What are the as to legal tender? 97. 84. 71. 100. There is no express grant of power to make gold and restrictions silver, or any thing else, a legal tender. Metropolitan Bank v. Van Dyck, 27 N. Y. Rep. 426. But the power has been uniformly exercised ever since the foundation of the government, unquestioned by any department of the Federal and State governments. This contemporaneous construction is to be received as evidence of the power. (Martin v. Hunter, 1 Wh. 421; Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wh. 421; Briscoe v. The Bank of Kentucky, 11 Pet. 527; Moors v. The City of Reading, 21 Penn. 188; Norris v. Clymer, 2 Penn. 277; The People v. Green, 2 Wend. 274; The People v. Coutant, 11 Wend. 511.) Metropolitan Bank v. Van Dyck, 27 N. Y. Rep. 427-8. A discretionary power must exist somewhere in every government. Story's Const. § 425; Anderson v. Dunn, 6 Wh. 204, 220; Metropolitan Bank v. Van Dyck, 27 N. Y. Rep. 429. Is intrinsic The intrinsic value of the metal on which money is coined is of no value of con- consequence. Id. 430. sequence? 97. What is a standard? What is a ton? 101. What is a standard Where a party deposited money with his banker upon general principles, it became a loan to the bank, which fact is not overruled by the word "gold," against the amount on the depositor's bank book. In such cases a tender of United States legal tender treasury notes is sufficient. The depositor cannot demand gold as his special deposit. Thompson v. Riggs, 5 Wallace. 101. "To FIX THE STANDARD OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES." To Fix is to make permanent, to regulate. Webster's Dic. Fix. A STANDARD is that which is established by authority, as the rule to measure a quantity, as a gallon, a pound, or a weight. Webster. The States are not expressly inhibited from exercising this power; and in the absence of Congressional legislation, it has been tolerated. Rawle's Const. 102; Story's Const. § 1122. 102. "WEIGHts and MeasuRES."-A "ton" is twenty hundred weight; each hundred weight being 112 pounds. Act of 30th Aug., 1842. 1 Brightly's Dig. 370, § 218. The brass troy pound weight, procured by the Minister of the United States in London, in the year 1827, for the use of the mint, pound of U. and now in the custody of the director thereof, shall be the standard troy pound of the mint of the United States, conformably to which the coin thereof shall be regulated. S.? How often is standard regulated? What is the standard of spirit weight? It shall be the duty of the director of the mint to procure and safely keep a series of standard weights corresponding to the aforesaid troy pound, consisting of a one-pound weight, and the requisite subdivisions and multiples thereof, from the hundredth part of a grain to twenty-five pounds. And the troy weights ordinarily employed in the transactions of the mint, shall be regulated, according to the above standards, at least once in every year, under his inspection; and their accuracy tested annually in the presence of the assay commissioners, on the day of the annual assay. Act of 19th May, 1838, 4 St. 278; §§ 3, 4; 1 Brightly's Dig. p. 635, SS 46, 47. What proof spirit shall be held and taken to be that alcoholic liquor which contains one-half its volume of alcohol of a specific gravity of seven thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine ten thou sandths (7,939) at sixty degrees Fahrenheit; and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to adopt, procure, and prescribe for use such hydrometers, weighing and gauging instruments, meters, and other means for ascertaining the strength and quality of spirits subject to tax, &c., and to insure a uniform and correct system of inspection, weighing and gauging spirits subject to tax throughout the United States, &c. Act of 2d March, 1867, 14 St. 481. The following is the first general act of Congress which I find on the subject of weights and measures; and certainly it is of sufficient importance to occupy a place in a Manual of this kind:CHAP. CCCI.-"An Act to authorize the use of the Metric System of Act of 28th Weights and Measures. July, 1866, 14 St., 339, Be it enacted, &c., That from and after the passage of this 340. act it shall be lawful throughout the United States of America to What is the employ the weights and measures of the metric system; and no standard of weights and contract or dealing, or pleading in any court, shall be deemed measures? invalid or liable to objection because the weights or measures expressed or referred to therein are weights or measures of the metric system. 2. The tables in the schedule hereto annexed shall be recognized The metric in the construction of contracts, and in all legal proceedings, as system. establishing, in terms of the weights and measures now in use in What schedule shall be the United States, the equivalents of the weights and measures recognized? expressed therein in terms of the metric system; and said tables may be lawfully used for computing, determining, and expressing in customary weights and measures the weights and measures of the metric system. What power [6.] To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting as to coun- the securities and current coin of the United States. terfeiting? What is 103. COUNTERFEITING. [Law Latin, Contrafactum.] That which counterfeit is made in imitation of something, but without lawful authority, or ing? contrary to law, and with a view to pass the false for the true. (Wharton's Lex.) Burrill's Law Dic., COUNTERFEITING. The making in the semblance of true gold or silver coin any coin having in its composition a less proportion of the precious metal than is contained in the true coin, with intent to pass the same; or the altering of coin of lesser value, so as to make it resemble coin of the higher value. Paschal's Annotated Digest, Arts. 2113, 2114. See the Act to Punish, 1 Brightly's Dig., p. 215, Whether Congress has power to provide for the punishment of passing counterfeit coin, has been doubted. This power is cer- Have the tainly possessed by States. Metropolitan Bank v. Van Dyck, States power to punish 27 N. Y. 420. But Congress