Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1862-10-11

several stations 1t feeds and supplies the
community in peace, it arms aud maintains
the soldier. who is the defense of the state in
war; it is next to light and air, and beyond
all secondary and artificial agents. the most
general, the most pervading and powerful in
furnce. and that on which most depends. lite
uniformity, its stability, it's security, and still
more, the confidence felt in its security. are
in their turn the springs on which it
rests, and by which alone it can perform its
vast and delicate functions. HencS, the pow
or of saying what shall be mo.sy, at what
rate money shall be taken, and what
it shall be worth, has, in all civilized
Of civilization, been deemed one Of the
badges and attributes Of sovereignty, and as
signed to the central and supreme authority
Of the State, as that which may indeed be
perverted or abused but which, yet abused or
not, must be exercised uniformly, and accord
ing to some common rule, in order to be of
utility at all. This being the object and de-.
sign for which the coming and money making
power was given to the Government of the
United States in common with all other gov
ernments, we may well doubt whether. when
that government has exercised it's high pre-.
rogative. by deciding that certain modes or
forms of value shall all be money, and all be
money equally, that the same nominal guam
titles of each shall be worth as much as any
of the others. it can be competent for the citi-
zen to discriminate in matter where thu law
of the land has refused to distinguish. to
make bargain excluding those with whom
h. contracts from a means Of payment which
tho law has decided shall b. open to, and
available for all, and incumber them with
debt Of new and special nature, not capable
of being discharged in the way in which Or
dinnry debts are by law payable. Congress,
in the exercise Of it's supreme authority. d..
clarrs that gold. silver and Treasury notes
shall be legal tender for the payment of all
debts, that a debtor who Gomez with these,
or any of them in his hand. and proiftrs them
to a creditor, shall b. freed from all further
obligation, that all liability on his part, either
in person or property, shall forthwith cease.
Not so, says thu creditor; by the magic Of a
few words in this paper, will create debt
and impose an obligation. to which the ena.
bling and beneficial provisions of the statute
shall not be applicable. which gold. which sill
ver or which government paper shall not bs
capable Of extinguishing. which must be
paid in particular way of my own choosing,
| that WILL as think b. more beneficial to me,
whatever may b. its effect in depriving my
debtor Of the right Of choice given him by
Congress. Surely, this is to run counter. not
only to tho spirit, but to the very letter Of an
act which applies in terms to all debts, with
out excepting any, or in any way providing
or implying that there may or can b. right
to create debts to which it shall not apply
These considerations certainly have much
weight, and may we'll induce doubt wllvth-
er contract, by which debt must be paid
only in one form or mode to the exclusion of
validity. and in which it has declared that all
debts shall be- payable, is consistent with pub.
lie policy. or legally good and valid. But
there is another line of argument tending
nearly. if not directly to the same result, and
and which may be regarded as corrobora-
tion Of that pursued above. If an agree.
ment for payment in gold and not in silver,
or in silver and not in gold or Treasury notes
be legally binding. it is still but an agree.
ment, which will not b. specifically enforced
if broken, or admit Of any other remedy than
an award Of damages as compensation for the
breach. If. for Instance. the stipulation is for
gold, and silver only is rendered, or for silver
and tho tender b. in paper. the compensation
due. the damages adjudged will depend on
the difference between what was due and
what was offered, or between gold and silver
in tho one case. and gold and paper in the
other. Cui oy ,ne Constitution of!he V::va
States. Congress has the power ITO coin
money and regulate the value thereof" and
has exercised that power by declaring, that
100 pieces Of silver Of certain weight and
fneness shall b. OF the sams value a. 100
pieces Of gold Of certain other weight and
tineness, or in other words, that 500 shall
bs worth 500 and no more, whether rendered
in silver or in gold. WhHnsver, therefore. it
shall become the province Of court aud jury
to ascertain the compensation due to Z man
who has bargaiMed for gold and had silvsr Of.
fered to him, or has bargainsd for silver and
been met with tender Of gold, It will proba-
bly, be ths duty Of the court to instruct the
jury that there il no damage. or that the dam.
ags is but nominal; that what was prot.
fersd under the contract was legally equiv
alent to that which the contract called for
that the party plaintiff is not, in contsm.
plation of law, Injured. and simply entitled
without costs or interest. It 10 true. that
Of businpss, where coin l. bought and cold
as merchandise, might Lead to different
result. and show at one time, that 500 in
silver 10 far from having the sams value "
500 dollars ip gold, and at enoth~r. that
500 in gold il lass valpabls than sl0o IN
silver. But there ars many cases In which
the legal measure Of damages i different
from the real. aud where the law stops
.Lo.t .,e oo,ruunan<snn Enr thu f1,l1 avAnuMt