The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-02-19

A Washington letter to the Baltimore Ga
zette says:
The recent decision of the Supreme Court in
| relation to legal-tcndGr notes is being made
| the pretcXt here for placing that tribunal I'M
der strict subservency to Congress. Undoubt-
ediy the Judgment Of the court was justified
II ffe pHes rs
| opinion. If tho court erred at all, 1t was un-
| olestionably in recognizing the law OF Con-
| gress as forming part and parcel OF contracts
entered into subsequent to Its passage: IL Is
admitted on all sides that, practically, the ''de-
cislon" will have little, IT any, effect. YET,
under these circumstances, the country Is
grayely and by authority told that the ludS-
mcnt must be reversed And how
1t is stated here. in journal careful OF its
words. on the authority OF senators, that the
President has declared that no man shall DC
nut In the vacant seats upon the bench Oh the
Supreme Court ''who is not pledged. in ad-
vance to unite with the dissenting judges IN
reversing the decision just rendered" IS IL
the purpose, in this matter Of the present En-
ecutiye and the majority in Congress, to tcst 60
| the utmost the forbearance of the people! ls
It not enough that Congress threatens the
court, on the one hand, to destroy its iunc, nc
tions, and, on the other, by increasing the
number OF Judges to subsldlze its judgments
Is the country TO be now informed that the
whole Jurisprudence of the country, so far Us 1t
depends upon the judicial decisions OF the Sill
preme Court. is to be submitted to unscrupu-
ious partisan Reconstruction ?"
In the vehement efforts of the Chronicle to
ret Judge Strong confirmed, this point is dis
tinctly made, aud his decision or ipSe diGit
while OIL the Supreme bench In Pennsylvania
quoted in proof of his Willingness to upset the
decision Just made. Indeed, 1t is upon all-
thority" announced that both he and Mr. Brad
ley have "pledged" themselves ''in advance" to
General Grant, not only upon This. Out othcr
specific points oflaw, long since thought TO be
well settled. It is, therefore, no longer q
question whether the Su u'rc:nn Court Is here
after TO act as conservative obstacle to the en-
croachmcnts OF Federal authority. The thing IS
plain that it is to be used as an engine ol further
oppression, and US means OF wholesale pecila-
lion Such revelation ought to conVilse the
country-but will It? The idea that any man
flt To be q Judge of the Supreme Court would
pledge himself Tin advance" upon u particle
lar POINT, sure TO come before him for adjudi-
cation las the price of his appontment) is suf-
ticiently alarming. But what Is the country to
anticipate as to Its liberties, or the people as
to their property or personal safety, when the
purpose to exact such 'plcdgcs' IS openly
avowed? We all know what sort OF Judge
Jeflres was. But history excuses King James
clal brutality as the incentive for his employ
ment Let the people ponder upon the fol-
lowing piece of bralen impudence from the
Court Journal:
"Happily for the country the last decision is
not beyond cure. There arc other cases which
must soon como before the court when the
two vacancies are filled by the President and
Scnate-cascs involving the same principle,
and we are confident Of The reversal of that
mos most damaging decree if the new justices are
selected with distinct reference TO their s.lown
oninions on these great statutes enacted 10
save the republic. On this point there should
be neither mystery nor reserve The prospect
of speedy reversal Of the last decision Of the
court will be good news to che country"