public debt. I did that in January last, and have no desire to repeat the argument I then submitted to the Senate. I am willing to stand on what I then said. My position has only been strengthened by the debates since that time.

Mr. POMEROY. I do not wish to interrupt the Senator, but I hope he will tell us wherein the first section of this bill differs from the law of 1866, the present authority of the Secretary of the Treasury?

Mr. SHERMAN. I will answer the question of the Senator when we proceed to consider the details of the bill.

Recent events, however, show the importance, the absolute necessity of making some movement toward the reduction of the interest on the public debt, with a view to lighten the burdens of the people. The Chicago convention pledged the Republican party to make vigorous efforts to reduce the rate of interest on the public debt. The platform is familiar to all. The majority of the House of Repre sentatives, comprising men of both parties, and the recent Democratic convention at New York, propose to lessen the burdens of the public debt by taxing the income from it. This subject is exciting a great deal of attention and anxiety among the people. There is a universal demand that the burden of the public debt, which now bears six per cent. in gold, shall be reduced as rapidly as possible, either by funding it at a lower rate of interest, or by taxing it in some form or other by the States or by the national Government.

These are questions that I do not propose now to discuss at any length. My convictions are that the States cannot tax the Government securities. The loan laws expressly probibit this. The United States has been in debt since the foundation of the Government, and no party ever proposed to tax the Government securities until the Democratic party proposed to do it. The courts have always held that there is no power in a State government to tax the Government securities. It is inkerent in the nature of our Government. The power to borrow money is a power necessary to the existence of the Government, and no subordinate authority can affect that power. It is not necessary to discuss these questions further than to refer to the cases, and that I have already done.

Nor can the United States impose a discriminating tax against Government securities. The United States may impose the same tax on the income derived from Government securities that it does on other incomes. There can be no objection to that. It is done by the English and other Governments. But the United States cannot make a discriminating property income tax against Government securities. Such a thing would be a plain and palpable violation of the tenor of the loan acts.

It ought never to be tolerated or thought of by any one. I was very much gratified, and I think that is the opinion of the whole Senate, at the prompt action of the Committee of Ways and Means on the proposition sent to them by the House of Representatives.

The only way, in my judgment, to reduce the burden of the public debt is by selling our bonds at a lower rate of interest and redeeming existing bonds according to the spirit and terms of the law under which they were issued. It can be done now. The state of the money market is such that we can do it now. I have no doubt that a simple offer now made to the bondholders will induce many of them to accept bonds at a lower rate of interest, and thus, without disturbing or affecting the public credit, reduce the rate of interest considerably.

Upon another point. I have no doubt, I said here in January last, that the Government of the United States have now the right to pay the principal of the five-twenty bonds, as they mature or become redeemable, in the lawful money of the United States. We have no power and no right, without violating public faith, to issue any more greenbacks, because the law under which our bonds were negotiated limits the amount of greenbacks to $400,000,000, and we cannot violate that stipulation by increasing the quantity of greenbacks or lawful money. But so fast as this money comes into the Treasury of the United States, either by taxes or by new loans, we have a right to apply those taxes or that money to the payment of the principal of the public debt, precisely as we have a right to apply it to the payment of pensions or salaries, or any other expenditure of the Government The law makes no such discrimination in favor of bondholders. The only discrimination that is made is in regard to interest. That is expressly provided to be paid in gold coin. In regard to the principal there is no stipulation as to the five-twenty loan. There is a stipulation in regard to the ten-forty loan, and no one proposes to violate it. But the committee do not present that question. It is a question upon which there is a difference of opinion among men of all parties. We do not wish to present that question by the bill, nor does the bill present the question.

This bill is simply an authority to the Secre tary of the Treasury to sell the bonds of the United States of a specific character at a price that will enable him to redeem dollar for dollar the outstanding six per cent. bonds of the United States. It is so carefully prepared that the Secretary has no authority to sell except as he is able to redeem an equal amount, dollar for dollar, of existing bonds. So that the question upon which there is a difference of opinion among us as Republicans and as Senators about the power of the United States to pay off the bonds as they mature in lawful money does not arise.

