The same Democratic majority breaks up upon the ques- tion
of " hard money." The Inflationists thought they had a majority, but resolved to proceed cautiously, and accord- ingly, Mr. Holman, from Indiana, moved the repeal of the Act of 1875, which fixes a date for the resumption of • specie payments. It was unwise, he thought, to tie down the Treasury in that way. The object of the proposal was not, in all probability, to repeal the Act, as everybody knew the Senate would not consent to it, but to test the strength of the feeling for paper currency under very favourable circumstances. The Democrats could announce their views without carrying them into immediate effect. The hard-money Democrats united themselves, however, to the Republicans, and the proposal was defeated by 158 to 112, only twenty-three Members of the House abstaining from the vote. This division seems to show that the recent agitation throughout the States against inflation has fairly cowed its friends, and that even if the Democrats obtained power,. they would be unable to tamper with the currency. If so, President Grant is in the right, and the " rag baby" is really dead.
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