The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1872-01-18
tOustitutionnliiy os the legal
Tender Act.


At las, the final decision of the
United States Supreme { ,rrt On tn,
Legal tea Ter ac: has been delivered.
air. Justice Strong rca the opiuior
on Monday, affirming tn, constitution
atty of tho ac; Of February 25, 1867
The opinion IS IN able and elaborate
ca, being exhaustive on III, sihicct
o! The cJn,t..utilnality Of the a.t. The
ia,.owiug eXtr4e's arJ taken from
JUS ice Stroug's opin or
The debts which have been contra =
ted since February ~, 1862, arc by
ilr The greatest portion OF the indcLt
c4UcSs Of the country. They wore
contracted in view of the acts of Com
rrcss declaring Treasury notes a H..
gal icudcr, and in reliance upon tha,
declaration lega!-tender notes have be-
como the universal measure OF values.
now the decision uf the court cstb-
fishes that these obligations cen DO
discharged only ty gold coin, and that
contrary to the expectation of all par
ties TO contracts, leeal.tcnder notes
are rendered unavailable the & oyern.
ment nas become an instrument OF the
.'rosse,t injustice, all debtors aie loa-
dcl with al obligation it was never
contemplated ihoy should assume, a
large percentage is added to crerv
debt, ANA such must become the do
maud Tor gold TO satisfy contracts.
'hot iulncus sacrifices, general distress
and bankruptcy may be expected
These consequences arc too obvious to
admit OF question, AMI there j. no well
ipundc1 distinction 10 hc made boz
tween the constitutional vaEIity or an
act .! Congress declaring Treasury
notes lcsal tender for tl, payment
of debts cluirc'tti after i,s passage.
aud that otan act making them .e
"t, tluicr for the discharge OF all debt,
o, wthas those incurred before o.
fa-sl made after Il, enactment. Their,
may be "a difference IN The ci,oct. pro
duocd by the a,t nri IN the hardship
of The conditions iu both cases.
The fundamental question, that
which tests ;h, validity Of the lcgisIa.
tiOn, Is, can Congress uousliuiioually
give to Treasury notes tho character
"ni qualities Of money Can such
notes hc constituted Legitimate cir.
culaling medium, having defined
legal value ? If they eau, then such
retcs mast be available 10 fulfil all
coHtrlcts not expressly excepted, sol
va6lc in moacy without rcfcreac, to
the time when the contracts were
madc. 1t is not therefore strange
that tAosI who hOll the lcgal-
tender acts unconstitutional when ap-
piled 10 contracts made before Fcbru-
AIRY, 1852, find thomsclIcs compelled
also TO hold that tho acts are invalid
as 70 debts created after that time,
aal to hold that both classes Of debts
alike can be di'charyed only by gold
aud silver coin.
\ lengthy examination of the ru les
0! constitutional construction il maIn,
and the conclusion is that Consres,
hls authority ia all cases to enact
laws necessary and proper for the cx.
ccu,iDn Of all powers created by the
constitution, and that the necessity
spDken Of is not absolute, tut within
the jud Iemsnt anl discretion Of Con
gtes'.
This decision oycrrllcs 90 much Of
what was decided i'm Hepburn vs..
Griswold Is Wall, 703l as ruloi the
legal tender acts unwagran,ol by the
Constitution SO far rs they apply 10
contracts made before their enactment.
1t is said that it is no unprecedented
thing. .in courts Of the last resort, both
in this country aud in England to
oycrraIc decisions previously made
aud that even in eases involving pri-
vatc interests. II This court is con.
wheel il has made n mistakc, it will
hear another argument anI correct the
other. 1t is agreed that this should
nnt be done iucon'idcrltcly, bat 10
case Of such flrroachiug conselucu-
ccs as tho present, thoroughly con-
'lbNtN ~ buc NbhNb - AHAb 'UNSl9NN
has net transgrcsscl its powers, it is
reGarle ~ duty SO u icciie and to
affirm the Judgments below in both ca
scs, 1t is also remarked that the
court Is not accustomed 10 hear such
eases in the ab.eGce OF fail court it
it can he avoided.
In concluding the Chief
Justice says II, than, the plain sense |
Of words, ifths c0nlomporancou' ex.
position OF parties, it common consent
~ understanding, if tho opinion OF
courts, avail anything in de;ermjpin.
the mcaujl: Of tho Constitution, it
seems impossible 10 dOIbt that the
power to establish uniform st,nl-
ard, or values, and that no other pow.
rrs to establish such STANDARD, is
conirrrcl upaa Congress by th5 Con-
sii,u,ion.
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