My own deliberate judgment, however, is that we have the right to do it; and that, unless this conversion is made in a reasonable time by the voluntary action and interest of the bondholders, that power will be exercised. The state of the money market shows that this is the general opinion of the commercial world, because the difference between the tenforties and five-twenties does not exceed three or four per cent. I have no doubt that a proposition to give to the holders of these bonds a bond bearing five per cent. interest payable in twenty years will be accepted by them; or if not, the Secretary may go into the markets of the world and sell these new bonds at a price that will enable him to take up and buy in in the open market the five-twenty bonds; so that the question about which there is a difference of opinion will be postponed. If the state of the money market will not allow him to do this, the bill does no harm.

This bill contains four distinct propositions, all of which ought to go together. The first is that a bond bearing a lower rate of interest may be exchanged or sold to redeem a bond bearing a higher rate of interest. The sec

ond proposition is that a specific sum of $135,000,000 in gold shall be set aside for the payment of the interest on the public debt, and for the redemption of the principal. If this is allowed its uninterrupted course, it will pay off the whole national debt in thirtyfive years. The effect of a fixed appropriation operates as a sinking fund. As the interest is diminished by funding, the amount to be applied to the principal increases. The reduction proposed on the first five-twenty loan of $500,000,000 will operate as a saving to the United States of $269,912,460 by the year 1898, when it becomes payable. I will append a carefully prepared table to these remarks showing this in detail.

The next proposition is that the holder of a greenback shall stand on precisely the same footing as the holder of a bond; that whatever privilege is conferred upon the holder of a bond shall be conferred upon the holder of a greenback; that the holder of a United States note may go and present it at the Treasury and demand a bond for it, and that the holder of a five-twenty bond may go and present it at the Treasury and demand a new bond for it. By this simple provision we answer the demagogical cry so prevalent in the country that one kind of currency is provided for the poor man and another for the rich man, because we place the United States note on a precise footing with the most favored security now offered in the market. Unless this is done the man who is compelled to receive your United States note, which is, after all, a promise of the Government to pay on demand, is placed in a more disadvantageous position than the person who holds your bond payable in the long future. This provision is inserted for the purpose of making an equality between the bondholder and the noteholder, to remove the discrimination between them. All discriminations between different kinds of debt, between noteholders and bondholders are anti-republican, and should be dispensed with as rapidly as pos

sible.

The last section of the bill is simply the bill that the Senate have already unanimously passed, providing that the people may, if they choose, trade in gold. Under the existing laws merchants are compelled to buy large amounts of gold to pay duties, and yet they cannot make a legal contract, according to the construction of some of the courts, payable in gold. The result is, that they are embarrassed. Frauds may be committed. Contracts made upon the basis of gold must be enforced by the courts in lawful money. This section simply restores to the people the right to trade as they please, to do as they please, and authorizes the courts to enforce those contracts according to their letter and spirit. This section has been objected to, I believe, by the Senator from Minnesota because it might enable the rich man to demand a gold contract for the purpose of raising the rate of interest. Such a contract would be usurious, and would not be enforced.

Mr. RAMSEY. How does the Senator know that? It is not so upon the face of the law.

Mr. SHERMAN. If the contract is made upon the basis of paper money, and the stipulation to pay in gold is merely used as a device or means to extort usury, it is a usurious contract and will not be enforced. This section only applies to contracts hereafter made that are based upon gold values-to be paid in gold in the future, and therefore it is perfectly just and right. Indeed, my own opinion is, that under the legal-tender clause there is nothing to prevent the enforcement of contracts based upon gold being enforced in gold; but there is a difference of opinion on that point in the legal profession, and many of the courts have held that a contract payable in gold, based upon gold, where gold was lent, may be enforced now in the lawful money of the United States, creating an injustice which is as wrong as would be a forfeiture of a portion of the debt.

Now, Mr. President, these principles are

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