various forms every day by officers of the Government. This accrued indebtedness, existing in different forms, must, with our extended line of military and naval operations, be very large. It exists in the shape of accounts, services, transportation, bounties, and all other modes in which debts are made against the Government in enlisting, calling out the militia, and in supplying the army and navy with the necessary material of war. On this kind of indebtedness the Government gets a credit of from one to four months. The whole accrued indebtedness of the United States, funded and unfunded, on the 1st day of July next, it is believed, will not exceed $650,000,000.

I never have been, and I trust I never shall be, unnecessarily an advocate for the creation of an unsound or an inflated currency; but, sir, I have long ago resolved, since this savage war has been forced upon us, to do whatever was necessary, and which I might lawfully do, to crush out the traitors and annihilate their armies. This cannot be done without the 'sinews of war.' Your army and navy must be supplied with all the terrible armament necessary to crush the enemy. Your sick, wounded and famishing soldiers must be supplied with hospitals, medical attendance, and all necessaries and conveniences to make them comfortable. This is a plain duty which we cannot any of us fail to perform. If, in the performance of this duty, it becomes necessary to authorize a further issue of United States notes, I shall not hesitate to give my vote for it. I am not in favor of increasing the issue of them beyond the imperative necessities of the Government to sustain the army and navy. I much prefer to have our six per cent. bonds issued on permanent loans. I would like to see the Secretary of the Treasury borrow at par all the money he can on the six per cent. bonds heretofore authorized to be issued.

When money can be obtained at par on six per cent. bonds, I would prefer to have that done to the issuing a very large amount of legal tender notes. Too large an issue of demand notes, to circulate as money, will no doubt lead to an expansion which will inflate prices, stimulate undue speculation, and ultimately produce a reaction that will derange the whole business of the country. This is to be avoided if possible. I cannot, therefore, advocate any greater issue of demand notes than the absolute necessities of the Government require to carry on the war with vigor. I am disposed to give the Secretary power to issue the additional $150,000,000 United States notes asked for by him; but, at the same time, 1 feel the importance of having this power exercised discreetly, and I trust that he will not issue, or pay them out at all, when money can be obtained at par on our six per cent. bonds. I do not understand that the Secretary intends to have them all issued and put into circulation at any one time; on the contrary, I believe he has no such intention. He wants the power to issue and use them if necessary, but not otherwise. When he can obtain a sufficient amount of money at par, on six per cent. bonds, or by temporary deposits in the Treasury, there will be no necessity for their issue, and the Secretary assures us in his letter that no further issue of notes will be made when that can be done; and, besides, the bill provides for his retaining in his own hands legal tender notes equal to one-third of the temporary deposits that may be in the Treasury. Our army and navy and all debts of the Government should be punctually paid. No sacrifice on our part should be too great to raise all the means necessary for this purpose. The Secretary should, therefore, be clothed with ample power to meet any exigency that may arise..

The money for the large liabilities of the Government that have actually

been met and canceled since the passage of the first legal tender note bill, could not have been raised by a forced sale of six per cent. bonds without a heavy sacrifice. When that bill passed this House our six per cent. twentyyears bonds were ten per cent. below par. Now they are from one to two per cent. above the price of gold. If, at the time of the passage of the first note bill, large amounts of bonds had been forced upon the market, as would have been necessary but for the passage of that bill, it would have depressed the six per cent. bonds still lower. There was not then money enough in the country seeking permanent investment, to absorb all the bonds required by the Government to meet the immediate and pressing demands upon the Treasury. This state of things may again occur. I hope not. I trust that there will be no necessity for any considerable issue of new notes; but to guard against possible contingencies, I am willing to confer large powers upon the Secretary, believing that he will exercise the power wisely, patriotically, and for the best interests of the country. I shall not, therefore, hesitate to clothe him with this great power, and shall, under the exigencies of the crisis, vote for this additional issue of legal tender notes.

As to the propriety of authorizing the Secretary to issue a portion of this amount in sums less than five dollars, I should, under ordinary circumstances, oppose giving such authority. As a general rule, the issue of small notes should not be adopted for a national currency; but I am disposed, in the present exigency, to vote for this provision, in accordance with the suggestions of the Secretary of the Treasury, and for the reasons urged by him in his communication, sent to us on the 7th inst.

I have thus briefly stated the condition and wants of the Treasury. Two hundred and fifty million dollars will be required, as I stated before, to carry us to the 1st of January next. That is more than the coin in all the banks of the United States, and nearly equal to all the coin of the United States in the hands of individuals and banks; the whole amount of gold and silver held by the banks and individuals being only about $265,000,000. The ground upon which the Secretary of the Treasury, and upon which the Committee of Ways and Means rest this issue of notes, is the necessity of the case. The Secretary urges immediate action in view of the condition of the Treasury. I therefore trust the House will take up this bill in the regular way, debate it to the extent which may seem desirable and necessary, and pass it at as early a day as possible."

MR. COLFAX'S SPEECH.

Mr. COLFAX suggested that the bonds, into which the notes are convertible, ought to be absolutely twenty years bonds, instead of allowing the Government the right to redeem them after five years. The bonds of '81 having absolutely twenty years to run, were selling yesterday in New York at six per cent. above par for greenbacks, while the 5-20 bonds would not bring such a premium. If they would command any such premium, these notes, convertible into such bonds, would be brought in for conversion with great rapidity, and there would not be a margin of six per cent. between gold and legal tender notes. He thought it best to legislate in such a manner as to approximate these notes to gold.

Mr. STEVENS "I agree perfectly with the remarks made by the gentleman from Indiana. I opposed the substitution of five years bonds for twenty years bonds when the question was before the House, but the House differed with me. The Senate amended the bill, and when it came

back from the Senate, the House agreed with the Senate after discussion here. He said that a majority of the Committee of Ways and Means were not in favor of the recommendation of the Secretary to issue notes less than five dollars, but he understood that some member of the Committee would offer an amendment in accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury.”

Mr. SPAULDING afterwards offered an amendment that no part of these legal tender notes should be "for fractional parts of a dollar, and that not more than $50,000,000 should be of a less denomination than five dollars," which was adopted.

The bill continued to be discussed by different members of the House from day to day until the 24th of June, when it passed the House in substantially the same form as recommended by the Secretary of the Treasury, by yeas 76, nays 47, as follows:

Yeas-Messrs. Aldrich, Alley, Arnold, Babbitt, Bailey, Beaman, Bingham, Francis P. Blair, Jacob B. Blair, Samuel S. Blair, Blake, William G. Brown, Campbell, Casey, Chamberlin, Clark, Colfax, Cutler, Davis, Delaplaine, Duell, Dunn, Edgerton, Edwards, Ely, Fenton, Fessenden, Franchot, Granger, Gurley, Haight, Hale, Hall, Hanchett, Harrison, Hooper, Hutchins, Kelley, Francis W. Kellogg, Lansing, Loomis, Lovejoy, Law, McKnight, Maynard, Mitchell, Moorhead, Nixon, Noell, Nugen, Olin, Timothy G. Phelps, Pomeroy, Potter, Price, John H. Rice, Riddle, Sargent, Shanks, Shellabarger, Sherman, Sloan, Spaulding, Stevens, Trimble, Trowbridge, Van Horn, Van Valkenburgh, Verree, Wall, Wallace, Washburne, Wheeler, Whaley, Wilson, Windom and Worcester-76.

Nays-Messrs. William J. Allen, Baker, Biddle, George H. Browne, Buffinton, Calvert, Clements, Cobb, Roscoe Conkling, Corning, Cravens, Crisfield, Dawes, Delano, Dunlap, Eliot, English, Fouke, Goodwin, Grider, Harding, Johnson, Law, Menzies, Justin S. Morrill, Norton, Pendleton, Perry, John S. Phelps, Porter, Alexander H. Rice, Richardson, Sheffield, Shiel, Stiles, Benjamin F. Thomas, Francis Thomas, Vallandigham, Vibbard, Wadsworth, Walton, Ward, Webster, Chilton A. White, Wickliffe, Wood and Woodruff-47.

So the bill was passed.

BILL IN THE SENATE.

On the 25th of June the bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Finance Committee. reported the bill with amendments.

On the 28th this Committee
On the 2d of July it was

fully discussed, and after being amended, passed the Senate by yeas, 22, nays 13, as follows:

Yeas-Messrs. Anthony, Browning, Chandler, Clark, Dixon, Foot, Hale, Harris, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Lane (of Indiana), Lane (of Kansas), Morrill, Pomeroy, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Wade, Wilkinson, Willey and Wilson (of Missouri)—22.

Nays-Messrs. Carlisle, Collamer, Cowan, Davis, Foster, Harlan, King, Powell, Saulsbury, Sherman, Stark, Trumbull and Wright-13.

The amendments of the Senate were not agreed to by the House, and the disagreeing votes between the two Houses, were finally settled by a Conference Committee, consisting of Mr. Fessenden, Mr. Sherman and Mr. Wright on the part of the Senate, and Mr. Stevens, Mr. Spaulding and Mr. Phelps on the part of the House. The report of the Conference Committee was finally agreed to on the 8th of July, and on the 11th President Lincoln approved the bill, which is as follows:

CHAPTER CXLII.

"An Act to authorize an additional issue of United States Notes, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States. of America, in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to issue, in addition to the amounts heretofore authorized, on the credit of the United States, one hundred and fifty millions of dollars of United States notes, not bearing interest, payable to bearer at the Treasury of the United States, and of such denominations as he may deem expedient; Provided, That no note shall be issued for the fractional part of a dollar, and not more than thirty-five millions shall be of lower denominations than five dollars; and such notes shall be receivable in payment of all loans made to the United States, and of all taxes, internal duties, excises, debts and demands of every kind due to the United States, except duties on imports and interest, and of all claims and demands against the United States, except for interest upon bonds, notes, and certificates of debt or deposit; and shall also be lawful money and a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, within the United States, except duties on imports and interest, as aforesaid; and any holder of said United States notes, depositing any sum not less than fifty dollars, or some multiple of fifty dollars, with the Treasurer of the United States, or either of the assistant treasurers, shall receive in exchange therefor, duplicate certificates of deposit, one of which may be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall thereupon issue to the holder an equal amount of the bonds of the United States, coupon or registered, as may by said holder be desired, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually, and redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after five years, and payable twenty years from the date thereof; Provided, however, That any notes issued under this act may be paid in coin, instead of being received in exchange for certificates of

deposit as above specified, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. And the Secretary of the Treasury may exchange for such notes, on such terms as he shall think most beneficial to the public interest, any bonds of the United States bearing six per centum interest, and redeemable after five, and payable in twenty years, which have been or may be lawfully issued under the provisions of any existing act; may re-issue the notes so received in exchange; may receive and cancel any notes heretofore lawfully issued under any act of Congress, and in lieu thereof issue an equal amount in notes such as are authorized by this act; and may purchase, at rates not exceeding that of the current market, and cost of purchase not exceeding one-eighth of one per centum, any bonds or certificates of debt of the United States as he may deem advisable.

SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and is hereby, authorized, in case he shall think it expedient to procure said notes, or any part thereof, to be engraved and printed by contract, to cause the said notes, or any part thereof, to be engraved, printed and executed, in such form as he shall prescribe, at the Treasury Department in Washington, and under his direction; and he is hereby empowered to purchase and provide all the machinery and materials, and to employ such persons and appoint such officers as may be necessary for this purpose.

§ 3. And be it further enacted, That the limitation upon temporary deposits of United States notes with any assistant treasurer, or designated depositary authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury to receive such deposits, to fifty millions of dollars be, and is hereby repealed; and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to receive such deposits, under such regulations as he may prescribe, to such amount as he may deem expedient, not exceeding one hundred millions of dollars, for not less than thirty days, in sums not less than one hundred dollars, at a rate of interest not exceeding five per centum per annum; and any amount so deposited may be withdrawn from deposit, at any time after ten days notice, on the return of the certificate of deposit. And of the amount of United States notes authorized by this act, not less than fifty millions of dollars shall be reserved for the purpose of securing prompt payment of such deposits when demanded, and shall be issued and used only when, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, the same, or any part thereof may be needed for that purpose. And certificates of deposit and of indebtedness issued under this or former acts, may be received on the same terms as United States notes, in payment for bonds redeemable after five, and payable in twenty years.

§ 4. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury may at any time, until otherwise ordered by Congress, and under the restrictions imposed by the 'Act to authorize a national loan, and for other purposes,' borrow on the credit of the United States, such part of the sum of two hundred and fifty millions mentioned in said act as may not have been borrowed, under the provisions of the same, within twelve months from the passage thereof.

5. And be it further enacted, That any part of the appropriation of ten thousand dollars for the detection and bringing to trial of persons engaged in counterfeiting the coin of the United States, made by the act entitled 'An Act making appropriations for the legislative, executive and judicial expenses of the Government, for the year ending the thirteenth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one,' approved June twenty-three, eighteen