While the Republican party had step by step, and almost unconsciously, involved itself in the support of dishonest and oppressive government at the South, it was, on the other hand, fighting the battle for financial honesty in the Nation at large against the fiat money heresy and the schemes of repudiation invented and supported by the national Democracy. Its Congressional majority had passed the Refunding Acts of July 14th, 1870, and January 20th, 1871, for refunding the debt of the United States in coin bonds bearing five, four and one-half and four per centum interest. These acts authorized the issue of eighteen hundred millions of dollars in these new bonds, five hundred millions payable after ten years, and bearing five per centum interest, three hundred millions payable after fifteen years and bearing four and one-half per centum interest, and one thousand millions payable after thirty years and bearing four per centum interest. By the Act of March 18th, 1869, the Republican Congress had declared that all of the obligations of the United States should be paid in coin or its equivalent, unless otherwise specifically stipulated in the law authorizing the obligation. This Act was made applicable to past, as well as future, obligations. It rested on the principle that debts must be paid in the best money of the country unless otherwise agreed to in the contract. This is, of course, the sound principle both of morals and finance, and no act of Congress pronouncing {277} it would have been considered necessary, except for the great fact that the Democratic party, in its campaign of 1868, had espoused the opposite doctrine and had fought the campaign largely under that issue. The Act, however, might of course be repealed, and in that case the question as to whether the principal sum of the greater part of the national indebtedness should be paid in coin would be again opened, since the laws authorizing the incurring of these obligations provided only for the payment of the interest upon them in coin. It was in order to forestall the possibility of a repeal of the Act of March 18th, 1869, as well as in order to make a large saving in the interest charge, that these Refunding Acts were passed.