Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-05-03

body-those who vote for the legislature as
the fundamental of MI laws existing in the
State or Government.
The State of Georgia stands before this
court as being State in its political ca
pacity and as capable of judicial recogni-
ton, composed exclusively from its very
beginning to the present time, and under
its constitution of 1866, of white male citi-
Zens above the age OF twenty-one years,
who have performed the ordinary duties
enjoined by the State in contributing to
the burdens of the State government in the
manner provided by law, as far as they
have had an opportunity of so doing
There are in that State, according to the
censuses which have been taken, popula-
ton, composed Of persons who never had
these qualities, who are not members of the
State, nearly equal to the white popula-
ton and tie question before this court of
course is, whether they can believe what is
asserted in this complaint, that if the door
is opened to these persons, they will exer-
else the privilege of seizing upon the gov
eminent, grasping the political power, and
constituting new and different State alto
gether from that which has heretofore ex-
listed, and wi pc out of existence the Geor
gla OF lI7G and the Georgia of to-day, with
all her corporate rights and franchises as q
body polite. That is the question:
Whether that is not an evil in law which
can be perceived and appreciated by the
court, deprivation of right vested in that
State, IN respect of which the State is en-
titled to protection from some quarter. I
submit with confidence to the Intelligence
of those who hear me.
/ assume, then, upon the strength of the
authorities and the argument Which your
Honors will find upon the 36th and follow
ing pages of our brief, that Georgia is in
the attitude of body polite, consisting of
the persons to whom L refer and that if
these persons are deprived of the privilege
OF continuing their government and new
mass are introduced, and large portion OF
the others excluded, what would be re-
garded in the case of any other corporation
as the extinction of the existing corporate
body and the substitution in its stead of
another, Is to be effected by these acts, and
is an evil of which any small corporation
would have right to complain to some
tribunal at least, and in respect to which
we claim that State Of this Union may
claim protection somewhere. In order to
show that the State of Georgia occupies in
Judicial consideration the attitude of q body
polite and corporate, so that she may
come into court of justice and claim to
protect her rights, if the machinery of the
court is adequate to that purpose, refer
to what was said by Judge Wilson in CHS
holm rs. the State of Georgia, Cd Dallas,
page 455. The same idea of State there
expressed is repeated by Judge Bronson in
Illinois as. Delafeld, 2 Hill, 1872.
This being the State of Georgia, and this
change being one that would thus totally
alter the constituent body, and virtually set
aside the present State and introduce new
one, is it within the ordinary course of Il
| Judicial court and court of equity, by
equity process, to preserve and defend q
| right of that description Nothing can be
clearer than this It is settled jurisdic-
ton of equity to restrain, by Injunction,
any attempt to subvert O corporation, to
divert its property to other uses, or to vio-
late its charter. An illustration is to be
of Attorneys, l Collyer's New Cases in
Chancery, page 379, where essentially the
| precise evil in its uridical character of
| which we complain here was attempted,
contrary to the charter of the society. It
was society framed for the purpose of
improving and educating the class of at
torneys and those who were studying for
| the profession. 1t was proposed to admit
into the benefits and privileges of the So
ciety the community at large. It might be
said to be extending the advantage to
greater number, which is the quality that
| gives all the merit to this proceeding that
can be claimed for it. The court there laid
down the doctrine that not only is corpo-
ration entitled to preserve its existence, but
| it is entitled, either by itself or any of its
members, to come into q court of equity
and there 10 claim, by the process of in
junction, to protect itself against acts that
| would prevent it from preserving its con-
StitutiOn and continuing is existence.
Shall we be told that in q court of equity
| having Jurisdiction between the parties, the
pettiest corporation in Britain or in this
country cannot come before the court by
it's bill in equity and say that persons hav-
ing power to do it, and capable of doing
it, unless restrained, are about to prevent,
and have declared that they will prevent,
our holding our election upon the charter
day, which is Indispensable to the protec-
ton of our corporate existence, and are
about to hold an election themselves and
substitute new body in our stead? But,
particularly, placing it, as do, in refer
ence to these acts, on the refusal to permit
the election to be held upon the charter
day--a thing indispensable to continuing in
existence the corporate body ask, would
not court of equity allow an Injunction to
restrain and prevent that act if the circum-
stances were such that there was serious
reason to apprehend that it would be per-
formed? l submit that no proposition up
on the authorities can be clearer than that;
and the ground of the jurisdiction of
court of equity Ill such case may well be
compared with the action of courts of law
to the correlative of this artificial person
d corporation namely: an individual per-
son. An individual who is threatened with
injury to his person, to his liberty, to his
life, is not allowed to come into court of
equity to seek relief against it. And why
Because the criminal laws of the land on
The common-law side of the courts-as all
criminal laws must be administered on
what we call the common-law side-give a
man his sureties for the peace, snd enable
him to imprison the person who threatens
him an injury. If the injury be perpetra-
ted, falling short of actual loss of life, he
has his remedy by action at law, because
he lives to bring it. He has his remedy by
an Indictment, because the law of the land
will give that remedy; and if slains out
right, he will be avenged by his competent
successor, the people of his country, who
survive him. But in the case of corpo-
ration there is no criminal law, there is no
criminal administration, and no civil COM
mon-law process whereby it can be saved