The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1823-02-07
GREAT CONFEDERATION!

GREAT CONFEDERATION!
FRA>kfoRr, Ky. January 9.--ln p,ir-
.,,oce of an act passed at the late session
r. the General Assembly, upwards of sc
ss,ty one thousand doiinrs in notes of the
.aoI6,r Bank of the Commonwealth, were
Consumed by burning, in the presence of
The President aud Directors and other
a,hlic officers who were required TO attend
for that purpose on Monday last.
We are informed that the amount inten-
ded for t.ir .iaaics, in the several BrdachtS,
will he collected here some time III neat
month, Ii will be near t,co hundred thou
eond dollars, from the best information we
have received. We mentioned last week
,h.t exchange was from rs to II in Louis
,lle and this place, and we believe that IL
= ,,;ll not be more than 50per cent. advance,
nv the first day of March next. We are
gfarilied 10 witness the rapid appreciation
ofour currency.
The old Bank Of Kentucky, will also com
mitssome of her paper to the fiery element
in short time, in pursuance OF the above
.,,,hnr;ty. .hguS.
The Snnrene Court of Ohio has dcci-
ded a case which involves an important
ouestiop of constitutional law. Ii may be
understood from the following paragraphs
the list, Cd and last of the printed decision.
[.Vdt. GaE.
Smith ps. Parsons. cause IS pre-
sent.d for the opinion of the Court, OH the
following agreed case:
"The suit is brought on promissory
notes, executed by defendant while resi-
dent and citizen of the state OF Maryland.
The defendant pleads his discharge under
the bankrupt law of that state. AT the
time the notes were executed, both plain
1if and defendant were citizens of Mary
land. The bankrupt laws were enacted
prior to the notes. The defendant is "a
regular certiGcated bankrupt or insolvent
under the laws Of Mary land, which are IA
flli discharge of all debts returned. This
DEBT was returned. All defendants pro-
perry was duly assigned TO trustees in Ma
rylard."
"Belore an attempt is made to investi-
gate the principles presented by this case,
il is necessary to state that this court re
cognizes the constitutional right Of the Su-
preme Court of the United States II eX-
pound the Constitution, and to settle its
import wherever a doubt arises and that
it is our duty implicitly to receive their
construction as a rule OF decision IN all ca
SEES in which il applies. That tribunal ha-
wing decided that state has authority To
pass bankrupt law, provided sucl a law
does not impair the obligation OF contracts
within the meaning of the consultation,
and provided there be no act OF Congre $
in force 10 establish uniform system OF
bankruptcy conflicting with such law, our
enquiry may be- limited to the single qucs-
ton, whether the la" Of MarS land did or
did not, in the sense of the constitution,
impair the obligation Of The eontract on
which the present suit is founded.
"On the whole, from the view now ta-
ken of the subject, we are led to conclude
that the case before us differs materially
from the cases of Sturges VS.. CIownin-
shield and M'Mllan rs. M'Neil. and that il
cannot be considered as settled by their
authorlty-that this court, therefore, must
decide it according to their own construc-
ton Of the constitution that the statute OF
Maryland, being confined in its operation
TO after contracts made within ia It state,
does not interfere with the constitution,
and thai the defendant was, by the opera
lion of that statute, discharged fro the
payment of the notes OH which the present
G,,n,I.I ~