^ ' i The National Currency, and on the Repeal of the Specific Contract Act of the State of California, By David Cheesman n: I V The National Currency, AND ON TIIK Repeal of the Specific Contract Act OK TIIK STATI', OK CAMKOUNIA. ItTOTES EXTEMPOK A XEOUS ADDRESS HON. D. W. CHEESMAN, Assistant Treasurer U. S. at San Francisco, BKl-'ORK TIIK Members of tiie California State Legislature and others, AT TIIp; Assembly Chamber at Sacramento, Cal. ON THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 8, 1864. [J'/iijiioi/rdji/iird/fi/ h'c/xjrfrd /j)/ Mars/t d- /loiriiKiii.] AVASHlN(iT<>N : .iri>n A- DETWKILKR. IMUNTKKS. 18<)1». fww w mwwmmwwm^w w* The National Currency, AND ON THK jR-EPEAL OF THE SPECIFIC CONTRACT ACT OF THE STATP: of CALIFORNIA. OF AN EXTEMPORA XP:OUS A DDR ESS KY HON. D. W. CHEESMAN, Assistant Treasurer U. S. at San Francisco, BEFORE THE Members of the California State Legislature and others, AT THE Assembly Chamber at Sacramentto, Cal. ON THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 8, 1S64. \_Ph(»i<)fjr(ipliicaUij Bcporfcd hi/ Marxh &• BownKni.] WASHINGTON : JUDD & DETWEILER, PRIJJTERS. 1869. -H ADDRESS. Mr. Cheesman liMvinu' bfcn iiitiodiiccd hy Ex-Governor Stanford, said : Mr. President, (lentlonien of the Leoislature, and Citizens of Sacramento: On the 11th of Febrnary, 18G1, three years ago, Abraham Lincoln, President elect of theUnited States of America, ' as he was biddinii: adieu to his neio^hbors and iViends at the rail- road depot of Springfield, Illinois, implored the Divine blessing and the prayers of his fellow-men upon the journey he was about to undertake, and the course he was about to pursue, in deference to the wishes of the American peojjle, as expressed at the elec- •gtions that had then been reccntlv held. He there commenced a ^journey, and an e[)()eh was inaugurated, which, in its results, ?-^eombined more im])ortani'e and involved greater responsibilities S than any other man had ever before assumed since the first morn- Zj ing of Time. He had been called to preside over a nation 5 founded in 177G, and which, from that time, with a few unim- a portant exceptions, had enjoyed profound i)cace and (juietude within its borders, but which was theji beginning to be disturbed through the agency, to a certain extent, of a pernicious doctrine, •pronudgated at Charleston, S. C, in 1832, and which had gone on jjatherino; and increasinjj; in intensitv and violence until in the early spring of the year l.SGl the dark el(»ud whieh lowered over our once happy country was ready to^ burst with all the violence and vehemence of a troi)ical storm. Unman passions had become aroused by traitors, and treason had commenced its diabolical Avork. The heresies of nullification initiated by John C. Calhoun had poisoned the southern mind, " fired the southern heart," and culminated eventually in the outburst of a gigantic rebellion. Mr. Lincoln was by no means insensible to the jjcrils of the nation, nor to the responsibilities he was about to assume. .'50652? It was my privilege, fellow-citizens, a few days subsequently to be present at his inauguration, at Washingtolf, D. C, There was present beside him Stephen A. Douglas, and other good men and true ; some who had supported and some who had opposed him, but who now laid all their prejudices upon the altar of patriotism, and stood by his side while he took the oath of office, and swore tp support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States ; and thus, as Edmund Burke eloquently ex- presses the thought, gave a guaranty "that when bad men unite to overturn the Commonwealth it becomes all good men to unite in its preservation." The great question at that time, should war ensue, should the southern nullifiers and traitors precipitate a bloody, civil strife, was not so much whether w^e had armies willing to defend the temple of liberty, as whether our financial condition was such that we could stand a war to suppress and overwhelm a tremen- dous rebellion. Men of experience in all parts of the country declared that they did not doubt for a moment that we had sufficient men. The patriotic masses everywhere stood by their country, l)ut the question of finance, the question how to raise the money for the support of the vast armies about to be called into existence, was a question that could not be readily solved. I was informed that President Lincoln had extended the courtesy to a large number, if not all, of the gentlemen who had been prominent candidates for the Presidency before the Chicago convention, to accept of seats in his cabinet, among others to William H. Sew- ard, Simon Cameron, John C. Fremont, Edmund Bates, and Salmon P. Chase. The question arose whether Pennsylvania should have the honor of the Secretaryship of the Treasury or whether it should devolve upon the State of Ohio. In my humble opinion, fellow-citizens. Providence decided that ques- tion in our favor in the choice of that illustrious statesman, Sal- mon P. Chase, of Ohio. [Applause and cheers.] Various propositions were submitted to Mr. Lincoln to meet the exigencies of the occasion. Among them, a proposition to call out half a milliou of men at once, but the question very naturally recurred, " wlicre is the money to |)ay sueli an ai'inV.'" ''where is the money to sup|)ly arms and aminnnition, and all tlic material ofwar indispensable to carry on so groat a strujigle to a sueeessi'ul termination?" JJear in mind, gentlemen, that Mr, fjineoln had heen compelled to assume, as one of the lega- cies of the outgoing administration, a debt, unfunded and un])ro- vided for, of above one hundred millions of dollars,*and it had been found diilicult to negotiate a temporary loan at the extra- vagant rate of twelve per centum per annum in gold. The at- tention of the Hon. Secretary of the Treasury and of Congress had necessarily been direett'd to the financial condition of the country. Already