The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-03-21
rha. Tast Case.

We cannot saw that we hope for muc''
rood to result from The case w 'sna1s1' uo.s
"a, HrrIEn ana MIR. cHfrrESDEa are aoou'
10 ges up In order TO test the consumes" :.
alltv Of making greenbacks a iega. .ehuv,
In TIM. Of peace. Prima tdc.e " Woo:u
aee,e n he absurd to hold that the issue OF
srea.urv notes as money is constitutional IN
limo :, war bu. unconstitutional in time OF
-ncace. seeing that there Is not word IN tue
! CONSTITUTION itself on the subject. ofcoairse
arch provision might have been inc DEP
rated in the Constitution, and all room
FOR doubt on the question been avoaese".
But the fact is that the Constitution . 20.
tallv silent on the point aud therefore II
will be difficult to establish the doctrane tna1
IL allows one sort Of le-ai tender at one .'lne
.nt, another at another. Whatever section
!, nr c,ouse NAV be relied upon to prove tnas
.c,reenbacks may constitutionaliy De maae u
rseoa, tender when war is fragrant must al
: ford pretty fair presumption for the doc-
trine that they may be made legal tendel
at any time. The genera'-weiiare
c,ense and others can as easily be APP
plied in the piping times OF peace as
: Mt any other time. IL Congress has the flgnt
TO iudye that the "generai welfare . de-
mauds the making Of greenbacks legal
tender whilst q war is going on, IL faust
have the same right when war - imn'-
= nent, or when an invasion is threatened, OF
when the yeIlow-fever or floods deso'a'e q
large extent OF territory, or when So'a anu
Z silver become too scarce to be used az cur
rercy, or, in a word, whenever Congress
NAV in its isdom decide that "the general
welfare ,, demands such measure.
So as to the clause OF the Constitution
which gives to Congress the right 10
= exercise all the power which may be neces.
sary to the carrying out OF the powers spe-
= ciically granted. II under this grant Con
press has power to make greenbacks Iegai
= tender in time OF war, it must have the
. power to make them legal tender IN time
= OF peace. There is nothing In the nature oil
a war which can in the absence OF words IN.
the Constitution on that point supplement-
or add to the discretionary power OF Con-
: gress. That body could Judge" as well
in peace rs war that it could not carry OUT
some OF the grants in the Constitution
without exercising the power OF making
treasury notes legal tender. -
at present, it may be unnecessary 10
saw. green backs are a legal tender. But
ms courts are proverbially ingenious. and
especially in making the law conform 10
the exigencics OF the moment, it may be
possible that the Supreme Court OF the
United States will decide that greenbacks
issued or rciSsued in time OF peace cannot
be made legal tender, though we consider
it more likely that that tribunal Will decide
,out-and-out that they cannot constitution
ally be made lcga! tender at all. Sup.
pose, however, that the court should decide
that point Us we have stated, would
it stop the discussion of the subject
Would it prevent Congress from making
greenbacks receivable for all dues to the
GoycrnRent? Would it prevent the issue
OF lust rs many hundreds OF millions OF
them as the party in power might he deemed
necessary to the welfare Of the country or
to their own purposes BY no means. Did
the decision of the Supreme Court in the
bred Scott case put a stop to the abolition
movement? Or, in the United States Bank
case, to the efforts Of General JACKSON to
overthrow that bank? Not at all. So IL
the Supreme Court were to decide that
yrcenbacks cannos now be made lesa ten
der, the agitation Of the question OF their
issue as bank notes are issued-that is, for
convenence-could not be stopped.