have no
doubt will be an accomplished fact when this letter reaches you.

"The nation owes you a great debt for your courage, persistence
and wisdom in adhering to your policy for re-establishing and
maintaining our government credit. To your conduct I attribute
the present honorable position of the Republican party, more than
to any other one influence. I believe that neither the country
nor the party will forget your services.

"Very truly,
"John W. Foster."

CHAPTER XXXVII.
REFUNDING THE NATIONAL DEBT.
Over $140,000,000 of Gold Coin and Bullion in the Treasury January
1, 1879--Diversity of Opinion as to the Meaning of Resumption--
Effect of the Act to Advance Public Credit--Funding Redeemable
Bonds Into Four per Cents.--Letters to Levi P. Morton and Others--
Six per Cent. Bonds Aggregating $120,000,000 Called During January,
1879--The Sale in London--Charges of Favoritism--Further Enactments
to Facilitate the Funding--Difficulty of Making Sales of Four per
Cent. Bonds to English Bankers--Large Amounts Taken in the United
States--One Subscription of $190,000,000--Rothschild's Odd Claim--
Complimentary Resolution of the New York Chamber of Commerce.

On the 1st of January, 1879, when the resumption act went into
effect, the aggregate amount of gold coin and bullion in the treasury
exceeded $140,000,000. United States notes, when presented, were
redeemed with gold coin, but instead of the notes being presented
for redemption, gold coin in exchange for them was deposited, thus
increasing the gold in the treasury.

The resumption of specie payments was generally accepted as a
fortunate event by the great body of people of the United States,
but there was a great diversity of opinion as to what was meant by
resumption. The commercial and banking classes generally treated
resumption as if it involved the payment and cancellation of United
States notes and all forms of government money except coin and bank
notes. Another class was opposed to resumption, and favored a
large issue of paper money without any promise or expectation of
redemption in coin. The body of the people, I believe, agreed with
me in opinion that resumption meant, not the cancellation and
withdrawal of greenbacks, but the bringing them up to par and
maintaining them as the equivalent of coin by the payment of them
in coin on demand by the holder. This was my definition of
resumption. I do not believe that any commercial nation can co