Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-05-16

to DO ~ DetGNbe ttbSibec HISS P0oSSu a.
act commanding it TO 6e done. The
renlv h. that the act is wholly null and
void. i've it is unwarraBted and for
hidden by the constitution. What kind
NJ decree Is required for the purpose oil
doing legal Justice TO these parties
6epends upou the question whether
tie claim Of the defendants to
overturn the government OF Georgia
be legally wei founded or not, and that
again depends on the constitutional 8
thority ofcongress 70 pass the act which
permits II. IL therefore, the eourt shall
decline 10 decide the point OF constitu-
tional law, 1t must be either because the
state Of Georgia is incapable OF bringing
a suit. or because her rights are In no
danger Of being violated by the defend
| anti, or else because the rights which
she asserts ought not TO be protected by
judicial authority.
:. But the STATE has an undoubted
right to sue in her own courts or in the
federal courts. This is not denied, and
needs no argument to support il. By
the common law, every corporation
public or private, from the king down
ward, ear bring q suit for a proper cause
Of action.
S. The defendants avow their iDten.
ton to take the government of the state
of Georgia entirely into their own hands,
to nullify her laws, to control the cleo
ton Of her officers, TO deprive her peo-
| pie OF the right to be tried by their own
courts and juries, to break up her whole
social organization, to destroy her eX
istence, and reduce her and all her peO-
pie 20 a state Of complete slavery. 1t Is
not possible to conceive how a greater
/ 49, ~ a nanra rrfavrnua fn1nru nan hG
committed against any large body o.
persons. Nor is it pretended that these
things are to be done in pursuance Of
any valid law. The constitution make;
| Georgia a free state, and the act OF con.
gress which requires her to be enslaved
is an attempt to repeal the constitution.
The counsel for the defendants will ad'
init that the act of congress is uncon'
stitutional and, If that be true, IL is Of
no more force thsn if the place it oeeu'
pies on the statute book were a blank.
| The defendants are, therefore, guilty ol
a great injury against Georgia, and are
committing il without the show or colOl
Of legal xcu
9. Has not the state, in her corporate
/ capacity, a right to invoke judicial pro.
/ lection against such wrongs? She is the
trustee Of her people, who created thii
| corporation, which they call 8 govern
ment, and placed in the hands of theil
/ officers and electors, to be preserved and
/ administered for their use. Allthe great
| interests Of the society which lives un
\ der IL are concerned in its perpetuatiOn
/ As a trustee of the rights invaded, the
state, surely, may take the necessary
measures to save them from violation.
Shall this consist In forciDle resistance p!
Certainly not; Judicial tribunals are
made for the purpose of dispensing with
force, and, therefore, the resort must be
had to them. 4 private corporation may
come into court and demand judi
cial protection for the rights placed
under its guardianship. If Messrs.
| Pope, Grant and Stanton would propose
to seize the franchises of a railroad cor
| poration by lawless force and run it
| themselves until the stockholders would
consent 10 let the managers be elected,
contrary to the charter, by q general
vote OF all the persons who live within
ten miles of the line, this would surely
be q case for injunction at the suit of the
company. Are not the franchises OF a
public corporation OF greater value thar
any that can be held by q mere trading
company When the king of England
| assailsd the rights Of the city of London,
ne admitted, and so did most of his min
isters, that the corporation had 8 right 10
defend itself in court. Its rights and its
wrongs were, accordingly made the sub
iect Of judicial investigation and deCis-
ion. No one appeared in that case 10
say that the court was without jurisdic-
ton because great political interests were
hanging on the question.
If these propositions be true, the state
Of Georgia is a proper party in this coart,
complaining of an attempted infraction
of her rights. No defiance has yet been
suggested by the defendants counsel, no
denial of the facts, no assertion thatthey
are justified by legal authority. Was an
Injunction ever denied in such a case 2
The motion of the attorney general TO
dismiss the case for want Of jurisdiction
cannot be entertained, unless u view
be wholly wrong and if that motion be
| refused, we are entitled, upon the show
ing made, to a preliminary Injunction.
J. 5. BLACK,
For the State Of Georgia.
. FROM THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARGU-
NENT.
Now. may it please your honors, turn
your attention for a moment to the rights
set up in this case and TO the relief that Is
asked by these states or either Of them.
The right of the state IS q political right,
in which, in the first place, il represents
itself-tbe right to have its corporate eX-
isteuce, the right to maintain It's eorpO-
rate existence. That is 6 valuable right,
| and under certain circumstances such a
right as that can be asserted in a court Of
e0uity-not always, for ordinarily a
court Of equity does not sit to try those
-.--.-T,-a TEoF a~faa in matfarz or gpTuO-
ratious. No bill can be filed in this court
TO strip a corporation of its franchise.
That does not belong to equitable relief,
and the party who seeks il is RENTED 10
a court Of law. But l do admit that a
court of equity does possess the power to
protect the franchise Of a corporation.
The gentlemen say, "That is just what
we are after. Here we have a corporation
which happens 10 be a public n and a
political one and it has franchises, most
important franchises undoubtedly, and
it Is 70 protect these franchises in anal
ogy to the common cases Of private cor
D0Tations that we come into a court of
equity seeking that protection and be-
yond that our people have franchises,
some of our citizens have franchises,
very valuable ones, political rights, the
right 10 vote, and therefore we, tbs
state, as pdreRs pdtriG, caring not only
for ourselves as a state, but for psO-
pie as citizens, ask the court to protts-
our right and their right" This IS the
ground on which yQ&T i~nteTposition Is
sought. Ii is evident that 1t Is political
rights whieb are here sought to be pro
tected IN a court Of equity the right Of
d state to remain a state, the right of q
state TO protect Itself against an Injury
threatened, not TO its property, but 10 its
existence as a state that does not
destroy its land, but destroys itself as
a corporation, and puts an end 10 its
organization. That i5 one of the
rights set up and n Of he principles
sought to be guarded against. What
further d? The state comes IN not only TO
protect its own organization, but, a. l
have said, to protect the political rights
of its citizens, their right TO vote, and to
exclude from voting those who have not
the right bv the state laws; TO protect
the rights of some and to deny any
rights being given to others. That is the
sum of this case. Now, where, in the
history Of law and equity, in all the
English and American, can your
honors find a parallel to such a case as
that . / have never seen one, nor one
that began to look like it, or that had
any analogy whatever to it.. Is there
property in it? No idea of property
at All. 1t is all political rights; a public
corporation that is threatened, and polit-
zeal rights of citizens of that corporation
that are threatened, and it is to establish
and vindicate and protect these rights
that the gentlemen bring their case
here, and bring it here to your honOrs on
the equity side Of the court.
Now, I agree that there is q great ques-
I agree that our political elements
are all in commotion. Iagree that there
is q great controversy-not between these
states, who are here as plaintiffs, and
these individual officers who are sought
10 be made defendsnts-but a great con
between Mississippi as s state
and some other state In the same posi-
ton. and the United States as another
state. admit that there is q marshal |
ing Of force, an array Of military power,
an exercise Of extraordinary jurisdiction,
a new state of things. Mischiefs, per
there are that may be irreparable.
I 90 not know how the whole thing is
To be settled. I am not wise enough to
how it is to be worked out. In
some way or Otherit will be worked out l
10 not know how but this I certainly do
that II cannot he worked o1f hv /