England had thundered forth — as you well remcnd)er — through the columns of the London Ti men, '" ilini ungenerous and uncalled for declaration, that struggling repub- licanism upon this continent need not expect from her the assist- ance of a dollar, although we were twenty millions strong, and had pledged ourselves to crush out this monstrous rebellion, yet England and English capitalists proclaimed themselves, in ad- vance, against us, and Ave w-ere told, in unmistakably plain lan- guage, that Me could not rely upon her financial aid in the hour of our extremity to the extent of a single dollar. In this great emergency the capacity of our Secretary of the Treasury proved equal to the occasion, and the national loan system was adoi)tcd, a system that had, in part, been inaugurated with such splendid success by the Emperor of the French, Louis Napoleon. " The loan," as our Republican Secretary very aptly stated in the circular which he issued at that time, "was placed in such sums that rendered it unnecessary to depend solely upon the banking capital of the country." Loans could be made in small sums, down to fifty dollars each, so that the humblest citizen might become a bondholder, and thus become identified, as it were, with a financial })oliey inaugurated to suppress the rebel- lion, and to save a home for the free to generations yet unborn. On the 25th of February, 18G2, the present law passed Con- gress, and was approved by tJie President, making "a legal tender" of what are familiarly known throughout the country, and sneered at in s(tme ])laces, as "greenbacks." Thus was initiated the financial measure wliieli it ivas tliouglit would sup^ ply all the wants and necessities of the Government, arid pro- mote the salvation of the country in its dire emergency. Now, gentlemen, as Californians, let us loolc for a moment at this question in its true light. When that act was being considered by Congress we had three worthy and honorable gentlemen representing ns in the lower house of our national councils, JNIr. Phelps, IMr. Sargent, and our present Governor, Mr. Low. We also had in the Senate Mr. Latham and IMr. ]\IcDougall. From Oregon, there were Mr. Nesmith, in the Senate, and Mr. Shiel, in the House. And now observe, while that bill was nnder consideration which was to provide a currency, and which currency v/as to be a legal tender for all debts, dues, and obligations of the General Gov- ernment, except duties upon imports, and while these gentle- men knew that they represented a constituency who gloried iti the fact that they had nothing but gold and silver as a currency, was there a voice raised in opposition to the clause which pro- vided that these legal tender notes should he accepted in satisfac- tion for all taxes, debts, dues, and ohligcdions of the Government, except duties upon imports? Not one! Now, the first four named gentlemen even voted for the measure. If that measure were fraught, as is pretended by some, with so mncli of injury to us ; if they saw that the people Mere not prepared for that currency ; if they saw or apprehended the people of California would be opposed to a paper currency, why, I ask, did they not proclaim to Congress and to the country, that the people of Ca- lifornia, of Oregon, and the Territories west of the Rocky Mountains, who boast of their gold and silver currency, were opposed to it, and that such an act would meet with opposition? No such proclamation was made. Those gentlemen did not op- pose the measure, but on the contrary, recorded their votes in favor of the act of 20t]i February, 1862, by which greenbacks became legal tenders. They also made a provision by which no coin could be paid out by the disbursing officers of the Govern- ment, unless received from otlier sources than duties on imports. with tilt' fxce])litin oi' interest u\)im the [iiihiic debt, and tlio d(i)t itself. Here is (he act, so far as it I'clatcs to the subjeet: "Skc. .'). Ami h( il /hi-Hk r cnac/cf?, That all duties on inii)()rted •^oods sluill 1)0 jKiid ill coin, or in notes payable on demand, hereto- fore authorized to be issued and by law reeeivable in i)aynient of public dues, and (he coin so paid sllall I)e set apart as a spe('ial fund, and shall be applied as follows : "First. To the ])ayinent in coin of Ihe interest on Ihe bonds and notes of the Unitetl States. "Second. To tlie ])urchase or jiaynient of one per centum of the entire debt of the United States, to ))e made witliin each liscal year after the lirst day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, which is to be set ai)art as a sinking fund, and the interest of which shall in like manner be ai)))lied to the purchase or payment of the pulilic debt, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time direct. " Third. The resi(Uie thereof to be paid into the Treasury of the United States." Under this act all the coin received at the custom-house in San Francisco and elsewhere iii the United States, from duties on imports, is entirely appropriated to the purposes above stated. Not one dollar of it can be paid to the soldiers or sailors or cniployds of the Government, nor for any military or other jiur- , pose, with the exceptions already stated ; payments, therefore, tipon the part of the General Government must be made in legal-tender notes; yes, in "greenbacks,'' Aside from the coinage charges in the United States branch mint in San Francisco, v.liich is paid into the general treastirv in coin, and amounts to aljout ^288,000 per annimi, there has not been paid into the office of the Assistant Treiwrtirer of the United States, in San Francisco, notwithstanding the many millions of dollars paid into it on account of internal revenue and other sources, aside from duties on imports, and the " coinage charges" before alluded to, during the past two years, the sum of §30,000 in coin, although it is said to be very dishonorable not to meet all