Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1878-09-11
THE MONEY QUESTION.
LEGAL TENDER NOTES AND THEIR CON.
sTITUTIoNALITY.

, readers upon this subject, which i
I again agitating the public mind, W,
lay before them the elaborate opinion
Of Judge Sharswood, delivered in th,
District Court Of Philadelphia in Feb
ruary, 1863, in the case of Borie VS.
Trott The District Court, in banc
had before it two cases in which tn,
' constitutionality of the act of Con
gress Of February 25th, 1862, making
United States notes legal tender, wal
involved. In one of the cases the par
ty had offered legal tender notes il
payment of mortgage, and the money
was refused, and the party called into
Court. Judges Hare and Stroud do
livered the majority opinion OF the
Court, affirming that the tender of the
United States notes was legal, mas
much as Congress, under the Consti-
tuition, had the authority to pass the
act Of February 25th, 1862 Judge
Sharswood delivered dissenting opin.
ion, in which he held that Congress
had no power under the Constitution
to make notes o legal tender in pay.
ment of debts, and is as follows;
If any point may be considered as
well settled it is, that the Constitution
of the United States is a special grant
or delegation of limited powers to the
Federal Government, at has been
truly said,p observes G. J. Marshall in
the United States VS.. Fisher q Cranch,
2l2) "that under q Constitution con.
ferring specific powers, the power con.
tended Tor must be granted or it can
not be exercised" The same thing
has been affirmed by Mr.. Justice Story
in Martin VS.. Hunters lessee {! Wheat.
326) "The Government Of the Uni
ted States can claim no powers, which
are not granted to it by the Constitu.
ton, and the powers actually granted,
must be such as are expressly given or
given by necessary implication And
not to multiply citations-on so clear
a principle-again by G. j. Marshall
in Mccullough VS.. The State of Mary
land, "a Wheat. 4O5) "This govern
ment is acknowledged by all to be one
of enumerated powers. The principle
that it can exercise only the powers
granted to it, would seem too apparent
to have required to be enforced by all
those arguments, which its enlighten.
cd friends, while it was depending be-
fore the people, found il necessary to
urge That principle is nop uaicersdly
admitted"
1t follows that to sustain the consti.
tutionality Of an act Of Congress-to
determine that it is a law-an author.
ity Tor il must be afiirmatively shown.
That authority must exist in the Con.
stitution in express words or the act
must appear to be necessary and proper
the carrying into execution some power
or powers vested in Congress- in the
government of the United States, or in
some department or officer thereof.
By this rule we are now to decide,
whether that clause of the act of Con
gress approved Feb. 25, 1862, entitled
"An act to authorize the issue of Uni
ted States Notes, and for the REDEEM
tion or funding thereof, and for fund
ing the floating debt of the United
States which provides that the notes
issued in pursuance Of that act "shall
be lawful money, and legal tender in
payment of all debts public and pri.
vate"-is or is not law Of the land.
The counsel of the defendant-rec.
ognizing that on him rested tho bur.
den of maintaining the affirmative of
this issue-claimed that the provision
referred to was an exercise Of authori-
ty vested in Congress under one or an.
other of the following clauses of the
enumeration in Section 8 of Article
PARAGRAPH 2.-To borrow money
on the credit of the United States:
PAR. 3. - To regulate commerce
with foreign nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian
tribes;
PAR. 5.-To coin money, regulate
the value thereof and of foreign coin,
and fix the standard of weights and
measures
Par. 49, TO make laws, which
shall be necessary and proper for car
rying into execution the foregoing
powers, and oil other powers vested
by the Constitution in the government
Of the United States or in any depart
ment or Office thereof.
propose to examine these clauses
with such other parts of the Constitu-
ton as have been supposed in the
course OF the argument TO illustrate
them ! feel some degree Of conf.
dencc, not only from the well-known
ability, learning and research of the
counsel for the defendant, but from
my own investigations, that if the act
of Congress in question cannot be sus-
tained on either of these clauses, il
cannot be sustained at all.
| will begin with the last paragraph |
of the enumeration, because its proper
construction has an important bearing
ON the others: Pan 49, "To make
all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the
foregoing powers will not here rc-
vert to political and controverted
grounds, nor to the arguments, by
which in the FederdliSt, No. A, and |
elsewhere the objections Of the enc.
mics of the Constitutios to the sweep.
ing words of this clause, were met and
answered by "its enlightened friends"
| mean to take exclusively as my guide
the principles, judicially settled by the
Supreme Court of the United States
in the leading case OF Mccullough vs..
the State Of Maryland, a Wheat. 3lG). /
The rule established in that case Is
well expressed by the reporter in the
syllabus. If the end be legitimate,
and with the scope of the Constitution
all the means which are appropriate,
which are plainly adapted 10 that end,
and which are not prohibited, may
constitutionally be employed to carry |
II into effect. Let us recur, however,
TO the very words OF the opinion as de-
livered by G. j. Marshall. ave think
the sound construction Of the Consti-
tuition must allow TO the National Leg.
islature that discretion, with respect
to the mcans,by which the powersit con-
fers are TO be carried into execution,
which will enable that body TO per
form the high duties assigned to 1t, in
the manner manner most beneficial to
the people. Let the end be legitimate,
let il be within the scope Of the Con-
stitution, and all means which are ap-
propratc, which arc plainly adapted
TO that end, and which are not Trohib.
tied, but consist with the letter and
spirit Of the Constitution, are constitu-
tional." =. 421.
This is certainly a very large char