Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-09-05
Foreign Notes.

Foreign Notes.
The GAINESVILLE Chronicle devotes two columns to
an examination of our article on a Gold and Silver
currency. In all that space the Chronicle has not
found it convenient to refute a single argument or
question single fact which we sddueed in favor of
q specie currency IteOntents itself with general
declaration that our whole scheme is humbug, and
applies itself entirely to the method We suggested to
prevent the circulation of foreign Bank bills in this
State. In former article in answering an objec>
ton against gold and silver currency, en- the
ground that the notes of other States would flow in
upon us and take the place of our own paper, we
said:
ga law eDscting that the payment of such notes
should not be held to be legal discharge of debts,
would effeetually prevent the evil anticipated. If it
was known that the payment Of debts in the notes
of other States would not operate a legal scquit-
lance, and that the creditor could still sue for and
recover the amount in specie, no one would offer
these bills in discharge Of liabilities"
To this the Chronicle objects that
1.-THE federal Constitution declares that no law shall
be passed. impairing private contracts; and with
this prohibition before US, let us see how those
stringent laws" will work. Suppose A sell to B
horse and agrees TO take one hundred dollars, In
Kentucky bank notes, in payment, has the Legis-
lature the constitutional power to impair that con-
tract-to make A. take back his horse, and B., his
paper money!
Now the Constitution Of the United States provides
that no State shall pass any "sr post t1eio law, or
Law impairng the obligation of contracts In con-
sequence of this provision the Legislature Of Tenn
essee would have no right to enact law impairing
the validity Of q contract which had been legally
made before the enactment Of that law but it could
consitutionally pass a law, saying that all future
contracts Of that nature should be null and void So
in the case Of an ez post faetO" law. The Legis-
lature has no authority to declare that /" Breach
of Trust" committed before the enactment Of any
Law on that subject, should be punished BY cOnfne
ment in the Penitentiary but it oOnstilutiOnaly
enact as it has done in this State, that any future
Breach of Trust" shall be so punished. The con-
stution in the clause have quoted, only provides
against the enactment of laws by The States to pun
ish acts snnull contracts which we're legal at the
time. Before any usury laws existed, A might con-
tract with b., to pay him per cent for his money.
Such g contract would have been legal, and the
Legislature could pass law imparing the validity
Of that contract But law might be passed andhas
been passed. prohibiting such contracts the future
One or more of the State Legislatures have pro-
Vded that the payment of debts in bills Of smaller
denomination than FIVE dollars, shall be held to be
no legal acquittance of such debts, and the courts
have recognized this law constitutional; and yet
both this law and our usury laws would be Obno1-
ious to the same objection which the Chronicle urges
against the means we suggested to prevent the in
hux Of foreign notes.
But the Chronicle continues:
"Such law would not only hold out a tempta-
tstion to dishonesty, but offers q heavy premium
for It."
Then SO do our usury laws, for if a man agrees
to pay eight per cent interest," the law enables him
to avoid the contract The usury laws of Virginia
provide that if man loans money at more than six
per cent interest, the borrower can avoid the pay
ment Of the principal and interest. We have never
heard that this law operated njuriOusly TO public
morals Il prevents the evil which it was intended
to prevent As men will rarely expose themselves
to the risk Of lsslng their principal So few will be
tempted to avail themselves of the provisions of
the law. So, in the case of the law which we pros
pose Men viii be afraid to pay their debts in for
eign bills when it is known that such payment will
not operate as an scquittsnoe of the debt Blu. the
fraud, the rasoslity, the sWindlng that this law
would prevent, would more than compensate for
any inconvenience that may result from it. We
might answer this last argument Of TIE Chronicle
by saying that the circulation Of Bank bills affords
an opportunity for the manufacture and circulation
Of counterfeit and that the natural results Of
banking have demOralizing influence upon the
community and lead to thousand frauds which
more than oVerbalance any of the evils which the
Chronicle anticipates from the plan we wish to ess
tablish. The single case of the Exchange Bank
might be sufficient to establish all that we assert.
But the whole system of banking in this and other
States facilitates and encourages every species Of
immortality and dishonest practices. Bank charters
obtained BY fraud confer privileges upon indivdu-
ais whereby they may speculate upon the neoessi-
ties or the folly Of the community, and when they
have resPed golden harvest from their operations,
n close their vaults, refuse to pay their usbil-