Mr. HARDING, of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, in the presence of the many distinguishe states men of this House, restricted by necessary rules, which with slight exception limit the right to this floor to the chairmen of committees, in the face of the momentous issues before us and the urgent reasons for the prompt action of congress, I have with the ayes and noes endeav ored to perform my part of our mission; all though at times restive, necessity has schooled me to “bear the bit” without breaking the reins! and now, if no other result follows, I shall feel that I have done my duty by expressing very briefly and hastily a few remarks upon the financial policy of the Government. The bill which is still before Congress, and which will again come before us for final action, is less objectionable than when it 1st demanded our consideration. We e a national debt, which, with the sums to be added, to equalize bounties to soldiers, amounts to near $3,000,000,000; about 1/3rd bearing coin interest, and the remaining 2/3rds bearing currency interest, except to the amount of about $425,000,000 currency, bearin little or no interest. It proposed, 1st, to [borrow in Europe gold, giving onds payable, principal and interest, in the mono of the country where borrowed, and pay an retire our currency, bonds and greenbacks; to give power to the SecyTreasury to sell ends in such quantities and upon such terms as he might determine, and to destroy the national currency at his pleasure. I shall not comment upon the evident impol icy ofinereasing our debt to foreign countries, thereby increasin the demands upon us for gold, and the baance of trade against us; nor of substituting gold bonds, payable in Europe, for the bonds held by our own people payable in the lawful money of the U.S., and contracted by the medium of the same kind of money. Neither by foreign loans, nor by giving gold bearing bonds for currency bearing bonds, nor by the contracting of the quantity of national currency or national ban r currency, can we reach the goal of specie payments. We are reminded that early in this session we resolved in favor of a return to s ccio payments, and that as the Treasury bil proposes this result it demands our support. For myself, I have never for a moment doubted the propricty of the proposed end; but 1 do dissent from the oft repeated o inion which is the basis of the bill before congress tbat we can reach specie payments only by a contraction of the currency. The proposed measure will not diminish our national debt, but will increase both the principal and the interest; by itwe exchangcadomcstic fora. for ci n creditor and the gold we borrow abroad will soon find its owner to whom it will speed ily return in payment ofinterest and importations, stimulated by (he means to buy, increasing lonr embarrassments and endingin national exaustion, if not bankruptcy. We must de end for the golden era, not upon foreign oans, but upon the productive resources of our country. To our fertile lands, our rich mines, ourflowing oil wells, our manufactures, and our people, with the aid of a uniform national currency and afree Government, we may look with full confidence for that produced wealth which in a very short period will make specie payments not only possible but inevitable. ntil these great sources of wealth shall have time to work the desired results no legislation can achieve the great object. Neither nation nor individual can extinguish debts by borrowing and while the sure process of recuperation is marching to the certain result, the greenbacks and the bonds of the nation. indorsed by a faithful peOple, restin upon the firm foundation ofuational faith an wealth, will be estimated equal to gold long before even the result is accomplished by the rereduced wealth that shall equal the amount of our debt. Demonstrate by economical and patriotic legislation that our means shall not esuandered; that our glorious and blood boug t institutions shall e preserved; kee faith with our obligations; and specie wi i come here and beg for your bonds and our greenbacks at par. Unless the amount of our debt is disproportioned to our ability to pay it the volume or amount of it is not the standard of value or its relation to gold. Today the greenback currency is at a par or very near at par with our 520 gold bearing bonds; by this we know that our currency is not redun dant nor worthless, and that the currency is estimated by the same standard with the bonds. The ability of the nation to pay, and not the quantity or volume, is the rule of value. The very distinguished Gentfrom Massachusetts [Mr. Bocrwsnn] uttered, in the debate upon this bill, the key note of the subject when he said in substance, as I under stood him, that a certain relation in amount and value of portable property must be established or exist between us and foreign countries to bring us to the era of specie payments. Political considerations weigh heavily for or against the value of our outstanding obligations, because they enter into the question of our national ability. The superficial observer can see, and the closer the scrutiny the clearer will be the proof, that the relations of our national paperto gold throu hout the entire period of our late war have c tinged with the fortunes of the field; from the dark hours of disaster, when gold was 240 or more, to the more hopeful present, their value has “kept ste with the music of the Union.” Emerging from an exhausting war of unparalleled magnitude and cost, in which we have expended more than $3,000,000,000, with a national life endeared to us by the precious blood poured out to save it, we find our selves scheming to banish the national currency that has been the sinew of war that bore us up through the struggle! Sir, I confess toa feeling of love, of almost reverence for green backsl When our Treasurer struck with the hand of necessity the rock of public faith, they invigorated us with a needed supply of money. They are hallowed by the cause theyhave served, and sprinkled with the blood of many a brave soldier. My heart will cease to beat when itdoes not love the greenbacks l Stamped by the dies of a nations faith, by no word or deed of mine shall they be dishonored, nor willI ever consent to give the lace they occupy