our obligations in coin, yet in payment of our indel)t(dness to the General Gov- ernment it is not considered dishonorable to tahc advantage of the legal-tender act. Even the great State of California, through her financial servant, the State treasurer, purchases the much- reviled " greenbacks" of the Shylocks of San Francisco to meet California's quota of the direct tax, which should iiave been paid in coin, as it was collected from the people in coin, for that express purpose. Now, at this very time, while yon are protesting, yes, publicly protesting, against the introduction of legal tender notes and doing all you can to weaken the power of the Government and strengthen that of the traitors in rebellion, that Government, during the past six months, has expended over five hundred thousand dollars for the expenses of the army in San Francisco alone, and it is asked to expend no less a sum than one million of dollars in building a branch mint, and I hope it will do so. I hope it will build a mint in the city of San Francisco, equal to any in the world, one that will reflect credit upon the Govern- ment and the State a hundred years hence ; a mint where all your gold and silver and precious metals generally, may be re- duced and coined into American coin. You say you do not Avant "greenbacks." I say avc <:?o want them; if for nothing else, to build that mint. We want them, also, to raise that monitor which Avas sent out by the Government for the defence of our coast, and which noAv lies sunk out of sight in the harbor of San Francisco. But contractors are ready for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars of those reviled "greenbacks" to raise her, and put her into useful condition. While your brothers and sons are in the field manfully doing battle against the common enemy, iaking their pay in greenbacks, and remitting them to their wives and families to sustain them, you are opposing the Government, throwing doubt upon its solvency, and repudiating its currency, doing it a greater injury, possibly, than you could by openly taking up arms against it. I say Ave do want " green- backs." I received a million dollars worth of them per last steamer, and a portion of that million Avill go to resurrect the sunken monitor " Camanche," that may some of these days be wanted to defend our coast. To meet its obligations, the Government has been compelled to send currency here, and during the past yedrl have disbursed an account of the War and the Navy Departments millions of dollars. Now in view of these facts I ask you, gentlemen, is it right for you to find fault with the General Government for 9 introducing ^Tcen'oacks Jiere ; i,'^ it right to say you want them not, and wi}! not receive them? — A Voice. Yes — Mr. CllEESMAX. That you never asked to liave tliein sent liere? I say our members of Congress advocated the measure and thus bound us in good faith, if from no other motive, to receive them as currency, and did not attempt to protect any portion of the Pacific coast against the introduction of greenbacks. ^ A Voice. " We don't want them." [Hisses and some con- fusion.] Mr. Wijjox, [member of the Assembly.] ''Will some gentle- man be kind enough to knock that fellow down." [Applause.] The President. Order, gentlemen, order. [Cries: "Put him out."] ^Ir. Cheesmax. No, no, gentlemen ; don't " hang him I " doji't " crucify him !!" * [Applause and laughter.] It is said this is a coin producing State, that we are digging- out of our mines gold and silver. True, but by what authority and by consent of what power have we been permitted, since 1848, to work the mines not only of California but of the other portions of the Pacific coast, and thus become a coin producing State and people. The mines, felloM-eitizens, are public prop- erty, belonging to the loyal people of the United States, who have an equal interest with us; and if we, the people of the Pacific coast, have an undue advantage, or any advantage, over the people of the Atlantic coast, that privilege or advantage has been granted us by thennl)ounded liberality of the General Gov- ernment. [Applause.] The Government has not only allowed you to go and delve in the mines, but has left thein wholly and entirely free to all — yes, to all; has allowed us to derive all the incidental and other advantages resulting from such liberality, yet with all this lib- erality hov.- much have we been really benefitted by our wonder- fully rich mines of gold and silver? How much of our precious metals have we retained ? Even thoughwe are a coin producing ^" See report of Piatt's Hall disturbance. 10 State, liow mucli actual capital have we retained from the vast sums extracted from our mines? Since 1849 thcFC has been shipped as per manifest, from San Francisco no less a sum than $637,000,000, not taking into account the vast sums carried away by individuals. Of that $637,000,000 you had an opportunit}' of retaining tlie sum of $172,000,000, the amount of coinage at the mint since its cstaljlishment in San Francisco in 1854, which includes reiined bars and bullion. Thus $400,000,000 have gone from you forever, and from whicli you have derived incidental advantage only. It has gone ! Every silver bar, every golden bar, every ounce of dust shipped to foreign countries has been lost to you forever. It were better, perhaps, that those $400,000,000 were lying slumbering in your snow-capped sierras, for the future would have developed it more advantageously to you. [Applause.] " Not want greenbacks" — I say we do want them, not only to build our mint, to raise our .