The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1876-11-09

l
Revised Statutes changed the duty on .
particular class Of woods, and the stress
OF Judge Poland's argument was that the
Secretary should not construe the LAM
guage as making q change. unless its
plainness absolutely compelled him to
do so, it not having been the intention Of
Congress to make any change in any
thing. He says in his letter:
"The Committee repeatedly and pub
licly declared in the House their pur>
pose not to have the revision make any
change in the law, and in their action on
this subject they intended to act with
scrupulous regard to this pledge to the
House. understand very well that, in
the construction of a statute, its meaning
and purpose must mainly be sought in
its own language, but the history OF and
concurrent circumstances attending leg
islation have often been considered in
determining the true intent and mean
ing of a statute whose laneua left its
object and purpose obscure and doubtful
SO in the construction of any section of
the revision. where it becomes q qucs>
ton of doubt and difficulty whether q
change of law was intended, the fact
have stated above-than the Committee
SO often and so publicly declared their
purpose to make no change, and upon
which Congress acted lis matter prop
er to be considered"
II it is possible to establish anything,
tits established that any new matter in
the Revised Statutes was put there inn
properly and without the knowledge of
Congress. And certainly, the demon
etizing OF ali the silver coins Of the
| Uuited States was new matter. The act
of Feb. II, 1873. demonetized neither
the old silver dollar nor the smaller sill
yer coins OF full weight struck prior to
1858, OF which large numbers remain in
existence. The silver coined from 1892
to 1858, was dollars.I $2,558. 900; small
er coins, s85. .436. .376-
The act Of Feb. Z, 1878, demonetized
nothing except the peculiar and special
coins which it authorized. That act i'm
piled no obnoxious assertion of the right
to demonetize any coin of full weight.
Possibly the trade-dollar may be an ex.
ception, but the circumstances in that
case have been already sufficiently
moment, and without discussion in the
Senate, and never considered in the
House at all, the trade dollar may be q
bad precedent, but is certainly not .
weiyhty one.
II the motive OF the falsifcation of the
Revised Statutes, 10 respect to the de-
monetizati0n OF the United States silver
coins could be matter of doubt, abund>
ant light is thrown upon it by another
Justification in the same chapter, in res.
pect to foreign coins. To demonetize
United States silver coins would not, Of
itself, accomplish the thing aimed ut.
Everybody who is old enough TO re-,
collect the metallic money in use before
the proseqt.. era Of groenbacks, knows
that there. was more foreign than do
I thestic silver in circulation. OF The dol
lar piece, ninety nine in hundred has
always been either Spanish or Mexican.
The Constitution Contemplated and pro
vided tor the currency of foreign colds.
Congress has no power to make them y
legal tender, or to prohibit their being q
tender, having no jurisdiction. OF any
kind in the matter OF tender. The only
power it has in respect to foseign coins
is to regulate their value" that is to
declare at what rates they. shall be q
tender, and, as Col. Benton once said, it
4 is q preposter0us perversiOn OF such q
power to prohibit their USE az tender
altogether. Ii Congress did that in the
Revised Statutes. it was not by intention.
but on the assurance that no. new matter
had been introduced.
| The better TO avert observation from
their real attack, which was upon silver
they put into the chapter on money =
prohibition of both gold and silver coins
as tender. They refer in the margin
TO the following third section Of the act
Of Feb. 21, 1851.
| THAT all former acts authorizing the
currency Of foreign gold and silver coins
and declaring the same . tender in the
payment Of debts ars hereby repealed !;
out it shall be the duty Of the Director Of
the Mint to cause assays TO be made from
time to time Of such foreign coins a.
may be known 70 our commerce, to de-
termine their average weight. fosness.
and value, and to embrace in his annual
report . statement Of the results there~
or"
Who were the falsi6ers Of the Revised
Statutes il - indeterminable - tho
question whether the late SnItsn Of Tur-
key persisted By suicide or assassination.
The committee or the revisegs. An
actual. critical examination Of every
part VI such an immencs work cOnld
not be made BY members Of Congress
without nsglecting sIl their other duties.
It IS impossible to locais tho responsi-
bility whore 20 ,nany were employed IN
various capacities. and whore oppor-
tunites were 80 numerous ior aFtful sug-
gesti0ns from persons mot employed.
What We know with certainty il I'll
that " nesd 70 know. andthss =, what
Iclaaees and interests, hsrs ard ~
Europs, pro6ted by the fa1ai6catioal
ard 4bo the mea sSo who noU fn1f1e
Gaosas y. Nassos.