you have
kindly sent me, in reference to the customhouse, the last of which,
the firm message of the President with your second conclusive
letter, reached me to-day.

"Whatever may be the result in the Senate, and I can scarcely
believe that, after so full an exposure, the nomination will be
rejected, the plain-thinking people of this country will appreciate
the attitude taken by the government as the only one consistent
with the duty of the executive and the general welfare.

"It will give new hope and confidence to the great body of Republicans,
and to many who can hardly be called Republicans, who look to the
administration for an unflinching adherence--no matter what the
opposition--to the pledge of reform on which the party was successful
in the last election, and on fidelity to which depends its safety
in the next.

"The country is infinitely indebted to you for redeeming its faith
by a return to honest money. A new debt will be incurred of yet
wider scope if you succeed in liberating the custom service from
the vicious grip of the immoral factions of office holders and
their retainers, who have made it a scandal to the nation with such
gigantic loss to the treasury and immeasurable damage to our
commerce, industry and morals.

"I hope that the President will feel that all good citizens who
are not blinded by prejudice or interest are thoroughly with him
in the policy and resolve of his message that the customhouse shall
no longer be 'a center of partisan political management.'

"With great regard I have the honor to be, dear Mr. Sherman,

"Faithfully yours,
"John Jay."

CHAPTER XXXVI.
PREPARATIONS FOR RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS.
Annual Report to Congress on Dec. 2, 1878--Preparations for Resumption
Accompanied with Increased Business and Confidence--Full Explanation
of the Powers of the Treasurer Under the Act--How Resumption Was
to Be Accomplished--Laws Effecting the Coinage of Gold and Silver
--Recommendation to Congress That the Coinage of the Silver Dollar
Be Discontinued When the Amount Outstanding Should Exceed $50,000,000
--Funding the Public Debt--United States Notes at Par with Gold--
Instructions to the Assistant Treasurer at New York--Political
Situation in Ohio.

The annual report made by me to Congress on the 2nd of December,
1878, contained the usual formal information as to the condition
of the treasury, and the various bureaus and divisions of that
department. It was rega