Mr. SHERMAN. Certainly. In regard to going back to specie payments, when did ever a nation travel tower specie payment as rap idly as this country has done without a reduction of the currency? Here is a significant fact, that when gold was 280 our currency was $550,000,000, and now, when our currency is over $700,000,000, gold is 130, and oing down and down, and no power in this world can prevent it going down. This fact shows that the mere amount of legal tender outstanding does not fix the rate of gold. That is the result of the restored confidence of the people of this country and of all nations in the credit of the U.S. I believe that if the SecyT Treasury will keep out of the stock market, will justremain in his seatin the Treasury Dept, and ay the debts as they become due, the people otPthe U.S. will take care of the currency of the country and of the credit of the Government, and it will not be necessary to buy bonds before they mature or do anything else except simply to meet the current indebtedness in order to bring us back to specie payments within 12 or 18 months, and I do not believe any power can prevent it. I do not wish the Senate to suppose that in these remarks I intend to criticise the conduct of the SecyTreasury. He takes a different view from what I do. I am more hopeful than he is. He probably, like agood banker as he is, wants avery large balance on handI have more confidence in the future, and am willing to trust the future. I do not now see any imperative necessity for this bill, but at the same time I would make no opposition to the bill, no opposition to the vast power to sell bonds, because I think the power would not be abused, if the Secretary would not in this way under take to carry out what he calls his policy, a contraction of the currency without any specific law. That is what I am afraid of, his interference to contract the currency. The honor able Senfrom Maine, however, would seem to think that I impute to him a wrong motive, and therefore I corrected him when he made the remark that I seemed to suppose the Secretary was doing this improperly. I think not. The SecyT ressury informed us that he desired to reduce the currency, and he has been doin itas far as he could. He has been accumulating large balances. He was opposed to the proviso which has been inserted in this bill, and ielded to it only with reluctance. That is admitted on all hands, and he is not precluded either in honor or propriety from carrying out his policy if you gave him the power to do it. This is all I desire to say upon the hill. The only reason wh I s oke is because I cannot vote for it uh er s circumstances; I felt bound to state thus briefly the reasons that actuated me in coming to this conclusion.