The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1869-08-11
and if he does not do his duty he is to re-
port him to the General Assembly.

"iie II Ho ""es hoI 10 HIS duty ne is 10 re-
port him to the General Assembly.
Section 90, above quoted. provides that
the Superintendent of Public Works shall
represent the State as proxy, :" at all cleo
tions of directors of corporations or Joint
Stock companies, at which the State is en-
titled to vote" Col. HARRIS has attended
three meetings of stockholders and claimed
this right, without shadow OF foundation
for the claim. The State does not vote for
directors in the corporations referred to-
to owit. the Atlantic, the North Carolina
Central, or the Wilmington, Charlotte and
Rutherford road. The State appoints, by
and through the Governor, in these corpora
tions, and the stockholders only elect. But
it is different as to the two Roads west of
Salisbury. At their next meetings, accord
ing to their amended charters, the State will
vote with the private stockholders for all
the directors; and here Col. HARRIS might
begin legitimately and lawfully to exercise
this power, but for the fact that the origi-
nal and amended charters of these CORPORA
tions plainly provide that the Governor
shall appoint the proxies.
But we take the groun1 which.is held by
every respectable lawyer in the STATE, that
no mere act of the General Assembly can
deprive the Governor, as the "supreme exc
cutive," of the powers conferred on him by
the charters of these corporations to appoint
directors and proxies. The charters consti-
tute the supreme law in the case Ifthis were
not so there would be no safety in chartered
rights, but they would he exposed to every
caprice of legislation. The charters can be
amended only hy the consent of the private
stockholders, and until they are amended
so as to let in Col. HARRIS to the exercise of
the powers he claims, they are to all intents
and purposes paramount, and the power re-
mains with the Governor Judge WATTS
held this when he enioined Col. HARRIS,
and forbade him. under penalty, from doing
what he did at Wilmington; and in our
opinion the Supreme Court will so hold
unanimously whenever the case shall be
reached by that tribunal. 1t is no answer
to say that Judge LOGAN held to the con-
trary when he attempted to enjoin Gov.
HOLDEN at Salisbury, for in the first place,
Judge LOGAN is very ordinary lawyer, and
in the second place, an injunction against
Gov. HoLDEN's directors was not attempted
at Wilmington, though Judge LOGAN and
Judge RUSSELL were both present. Judge
LOGAN had no doubt learned what a
ridiculous blunder he had made by his at
tempt to cnjoin the Governor at Salisbury.
There is sort of threat in the above ar
| ticle of the Star, that the people will sus-
tain Col. HARRIS in this matter and desert
and censure Gov. HoLDEN.S 1t is our opin-
ion that the people of Western Carolina, in
Guiding Rutherford and Polk, have as great
confidence" in the Governor as they have in
| his subordinate. The Governor has been
| the fast and the tried friend of the West for
moec than twenty years. He has advocated
every scheme and every appropriation fol
| the benefit of the West, and that without
regard to party. lie is as true TO the West
as he ever was. The result Of the action at
Wilmington, which Col. HARRIS opposed
and cndcavored to defeat, will be, under the
auspices and direction of Gov. HOLDEN, moi
only to complete tue Wilmington, Charlotte
and Rutherford Road from Wilmington tC
| Charlotte, and thus put that growing and
important city in direct communication
with the great West, but to extend the ROAD
rapidly through Rutherford, Henderson and
| Pennsylvania to Ashevile. This is Il cher
| ished object with the Governor, and he
wishes TO see every effort put forth to ac
| complish it. Governor HOLDEN has the
power and the will to help the West as vel
as the East Col HARRIS has shown by his
conduct at Wilmington that he has deserted
the West, and that he has no power to aid
the East