tection of society, but they are not fitted to deal with a contest between great bodies of citizens in the same community, where the divisions are so wide and broad as to amount to domestic violence or civil war. The Congress of the United States is expressly authorized to protect a State against domestic violence, and to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States, and the inter-State commerce thus provided for is now conducted mainly by these great lines of railway. The framers of the Constitution could not foresee railroads, or the vast extension of our country and its varied interests; but they did provide that commerce, in all its forms, foreign and domestic, by whatever agency conducted, might be controlled by an authority more free from local prejudice than any other that could be selected. My hope, then, is that Congress will pass laws to establish and limit maximum rates of freight, so that the production of a farmer may not be in danger of confiscation by exorbitant rates; that it will limit and restrain the reduction of freights so as to destroy the ability of railroad companies to pay fair prices for honest labor, and that it will prevent them from making paupers of men who perform essential functions in commerce. Congress may thus, by wise general laws, control the most powerful corporations as well as the humblest citizens. All men ought, however, to understand, whatever may be their wrongs or injuries, that in our free system there is but one remedy, and that is by peaceful, lawful appeals to the constituted authorities, both State and National. No man has a right to redress his injuries by violence or crime. No government can live where mobs can make laws and prevent laborers from working. The right of a laborer to refuse to work without such pay as he demands is clear and unquestionable; but, whatever civil remedies the law may give him, he can not resort to violence to prevent either the movement of commerce or the employment of others, without endangering our whole system and encountering the full force and power of the Government. The very fact that the stopping of trains on the four great lines of railway would bring hunger and want to millions of laboring people, and deprive other millions of a market for their produce, would array against striking laborers who resorted to violence not only the whole power of the Government, but the moral and physical force of the remainder of the community. When laboring men, or any class of men, resort to violence and crime to protect even real rights, they must be dealt with in the same way as others who violate the law, however much men may sympathize with their distress. I am stating only what the law has always provided, and I state it with full sympathy in an honest demand by laboring men for fair wages for a fair day's work. We must obey the law and we must punish any violation of the law. Life and property must be protected. These are the conditions upon which society exists, and no party can temporize or hesitate in the face of an open revolt against these principles of public order. But, while this is true, we must not fail to examine the complaint of the humblest citizen and give him all the protection and all the remedy that a just Government can give. And now, fellow citizens, in conclusion, allow me to express, so far as language enables me, my heartfelt thanks for the courtesy and kindness you always have shown me, not only during this short visit, but in all the time I have lived among you. I can only say, I thank you. The contract of August 24, 1876, made by the Secretary of the Treasury with certain parties, for the negotiation of $300,000,000 four and one half per cent. bonds, had so far been executed on the 1st of March, 1877, that $90,000,000 had been sold to the associated contractors, and calls had been made for the redemption of a like amount of five-twenty bonds. While the contract expired in terms on the 30th day of June, 1877, it contained a stipulation that it might be terminated by the Secretary of the Treasury, upon ten days' notice, after the 4th of March, 1877. In May last it became apparent to the Secretary that, by a favorable change in the money market, four per cent. bonds could be sold at par, in coin, with great advantage to the Government; and, availing himself of the privilege secured by the contract, he gave notice that he would limit the sale of four and one half per cent. bonds to $200,000,000. On the 11th day of May it was agreed that a portion of the latter should be sold under the authority of the resumption act for resumption purposes, and subscriptions were rapidly made until the aggregate reached $200,000,000, of which $185,000,000 were applied to the redemption of an equal amount of six per cent. bonds. On the 9th day of June, 1877, the Secretary entered into a contract with a portion of the previously associated parties for the sale at par, in coin, of the four per cent. bonds of the United States, authorized to be issued by the refunding act. This contract was in substance similar to previous contracts, but was to terminate on the 30th day of June, 1878, with the right reserved to the United States to terminate it at any time after the 31st of December, 1877, by giving ten days' notice