LEGAL TENDER NOTES IN CALIFORNIA.

The article presents information on the steps taken by the people of California to avoid the use of two kinds of legal tender notes which came into circulation during 1890s. Prior to the issue of the legal tender notes no paper money had circulated in California. The constitution of the State expressly prohibited the creation and circulation of any instruments of credit as money. For a number of years Californians had enjoyed remarkable prosperity, and they were accustomed to find one of the causes of this prosperity in their possession of a stable medium of exchange. In the beginning of the discussion of the question raised by the appearance of the legal tender notes in California there were serious doubts as to the constitutionality of the law under which they had been issued, and for this reason many of the arguments bore directly on this point. One of the earliest objections to the use of the legal tender notes which found specific statement was based on the fact that their fluctuations in value depended upon circumstances not within the sphere of the Californian's observation.