Year: 1874




by Judge Wright; Judge Moses concur.
ring and Judge Willard dissenting. The
Treasurer has appealed to the United
States Supreme Court, on the ground that
the "certi6cates of Indebtedness" arc bills
of credit.


The questions involved in this suit are
of great public importance, and we, there
fore. desire to direct attention to them.


The motive that induced some of the
parties to procure the passage of acts by
the Legislature authorizing the issue Of
certificates of indebtedness" to them, re-
ceivable fo7 or redeemable out of the
taxes, is not very creditable to them
They saw that the amount of tax levied
! to pay their claims would be insufficient
TO pay all of the claims. They were,
therefore, determined to make sure Of
theirs, without any regard Of what may
become of the rest, and they resorted to
this device of the issue of Certificates of
Indebtedness" and thus be actually paid
in full six or nine months before the tax
is collected that was levied to pay them,
the Certificates" being receivable for oil
taxes.


The Treasurer, perceiving the injustice
of this measure, by which those who held
claims for legislative expenses for the last
and several previous sessions-printing
bills and such other claims-endeavored,
by the issue Of Certificates" to obtain an
advantage over the claims Of the public
institutions, the free schools and the sala-
ries of the State and county ofhcers-who
were not authorized to receive "certi6-
tes"-refused to issue them, on the
ground that such action would be uncon-
stitutional in several respects. First, be-
cause the tax for deficiencies was levied to
pay all deficiencies, and not some only
and, if insufficient for the purpose of Ii
quidating all the claims against it, then
some pro rata distribution should bo
adopted; but if it is to be confined to
some, then let those be the most deserv-
ing and not the most unworthy.


Second, the amount Of certificates
authorized to be issued was in excess of
the deficiency tax out of which alone they
were redeemable and if issued and re-
ceivable for all taxes, as they were by
law, would, therefore, have necessarily to
be redeemed out of taxes levied for en-
tirely different purposes. If this is not a
violation of that section Of the Constitu-
ton which requires tax to be applied to
the purposes for which it was levied, then
we certainly don't know what is. The
levying of q tax is contract with the
people who pay it; if they perceive that
the object for which it is to be levied is an
unlawful and unconstitutional one, they
can successfully resist its payment in the
courts but if the tax is to be obtained
from them under one pretext, and then,
after it is obtained Cor by this device Of
the issue of certificates of indebtedness" !"
in anticipation of its reception,) diverted
to another and entirely different purpose,
then it is not only violation of the Con.
stitution, but shabby trick in the bar.
gain. by which that violation can be tenn
porarily concealed from those who do not
give the subject that consideration which
it deserves.


But there is another constitutional OBJ.
lection which is, if possible, more impor-
tant. The Treasurer refused to issue
these Certificates" because they were
"bills Of credit" which the United States
Constitution forbids any State issuing
The grounds of this objection were 80 ably
stated by the Treasurers counsel that it is
not necessary to repeat them here. We
would call the attention Of the public,
however, to another aspect Of the case.
Certificates of Indebtedness" have all
tho evils of deprecated currency. When
they wero issued last December, although
they we're receivable for taxes at the time
of their issue, their purchasing power, as
compared to greenbacks, was at discount
of 25 to 80 per cent Persons who have
to deal with the State charge, on a green
back basis more than what the work
really deserves, on account of the delay
and uncertainty of payment; but if they
have to contract on the basis of "certlfi
Gates of indebtedness" which can be ex
changed for greenbacks only at a discount
of so per cent, it will be perceived at
once that the expenses Of the State gov
ernment will have to be doubled, and,
therefore, the taxes will have to be dou,
bled, also, and we shall have in addition
all the other evils which have invariably