thereof to the contracting parties. This contract also contained a stipulation, as follows: It is also agreed that the parties of the second part shall offer to the people of the United States, at par and accrued interest in coin, the four per cent. registered consols and four per cent. coupon consols of the denominations of $50 and $100 embraced in this contract, for a period of thirty days from the public notice of such subscriptions, and in such cities and upon such notice as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe prior to the opening of the lists; and further, to offer to the subscribers the option of paying in installments extending through three months. Under this contract, invitations having been published, subscriptions to this loan were opened on the 16th of June, 1877. Within the period of thirty days thereafter the subscriptions had reached the sum of $75,496,550, which were payable within ninety days from the date of subscription, or on or before the 16th of October. Every subscription to these bonds has been paid, and of the proceeds $50,000,000 have been applied to the redemption of an equal amount of six per cent. bonds. The residue has been applied to resumption purposes, as hereafter stated. The annual reduction of interest on the public debt thus made is as follows: By the sale of $185,000,000 four and one half per cent. bonds.. Aggregating... $2,775,000 1,000,000 $3,775,000 In October last, after the payment of the popular subscriptions, arrangements were perfected to open further subscriptions to the four per cent. loan, and a call was about to issue for ten millions of six per cent. bonds; but it was temporarily postponed by reason of the agitation of the repeal of the resumption act and the remonetization of silver, which the associates believed would prevent further sales of these bonds. For this reason they declined to offer them, and no further call of six per cent. bonds was therefore made. On the 19th of June, pending the subscriptions, the Secretary informed the associates, in an official letter, that, as the Government exacts in payment for these bonds their face value in gold coin, it was not anticipated that any future legislation of Congress, or any action of any department of the Government, would sanction or tolerate the redemption of the principal of these bonds, or the payment of the interest thereon, in coin of less value than the coin authorized by law at the time of their issue-being gold coin: The general confidence of the public that so just a principle of good faith would be observed by the Government no doubt largely contributed to the success of the loan. Whatever policy the Government may adopt at any time in its system of coinage, it should not reduce the value of the coin in which it pays its obligations below that it demanded and received. The Secretary earnestly urges Congress to give its sanction to this assurance. The high credit of the United States, the faithful observance of its public obligations, the abundance of its wealth and resources, the rapid reduction of its debt, the great accumulation of savings among the people, the favorable state of foreign trade-all contribute to enable the United States to borrow both from its own people and in foreign markets on the most favorable terms. The Secretary does not doubt that, if no questions had arisen disturbing the public credit, the six per cent. bonds would be rapidly paid off by the proceeds of the four per cent. bonds, sold at par in coin or its equivalent. The highest public credit can be secured only by a constant observance of every public engagement, construed according to its letter and spirit. Thus far this course has been faithfully pursued by the United States. Without it, our ample resources and ability to pay are of no avail. At a time when we are enjoying such credit, and rapidly securing the benefit of it by the reduction of the rate of interest from six to four per cent., it would seem to be a grievous error to raise a question about the coin in which the interest is payable. Self-interest alone, without respect to pride in public credit, would lead us to secure so great a benefit as would be the saving of one third of the interest of the public debt. Of the six per cent. loans about $660,000,000 are now redeemable at the pleasure of the United States, and of the whole debt $1,452,000,000 are redeemable before or on the 1st of May, 1881. By the reduction of the interest from six to four per cent. on the public debt now redeemable, there would be a saving of $13,200,000 annually; and by the reduction to four per cent. of the interest on the total debt redeemable by the 1st of May, 1881, there would be a saving of $22,006,205.50 per annum. Any measure that creates distrust or doubt will arrest this process, and, by disabling the United States from borrowing, will compel the continued payment of the high rate of six per cent. If, therefore, the public interests demand the issue of silver dollars -a subject hereafter discussed-it is respectfully submitted to Congress that an express exception be made requiring that gold coin alone shall be paid for principal or interest on bonds issued to public creditors since February 12, 1873, the amount of which is $592,990,700. These bonds have