The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-16
THE LEGAL-TENDER ACT.

From the London Times.
The last mail from America has brought us
the full report of the judgment of the Su-
preme Court of the United States upon a case
of considerable direct Importance to many on
this side the Atlantic, and interesting to all,
as illustrating, perhaps beyond any other,
the peculiarities of the United States Consti-
tuition. In February, 1862, when the civil
war was still young, Congress passed an act
which was Immediately approved in due form
by President Lincoln, authorizing the Secre-
tary of the Treasury to issue $3.50, 900, 900 in
United States notes payable to bearer, and
the act declared that such notes ''shall be
lawful money and legal-tender in payment
of all debts, public and private, within the
United States, except duties on imports and
interest" upon the bonds and notes of the
federation. This act was but the first of'a
series continually increasing the amount of
the notes issued under the same conditions,
until at last the total issued approached
$3.50, 100000. At the time it was passed
Mr.. Chase was the Secretary of the Trea-
sury, and the measure was introduced, as
were most of the other measures OF the same
character, under his auspices, as part OF the
plans recommended to Congress for raising
money to prosecute the war. Eight years have
since elapsed; Mr.. Chase, the Secretary of
the Treasury of 1862, has for some time
been Chief Justice Chase of the Supreme
Court of the Union, and by a singular for
tune it has come to pass that the validity OF
the act of 1862, initiated under the superin-
tendence of the Secretary, has been submitted
for the decision of the Court presided over
by the Judge. In the result 1T has been de-
cided by ma jority of the Court that the act
was entirely unconstitutional and void, sofar
| as it affected to make the transferable notes,
| the issue of which it authorized, legal
| tender in discharge of past debts, and that
| Congress transcended its proper powers In
| attempting to confer such a privilege on the
notes. TO complete the singularity OF the
position, it fell to the lot of the Chief Justice
| not only to pronounce the decision of the
majority, but also to make it by his vote the
decision of a majority. The case was heard
| by seven judges, and, omltting the Chlef
Justice, three were for supporting and three
| for annulling the act of Congress. Chlet
Justice Chase heroically joined in sacrificing
what we may call his own offspring,
and in his Judgment made the
amplest confession of the error
Congress had perpetrated. The act OF the
Supreme Court in annulling the retrospective
action of the Legal-tender act must go lar TO
reassure those who feared that the authority
of the judicature had been irremedlably
weakened by the civil war IN America IL
would not, we believe, be possible to men,
tion a decision Of more momentous import
ance, or one the grounds of which were more
independently Investigated. 1t is true that a
cry has been already raised in some quarters
in America that the Senate must not approve
any fresh appointments to the Court unless
they are satisfied that the persons appointed
dissent from the recent Judgment; but it is
difficult to believe that "a law-abiding peo-
pie" would seriously think of striking SO fatal
blow at the integrity of the administration
of Justice. Dismissing this outrageous sug.
gestion, il must be observed that the result
of the trial comes home in very practical
sense to many in England and in Germany.
The holders of the securities of all the States
except Massachusetts have, since 1862, been
paid in paper their interest accruing under
bonds given before that date, and some
of them whose bonds have matured have
been paid off in the same depreciated
medium. They have consistently protested