-unkcn niduitor, to pay our army and navy expenditures, but wc want immense sums to protect this vast Pacific coast by fortiiications of tjie most impregnable character. And do you thiidv the Government will submit to a depreciation of 40 or 50 per cent, on its currency to buy gold to do all this ? Can we expect the Government to manifest a liberal spirit towards us if we do not reciprocate that s])irit ? Aside from the fortifications in the harbor of San Francisco, the whole Pacific coast is in a lamentably defenceless condition. Plow is it at San Diego, one of the finest harbors on this coast? The honorable memlier from San Diego is too well aware of its de- fenceless state. The people there could not repel an attack from the Alabama, no, not even the little Chapman. It needs an ex])enditure of at least ten millions of dollars to make San Diego, San Pedro, and Monterey safe from the attacks of lurk- ing treason, which may at any moment burst upon us, and wrest from us those portions of our State, and which not long since were coveted by the slaveholders, A\ho sought to desecrate it with servile labor. [Applause.] General Ord directed the attention of the War Department to the defenceless condition of the harbor of Monterey during the admiuistratjoj) of Mr. Buchanan, but the "^loi'TOon war" hacl 11 exliau.stuil hi.s c'xclii'(jiicr. [ ApplaiiM'.J Ai |)ri.--<'iit an ciiciii} might land at ^Nfontercy ami lioM the mountain fastnesses south of San Francisco, and cons((juontl\ all ilic sdntlicrn portion of this State, and with a few vessels upon oui- (Mjast drive all our commerce from our (Jolden (Jatc. A\'here, then, would S;in Francisco be? Imploring- the General (iovernment to >end a few more greenbacks to Assistant Treasurer C'heesnian. [Ap- plause, and a lew liisses.] Already greenbacks have buili the oulv proti'ctiou lo tlie mouth of the Columbia river, though that work is yet in an untinished condition. 0])j)osite the British possessions, on the north, we havi' no toi'titieations. The city of A'ictoria is a foreign seaport. Large appro])riations should be nunle for the protection of our country and commerce there. In the event of a foreign war v^lcatraz and Fort Point, in the harbor of San Francisco, arc the only fortifications in an extent of fifteen hundred miles. Napoleon, with the astuteness peculiar to the Iiona])arte family, is fully aware of the value and great import- ance of our Pacific possessions. He has already sent his inyi-- midons to seize and hold a sister Ke])ublic witii the iron grasp of a despot, and we are not far distant from the scene of their operations. The General Governmeiiv stantls ready to care for us all the time, for they well know tlu! value of these .Pacific possessions. General Banks, the ni(5ehanic, the true mechanic, was sent to the southwest to guard the Texas frontier, and check- mate this design of Xapoleon. He was sent there to prevent France from seizing Texas. If ever a favorable moment had arrived, if our armies had been beaten bai'k, if Gettysburg had not proved a failure for the rebel-, if Lee's army liad not been defeated there ])y those illustrious men who fought and fell upon that bloody field, Texas would have been seized, and these l\i- cific possessions would have been threatened by the traitors who had been immio-ratino; in considerable numbers to the northern portions of Mexico. They leave us quietly, mysteriously and unannounced. Their programme was to take tlie Chapman out to sea, put their friends on board tl)e Oregon, and as soon as she had got outside the harbor tin.' ^von(l('r^"nl resources of tlii- and tlic adjacent States and teiTitories; you will invigorate the arm of the Government, an'd treason will be s])eedily overthrown. [Applause.] I desire to read an extract from a letter written by one who now honors the State of California in the United States Senate; one with reference to M'hom, wdiether he be my friend or not, I will say publicly, here to-iiight, that I am his friend, for he is the friend of the Government. [A pplanse.] WASHlXiiTcjN, Jan. i, 18(i-l. " i iicli)S(.'(l yuii will iind llic tir.-si note issued here of the new na- tional eurreney. It is tlie lirst of my pay from our good Uncle, for services yet to be rendered, the vakie of wliicli probably will always remain a matter of difference of opinion.'' [Applause.] And now comes the point I wish to make here: "It is, like its class, without interest; and yet, by interest, will bind this Union together with hooks stronger than steel, or even gold." [Applause.] That is the doctrine, gentlemen. I am his friend, for he is the friend of the Government. [Applause.] Several Voices. Name him ! Name him ! ! Mr. Cheesmax. Mr. Conness, Hon. John Coimess. [Cheers and applause.] Gentlemen : A statement was made in San Francisco upon which I desire to make a few remarks: It was stated that the General Government had issued orders that all its emi)loyes, soldiers, and others on the Pacific coast, paid in greenbacks, should receive an equivalent to the same sum in coin. [A YoiCE. '' That's so." Hisses.] I know that statement is false. The commander of the Department of the Pacific, General AYright, and every officer and soldier under his command, and every Federal official on this coast having a fixed salary receives, and has received for a year past, nothing but greenbacks in payment of liis salary for his services, and those at par. Your brothers and friends who are now in the military service of their country, 14 who are marching and bivouackino; on the plains and in the valley of the Rio Grande — men who left in the bloom of health to return, perhaps, broken down witli the fatigues and trials in- cident to a military cai'eer — men who we're willing to resign the comforts of home and the society of their loved and cherished ones — men who were willing to surrender the aspirations of youth and manhood, perilling life and limb for our common benefit and honor are content to receive greenbacks for their pay, and their families are subsisting upon those greenbacks, here in the midst of your gold producing State ; that I know to be true. A Voice. " What about that drug* store ?" Mr. Cheesman. " Well, that drug store was a very good place to go into." [Applause, yells, and