The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-02-10
The Supreme ourt and the Legal Ten
der Act.

/. The immense Importance of the recent &c
clsion of the Supreme Court in respect to tht
/. legal tender act, summary of which ha
appeared in these columns, may be inferred
from the fact that, admitting its scope to BIZ
as narrow as any one claims, it will require
. according to the New York Herald, in the
single item Of interest on mortgages I'D ne"
York, an increased payment OF seven VI eisn'
millions in greenbacks. The same paper esu-
mates that tbe holders of mortgages and other
contracts throughout the country are gamers
IN the extent of least hundred millions in
greenbacks. This, we say, measures the i'm
portance of the decision, supposing it to cover
10 more ground than it processes to, and to
declare merely that the legal tender act is not
retroactive, and has reference to no contract
prior to its passage in February, 1862.
There is nothing in the language of the de-
cision delivered by Chief Justice Chase in be-
half of bare majority of the Court in its pres
entdecimated state which of itself justifes the
inference that more is covertly intended than
appears on the surface. A Kentucky creditor
sued in State court to recover in specie on
"a contract made 1860, the plaintiff having re-
fused tender of greenbacks. The State
: court sustained the validity of the claim, bas-
ing its decision on the nconsttutionality OF
the legal tender act The Supreme Court
does not go so far as to consider the general
question, but contents itself with finding that
so far as contracts made prior to the passage
of the act is concerned, it is imperative.
The disposition to find a larger meaning
than the obvious one in the opinion of the
Court, is not, however, by any means unac-
eountable. There is decidedly predominant
element of hunkerism in the Court as now
constituted from which there are plenty OF
precedents warranting the anticipations OF
:. mischief A body of men that has gone SO far
as it dared in opposing reconstruction and all
the progressive movements Of Congress since
:. the war, is justly regarded with suspicion,
especially. as the Chief Justice has become the
{, most notorious and INSCRIPTIONS dema gogue
in the country, and is actively figuring for the
Presidency. Under these circumstances, it is
not wonderful that the strong dissenting
LoPluiou vi JuStlCe nucT, SuppOrlcu ny
Large minority of the Court, is received with
great respect. Little doubt is felt that if the
bench had been filled by the confirmation of
the.two nominations for Associate Justices
sent by the President to the Senate Monday,
the Chief Justice would have been obliged to
become the leader of minority.
= It is perhaps worth while to romark that
among the curious constructions of the ma
jority opinion is that of the New York Tri-
bune which says: sect your houses in order
is the meaning of the warning Monday sound
ed to the whole business community from the
bench of the Supreme Court. This decision
means speedy resumption of Specie Pay
ments. Stand from underr'
But there are not wanting those who see
in'the decision readiness to attack the gene.
raj constitutionality of the lava course that
would involve the country in evils only second
In magnitude to those of the great civil war.
The financial anarchy necessarily following
such decision is something that can only be
apprehended with horror.