14. _And be it further enacted, _That the bills or notes of the
said corporation, originally made payable, or which shall have become
payable, on demand, _shall be receivable _in all payments to the United
States, unless otherwise directed by act of Congress."
The difference between the language there used and that employed in the
present bill is too obvious to require comment. It is true that the word
"or," when it occurs in wills and agreements, is sometimes construed to
mean "and," in order to give effect to the plain intent of the parties;
and such a construction of the word may sometimes be given when it
occurs in statutes, where the general intent of the lawmakers evidently
requires it. But this construction of the word in the present case is
not only unnecessary, but, in my opinion, repugnant to the whole scope
of the bill, which, so far from commanding the public officers to
receive bank notes in cases not required by the existing laws,
introduces several new prohibitions on the receipt of such notes.
Nor do I think this one of those cases in which a choice is given to the
debtor to pay in one or other of two descriptions of currency, both of
which are receivable by law.
Pages:
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690