hisses.] Mr. W^iLCOX. Mr. President, if Mr. Cheesman will allow me a moment, I ask that the sergeant-at-arms be ^directed to put those blackguards out who are disturbing our meeting. [Cries, put them out.] I will not be insulted here by hired rowdies and bullies. I ask that the sergeant-at-arms put them out, and take Avhatever force he wants for that purpose from this meet- ing. I will be one myself to help him if he needs me. [Several other gentlemen tendered their services in similar terms, but the sergeant-at-arms of the Assembly visited the dis- orderly locality unattended, and quiet was soon restored.] Mr. CfiEESMAX. Are you surprised, fellow-citizens? I am not. Are you surprised that hired bullies of monopolists should wish to interrupt this meeting? [Applause.] Fellow-citizens, at a time like this, when the country is strug- gling with a formidable rebellion, when Congress is sensitive upon this subject — when it is informed that California not only declines to receive the national currency at par, but is framing- statutes to prevent its general circulation — has manifested a spirit of hostility, of opposition, and taken a forward step towards nul- lification, for that is what it really amounts to — when it learns that the recent decision of our Supreme Court ; upon what I * See report Piatt's Hall flisturbance. 15 c(HK'eiv(; to ])v a iiicri- (jiiil)lt!(', law- it dnwu iluit '' /^mt.s (ir< not a dchf,"" au'l that tlic ciirrciu'v oI'iIk; countrv cannot bo roci-ivcd in ])a"\'mcnt ot" taxes. At a time lilital is i-ecpiircd, but money at two jK-r eent. a month will not open them. iMining ditches have been built at eiKirmous expense, and more are wanted in a large ])ortion of the mining country of tliis State, but they caimot be had while money controls its present extravagant rate of interest. Let capital come in and send those mining ditches coursing along the foot-hills and labor will tbllow in its wake, and happiness and plenty will fi)ll(>N\- in the train «>f honest iiMlusfry. [Ap- ]dause.] C'alitbrnia, with all the vasi emigration that has flown in upon us, is scarcely more ])opulous to-day than she was ten years ago. All our important towns in the interior, such as Nevada, Grass Valley, Georgetown, Marysville, Orovillc, Shasta, and other places arc declining in population and business energy. AYhy is this ? Is California less capable of sustaining a mighty po]>u- lation ? No ! but men cannot afford to pay the extravagant l>rices that have to be paid for everything necessary to support existence and make life endurable, while nxmey commands its present extravagant rate of interest. Railroads are of vital importance to us. It matters not whether they lead out of the queen city of the plains or by way of the city of San Jose, or Marysville, or Avhether they go out by all those routes. Let not local jealousies exist. Build the roads, dcveloj) your resources. Reach out your hands to the vast mineral and agricultural wealth around you and beyond you. Abraham Lincoln requested me, at Springfield, Illinois, to "say to the people of California, if I am elected President of the United States I will make the great Pacific railroad a leading measure of my administration." That pledga has boon faithfully kept, and the time is not far distant when the shrill whistle of the locomotive will be heard on the summit of the great Sierras, and California ^vill realize a [)rogress that at present she litth' 18 dreams oi"; but lier financial policy will have to kecj) march witli the current of events. Money, like water, will find its level, and the principle that regulates finances at the East will regulate and control money in San Fran(.'isco before long. Build your roads, that the timber of your tbrests may be had to build your ships as cheaply as they can be built anywhere else, and fence your farms as well as in othei* places, that pretty cottages and happy homes may stud your soil as in the sister States of the East ; build your roads, that the grain which is yearly be- coming more and more appreciated, not only in our own country, but in the great grain marts of Europe, may be brought cheaply to the seaboard, and not be consumed in expensive transporta- tion. Farmers caimot afford to i>ay two per cent, a month for interest on the n ion ey necessary to cultivate their farms; no legitimate business will |>ay that amount for any time. What wonder you find fiirms in the condition they are at present ; but Ift'ing in the Government currency. Let Mr. Chase's financial system be fairly established, and the farmer, the mechanic, the miner, and the merchant, as well as all other classes in the com- iuunity, will be able to borrow all their necessities require. In England, where the ])a[)er money of the country is ap])reciated, money is abundant at two and three ])er cent, per annum. Who ridicules the paper money of the Bank of England ? The ]japer notes of that bank are at a premium over its gold and silver coin everywhere outside of England, and so it would be with our paper money if we were true to our own interests, and ])roperly appreciate it. To have others respect us wc must res|)ect om- selvcs, and to have others respect our financial systems we must res})ect them ourselves. At present, as soon as the crop is reaped it has to be sold, and Mdien the extravagant interest has been ]niid the farmer finds but comjtaratively a very small sum as the reward of his heavy labors, and so with all other kinds of busi- ness, interest eats np all the jn'ofit and men find, after years of patient industry, and enduring many [)rivations, that they have been toiling to pay the greedy Shylocks who insist upon havi,ng "the full measure of their bonds;" their "})ound of flesh" is two per cent, per month, 19 It is said tluit California is luoiv prosiK-rous tliaii oiher \n>r- tions of tlio Union, bccanso her cnnvncy is niciallic 1 do not think so. Wliilc tliis grcnl war is in ])rogros.-; while a niillion of active, able-bodied men are in the armies of our eonntrv, in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, AViseonsin, Minnesota, and all the States, gi-eonbacks constitute the currency of the country, are accepted in payment of taxes, the salaries of judges and legisla- tors, as well as of the niechanie and laborer; those States, I say, are outstri])])ino- ypu in all that constitutes the essential elements of prosperity. In s]ute of a million men being drawn I'rom the active pursuits of life; in spite of a devastating war, and all its destructive elements, their gnnvtli has not been retarded ; but, on the contrary, they are achieving prosperity with an energy which attracts the attention and elicits the admiration of the whole civilized world. [Applause.] Gentlemen, this war, terrible though it be in many aspects, Is eliminating traits and elements of character which almost compensate for the evils it inflicts. The whole world is watch- ing with the greatest interest the wonderful progress we are making. We are subsisting the largest army known to history since the days of Xerxes. We have a financial system which even Toombs, traitor though he be, has been forced to acknow- ledge as the wonder of the age. The London T^jk'.s-, that sneered incessantly at our early efforts, sneers no longer. France, as well as England, has learned lessons in finance as weH as in war from us, and Russia alone, of these great powers, is our friend, and extends to us, in this great calamity, the right hand of fellowship. England and its mouth-piece, the Tima^, ac- knowledge Mr. Chase's financial system the greatest the world has ever seen. It is reserved for California to de])reeate it, and say, " We do not want greenbacks." And now, gentlemen, I will call your attention to another subject in this connection, having an important bearing on our future. You hear it whispered around — a proposition for a Pacific republic. " Inaugurate a policy of hostility to the cur- rency of the General Government ; say that gold and silver is the only money we will have, and it is a long stride towards 20 iuiUificatiuii, iuul in aid oftlio.se insiduous whisperings of a Pa- cific republic. Yoii may ask how? California is a coin-pro- ducing State; she is the elder sister of the Pacific States. Ore- gon, Nevada, Washington Territory, Idaho, and Arizona have mines of gold and silver. Should they also insist upoiia metallic currency, the time might come, and that, too, at no distant period, when all these coin-producing States and Territories, their capital combined, might plot to sever the Republic; when, what is now secretly whispered, might be openly proclaimed, and a ^'Pacific Republic" be esteemed the only panacea for im- aginary evils. You, my fellovv-citizens, may think this impos- sible. I see grey-haired men here; numbers of you are seniors of me in age. You Mere all, most probably, born on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. We all cherish a lively recol- lection of the hallowed scenes of our boyhood ; the associations and memories of early years can never be efiliced from our hearts. • The man from New England feels a glow of pride when the trials and triumphs of the Pilgrim Fathers revert to his mind. To him Plymouth Rock is a hallowed spot. The memory of that stern old Puritan, Roger Williams, the great champion of civil and religious liberty, is dear to his heart, The man from New York is proud- of the memory of the Knicker- bocker and the glories of New Amsterdam. There are the memories of Bunker Hill, of Lexington, of Concord, and of Valley Forge, and thousands of other name^s and places sacred to us all, which bind us to the fatherland by interests of a dif- ferent character from that to which referred the distinguished Senator, which do not bind us as with " hooks of steel," but with the tenderest emotions of the heart to the land which gave us birth. Whence, I ask you, will the rising generations derlNC their inspirations to bind them to New England and to all the other States. They will have nothing but what their patriotic mothers may instill into theii' hearts. No old associations, no tender re- collections are theirs. Tlie insidious teaclrings of designing demagogues may induce them to believe that the government of their fathers is a despotism ; that the currency of that govern- 21 iiicnt is woitlik'S.s as C()iu}>ai-o(l witli iliclr niotullic cun-ciKn', and that the sole remedy for their imaginary wrongs is to ho ioiuid in this stealthily whispered ^' Pdcijlc licpublic.^^ Then l*ly- montli Hook, and Jinnker Hill, and Monmouth, and Lexington will 1)0 forgotten, just as toi) many of our erring brothers of the South have forgotten their loyalty in our day. (.'onsider all this; think and [)on(lor over it well, fjot no act of hostility to the General (jlovernmeni in the form of specitio contraots or otherwise he as an entering-wedge to sever the political bonds That, as a ])eople, bind us together. Lot us be equal to the oc- casion, and declare anew our fealty to the Government of our fathers. Let us show a united front against all the enemies of our common country. Strengthen the power of the Govern- ment, and revoke and annul every law from our statute books that in the least degree conflicts against the ])olicy and interest of the General Government. Let us sustain the financial jiolicy of the illustrious man at the head of our ntitional affairs. Lot us strengthen the power of the Government by every means in our po^ver, and not v.ith ineffablo contempt say : " We do not want greenbacks — wo will not accept them — give us coin." Fellow-citizens, lot us remember that noble and immortal declaration of the illustrious Roman Senator Cato, on the death of his son : " I did not expect nor desire that my house slundd prosper at a time like this." How many of you, how many in this State, exempt as we arc from the horrors of civil ^var, are willing to say thiit for the next few years — so long as this hydra- headed rebellion shall last — '• I will spend all my energies in behalf of the Government of my country, and the finger of scorn shall not be pointed at me as I pass, priy.