Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-10-21

Contested Efeet4on-ROport OF the
EIaior7ty.

ID. preserved the IUllOWlnR
The Select Committee. to whom was re-
'erred the claims of William Fl. Tibbs and |
John A. Minnis to seat in the Senate from |
the Eighth Senatorial District, have had the |
ame under consideration. and beg leave to |
submit the following report. VIZ. That, by |
an act of the legislature of 1872. the rep
resentation in the General Ass, mbly of the
State of Tennessee was appOrlioned. aud that
the counties of Rbea. Bledsoe Bradley Ham
ilton and Marion formed the eighth sena-
torial district of the State That on the
25th of February. 1856. the General Assem-
bly, passed an act To attach the tenth civil
district of Bls dsoe county, and the first and
second civil Districts OF Marion county, To the
county "f Hamilton. said act was not to take
effect until the 2lst of September, 1857.
The county Of Hamilton did not. as your
committee report. actually extend its juris-
dictiOn over the districts so attached TO it. by
the act referred 10; although, the territory
comprised within these districts became
part and parcel of said county of Hamilton.
according to the terms and conditions of said
act. On the 9:h Of December. 1857. an act
was passed Ivy The General Assembly of the
State, entitled, IAN act to establish the
county of Sequatcbe" &C., in WEIGH il is
enacted, 'That a new county is hereby es-
tablshed. by she name of Sequatchie," which
included the districts of country taken from
the counties of Marion and Blcdsoe and at
tached to Hamilton by The act of 1856, al
ready referred TO. By the terms and pro-
visions Of this act it went into immediate ef-
feet: and it was expressly provided. that the
new county ofSequathcie should have all the
powers and privileges. and be subject to the
same restrictions as the other counties in the
State.
The facts in the case show that 10 pursu-
ance of SAID act, the county of Sequafchie
was organized county court was holden
on the first Monday in January, 1853, officers
appointed, and. in TACT said county assumed
ali the functions and Offices which pprtained
to the old counties of the State, aud was as
much county in contemplation of law. on
the 4th day of March, 1858, az were the
counties OF Davidson, Williamson, or Rnther-
ford. And after the complete organization
OF said county, the General Assembly passed
an act TO change the line between the coun-
ties of Grundy and Scquatchie Jefferson and
Granger. Van Buren, and White, DeKalb
and Smith. Polk and Bradley, Wilson and
Cannon, Rutherford and Coffee, Hayu God
and Madison, and the counties of Andei son
and ROane. Under that law portion OF
Grundy was attached to the county of
S,quatchie, in the same way and by vir-
ine of the same power in the Legislature,
that a portion Of territory of Coffee
county was attached to the county of
Cannon; portion of Haywood attached to
the county of Madison; and in this very case
three districts from Marion and Bledsoe had
been by the preceding Legislature attached
to the county of Hamilton. SO it will be
seen that the county OF Scquatchie was estab-
lished on the 9th day of December. 1857:
that il was organized into county, on the
first Monday of January, 1868, with all the
functions of county, full aud complete in
all its offices, requiring no additional act If
Legislature TO make it more perfect than it
was as now county; hence your committee
conclude that the object in changing the lines
between Srquatchic and Grundy could not
have been to aid in forming a county which
had already been form, d, or in organizing a
county which had already been fully organ
lied: but must have been, and doubtless was,
to promote the convenience of the people of
that portion of Grnndy county who sought
to be included in the county of Sequatchie
The same power that enables the Legislature
to change county lines in other cases, existed
in this case under consideration, and the
same rights and privil, ges which the citizens
possessed who are attached from other coun-
ties must of necessity have pertained to the
citizens of Grundy who were included by a
change OF county lines within the bounds of
the county of Seqmatchie. We cannot feel
nor appreciate the force of the reasoning
attached by "A Legislative act to the county
Of Rutherford to vote az freeman in the
county 10 tcitch he attached. while the cit-
Zens of GTundy L. denied like sacred priv-
lege on his pat. ..H.
But it is argued with some degree Of plausi-
bilitv that a constitutional disability so far
n This right is concerned. ATTENDED the
Grundy county citizen, ard for the purpose
OF sustaining the argument, the 4th and 9Th
= A,.s,. II. n a.
the State of Tennessee are relied on The 4th
Section provides New counties NAV he es-
tablished by the Legislature TO consist of not
less than three hundred and fifty square miles.
and which shall contain II population OF four
hundred and fifty qualified voters" The
9Th Section provides that the citizens who
may be included in any new comfy. shall
vote with the county or cour ties from which
they may have been stricken off for members
of Congress, for Governor, and for members
OF the General Assembly, until the next APP
portiOnmcnt of members to the General As
scmbly, after the establishment of such new
countless" The meaning of the Constitution
and the object Of The Trainer of il, in relation
to new counties are too plain TO be misnnder-
stood They were not providing for citizens
who were thrown from one county to another
by mere change in county lines, neither
were they seeking to put any disabilities
either on citizens OF new or old counties who
might be affected in their civil and municipal
relations by such change; neither can il be
argued that territory transferred by the Leg
| islature from one county to another. was the
subject matter of consideration, but on the
contrary, the very terms and language Of the
Constitution clearly and indisputably prove
that the Object was to clothe the Legislature
with the power To form new counties. and t.
| designate the mode aud manner in which the
| citizens stricken off from old to make new
counties should exercise the voting privileges
| In doing this the oi j"ct doubtless was to dis
turb as little as possible, the order of thing
| existing at the time OF its formation. and
| hence il was provided, % that the citizens who
may be included in any new county, shall
vote with the county or counties from which
| they may have been stricken OF. until tn,
next appointment, &c b." Included in new
county, how by being tricken off from AZ
old county 20 form The new county; that thi
clause in the Constitution applies To the citi
zens in the territory taken in making tn,
new county. Is too plain to admit of n rea
sonablc controversy.
Ii was under this section and in obedene'
| TO its restrictions that the county OF Squat
! chic was made part of the eighth Senate
rial district. by the act of the General AS
| sembly of 1878. That body could hav,
| done nothing more than make this county
pnrt of this district; because the Constitution
itself provided that il should vote with tb
county IRON " hich il had been stricken "A
Hamilton county being in The eighth senate
rial district. this territory must by the pro
visions Of the Constitution, vote ia this dis
| triet. The legislature, ever since the adop
tion of the Constitution. has, from time I,
time. changed county lines. placing voter
in one county or district in q different coun
! ~ or district; the Constitution making n,
provision in such case, they must, aud uni
tormily have voted with and as part Of tn
county TO which they have been placed b.
such change; and whether they are by sue
change, added 10 nm old or new county, il
the same in principle aud must be the sam
in practice.
The Constitution having made no pro
| visions for the VOTES in the territory thu