Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1884-03-04
THE LEGAL.TENDER CASE
Decided by the Supreme Court in Ia vOi
of the Notes.

WASHINGTON, March 3.-A decision was
rendered by the Supreme Court of the
United States to-day in the long-pending
legal-tender case OF August d. Juillard Us.
Thomas S. Greenman, brought here by a
writ OF error to the Circuit Court of the
United States for the Southern District of
New York. The question presented by
this case, as stated by the court, is wheth-
er notes of the United States issued in
time of war, under acts OF Congress de-
claring them to be legal tender in pay
ment OF private debts, and afterward in
time of peace redeemed and paid in gold
at the Treasury, and then reissued under
the act of 1873, can, under the
constitution of the United States, be
legal tender in payment OF such
debts. The court is unanimously OF the
| opinion that the present case cannot be
| distinguished in principle from the cases
heretofore decided and reported under
| the names of illegal teiider cases." -
Wall, 457 Dooly Is. Smith, Is Wall, GOA;
| Railroad Company Us. johnson, Is Wall,
| 1876; Maryland Us. Railroad Company, %
Wall, l05 and all the justices, excepting
| Justice Field who adheres to his views
| expressed in his dissenting opinion in
| those cases, are OF the opinion that they
| were rightly decided. The court holds,
| therefore, that Congress has power to issue
| Obligations of the United States in such
| form, and to impress upon them
| such qualities as currency for the pur-
| chase of merchandise and the payment of
debts, in accord with the usages of sovereign
| governments. The power, as incident to
| the power OF borrowing money and issu-
| ing bills and notes of the government for
| money borrowed, and of impressing upon
| those bills or notes the quality OF legal
I tpndnr n l1TI
| was power universally understood to be-
| long to sovereignty in Europe and Amer
| lea at the time OF the framing and
| adoption ofthe constitution OF the United
| States. This power OF making notes OF
| the United States legal tender in the pay
| ment of private debts, being included in
| the power 10 borrow money and to
| provide for a national currency, is
not defeated or restricted by the fact
| that its exercise may affect the value of
| private contracts. If, upon just aud fair
Interpretation OF the whole constitution,
a particular power or authority appears to
| be vested in the Congress, it is no consti-
| tutional objection to its existence or to ex-
| ercise that the property or contracts of indi-
| viduals may be incidentally affected. Con-
! gress, the Court says, in conclusion, "as
| legislation sovereign OF the nation, being
| expressly authorized by the constitution
| to levy and collect taxes to pay debts and
provide for the common defense and
| general welfare of the United
| States, and to borrow money on
| the credit Of the United States and
| to coin money and regulate the value
| thereof and of foreign coin, and it being
clearly authorized as incidental to the ex-
| ercise OF those great powers to emit bills of
/ credit, to charter national banks AMI pro-
vide a national currency for the whole
people, form coin, treasury notes and
national bank bills, and power to make
the notes OF the government legal tender
| in the payment of private debts, being one
of the powers belonging to sovereignty in
i other civilized nations, and not withheld
we are irresistibly impelled to the
| conclusion that impressing upon treasury
| notes OF the United States the quality of
being legal tender in payment OF private
| debts, as an appropriate means conducive
| and plainly adapted to the execution of
| the undoubted powers of Congress, con-
| sistent with the letter and spirit of the
| constitution, therefore within the mean
1 ing of that instrument, is necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the
l powers vested by this constitution in the
| government OF the United States. Such
| being our conclusion in the matter OF
| law the question whether ut any
| particular time in war or in peace
| the exigency is such by reason
of unusual and pressing demands on the
resources of the government, or OF the
inadequacy of the supply of gold and sill
| yer coin to furnish currency needed for
the use of the government and of the
people, that it is, as matter of fact, wise
| and eNpedient to resort to this means, is a
| political question, to be determined by
Il a Il
arises, and not 4 judicial question,
TO be afterward passed upon by the
courts. 1t follows that the act OF
May 81, 1873, is constitutional and valid
and that the court rightly held that the
tender in treasury notes reissued and
kept in circulation under that act was q
| tender OF lawful money in payment of TIE
defendants debts to plaintiff. The judg.
ment of the Circuit Court is affirmed.
| Opinion by Justice Gray, Justice Field
/ dissenting.
\ decision was also rendered by the
court in what are generally known as the
five per cent. land cases, namely, the State
of Iowa and State OF Illinois Is. Noah G.
Mcfarland, Commissioner Of the General
| Land Office. The writs of mandamus
prayed for are therefore refused and the
| petitions dismissed. Opinion by Justice
Gray, Justices Miller and Field dissenting
| 4 decision was also rendered in what
are known as the kuklux cases, which
stand on the original docket under the Ii.
tie OF E-c sssls in the matter OF jasper
Marlborough and others" They are peti
tions foT writs of habcas corp,is to release 8
number of persons now imprisoned under
Judgment OF the United States Circuit
Court for the Northern District OF Geor
gia. rende ed after the trial and
conviction of the prisoners for the
offense OF threatening, beating and
otherwise maltreating colored voter:
at the election in Georgia for a mem
Der of Congress. The principal ques
ton presented relates to the constitution
| ality of the law under which the prisoner
are held. Justice Miller, speaking for ths
court, in an elaborate opinion decided
that the offense set forth in the indict
ment is fully covered by sections 550S ant
$500 of the Revised Statutes, and that ths
law was constitutional. The judgment o
the lower court is affirmed.
4 decision was also rendered in the i'm
portant and long pending land cases o
Alfred Slideil and others, ,appellants,a ,agsins
George Granijeant and others, hrough
here by appeal from the United State
A G;rc,,it Eo,1rf for the Eastaru Dizfrief n