Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-04-15
The Cases Before the Supreme Court
Passing Review of the Decision
\ Spicy Discussion.


Passing Review OF the Decision
\ spicy Discussion.
WASHINGTON, April ll.-This morning,
when the legal tender cases came up in
the Supreme Court, Mr.. Potter applied,
for Mr.. Carlisle, to postpone them. He
submitted paper showing Mr.. Carlisle's
engagements in New York and the illness
of other counsel, and their understanding
that the cases when called before had been
ordered to abide the decision in the Ken
lucky case. Quite a spicy time ensued.
The Attorney General commended that these
cases had not been passed subject 20 the
determination of any other case; that
there was no such entry on the docket.
He found the cases on the list, and moved
them for argument in the eGdinary course.
The Chief Justice, interruptiDg, said:
SIT is proper TO say, Mr.. Attorney Gen.
eral, that counsel in these cases were dis
tinctly informed, when they were called
and passed heretofore, that the court
would not hear that question argued in
these cases, inasmuch as it would be dis
posed of in the others; neither the Chief
Justice nor any one of the majority of the
judges then on the bench and now here
regarded the question as open in these
cases after the order was announced TO
counsel"
The Attorney General. 81 your honor
please, was not aware of any such order,
and am of course embarrassed by the
statement. But if the court states ~
Mr.. Justice Miller; interrupting. -''Mr.
Attorney General, l desire to say that the
statement is not the statement of the
court y
Mr.. Justice NelsOn-'IMr. Attorney
General, l understood distinctly that these
cases, so far as the legal tender question
is involved, were to abide the result in
the other cases"
The Attorney General stated he should
submit TO any determination the court
made, but if the cases were TO be heard
they ought to be heard at once. There
were large interests waiting upon the de-
cision. lie cited the case of savings
bank whose counsel have been consulted
as to whether the bank shall take payment
of certain mortgages in treasury notes
when rendered or not. Ii they advise
the bank to accept these notes they may
occasion it a loss of some twelve per
cent. If they advise it not to accept
the notes the lien of the mort
cages may be lost. This was but one
instance of the important interests in
yolved in this question which ought to be
settled as speedilyas possible. He had no
objection to consulting the convenience of
counsel, but Mr.. Carlisle knew of this en-
gagement when the motion to set down
these cases was made, and there was no
intimatiOn that Mr.. Merriman intended TO
argue the case at all. But there was no
occasion for such argument about the
cases. 1t was not so much question for
argument as for judgment, but he would
not object TO any postponement beyond
this term. Mr.. Potter spoke at length,
contcndiDg against the proposed argument
of the cases, and said it seemed to him
that every public interest required that
this review should be postponed. To re-
open it can only tend to depreciate the
public credit, take away the advantages
gained by the late decision in the Hepburn
case, and TO lead TO other dangers. No
Judgment in which none of the
Judges who concurred in the former
Judgment should join could now
settle this question; for, said
he, it would only be the Judgment of five
Judges to four reversing the decision of
five judges to three, which would be not
to settle the question, but to unsettle it.
1t would do this to no just advantage to
any human being. The Chief Justice,
after some observations by Justices Miller
and Davis, to the effect that their recOl-
lection did not correspond with his, spoke
as follows: 81 made the statement l did
| because the Attorney General seemed To
labor under a Misrepresentation of the
facts, and it is true it is the duty of the
| Chief Justice to announce the common
orders of the court. He announced these.
| Such orders arc often not in writing or
put upon record. But they have never
been considered any less the orders of the
court on that account The only entry
in the cases was passed, but there was no
reason for passing them except that the
legal tender question, supposed to be in
| vOlved in them, was 10 be decided in the
| other cases. The court then ordered the
causes to be continued till Monday next.
U