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 41⁄2 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 an num; 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. 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 and issued. 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. |