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Outstanding loans not matured.

Refunding act of 1870.

Bonds at 5 per cent. interest.

The bonds of the United States, of which both the principal and interest are payable in coin, now outstanding, and neither called in for payment nor fully matured, are known under fourteen distinct titles, representing that number of different loans, which are kept entirely separate on the books of the Treasury Department. Coupon bonds may be exchanged for registered stock either in the same or other denominations, and mutilated, defaced, or indorsed bonds may be returned and clean new bonds obtained therefor; but all such exchanges must be in the same loan, and the bonds of one issue can never be converted into nor combined with those of either of the others.

The table at the head of this chapter gives the titles, amounts, times of payment of principal and interest, and the rate of interest of all such loans, in chronological order, beginning with that of the latest date and extending back to that of the earliest issue, the loan of 1858; a full explanation of each of which is contained in the following pages of this chapter, under numbers referring to the loans as set forth in the table.

1.

THE FUNDED LOANS.

To enable the Secretary of the Treasury to fund at a lower rate of interest that part of the national debt represented by the five-twenty bonds, bearing six per cent. interest, Congress passed the following act:

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE REFUNDING OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to issue, in a sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate two hundred million dollars

Coupon or registered bonds of the United States, in such form as he may prescribe, and of denominations of fifty dollars, or some multiple of that sum, redeemable in coin of the present standard value, at the pleasure of the United States, after ten years from the date of their issue, and bearing interest, payable semi-annually, in such coin, at the rate of five per cent. per annum;

Also a sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate three At 4% per cent. hundred million dollars of like bonds, the same in all respects, but payable at the pleasure of the United States, after fifteen years from the date of their issue, and bearing interest at the rate of four and a half per cent. per annum;

Also a sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate one At 4 per cent. thousand million dollars of like bonds, the same in all respects, but payable at the pleasure of the United States, after thirty years from the date of their issue, and bearing interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum; all of which said several classes of bonds and the interest thereon shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties of the Exempt from United States, as well as from taxation in any form by or taxation. under State, municipal, or local authority; and the said bonds shall have set forth and expressed upon their face the above specified conditions, and shall, with their coupons, be made payable at the Treasury of the United States. But nothing in this act, or in any other law now in force, Debt not to be inshall be construed to authorize any increase whatever of the creased. bonded debt of the United States.

and issued.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of Bonds, how sold the Treasury is hereby authorized to sell and dispose of any of the bonds issued under this act, at not less than their par value for coin, and to apply the proceeds thereof to the redemption of any of the bonds of the United States outstanding and known as five-twenty bonds, at their par value, or he may exchange the same for such five-twenty bonds, par for par; but the bonds hereby authorized shall be used for no other purpose whatsoever.

And a sum not exceeding one-half of one per cent. of the bonds herein authorized is hereby appropriated to pay the expense of preparing, issuing, advertising, and disposing of the same.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the payment of -how called in any of the bonds hereby authorized, after the expiration of for payment, the said several terms of ten, fifteen, and thirty years, shall be made in amounts to be determined from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury, at his discretion, the bonds so to be paid to be distinguished and described by the dates and numbers, beginning for each successive payment with the bonds of each class last dated and numbered, of the time of which intended payment or redemption the Secretary of the Treasury shall give public notice, and the interest on the particular bonds so selected at any time to be paid shall cease at the expiration of three months from the date of such notice.

Five hundred millions 5 per cent.

SEC. 4. [Authorizes the Secretary to call in for payment the five-twenty bonds.] See Chapter V.

SEC. 5. [Provides for the issue of coin certificates for gold deposits. Expired by limitation.]

SEC. 6. [Relates to the sinking fund.] See Chapter VI.
Approved July 14, 1870.

The amount of bonds which may be issued of the five per cent. loan is increased to five hundred millions dollars, and the interest of any portion of the bonds of the funded loans may be paid quarter-annually, by the following act:

AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE REFUNDING
OF THE NATIONAL DEBT."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

That the amount of bonds authorized by the act approved July fourteen, eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt," to be issued, bearing five per centum interest per annum, be, and the same is, increased to five hundred millions of dollars, Interest payable and the interest of any portion of the bonds issued under quarterly. said act, or this act, may, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be made payable quarter-yearly: Provided, however, That this act shall not be construed to authorize any increase of the total amount of bonds provided for by the act to which this act is an amendment.

