No. 167.
Mr. Pierrepont to Mr. Evarts.
London, December 22, 1877. (Received January 7, 1878.)
Sir: On the 11th instant Mr. Welsh arrived at Liverpool, and on the evening of the 12th he reached London, where I met him at the station and took him in my carriage to his hotel.
I had duly arranged, through the minister of foreign affairs, that his baggage, &c., should be passed without delay.
On the 14th I presented him in due form to Lord Derby, and through his lordship the Queen signified her readiness to grant an audience at Windsor Castle on the afternoon of the 22d day of December.
Mr. Welsh and myself accordingly proceeded to Windsor and had an audience with Her Majesty, at which I took formal leave and Mr. Welsh was formally presented as my successor, and will assume his official duties to-morrow.
Mr. Welsh has been most warmly received, and the friendly relations between the two countries were never before so cordial. I have done what I could to secure that result, using the means which seemed to me best adapted to that end.
Our financial credit was exceedingly good and growing better, until a shadow fell from the specter of repudiation. I trust it is the shadow of a specter only.
No disguise under cover of a statute which proposes to pay a silver dollar where a gold one was promised or implied will be regarded other than a fraud. Any such course must tarnish our honor and damage our prosperity.
The greatness of England is largely due to her unshaken credit; it is so firm that when gold flows out, in a very short time they can fill their vaults again by raising the rate of interest. The world knows that the principal and interest will be paid according to the implied contract.
The damage in preventing the negotiation of our bonds at a low rate [Page 242] of interest would be ten times greater than the temporary gain by any trick of bad faith.
To cover the fraud by a statute, and then say that it is lawful, does not help the matter in the least, but only deepens the disgrace. Untarnished credit is the life of a commercial nation, and without it no state can have continued prosperity.
The nations of Europe watch with interest to see whether “the Great Republic” will keep its faith and increase its credit, or sacrifice its good name and its future greatness for an apparent temporary gain which is purely delusive.
The enemies of popular government have a theory that delicate honor and commercial integrity soon perish in a democracy, and they will jeer and rejoice if we, ourselves, prove the truth of their theory. I believe we shall prove the contrary.
I hope to report to you in person early in February, and with thanks for your many courtesies, I close my last dispatch, and have the honor to be, &c.,