in the affectionat erespect otpour people tot c hybrid of national bank notes. I beg no pardon of any bankers for this preference! The legal tenders have furnished to the country the long desired uniform national currency, adequate to the wants of a numerous people engaged in active business. Many millions of currency have been destroyed yearly by accidents, by fire and flood; where that loss fell upon the citizen it has been the gain of the bankers, and by this, with millions more received from interest upon their bills in past days, has been one of the most popular methods for extractingwealth from the toihng1,000s. Within 4 years we have saved to our people, in interest and shrinkage diverted from the banks to the Treasury, more than $100,000,000. This is a guess, but if faulty it is too low an estimate. It is the policy of the money changers to retire the greenback currency. Do it or authorizeit, and there are so many millions a rize for success in the plan that it will be one. That privileged class swarm oboutyour Treasury, and with ompous pretensions speak like Sir Oracle of mancial policy. Retire reliable money and restore the rug reign, bills of inc 5 onsible banks, State or national, and some, ifnot all, the losses by discount and depreciation, more than 100 million dollars peryear, will again be our lot. The tables of the moneychangers are turned over, and I hopet ey will never be set up, convertin the temple of our freedom into a den of bro mm. It is entirely unnecessary to make a loan, as the able financier from Massachusetts [Mr. HOOPER] has demonstrated and while I would not increase our bonds, (except to equalize bounties) it will prove safe to leave the volume or amount of legal tenders to the regulation of the law of suppl and do and quoted by the able chairman who reporte thisbill. Sir, ifthe currency becomes redundant, ifthe people have more than they require for business, give them 7thirties or 5 twenties. If they again want more currency, give them again the bonds. If under this system our revenue receipts far exceed your estimates, and we are rapidy going up to the point of par with old, even more rapidly than the Treas urer (fesires, as stated by the Gentfrom Ohio, and every day in peace restorin that wealth which we wasted in war, why to be done? What great public interest is to be subserved by contracting and retiring national currency, exchanging bonds payable, principal and interest, in gold in Europe for bonds held oy our own people, and payable in the lawful money of the U.S.? Sir, we are not left to doubt as to the part that urges this measure. It is the great cred): itor party that wish to increase their gains and their incomes. They have the intelligence to see and the conse ience to accomplish, regard less of consequences, the end. While they make money scarce to bring down prices and wages, do they propose to bring down the sums due to them? No sir, no; they tell us, through the honest lips of the Gentfrom Ohio, Mr. Srii.nrxo] that “small incomes will be, in effect, greatl increased, ” and thus relieve some wants, which I would gladly do if we could stop there; but I answer that gentleman, that while it doubles in effect the small incomes, it also extends the same to all incomes and all credits! If this measure increases incomes, does it not follow that it also increases the cost of your debts? The farmer and the merchant have bills and mortgages and bonds to pay; make money scarce, and they can pay them more readily, is a mode of reasoning utterly unsatisfactor to me. Give them no medium of value with which to do business, require them to sacrifice in the impoverished coin ition of our country their all to get is ecie, which will rise according to the deman for it, until 240 in the war will be lost sight ofin the dizzy height to which the value of gold will ase end in this Treasury balloon. We have been reminded by the Gentfrom Massachusetts [Mr. BANKS] t at. we, in the West, have been blessed by their loans to us of $800,000,000 to create our railroads. If small incomes are to be doubled by this process, will it not also double the gains to our philan thropic friends whose investments are in our railroads, and the interest upon which is now promptly paid in a plentiful and valuable currencyl Pleasant as this game may be to our greedy creditors, in beba f of the paying millions I exclaim, as the old frog in the fable did to the boys who stoned his family, “It may be sport to you, but it is death to as!” To the aggre gate credit of this nation, seen in the face of the greenbacks, we may look for that protection which we need and must have until our wasted wealth is restored. Take from us this friend, and while our creditors may gloat upon the spoils that they share in our convulsed and rostrate condition, they will learn, although ate that they have killed the oose to get the golden egg. That enlightene self interest is true patriotism; for creditors and debtors will ultimately find a common financial grave. Give us time to develo our resources, to heal the wounds of war, to rebuild the waste places; withdraw not from us the life blood of business, a plentiful national currency, and everyjust de vt will be hoporabb paid. isturb our onward march? In whose interest is this I shall not attempt to rin any changes with l my esteemed colleague, [gin Wsxrwonru] whose impulses are always for the public welfare upon the theme of paying specie to the soldiers. The interests of the soldiers are identical with the interest of the country they have so brave] battled to save, and no se ent of specie can divert them from the support of measures necessary for the public ivel are, and lead them to “hunt” in the pack of the Shy locks, who would ultimatel havens all in their merciless grasp. For one am more anxious to equalize bounties and extend pensions, thus paying a debt, the withholding of which will not enrich us than to fund the “war debt of the States.” While I will notload the nation, the property of the people, and the soldier, with burdens, incurred mainly to, hire substitutes, I shall with grateful pleasure devote our means to ay the debt of the nation to its saviorsl at I shall hesitate to invest in the venture of the war debt of the States orto adopt the policy of the money changers. CIVIL ionrs.