SPECIE RESUMPTION. The resump tion of specie payments after the close of the American Civil War was a subject of long and anxious discussion in Congress and in the press. In 1861 payment in specie was sus pended by the government and by banks throughout the United States, and Congress authorized the issue of United States notes to meet the expenses of the conflict, and to be ac cepted as legal tender for all dues except cus toms. The receipt of specie for customs duties kept the treasury well supplied with gold and silver, and enabled the government to meet obligations payable in coin. After the war, and indeed from the closing scenes of the Confeder acy, the premium on gold ,gradually fell until it was merely nominal, but the fact that the gov ernment's paper currency was not redeemable on presentation in coin kept that currency from being at par, and tended to unsettle business, and to provoke, or afford an excuse for serious financial crises. The question of resumption
was most earnestly agitated after the panic of 1873, and on 14 Ian. 1875 an act was passed by Congress, ordering the resumption of specie payments to begin on 1 Jan. 1879. The ap proach of that date was attended by great ap prehension in the United States and abroad that the national treasury would be unable to meet the overwhelming demand for specie that many expected to occur. The mints were run far beyond the usual hours coining money to meet possible requirements, and there was much surprise when the appointed date came, and very little currency was presented for redemp tion. The people were satisfied of the gov ernment's ability to pay, and gold at once fell to par. "Greenbacks," as the national currency is called, became the equivalent of gold through out the world, and have ever since maintained that position. •