Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-23

opinions. He is man of great patience
and deliberation. He arrives at his con-
| illusions slowly. He is not an extreme
man or violent in his feelings. / had
conversation with him about the time of
the habeds corpus case. He was then OPP
| posed, and always was, to members vacatiDg
| their seats. He said that if he could have
found anything to sustain the action
the Legislature, he would have decided
| differently. do not think there is a more
honest man or conscious man than he In
all the domestic relations he has always
had an unsullied reputation. | have no
| knowledge of the circumstances that
| brought him from East Tennessee to this
part Of the State. | heard that he was
robbed by Champ Ferguson's gang, and his
! life threatened.
/ Cross-examined by Mr.. Maynard: /
was in partnership with Judge Frazierfrem
1850 till the courts were suspended by the
war. commenced praeticing in 1948. /
| was not here during the discussion of the
| hdbeas corpus. Twas then at Jasper attending
the Circuit Court. know the proceedings
only from newspaper accounts. came
here day or two after the decision of the
| ease. i am positive ! was not in the city
| at the time. | am Attorney General Of
tie fourth district. have held that posi-
ton since the fall OF 1864. | suppose am,
Radical they call me that at home
TESTIMONY OF s. B. sPURLocK.
/ S. B. Spurlock was the next witness ex-
amined by Mr.. East.
live in Nashville. Have lived here
three or four years. [ formerly lived at
| McMinnville, Warren county. / have
| known Judge Frazier for several years,
| fifteen or more. / have known him by rep
utation longer. Judge Frazier's name and
reputation never heard called in question.
| 1t was conceded by all classes that he was
amau of strict integrity and honor. Inever
heard him spoken against as Judge.
CrOss-examined by Mr.. Maynard |
have had business in Judge Fraziers court,
| collecting debts. | have had nothing to
do in his court here | was here in July,
| 1866. There was considerable excitement
| perVading the community, | Judge from
| what | read in the papers, but saw nothing
| of it myself believe that what is called
| the Rebel element prevailed here much
| The parties generally call themselves
| Southern men.
| TESTIMONY OF DIR. FRAZER.
DIR. b. Frazier was next examined by
Mr.. East, and testified:
| / reside in Knox county, and have been
/ Senator in the Legislature since August,
| 1865. ] am brother of the defendant.
| Ny brother came to Rutherford county in
| February or March, 1864. | think he
| lived there two years. He afterwards
rented farm not far from the Lunatic
Asylum in this county, and has been
living there ever since | attended the
called session of the Legislature in 1856.
came to Nashville on the third of July :;
! think it was Tuesday. l did not see my
brother till Saturday, the 9TH of July. |
had made inquiry for him, but found he
was not in town | was in the habits of
spending my Sabbaths with him. I went
to his house on Saturday night | went out
with him at night, but stopped at Mr.. Spur
locks. | went on to my brothers the next
morning Sunday | and my brother going
| along conEersed about the meeting ofthe Le-
| gislature. No qnorumI had boen obtained
| in the House, and stated that Thought that
some members were disposed to prevent, if
1 possible, the House from mastering a quo
rum. He expressed his disapprobation
of the course they were pursuing, and
made some such remark as this Those
fellows in the Legislature are acting wrong.
and foolishly, too, for they are innring
their own party" | stayed with nv
brother until Monday morning | do not
think my brother came with me when /
returned to town. believe my statement
to him gave ny brother the first intimaton
he had of trouble in the Legislature.
next saw him in Nashville on the Monday
following. My impression is that he told
/ me he had come in to ascertain some bills
| Of costs, having made this arrangement
| with Mr.. Stnbblefeld He is much dis
posed to stay at home when not required
to be in town by his business. He
superintendent his farm himself, and
worked upon it, too, as much "a he was
able When | was here he spent but little
| time in town. | don't think he has taken
| political paper since the war He has re
| quested me sometimes to bring out papers.
| believe he wanted these chiefly on account
| of the decisions ofthe Supreme Court which
they contained. He remained in town that
Monday pretty much all day. The first |
heard of the hdbeas corpus was that evening
after they adjourned. / had no knowledge
f on Sunday that such a petition would be
/ presented to my brother. 1t was very sell
dom indeed that saw my brother in the
| Legislature. | saw him late in the same
evening in which the petition was presented
| to him. He said ifhe had known whatthe
were about he would have been off and they
| should not have caught him such ina scrape.
| The next day did not see him till the
evening. / do not know that he stated the
| ground of his reluctance to having any
| thing to do with the habeas corpus. Gen.
| orally, gathered from his remarks that il
/ was a disagreeable affair to him. / was
, i present on the first day after the adjourn
| ment of the Senate, in the Criminal Court.
| / | heard the speeches Of Judge Harrison,
J | Judge Gaut and Mr.. Colyar. | went home
with my brother on Tuesday night as we
| were going along | said to him, 81 think
= 1 your decision TO keep the men in
/ prison until the whole case was dis
) | cussed bore rather hard on Viii
f liams" He replied, confound the
rascal, have no sympathy with him. HC
! ought TO suffer for deserving his post"
remained out at my brothers house during
o | "Wednesday He told nue. when he came
. home that both Judge Trimble and Judg,
| Brien had introduced political topics into
| their speeches, and he was exceedingly
: | sorry that the discussion had gone on il
, that way. He wrote his opinion out a
4 his house. | was present when he deliy
I | cred il. Ii was a written opinion anC
read. do not think any one was presen
| during the preparation of the opinion.
had not the least intimation Of what thu
= | opinion would be until he read it to ME
\ / had fully expected that the decision
/ would have been the other way | saw
him that evening afterwards.
Cr0ss-examined by Mr.. Maynard: w
have been intimately associated for man,
Y | years, even as brothers, and we have agree,
| in the mainupon most questions. We hav'
sometimes differed. There was a good dea
D of excitement in the city at the time th
e Rdbeas corpus matter was pending, and
n feeling of intense opposition, perhaps 0
: hatred, to the Legislature. | saw but tw,
sl men with the sheriff 1t was at Judg
/ | Gaut's office | saw them. 1t was about si'
J. | o'clock in the evening The one that ha,
a | the papers, whether sheriff or or not, don
It know, came up this way. / think | toll
n my brother Of my impression that it wa
i | the intention of some of the members t
# prevent the assembling Of quorum. d
e not remember Governor Campbell bein
It here Just at that time
o The court then ad jo1rned
r R. a. GROOMEs & co.