ere has been in fact
converted, of gold and silver, into coin, or bars stamped by the
United States, $66,000,000 during the last year, showing a use and
employment of gold in this country that is now rapidly increasing.

"But still this state of affairs would not justify us in saying
that we are prepared to declare a resumption of specie payments
absolutely upon the basis of $800,000,000 of paper money, including
our fractional currency. I am, therefore, not prepared to say that
the United States can, on a fixed day, within a reasonable time--
within such a time as would give confidence in our ability to
perform it--say that we will absolutely redeem our notes in coin.

"I know that Senators here, for whose opinion I have the highest
respect, who are probably more sanguine of our ability and capacity
to do this than I am--many of those who have agreed with me and co-
operated with me--think we are able and strong enough to fix the
time for the absolute resumption of specie payments; but I have
always doubted it. Indeed I have thought there was a better way
to reach the great result. But if we cannot fix the time when we
will redeem in coin, can we not give additional value to our United
States noes, so as to gradually appreciate them to the coin standard,
and thus advance toward specie payments if we cannot reach the
goal? Because we cannot accomplish all that we have agreed to do
in a given time, does that relieve us from the necessity of
progressing in that direction? When we have before us a long
journey that will take months to pass, perhaps years, shall we
delay starting on that journey because we cannot reach the end of
it in a year or two? Not at all. I therefore say that the time
has arrived this moment when the United States ought to do something
to advance its notes to the specie standard.

"Now what is that something? There are two propositions, and only
two propositions, that have been made, aside from absolute coin
redemption, that have had any strength whatever. One is to allow
the United States notes to be received in payment of customs duties,
the other is to allow United States notes to be converted into
bonds. In regard to the first, I agree entirely that if the matter
was open now to our choice and selection, one of the best methods
we could adopt to advance our notes to par in gold would be by
repealing that restriction which prevents the receiving of them
for customs duties; but we are