may, without doubt, provide for counterfeitpunishing the offense of bringing into the United States, from a ing? foreign place, false, forged, and counterfeit coins made in the similitude of coins of the United States; and also for the punishment of the offense of uttering and passing the same. United States v. Marigold, 9 How. 560; Metropolitan Bank v. Van Dyck, 27 N. Y. Rep. 450. In Fox v. Ohio, 5 How. 435, Mr. Justice McLean dissented; and insisted that Congress has the right (and has exercised it) to punish the uttering of counterfeit coin; and therefore the States have not the same power. The right to punish the counterfeiting of the public coin is vested exclusively in Congress; and it cannot be concurrently exercised by the States; and such a State law is void. Mattison v. The State of Missouri, 3 Mo., 421. In Fox v. The State of Ohio, this court have taken care to point out that the same Act might, as to its character, tendencies, and consequences, constitute an offense against both the State and the Federal governments, and might draw to its commission the penalties denounced by either, as appropriate to its character in reference to each. (Fox v. Ohio, 5 How. 433.) United States v. Marigold, 9 How. 560; Story's Const. § 1123, note 4. And see United States v. King, 5 McLean, 203; United States v. Burns, Ibid. 23;. United States v. Brown, 4 Ibid, 142; United States v. Morrow, 4 W. C. C. R. 733; United States v. Gardner, 10 Pet. 618; Commonwealth v. Hutchinson, 2 Pars. 354; United States v. Hutchinson, 7 Penn. Law J. 365. [7.] To establish post-offices and post-roads. of these 104. "ESTABLISII" is the ruling term; post-offices and post- What is the roads are the subjects on which it acts. The power is thereby just import given to fix on towns, court houses, and other places throughout words, and our Union, at which there should be post-offices, the routes by the extent which mails should be carried from one post-office to another, to fix of the grant? the rate of postage, and to protect the post-offices and mails from robbery. (President Monroe's Message, 4th May, 1822, pp. 24-27.) Story's Const. § 1129, note 2, of third edition. Define The word " ESTABLISH," in other parts of the Constitution, is 8, 13, 93-95, used in a general sense. Thus, "to establish justice;" "and estab- 195, 243, 245. lish this Constitution;""to establish a uniform rule of natural- establish. ization and system of bankruptcies;" "such inferior courts as Congress may ordain and estub ish" "the establishment of this Constitution;""an establishment of religion." The clear import of the word is, to create, form, and fix in a settled manner. Story's Const. § 1131. The controversy has been between the power to make the roads and the power to fix on and declare them mail routes, after the ex 101. What are tending settlements have opened, established, adopted, or built roads and paths. See the subject fully discussed in Story's Const. chap. XVIII. § 1124-1150; and Notes to Third Edition; and 1 Kent's Com. Lect. XII. 267-268. "But the The Confederate Constitution added this sentence: expenses of the Post-Office Department, after the first of March, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-three, shall be paid out of its own revenues." Paschal's Annotated Digest, 88. The first year's history of the insurgent government demonstrated the impracticability of the restriction. 105. POST-OFFICES.-AS understood, under the Confederation, -post-offices? and since carried out by statutes, and in practice, post-offices may be defined to be the General Post-Office at Washington, presided over by one of the President's advisers, called the Postmaster-General. This office was first held by Dr. Franklin, in 1775. (Story's Const. § 1126, note 1.) It is now an immense palace (with over a hundred rooms), erected and owned by the government, wherein the whole of the postal service of the United States is superintended and the business directed, and where all contracts for mail service are let, and the accounts therefor are settled. The Postmaster-General is assisted by three Assistant Postmaster-Generals, an Auditor, and several hundred clerks. Every postmaster in the United States is a deputy to the Postmaster-General. There are numerous route agents and detectives; and every line of post-roads is well known and carefully watched. Every place in the United States, whether in office, house, tent, booth, boat, vessel, car, wagon, or box, where the mails are opened and the mail matter delivered, is called a "POST OFFICE," and the sworn and bonded deputy who opens and delivers the written and printed matter received, is called a POSTMASTER;' although many of them might be called "POSTMISTRESSES," ladies are frequently appointed of late years. 19, 35, 169. Describe the postal ser vice. What im as to carry ܙ܂ as The first post-office ever established in America seems to have been under an act of Parliament in 1710. (Dr. Lieber's Encyc. Amer., POSTS.) In England the first regular mode adopted was in 1642. (Malkin's Introductory Letter.) In 1790 there were 75 post-offices in the United States; 1,875 miles of post-roads; the amount of postage was $37,935. In 1828 there were 7,530 postoffices; 115,176 miles of post-roads, and the amount of postage was $1,659,915. (The American Almanac Repository, Boston, 1830, p. 217; American Almanac for 1832, p. 134; Dr. Lieber's Encyc. Americana, Article POSTS.) Story's Const. § 1125 (3d ed., note 1.) In 1866 there were 23,828 post-offices; 180,921 miles of postroads; amount of postage, $14,386,986.21. For the rates of foreign postage, and monthly valuable statistics, see "United States Mail and Post-Office Assistant," New York. The rates for letters are three cents for every half ounce, in the United States. All mail matter is charged by weight. It is questionable whether the government could peaceably reprovement turn to the unequal charges of our fathers. It can be hoped, that ing suggest- some public man may yet develop the idea, that a system of carrying the mails by weight would be practicable; more just to the carriers; more economical to the government; and immensely bene ed? |