entered into the markets of the world. If the market value of the silver in the new coin is less than that of the gold dollar, a forced payment in the new coin is a repudiation of a part of this debt. The saving that would thus be made is utterly insignificant compared with the injury done to the public credit. And even as to bonds issued prior to February 12, 1873, public policy and enlightened self-interest require us to pay them in the coin then in circulation and contemplated by both parties as the medium of payment. Silver dollars have not been in circulation in the United States since 1837, and since 1853 fractional silver coins have been in circulation and a legal tender only for limited sums, and have not been contemplated as the medium of payment since any considerable portion of the outstanding bonds were issued. The silver dollar was, in fact, more valuable than the gold dollar. It does not become a nation like ours to avail itself of the market depreciation of silver to gain a small saving by the payment of silver dollars instead of the coin contemplated when the bonds were issued. A far greater saving and higher public honor can be secured by the sale of four per cent. bonds under the refunding act and the payment of outstanding bonds in gold coin. An assurance given by Congress of such payment would at once secure the complete success of the refunding process and greatly advance the present high credit of the United States. Another practical impediment in the sale of bonds was that, under the law, the Secretary could receive coin alone in payment for them, and the only existing coin that could be received, under the law, was gold coin. As this was not in general circulation, it was impracticable for the people to pay it into the Treasury for these bonds. Therefore it became necessary to conduct all sales through third parties, who could receive bank bills, United States notes, drafts, certificates, and other forms of commercial paper, and convert them into coin. The Secretary, therefore, recommends that he be authorized to sell such bonds either for coin or for its equivalent in United States notes. By the resumption act approved January 14, 1875, the Secretary of the Treasury is required to redeem legal-tender notes to the amount of eighty per centum of the sum of national-bank notes issued, and to continue such redemption, as circulating notes are issued, until there shall be outstanding the sum of $300,000,000 of such legal-tender United States notes, and no more. In obedience to this act, there have been issued since March 1, 1877, to national banks, $16,123,995 of circulating notes, and there have been redeemed, retired, and canceled $12,899,196 of United States notes, leaving outstanding on the 1st instant the sum of $351,340,288. By the same act it is provided that, on and after the first day of January, 1879, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem in coin the United States legal-tender notes then outstanding, on their presentation for redemption at the office of the Assistant Treasurer of the United States in the city of New York, in sums of not less than fifty dollars. "And, to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare and provide for the redemption in this act authorized or required, he is authorized to use any surplus revenues from time to time in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to issue, sell, and dispose of, at not less than par in coin, either of the descriptions of bonds of the United States described in the act of Congress approved July 14, 1870, entitled 'An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt,' with like qualities, privileges, and exemptions, to the extent necessary to carry this act into full effect, and to use the proceeds thereof for the purposes aforesaid." In obedience to this provision, the Secretary has sold at par, for coin, $15,000,000 four and one half per cent. bonds, or $5,000,000 during each of the months of May, June, and July last, and has sold $25,000,000 at par in coin of four per cent. bonds, or $5,000,000 for each of the months of August, September, October, November, and December. Of the coin thus received, $4,000,000 have been sold for the redemption of United States notes, and the residue is in the TreasThe surplus revenue has also, under the same authority, been applied to the redemption of the residue of United States notes, not redeemed by the sale of coin as above stated, and the balance is held in the Treasury in preparation for resumption. These operations, aided greatly, no doubt, by the favorable condition of our foreign commerce, have advanced the market value of United States notes to ninety-seven and three eighths per cent., or within nearly two and a half per cent. of coin. They have also conclusively demonstrated the practicability of restoring United States notes to par in coin by the time fixed by law, and that without disturbing either domestic or foreign trade or commerce. Every step has been accompanied with growing business, with the advance of public credit, and the steady appreciation of United States notes. The export of bullion has been arrested, and our domestic supply has accumulated in the Treasury. The exportation of other domestic products has been largely increased, |