The tri-weekly news. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1865-1876, 1866-04-05

office of the Clerk of the Court.
II. a. GAILLARD.
Important Case Remarks OF Plaintiffs
Counsellor Verdict of Jury = The
Value Of Cen ffeeaaerate Money iii Septem'
Der, lS62--ThiS Case not a Precedent.
Though the proceedings of the Court
for tins District were begun and ended
on Monday last, yet they embrace one
case of peculiar interest inasmuch as
the issue involved the value Of Confede
rate money at n certain period of the
War. The case was that of a sealed
note given in September, 1862, for
loan of $500 in Confederate cur.
rency. Plaintiff claimed the full value
OF the face Of the note, with in.
tercst to the present date. Defendant
pleaded the deprecated value of Con.
fedcratc money at the time the note
was given, anil insisted upon n deduc.
tlon equal to that depreciation, making
gold the standard of value. 1t appeared
from the evidence in the case that the
depreciation at that time was from fifiy
to one hundred per cent But there
Were other weightier considerations
bearing upon the case which were likely
to overbalance the plea based upon a
iiuctuating gold basis AS the points
made in the plaintiffs behalf may inter.
est our readers, we submit to their pc.
rusal the { lowing which we believe
embraces the substance Of the remarks
made before the Jury by the PLAINTIFF
Counsellor. He said
The cause Of action is sealed note,
and were it not for the Ordinance of the
Convention, an inquiry would not be
allowed respecting the consideration.
'Fais Ordinance allows iuries to inouire
into the value Of the consideration of
all contracts entered into during the
war after Jan. lst 1862. The records
OF the Convention show that thew re.
garded it as doubtful whether contracts
entered into in the year ] s62 ought to
be- abated. The first proposition was
to go back only to January 1868, but
after debate it was determined 10 in.
clude the whole OF 1862, as there might
possibly he some contracts entered into
during that period in which Justice re-
qnlred that the amounts promised to be
paid should be abatcd
This hote was executed Sept End,
1852, and payable one day after date.
The period then of its execution, having
regard to the history of the Ordinance,
is such as to make it doubtful whether
there ought to be any abatement from
the amount promised to be paid.
Th" question then for the jury to con,
slider i'll each particular case, is, whcth.
er substantial justice will best be effected
by reducing the amount, or finding for
the plaintiff the whole face of the note.
The money lent in this case was Con.
federa,e currency. But had that cur
rency really deprecated at the time of
! the contract BY what standard is the
currency to be valued 2 Evidence has
been adduced to show tha, at that time
gold was from $l.5O to $500 premium
in currency. But is gold standard of
value ? 1t, like all other commodities,
is governed by the great law Of supply
and demand, and has auctuated in value
as more or less has been thrown upon the
market, as more or less has been export.
ed, asit has been the subject of specula.
lion, or money gambling. No one com.
modify can be made true standard Of
value =; and no good political economist
has held gold to be such standard. The
valns of currency is to be asccrtained by
observing its general availability for the
purposes of production, trade and for the
payment of debts. Gold during the
war was especially no standard of value,
for we had no sources of supply while
great sums were constantly exported for