Adams v. Storey. action the authority vested in them. From them only can a uniform system emanate; but systems, greatly varying, it is true, all of which, however, may be salutary, may be established without any derogation from or interference with a right residing elsewhere, to introduce uniformity on the same subject. Nay, from these very provisions, however discordant, might be selected materials for the one which it was committed to the general government to form. Neither can the passing of such laws by the states be regarded as a resumption of power by them, in which case, it is said, they should produce an express grant of it. This argument proceeds on the presumption of a previous relinquishment on the part of the states of all right to interfere in this matter, and is thus taking for granted what is the whole question in controversy; for, unless such transfer has been made, which is not admitted, no reassignment of it by the general government can be necessary. No Court of the United States will be suspected of feeling any disposition to countenance encroachments by the state legislature on the legitimate authority of the government of the union; but in cases of doubt, and where the limits of separation are not very distinctly marked, and especially where the powers exercised leave in full force and unimpaired those given to the general government,. the tranquillity and harmony of the union will be better preserved by allowing to the states a reasonable share of legislation on the subject in dispute, than by strenuously insisting on a total exclusion. Congress themselves must have entertained an opinion, that the different states have this right in the present case; for on no other principle can we account for their leaving the United States so long without a uniform system of bankruptcy. Great and pressing as the call for such a system has been, the obstacles in the way of one that shall be uniform, and in that shape agreeable to all Adams v. Storey.. the states, continue to be so numerous, that but little hope is now indulged that any will be soon adopted; but great and serious as these difficulties may be, it would almost be the duty of Congress to disregard them, if there existed no where else a power to correct the mischiefs which must necessarily be felt in many of the states from the non-user of this authority. The inference which has been drawn at the bar from this silence or inaction of Congress, does not appear correct. It is considered as equivalent to an expression on their part of their sense against the wisdom and policy of all bankrupt laws, and that none ought to exist any where. Keeping in view the power which Congress have, on this subject, it is more natural to interpret such silence into a declaration of their opinion of the inexpediency at present of any uniform system, and that the several states still retain the power which has been contended for, and can therefore take care of themselves. This would not be so great an imputation on their wisdom, as to suppose they can entertain an opinion in opposition to the sense of the whole world, that in a commercial state, such laws are mischievous or unnecessary. The opinion of the Court, therefore, is, that this law, if a bankrupt law, would not on that account be void. Another constitutional objection is made to the defence which is set up in this cause. The law under which this discharge was obtained, having passed subsequent to the date of the notes on which the action is brought, is supposed to "impair the obligation of contracts," and therefore to be void, either in the whole, or so far as it may extend to debts incurred previous to the passage of it. There is not, perhaps, in the constitution any article of more ambiguous import, or which has occasioned, and will continue to occasion, more discussion and disagreement, than the one under which the present difficulty arises, or the application of Adams v. Storey. which to the cases which occur, will be attended with more perplexity and embarrassment. Laws may be passed which so palpably trespass on this article as to leave no doubt on the mind of any man; others again will be of so questionable a character as to render it not very easy to form a satisfactory opinion concerning them. All the other restraints on the separate members of the confederacy, contained in this section of the constitution are conceived in terms so clear and intelligible, that rarely will any hesitation exist as to what will amount to violations of them; but to decide whether a law impairs the obligation of a contract, will generally be a task of some intricacy, and it will not be surprising if, in the discharge of it, great diversity of opinion should arise. This has been treated as a very plain case by both parties. By the plaintiffs we are told that it is the clearest case of a law impairing the obligation of contracts that can well be imagined; while the defendant contends that it is quite as certain that insolvent laws were never intended to be embraced by this provision of the constitution. The latter is the opinion of the Court; but instead of regarding it, with the defendant's counsel, as a question of little or no difficulty, the Court has not come to this conclusion, but after much hesitation, owing not only to its intrinsic difficulty, but because it is well known that the most respectable opinions to the contrary have been expressed elsewhere. The Court will proceed to assign its reasons for the judgment which it has formed. To arrive at the true meaning of any article of doubtful import in the constitution, a better mode cannot be adopted than the course which is generally pursued for the interpretation and understanding of ordinary remedial statutes: that is, to recur to the situation and history of the country at the time; to its contemporaneous exposition, if it has received any; and to the general understanding of the community, es Adams v. Storey. pecially if such understanding shall have been long acquiesced in by all the states and all the courts of the union. Keeping in view these rules, let us inquire what were the kind of laws to which this prohibition was principally designed to extend. There can be no doubt that by it was intended to be corrected some, if not all, of the evils which had crept into the system of legislation of many of the states, and had excited a considerable alarm for the security of private rights. In many parts of the union all confidence in public faith was extinguished. This had been occasioned by frequent interferences on the part of some of the legislatures in matters which were not believed to fall within their ordinary and legitimate sphere of action. By recurring to the history of the times, and the reasons assigned by the friends of the constitution for the insertion of this article, much useful information will be obtained, and we shall be at no loss to discover to what species of laws it was then thought that the interdiction was principally supposed to extend. During a long and arduous struggle for independence, much individual misery and distress were unavoidably produced. Driven from their homes, and cut off in many cases, from their ordinary pursuits, the resources of many were either exhausted, or so much impaired, as to induce the legislature, on various occasions, to listen to the pressing calls which were made upon them to devise some mode for their relief. Various expedients were accordingly resorted to, and the practice of interfering between creditor and debtor became so very extensive and so inconsiderate, as in many instances to place the former entirely at the mercy of the latter, and that too under laws which were apparently introduced with no other view than that of affording to the debtor a temporary relief from the pressure occasioned by the then situation of the country. Bills of credit, and paper money were issued, and by legislative sanction were substituted Adams v. Storey. for gold and silver in the discharge of debts. Creditors in some places, were liable, without any adverse proceeding on their part, to be cited by their debtors, and to have the sums due to them tendered in a currency whose depreciation at the time produced the most glaring injustice. On their refusal to submit to this mockery of justice, the public securities, which had been thus offered, might be deposited with some public officer, and the creditor was for ever barred from any recovery. In other cases payments were authorized to be made by instalments. In some states the interest which had accrued during the war, or a part of it, was remitted, while elsewhere not only a paper currency of no value, but almost every species of property, was made a legal tender, and not stipulation however solemn, to pay in the precious metals, afforded any security to the creditor. The Courts of Justice. in many of the states had been closed altogether, and the creditor thus withheld, at least for a time, from every appeal to the laws of his country, while his debtor might be squandering the property out of which his demand ought to have been satisfied. Geographical limits had also been resorted to, for the purpose of introducing the most odious discriminations between creditors themselves. For those who resided within the British lines, and those who were without those precincts, distinct remedies were prescribed, and the scales of justice so unequally graduated, that while the latter might recover the whole of their demands, the former, if they sued, were compelled to receive public certificates of one description or other, of so little value, as scarcely to indemnify them for the costs of suit which they were obliged to pay. Very great liberties had also been taken with British creditors, many of whom complained, and too justly, of the impediments which continued to be thrown in their way, even after the return of peace. These frequent interpositions in private concerns, during a period of great public and private suffering, and for |