-Iaiming that I, or my house, prospered during a calamity like this." Why, it occurs to me, that the noble Carthagcnian women show us an example we might well profit by. If those noble women would consent to part with the hair of their heads to make bowstrings for their valorous defenders, surely we jnight make so small a concession as to accept the currency of our Government while it is defend- ing the life of the country. It has been said to me : '' You M-ill be unpopular." Wliat do I care about popularity ? l. never sought 22 it, other than that resulting from honorable action. There are periods when men s]ioukl rise above the ordinary occasions of life. You may live cycles of centuries and yet not be afforded another opportunity equal to the ])resent to display the true nobility of an American character. Millions of your fellow- countrymen have arisen to the dignity of the occasion ; shall it be said that California alone Mas recreant; no, never ! Even Arkansas — benighted Arkansas — Arkansas, whose State library numbered scarcely five hundred ^'olumes, comes out in her ma- jesty, and is willing not only to atone for the past, but redeem herself beyond doubt in the future. As she went out of the Union to protect her slaves, she will now return to the Union to protect her whites. Tennessee, also, owing, in part, to the noble stand of those glorious Union men, Andy Johnson and Parson Brownlow, is returning to her allegiance; So M'ith North Ca- rolina. These States have been baptised in blood, and now stand regenerated, willing and ready to return as the Prodigal returned, they are glad to take greenbacks and cast off slavary. Willing to do more than that; they are willing to stand side by side with negro soldiers. Remember, fol low-citizens, that reconstruc- tion is going on at this time; that light is breaking in the South, and that soon, as a regenerated people, they will keep step to the music of the union and the spirit of the age. The colored and despised race that we have held in bondage, aid in the pre- servation of our nationality, and that, too, with the distinct un- derstanding that, if taken prisoners, there is no quarter for them, they are willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom. Union, re- generation, and their rights. Now, is it possible we cannot make the small sacrifice which is expected at our hands ? The fruitful valleys of our magnificent country will be doubly en- deared to the hearts of the gallant and noble men who are offering themselves as a sacrifice to defend them. The historic memories of the struggles of this hour will be prized with an enthusiasm equal to that: of the heroes of the Revolution, and while all the rest of the loyal portion of the country is aglow with patriotic fervor, shall we alone survey the the struggle supinely, 23 and instead of fo-opcratiiiu with a ii;<.'norou.s ontluisiasni, ling- onr bags of gold to our breast, and rofnse vxvu to ac('('|»( tin- \\u- donbtedly well seenred })ledges of the (Joverninent '! Gentlemen, \\liy lias no eilbrt been made to |)r«)t(.'et the ein- ronoy of the eonntry'.' To jtnnish those who dei>reeiate or dis- eonnt it? Sn})pose that to-morrow you enact a law similiar to one I will read you. It is a law cjnin(!ntly Ht to I)e enaeted, it is this: AN ACT to prohibit the disloyal practice of (U'i»rcci:itin^' rnite(l States Treasury notes. yi-:c. 1. The United States Treasury issue, known as Uuite'hole South; it will soon be the recognized medium of ex- change from Key \Yest to the northeastern boundary of our republic. Now, let it become one currency, fi'om the Neversink to the Golden Gate; from the pine clad hills of Maine to the arid wastes of xVrizona. Let us have one country, one flag, one currency, one united, great, patriotic, loyal people. [Applause.]^ Ah, gentlemen, it is your glorious privilege to cast a ballot in behalf of your country, if it be not your privilege to tire a bullet in its defence ; see to it that your duty is well performed and the reward of a grateful people shall greet you when you return to your homes : " Well done good and faithful servants." Gentlemen, I do not know whether I have been sufficiently elaborate to make myself clear to you. I might have brought before you a greater array of statistics, and have proved to you the solidity of the basis upon which Mr. Chase has founded his magnificent theory, and how easily the country will be able to throw off the burden in a few years after the termination of our present difficulty. It is my dut}' as well as pleasure to support tlic financial pol- icy of the Government, even though I stand measurably solitary and alone in its advocacy here. I am determined that no mob or hireling ruffiians shall swerve me from the plain path of duty, though they may hang upon my heels as they did a few nights since in San Francisco, shouting and yelling, "crucify him," '"hang him," "hang the d-d Federal officer;" "the hireling, hang liim, hang him." I implore you to-night to do yours in a similar spirit. It may be unpopular now; but remember however un- po})ular men or measuresinay Ijc to-day, "Time ever does justice to truth." "The world moves, and ever right conies uppermost." Those who may be the subject of invective or scorn to-day for the support thev may yielil to the novernnient <»t" our rotnitry, will not be fortiotteu. In this connection T will cite an exam- ple. You all remember, doubtless, how uni)()pular a man was Joshua R. Giddings ; yet he was a man whom everybody rev- erenced for his strict probity and love of justice. And now, after all the abuse and slander that had been heaped upon him from one end of the land to the other, at the Chicago Conven- tion, where nuichof the talent and beauty of our country were assembled, I well remember when this old grey-haired man walked in, his venerable face recognized, tlfousands of hands and voiees were raised, and ''Giddings!" "Giddings!" "Gid- dings!" resounded throughout the vast assembly. The princi- ples for which he had sutt'ercd were recognized and victorious. The time had come when that much-reviled and slandered cause should be triumphant. So, gentlemen, never fear nn- popularity, except as it arises from the commission of dishonor- able action. T implore you to support the financial policy of the Government ; invite capitalists, with their greenbacks, to your glorious State ; extend th(> right hand of patriotism and good fellowship ; establish national banking institutions throughout the length and breadth of tiie land, and wonderful will be the prosperity that will flow from this enlightened policy. Cali- fornia has all the elements of commercial prosperity. All that she needs to develop her unlimited resources is capital. There is no capital in the State. This Mr. Chase's financial policy will abundantly supply. It is left for you to say whether this glorious result shall be achieved, or Avhether distrust, dismay, doubt, and disloyalty shall cloud us with financial gloom and national ruin. Thanking you for the courtesy you have extended to mc, 1 bid you good-night. ■ 4 Appendix. The lolluwin*;- extracis tVoin leadiiii: papers in Calil'uniia -Ikav but importectly the nature and eharacter of the o])|)osition to the advocates of the national eurrency, and the ju'cnliar eireuni- stances under Mliich the address at Sacramento was delivered : [Fro)/r t/i' ,S(iii Fraiicisco Dailn Mornin;/ Call, <(>j)]josed fo rejjral,) Frhruary 5, 18G4.] Mass Mketing Last Night. Piatt's Hall was never more completely filled tiian it was last night, upon the occasion of the meeting of the mechanics and citi- zens generally, for the purpose of entering their protest against the repeal of the "Specific Contract Bill."* '• "" * - The memorial and resolutions (to, the Legislature opp,( tlio national currencj'. 28 man from speaking, declaring that the meeting was not called for the jiurpose of discussing the question, but for the purpose of issu- ing a counterblast against tlie repeal of the Specific Contract bill. ICouti nurd from Bail)/ Evening Bulletin^ (o}yposcd to repeal] iiantr date.] Mr. Cheesman said, still keeping his feet, ' ' the challenge was given by a gentleman in the hall this evening." A voice in the crowd shouted, " that will do for you," sit down, you hireling, and the storm of hisses and cat-calls became tumult- uous ; some said crucify him, and the milder ones shouted, put him out! "' * "•^" ■•■ "'■" * * Mr. Cheesman, who was still standing— although not still — once more commenced : Fellow- citizen!?'— amid groans, hisses, and cries of "kick him out;" the chairman came to the front of the stage and excitedly said, gesticu- lating violently, "Mr. Cheesman, you cannot be permitted to come in here and disturb this meeting." The band then struck up, drowning everthing else. * * '•' * It was plain to any one familiar with public meetings and the temper of the crowd, that the end Avas not yet — and so the result proved. Thk Sub-Treasurer in the Street. The crowd poured out but did not go away, remaining in the street outside to the number probably of three thousand and arranging themselves in the lobby of the hall into a narrow gauntlet which any one passing out would be obliged to run. Mr. Cheesman, from tlie place he occupied in the hall, was nearly the last man out. His apijearance on the stairs was the signal for cries and jeer^: Here becomes : How are you greenbacks ! You're a nice cheese you are ! Put him out ! Closing uj) around him, the crowd bore him up Montgomery street like a feather in the grasj) of a mountain torrent. No violence was offered, but an abundance was threatened. His friends surrounded him and endeavored to breast off the pressure, but it was getting too great and affairs began to look serious, M'hen refuge was sought in the drug store under the Occidental Hotel. . The crowd gathered around in a solid column of human life, with groans and cries of " Bring him out ! " They seemed in the main good liumored, though a fcAV of the rougher ones suggested violence, but crowds are dangerous things to trust ; their tenderest mercies ai'e cruel, and one might as safely play with a tiger in his native jungle. Tlie proprietor of the store turned off the gas, and made ])repara- tions to resist a siege, when Chief Burke came cliarging down with 29 his poiiv and a ])()ss(' (if Ihrci' or iDiir olliccis. Ho coinniiUKU'tl tl\c iJiojirictor of the stoiv to li^lU liis j^as and as- suivd him tiicrc would Itc no daiiucr, aiul lie rc((ii('stc(l (he crowil to ch'iU' the sid(>\v;ili<, w iiicli \v;is done alter ;i f'.'isliion. [M(iri/fj>( - was excitod hi the capitoI yostorday hy the ivports of the i)roceodiiijjjs at the anti-repeal nieetinji' in San Francisco. The violent demonstrations af>ainst Sub-Treasurer Cheesman l)y a mob which was indecently denouncing the curreircy of the nation went against the grain of all (true) Union men. - - •■' He is a faithful and earnest servant of tiie (iovernment, Secretary Chase's bureau rei)resentative on this const, and lias done nothing to deserve the hostility of loyal men. They must have been Coj)perheads wlio cried " hang him I " and tried to trample him underfoot and would have mobbed Old Abe himself, just as freely as iiis friend Cheesman. The followiiiti' extracts from the Sacramento Union (ojipo.sed to the ro])eal) of Fehniaiy 8, 18G4, need no explanation: Sax Fraxcisco, Fcbruarij o, ]«(j4. Dkar Fkiexd : .Vs you will see from the papers at the meeting last evening I was refused a hearing, even for the purpose of cor- recting errors and gross misstatements,