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The Michigan Counterfeits

The Michigan Counterfeits image
Parent Issue
Day
5
Month
August
Year
1870
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Tn bis message to the Legislature o Michigan, (orernor Baldwin endeavou 10 i-li'iw how a private corpDratiin cat rn the right to piek a man'g pocket 11 is reacon are peculiar Fúst, leoj, lutive enaftnieritsauthorizing tliis specie, of rob!ery aro of loni; standing. Sccond in twenty two !a'es Iho oourtg lia ve de clined to upset them. Third, Congrea makes granls in aiil of railroads of wbioh faots, Goverrior Baldwin thinks show thaf'the pcple were entfcted'ti ■■■ tha the Mi bigan railway boodi ' were va i I seouriiii Tli ere is one fact which Govern Baldwin omití to mentioB, and tbati the fact that ono i f " the people," nol witbstanding that he muy buve beei " enlitled to believe " that thn raiUij bonds were valid, did un believe Seeing thnt h:s private properly j about to be taken and converted to thi usas oí other private oi'izens, agiiind big will, beappcaled to the courts, and set up the :i mazim of a that taxation for a private object is noi taxntioD, but robbery, which the higi law in tbe itate of Michigan íor bids, And the highet eourt in Mic gan found that tliin unbtlieving citiiej ba ! ;!" 1 ".v (ni hia sitie. Thia s'uifrU; t';!;t is 11 liuíTlciont answe: to üll of Uivernur Bsldwin'a argumcnti to nhow whiit " tlïn p'-op'o wera entitled ti heliove.'' So fiir as bel'ef goes, theie isno law in Michigan, or anywhtre else, to preveut a man or any numb-r of men froui 'bolíeTÍDg that tho moon is madeoi green ob'eese. Bat thit a lawful 01 a moral ritrht to divest a citizen of hii p cu liarj c-ia'e can be prodicated onj ion o! belief, or riyht of belief i :m entirely Dew dootrine in couutrw governud by the principies of Eoglü law. 'l'he man who talies a cnunterfeit bank note ia " entitlcd to believe," f'rom is n'!n:iee to a genuino note, that itisa genuine note. Acoording to Gnvr Baldwin's loy:c, when it ia found to be epurious, the lt-gislature should be cillecl tog tlier and tne Constitntion it co amended thut the counterfeit nota will beconio a genuine note ! Al bcaiie tho fraud wís so adoritly done tha peopie were loable to be dteeived. ïho Michigan railwáy bonds are in thti tion fxacth'. Tnov were um'aaf.',1 from the buginning. The ct aumiij t; authorize them was not law. Tho pra t' vntiiig ihem tras unluwful. Ths issuing of tbem waa uolawfal. Thej setÉed n:t a single element of validi tv at any step uf their existence. They wei wliolly spurious, For those whi) Intve reoeived them nnooently, the fací : a hardship. Morally, ancíi ios should have the right to get their mooey bck from the per-fons whwí votes eamed the boudg to issue ; just ai a porson receiving a counterfeit bank noto has the right to return it to the persou from whnm he reoeived it. Bu! tho prnpoeitiou tha!. any citizen whoopd the issue of these spurious bond shill be ruado to contributa to their redemption is exuclly the sama as a propositi''ii thut A, whn receired a couuterfeit bank note from B. and O, may collect the amount of the fraud from B. O, and 1'. In this case, D, though ettirely ooooi nt, is made to suffer for the uutawful a-t of 1 and O, in order turicompense the fraad porpetrated by them d A. TIiuh D is made to take the placo of A tg the vietim of an uulawfal ::ct - an act, too, wbicb lie rai-eil hi voiee against, v!ii!e A did not. It isaa i f r';bt'ry against D ten times n'or Hugrant aml immoral t!ia-i my bardübif that has fallen upou A is a coníequence ot his own negliiience orfolly. 1 1 is sd outratjo whioh Governor Baldwin proposes that the state of Michigan hall etrate auainst, the property rilit! ot liiw-abiding citizens for the benetitof ios who havo voluntsrily brokn th law. W bat the law may be, or may haro been held to be, in other staten ht.' nothing to do with the question in the j state of Michigan. Tlic property rigbu of oitizens of Michigan esist uuder Ü uoastitution and laws of Micliijran, and oot under the eonstitntion and Inwsof Wisconin or lowa. The efFort of Gofernor I5;ildvin to apologizo for tbe robbe:y of pcojile in Michigan, by ciiing instances of similar robbury in other states, is UDWortby tho ehuraeter atidofBou of a ohief magistrato. "Congrega makes grnnta in aidofriilroaüs," taje Goveruor ]J ildwin. True, :i radical c :ms given away neirnblio ilimiLiJn ihat is wortb ntiythiug, toenrieh private oorporatioos. even oongress bas not yet con i tu t !io tiikiüg cf private propsr'J for tbat purposo. The goveruor of tin htoned a :.te of Michigan is a pub iour who s-relv onla to kuow tbst thcre ia a very considera lile distinction, ii law :is well as in faot, butween agr1 oí public proper tj toa piivute euteririae and i grant of a ciiizi'ii's boo" s'uad to il like purpose. The formerii a pablio irju8tioe ; the luttcr is despo1" sni, pure iiid hï f ii le . in (vill conser tideriag this sub" eet in the light oí' principio. Exped'' : iiii.iite iouiidcclin wrong and fraw wiiTci-r'.aiiily not strengtheu tbc fo ationa of right, nor induce greaterrfi1 for private rigbts in tlie minds w .. h Beek tj jirofii upon wrong.-" Chicago 'Times. The Mariposa Gazelte learns t!)'1 tniog struek a portioí ' de ooutb d"ci ; in the Yoaeinite valle do day list weet, and those wbo bw ie good fortune to eee it at the ïent, describe tlie sceno s terrifi"' ell as grand. Hundreds of tons o' oka were loofened and sliding ' nra ümg down :lr_ .jiic, left in he'r ack a stvoak of firo, sniokc and dWi :e noipo tlierefrom sounding in tbc " s like tbc sbootiog of heavy .artille'1

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus