or uipon such other terms as would make it
for their interest to recall list notes and re
drem the bonds dt the earliest poasihle day af
ter the pressure anil their necessities shoulul
have ceased. But he regards ally large atig
msentittion of the legal t nsher notes in It timie
of peace as a departure frusin the declaration
of public policy anii the pledge of the
PUBLIC PAITIH
to the National creditors made in the act of
June 30, 1864, that the amount of such notes
should never exceed s400,O00,000. and from
that more solemn pledgeeontained in the first
act of the Forty-first Congress. " to make pro
vision at the earliest practicable period for the
redemption of United States notes in coin."
Alluding to the growing desire among the
people to restore the paper circulation to a
specie standard, he says i
t ia not possible to reaulie and maintain specie
Ylents with so large an rmount of notes in ctr
calation and so small an amount of gold in the
country, The volume of currency muast he re
duced or that of 'Con greatly increased. Should
the national banks be proliibit,-d from selling the
coin reseived by them as interest upon bonds
pledged to secure circulation, retaining the same
in Whole or in part in reserve, or loaning it in the
disount of bills and notes payable in coin, as
list accumulationn ofi go~lt in the banks which
Would do something towtard preparing for re
sumption. This, with a constant increase of
coin in the tre de -taken with the appro
val ofCongreas, eise long lead to the de
sited result, When other conditions required for
the maintenanne of specie payments should be
Coins4 favrnalite,
The Secretary refers to the uncertainty
which exists in public sentiment as to the
right and policy of the 4ecretarv of the Trea
sur1 to issue the $44.000t00 of United States
notes called the reserve,,and recommends that
Coneress shall set those questions at rest by
a distinct enactment. 