Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-01-16
NO. Al.

Law with the management Of its affairs
take insufficient bonds, the remedy OF par.
| ties aggrieved or suffering less or damage
thereby is, l think, not in equity, unless 1t
be possibly in the case of illegal action by
the directors, and then it would apply only
on the ground Of quia timsf, in a case where
great and irrepaTable mischief may be the
consequence of illegal action, which the
common law courts from their mode of
proceeding cannot stay. / will not.
however, on this preliminary application,
decide the question, except to refuse the
injunction asked for against the officers
whose bonds are alleged to be insufficient.
If this bill is filed, upon the coming in of
the answer of defendants the question may
be considered but with my present i'm
pressions as to the power of the court to
revise the action of the officers of 4 public
municipal corporation or any other cor
poratlon, IN taking and approving the
bonds OF their own officers under the power
vested in them by the law Of their inCorp0-
ration and in matters affecting solely the
sttairs Of the corporation, am unwilling,
especially in advance of defendants being
heard 10 grant an Injunction such as is
prayed for. / do not think the case made
by the bill, unless L was prepared to hold
that the present Mayor was an usurper as
charged, and the acting members Of the
present new board illegally elected and
holding their Offices, justifes an attach
ment OF the property of the city, as prayed,
and the placing the same either 10 the
hands Of the old board or 4 receiver, and !
therefore refuse the attachment prayed for,
as 1t seems to me it would be productive
of much mischief and loss, if the property
of the city was attached, including the
books, etc, especially if it should hereafter
be put in the hands of a receiver.
While it is well settled that a court of
chancery would always lay hold of any
breach of trust in relation to the admin
istration Of public property, let the party
guilty of il be either in a public or pri-
vate capacity, and that a corporation,
being a trustee, is in the court the same
as an individual vet it does not follow |
that a corporation like the city of Nash |
vile, or its officers, upon a general allegas |
ton Of malversation, peculation and |
waste" or danger of waste or loss, made by |
any taxpayer, whose interest, feelings or |
fears may induce him to make the ale |
batiOLp Will NC CAlOluNu lEtlAA ptoCbtNlukr |
especially when the injunction would ope- |
rate as the process now asked for would.
As to the alleged want of qualifications
of the members of the present Board, or
particular members thereof, the Legisla-
ture has vested the power Of the settle
ment of the question in the Board aud
az to whether the deed TO the present
Mayor for the lot in Nashville was or was
not voluntary and fraudulent, or whether
the lot is or is not encumbered by the levy
of T. ia. issued on a Judgment against
defendandant, Alden, or a vendors lien in
favor of Childress these are questions
which probably could not be settled until
in proper and appropriate suit the pro-
per parties made them.
At anW rate, in such a case as the pre-
sent, the extraordinary process asked for
should not be granted until the defendants
have had an opportunity of answering the
allegations as to "malVersation, peculation
and waste" and the other charges in the
bill. Horace II. HARRISON,
Chancellor 18th Chaneery district.