Funded, of 1891, 5 per cent.

-of 1886, 42 per cent.

Approved January 20, 1871.

Under these acts there are three loans called "FUNDED LOANS," from the object of the law, to refund the national debt at a lower rate of interest, differing from each other only in the rates of interest and in the times after which they may be redeemed, which latter difference gives to each its distinctive title.

The "FUNDED LOAN OF 1881" is redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after the first day of May, A. D. 1881, and bears interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum, payable quarterly.

The "FUNDED LOAN OF 1886," provided for by law but not yet issued, is redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after the first day of May, A. D. 1886, and bears interest at the rate of four and a half per cent. per annum, payable quarterly.

cent.

The "FUNDED LOAN OF 1901," provided for by law but not of 1901, 4 per yet issued, is redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after the first day of May, 1901, and bears interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum, payable quarterly.

The bonds of each of these issues, unlike those of any Payable in coin. other loan ever issued by the Government, express upon their face, in accordance with the requirements of the law, applicable to these bonds alone, that the principal and interest are "payable in coin of the standard value of the United States, July 14, 1870," the date of the passage of the act, and that both are "exempt from payment of all Exempt from taxes or duties of the United States, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, or local authority."

taxation.

The interest is payable quarterly, on the first days of Interest. February, May, August, and November, in each year; and that upon registered bonds is sent by checks directly to the holders of the bonds at any post-office address designated by them, in this country or in Europe. Coupon bonds all bear date May 1, 1871, and both the coupon and registered bonds are designated on their face" FUNDED LOAN OF 1881," or "OF 1886," or "or 1901," with the rate of interest.

Two hundred millions dollars of the five per cents. have already been negotiated; but as yet none of the four per cents. and four and a half per cents. have been issued.

ment.

These are the only loans now offered for sale by the Gov- Only loan now of ernment. All others, having long since been closed, are fered by Governbeing reduced as rapidly as the surplus revenues, the money obtained from the sale of the new bonds, and the coin in the Treasury, will permit.

The reduction of the public debt for three years last past has been at the rate of about a hundred millions dollars a year; and the proceeds of the sale of the Funded Loan, which can be used only to redeem the five-twenty bonds and not to increase the public debt, has still further reduced the amount of bonds bearing six per cent. interest.

The bonds are all printed on the distinctive paper adopted Bonds are printby the Secretary of the Treasury, and manufactured under the ed on distinctive supervision of the Department, as described in Chapter III.

paper.

Consols.

tion.

The denominations are $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 coupon and registered bonds, and $20,000 and $50,000 also of the registered bonds.

2, 3, 4.

CONSOLS OF 1865, or 1867, AND OF 1868;

or

FIVE-TWENTIES OF 1865, of 1867, and of 1868.

The act of Congress of March 3, 1865, (chapter 77,) auActa of authoriza thorized the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow on the credit of the United States any sums not exceeding in the aggregate six hundred millions of dollars, and to issue therefor bonds or treasury notes, the bonds to be in denomination not less than fifty dollars, and made payable at any period not more than forty years from date, or made redeemable and payable, as aforesaid, as might be expressed upon their face, with interest payable semi-annually. The act provided that the principal or interest, or both, of the bonds and treasury notes might be made payable in coin, or in lawful money; that the rate of interest, when payable in coin, should not exceed six per cent., and that the rates and character of interest should be expressed on all such bonds or treasury notes.

Origin of the application of the name of CONSOLS, to.

The act still further provided, that the treasury notes should be made convertible into any bonds authorized by the act; that any treasury notes or other obligations bearing interest, issued under any act of Congress, might, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, and with the consent of the holder, be converted into any description of said bonds; and that the bonds so authorized should not be considered a part of said six hundred millions. This provision for conversion was extended by act of April 12, 1866, (chapter 39,) so that the Secretary was authorized to receive any treasury notes or other obligations issued under any act of Congress, whether bearing interest or not, in exchange for any description of said bonds. The conversion

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