Year: 1868

uO viz bCau' 4Ay uOOk oPShSu 0hS"'y5 s"~


widder looked in and exclaimed


There tits, MIR. Ringer I think it the


finest specimen of the monkey tribe ever


seen in this country


Dankhe 7 said the Dutchman, Il dakes


i'm, and thcreupon left without the pleas


ure of any further conversation with the


charming widow on the delicate subject Of


matrimony. Do you wonder that l now find


no pleasure in the word widder ?


| sS&Se--


Judge Woodward Endorsed.


The thorough business men Of Philalel.


phia endorse in the strongest manner, the


positions taken by our distinguished repre-.


sentative in his great speech on the Public


Finances. They approve his principles and


the bold application Of them. In the Money


article of the PuJhc Ledger, of the 22d inst, ,


which is edited with more ability, in that
department, than any other journal in Phil,
adelpha arc the following words, viz:


Judge Woodward Of this State made
speech in Congress last week on the subject
Of the finances and the national debt, which
commands attention beyound its arguments,
from the position the speaker holds as
prominent member Of the party with which
he is cassed He takes the issue with Gen
eral Butler, who, in his arguments in favor
Of paying the principal of the national debt
in deprecated legal tenders, exempts the in
debtcdness Of the Government contracted in
coin, and when the basis of the currency was
specie. Judge Woodward shows that the
General is not true to the cause he ospoused,
for the reason that the legal tender act ap.
piled to millions Of private debts contracted
on a gold basis, which have been liquidated in
deprecated legal tender notes. The legal
tender act, the courts have decided, applied
to all antecedcnt debt, public and private.
If it is right and lawful to exempt public
debt contracted in gold from the operation
of the legal tender act, the Judge asks why
should not private debts enjoy the same ex-
emption? This question is pertinent to the
matter at issue, aud is of much force in get.
ting back 10 right premises. The Supreme
Court has not yet passed on the Constitu.
tionality of the legal trnder act, and the
right and power Of the Government to make
anything but gold and silver legal tender,
under any circumstance, has been very
gravcly questioned by tile legal and judicial
mind, as well as the public generally
throughout tho entire country The opposi-
tion-legal, judicial, and pcpular-have al
most universally condemned the issue Of
grecnbacks as violation of the Constitution,
while the party authorizing their issuc-le-
gal and judicial-havc generally justified the
act only as war measure" and rested its
legality upon the basis of the right, duty,
and necessity Of the nation preserving its
own existence from extreme peril. Taking
the most favorable view oft, there is no just
fcation for any further issue Of legal tender
paper currency, for there is now no war
necessity" Any further issue or use of
them as convenience would be n great
wrong to the entire creditor class Of the eonl-
munity, and a sure impoverishnent of all
those who are dependent upon fixed incomes.
These things being true, with the uncertain
ty of confirmation by the Supreme Court Of
the constitutionality Of the law, does not
good policy and wisdom invite to the disuse Of
this questionable currency? Judge Wood
ward says very emphatically, that he does
not believe that Congress has any Constitu-
tional power to make grecnbacks legal ten
der, and, having filled the office of Chief
Justice of this Commonwealth, he is GER
tainly no mean authority but SO far as the
Courts have decided otherwise, he felt bound
to respect the act as Constitutional; and if
Congress had the power to make the law, ii
was equally binding on all the classes Of cred
itors, public as well as private. Hence, so
long as two species of legal tender, differing
widely in value, were kept up, he should fa-
yor the paying of all debts, not expressly
excepted, in the cheapest; but believing it
to be an evil example, destructive OF that
good faith which should belong to all coun-
tries, violative of the Constitutional rights
of citizens, and not within the delegated
power of Congress, he would vote to wipe
all such stains out of the statute book. The
effect of repeating that bad legislation would
be happy. 1t would take away the ugly
question started by Mr.. Pendleton; because
instead of leveling the bondholders down to
other creditors, it would level the other cred
itors UP to the bondholders. 1twould bring
the country back to gold and silver, the con-
stitutional currency" This is sound and
reasonable. and will more directly and more
reach a resumption OF specie
payments than any other means yet sug'
rested. We would not have the public debt
paid otherwise than in coin, for that was, no
ioubt the spirit Of the contract when tho
money was borrowed, but would have all
other creditors levellcd up to those who arc
creditors Of the Government The sooner