And on the following day I wrote to August Belmont & Co.:
"Your letter of the 9th instant was received, and also a personal letter from Mr. Belmont.
"I am watchful of the course of legislation in Congress and of the current of public sentiment, both in our own and foreign countries, on the silver question. I am not prepared at present to give any assurance as to what will be done in Congress, nor of the action of the executive department. It is better to let the matter stand as it is, awaiting events without any committals whatever. I have faith to believe that all will come our right so far as the public credit is affected, and will write you again when anything definite can be said."
On the 29th of November Belmont wrote me a long letter containing the following statements:
"I need hardly assure you, at this late day, of my earnest solicitude for the success of the funding and resumption operations, and of my personal deep regret, apart from all pecuniary considerations, as a member of the syndicate, to see this unfortunate situation of the silver question put a complete stop to all further sales of the four per cent. bonds at present, here and in England. The capitalists and banks on both sides of the Atlantic will not buy a bond at par in gold, when it is almost certain, from the overwhelming vote in the House, and the known attitude of the Senate, that a silver bill, making the old silver dollar a legal tender for all private and public obligations, will pass both Houses this winter. . . .
"The bonds are selling at ninety-nine and one-fourth in gold in open market, and it seems to me very doubtful policy to offer bonds, by us, to the public at this moment, and thus assist the advocates of the old silver dollar by our apparent indifference to the injustice and dishonesty of the Bland bill."
This condition of suspense and anxiety continued during the remainder of the year.
My first annual report, as Secretary of the Treasury, was made to Congress on the 3rd of December, 1877. The statement made of our financial condition was a very favorable one, showing a surplus revenue of $30,340,577.69. The receipts from different sources of revenue were largely diminished, but the expenditures for the year were reduced by an equal amount. The surplus revenue was applied to the redemption of United States notes and of fractional currency, and to the payment of six per cent. bonds for the sinking fund. The report dealt with the usual topics of such reports, embracing a great variety of subjects. What attracted the most attention was, naturally, what was said about refunding the public debt and the resumption of specie payments. The results of refunding during the previous year have already been sufficiently stated. The plans for the resumption of specie payments were fully explained. The mode and manner of bringing this about was not specified in the law, but the time for resumption was fixed and the means provided for accumulating coin for that purpose were ample.
By the resumption act the Secretary of the Treasury was required to redeem legal tender notes to the amount of eighty per centum of the sum of national bank notes issued, and to continue such redemption, as circulating notes were issued, until there was outstanding the sum of $300,000,000 of such legal tender United States notes, and no more.
By the same act it was provided that, on and after the 1st day of January, 1879, the Secretary of the Treasury should redeem, in coin, the United States legal tender notes then outstanding, on their presentation for redemption at the office of the assistant treasurer of the United States, in the city of New York, in sums of not less than fifty dollars. "And," it continued, "to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare and provide for the redemption in this act authorized or required, he is authorized to use any surplus revenues, from time to time, in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, and to issue, sell, and dispose of, at not less than par, in coin, either of the descriptions of bonds, of the United States, described in the act of Congress approved July 14, 1870, entitled 'An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt,' with like qualities, privileges, and exemptions, to the extent necessary to carry this act into full effect, and to use the proceeds thereof for the purposes aforesaid."