Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1862-10-11
rFrom the s. F. Bulletin of Sept. 18th.
The Legal Tender Question.
DECISION OF JUDGE HARE, PHILADELPHIA.

0O6OA 0OVSSAVAAe
DECISION OF JUDGE HARE, PHILADELPHIA.
We recently called attention to an impof.
tant decision made in the District Court oi
Philadelphia upon the Legal Tender Cues.
ton. To-day we are enabled to lay before
our readers the opinion of the Court in full
as we find it in the american Law Registe,
for July, copy of which work was received
here this morning by the Panama steamer
The Register, in reporting the case pre6xes
the following syllabus Of the point Of law in.
volved:
DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY
OF PHILADELPHIA.
ScAeenJerger vs.. Vatts.-Defendants ex.
ecntpd bond with warrant of attorney, for
$4,000, payable in specie, current gold and
silver money of the United States" and "that
no existing law or laws, and no law or laws
which may hereafter enacted, shall operate o,
BE- construed as operating to allow payment
to be made in any other money. than that
above designated )" "the said obligors ex.
pressly waiving the benefit derived or to bt
derived from such law or laws"
Judgement was entered and f. ia. issued
in which the sheriff was required to levy the
debt and interest "in specie. current gold
and silver money" The Court on motion,
set aside the Fl. ia. and held: hat the Fl. ia
was irregular; as final judgment is necrssa.
riy for lawful money, and is payable in any
money which the law has made legal ten.
der.
The facts of the case will appear in the
opinion of the Court, which was delivered by
HARE, 1.-The defendants in this case,
Henry Musselman and Henry NJ. Watts, exc
cuted some years ago bond to the plaintiff,
conditioned for the payment of S2s,O00. not
as such instruments are usually worded. in
lawful money, or lawful money Of the Uni
ted States, but sin specie, current gold aud
silver money Of the United States"
This peculiarity in the wording of the con-
dition, which was, when written, mere tautol-
gy or surplusag", as being needless express
sion of that which the law would have i'm
piled if it had not been expressly stipulated,
has since acquired significance. and become a
stipulation for that which the law no longer
implies, and perhaps will not enforce or sane.
tion. For. by the passage Of recent and
well known Act of Congress, Treasury notes
equality rs money with gold and silver, and
declared to be legal tender for the payment
of all debts. The consti,utionaty and bind
ing force of this Act are not denied by the
plaintiff. who has expressly waived bringing
them il question, but he insists that it is not
applicable to contract, which, like the pres
ent, provides expressly, that tho payment
shall be made in gold Or silver, and thus i'm.
pliedly negatives the right to pay in paper.
He has accordingly entered judgment on the
warrant Of attorney accompanying the bond
and rpciting it's condition, and issued an exc
cution by which the Sheriff is required to
levy $2S,115 out Of the goods and chattels,
land and tenements of the defendants. not as
such writs ordinarily run, in lawful money Of
Of Pennsylvania, but ain specie. current gold
and silver money!" in the words Of the condi-
ton of the bond
This writ the defendants ask to set aside rs
without warrant, unsual and illegal and we
have consequently to determine first. whether
the special agreement on which the plaintiff
relies il legal, and one for which the law will
give remedy; and next. if it b. SO. whether
the summary remedy which the plaintiff has
chosen has been chosen rightly, and is well
founded in point OF law.
The familiar maxim. gxilibet potest ycaxm-
clare jxri prone intyodxcfo, implies what we
know from other sources, that nen are in gen.
cral free to contract as they think proper. and
may, ordinarily speaking, make any bargain,
which suits their pleasure the law not caring.
and indeed Mt being able to ascertain wleth-
er what has been agreea On between persons
who are ss; .j4ris and not destitute Of ordin-
ary capacity, is wise or foolish, beneficial to
both, or advantageous to neither of the con.
tract parties. When however, contract is
contrary to law, and attempts to do or rpgu.
late in one way. that which the Legislature
has declared shall be done in another. the law
may. and often will pronounce the contract
void especially If the matter be one in which
the whole community has an interest. and
which does not exclusively concern the indi-
viduals who have mads the contract. A
debtor may renounce the protection Of the
Statute Of Li,nitat ons after It has taken effect
in his favor, and barred the debt, but he can
not do 90 in the first place in making the
contract in which the debt originates. No
covenant. in or at the time of executing a
mortgage. can be 90 binding a. to preclude
the mortgagor from redeeming the nortgagsd
premises, or even limit the time within which
the right may be exercised. although bic con-
troll over it 10 for all other purposes abso|Qts.
and he may, if he pleasss. ceds i to a stran-
ger for nothing. Examples might b. multi
piled, but these arp sufficient to show the pt.-
ccsssity for dFawine the line betwesn what
may and what may not b. rsnouncsd lawful.
u, and the difficulty Of drawing it correctly.
There is nothing in which the public At large
have q greater interest than in tue cnrrsncy,
which is to the social system what the circu-
l..:~.. IS ~l,1. h1..c1 II n tha natural hndv