The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1870-11-05
DECIDED AT LAST.

By letters and dispatches received on last |
Saturday, 18th ult, from Somerville, the |
intelligence was brought to us that the case
of Martin, Weekly & Co, for the use of
John D. Ussery, VS.. McPearce u GIN. BOst-
wick, under consideration, rendered a yer
dict on the day previous for Pearee q. Bost-
wick, the defendants.
Thus ends the most important law suit
that We have ever heard of being tried in
West Tennessee, rendered so by the large
amount of money involved, the great energy
and zeal with which it was prosecuted by
both parties the number of able lawyers
who were engaged and the ability displayed
by them in the management of the case,
both for the plaintiff and defendants, and
in order to give our readers glimpse of
the vexed question, which for years past
has attracted so much attention in this coun.
ty, we give the following points, as we IN
derstand them
In the winter Of 1861 62, Martin, Week
ly IL Co., of Florence, Ala, employed Pearce
q Bostwick, of Salisbury, to buy cotton for
them A large number of bales was bought
and shipped 20 them, but when the Federal
Soldiers cut the Memphis & Charleston
railroad at Bear Greek Bridge, and after
wards occupied Corinth, Pearce & Bostwick
were left in possession of many bales of cot
ton which they had bought for, and could not
ship to, the parties in Florence, on account
of the railroad being in the lines of Federal
occupation. Subsequent to this, Pearce &
Bostwick claimed that the cotton held by
them for Martin, Weekly d Co, was seized
| by Confederate soldiers and burnt John D.
Ussery was of different opinion, and he
bought the claim of Martin, Weekly & Co.,
against Pearce & Bostwick. giving two
thousand dollars in Alabama, Georgia and
South Carolina bank notes for it, and brought
suit, first in military Conrt, at Memphis by
having Pearce arrested and bound over to
answer the suit, which was afterwards dis
missed, and then he brought suit in the
Common Law Court OF Memphis, which
suit was enjoined in the Chaucery Court Of
Memphis, and the injunction dissolved
without prejudice, and then the suit in the
| Common Law Court was dismissed by Ussery
and then he sued Pearce & Bostwick in the
Circuit Court Of Hardeman county for thirty
thousand dollars, the value fthe cotton.
This suit was tried at the FEBRUARY term,
1868, of our Circuit Court, and the jury
could not agree then, after beiRg continued
for some time, was tried again at the October
term, 1869, before the same tribunal, with
like result. Then the Defendants, Pearce
& Bostwick, applied for q change of Venue
and the case was transferred to Fayette couu-
ty, where it was disposed OF by verdict for
the defendants, which exonerates them from
any liability upon the ground that the cot.
ton was burnt as they claimed.
1t is useless to say that our people are
glad that the great cotton case is settled,
as it has taken up almost the entire term of
several of the sittings of the Circuit Court
and been to them one of the COMPOUNDED
things with confusion worse COMPOUNDED.
The trial began before His Honor, Judge
Flippin, at Somerville, on Wednesday, the
10Th ult., and the evidence was not con-
cluded until the following Saturday. At
noon of that day, the argument was opened
by Col. R. II. Wood, for the plaintiff, in a
most able and elaborate argumet, occupying
the attention of the Court till late hour in
the evening. Monday morning following,
Thomas c. Lowe, of Bolivar, for the defend
ants, replied to Col Woods argument, and
won for himself laurels worthy the profess
sion of which he is an active member Then
came Col. E. II. Shelton, of SomervIlle, for
plaintiff, and then followed Col Joel L.
Pulliam, of Somerville, and GenL w. Y c.
Humes, of Memphis both for defendants,
and the case was then closed by the gifted
} Judge Thos r. Smith, of Memphis, for the
plaintiff. Judge Fippin then charged the
Jury, who, after mature deiberation, rem.
dered a verdict as above stated.