Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-03-18

the power to dispose OF the road, the pur-
chaser being obligated to run it after pur-
chase.
EVENING SESSION.
When the court opened at P. NJ, Mr..
Demoss, one of the counsel for the stock
holders of Davidson county, moved the
court to delay hearing the argument on
the demurrer fled by the Davidson county
counsel until the plea in abatement of the
Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville rood
was disposed of.
Mr.. Ed. Baxter, of counsel for Davidson
county, stated he would take the position
that 1T was absolutely necessary to have
the holders of the original bonds issued to
the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad
Company and to the Edgefeld and Ken
lucky Railroad Company before the court,
because the counsel for Davidson
county wanted to have some qeus-
tons settled, and the act of the
Legislature said that these questions
should be settled. He continued: ''This
Court cannot get along with the case
until these men are before the Court,
either by coming in voluntarily or by max
ing publication which your Honor shall
bold to be sufficient. We have demurrer
IN, one Of the points of which is, that
proper parties have not been made; but
what we fear Is this, that demurrer will
not reach the precise defect that We are
after. Your Honor may hold, upon an ex-
animation of the authorities and the arpu-
ment of the ClarksVille counsel, that these
bondholder5 are parties to the suit, and
that, therefore, neither a demurrer nor a
plea in abatement can be maintained. But
l want to get back of that, and
l want the parties before the Court.
We have no disposition to withdraw our
demurrer; that is the only answer we have
to this bill; but we say we cannot dispose
of our defense until you get all the parties
before the court
The counsel for Davidson county further
suggested to the Court that they had been
Informed and believed that the bill fled
on the part of the State had not been
sworn to, and that no separate affidavit
had been made as to the non residence OF
bondhOlders or as to the fact that the
names and residence Of said bondholders
were unknown and could not be ascer-
tanned after diligent inquiry; nor had such
facts been made to appear by the re-
turn OF any process, and none
of said sbondholders had appeared in this
case or otherwise submitted to the juris-
diction of this Court. They further sug-
gested that the fact of the want of such
afhdavits and returns and of the non-ap-
pearance of said bondholders could be
manifest by the certificate or report of the
Clerk and Master. Counsel for Davidson
comfy then moved the Court to order the
Clerk and Master to report whether these
facts as suggested were true, and further
moved that the demurrer filed bysaid coun-
ty be not disposed of until the coming in
of said certificate and report.
Both of these motions were disaIlow ed,
and the Court ordered that the argument
upon said demurrer proceed, the Chancel-
Tor being of opinion that
defendant who had not OILY not
submitted to the jurisdiction of the court,
but had fled demurrer to the jurisdiction
of said court, could not make a motion in
the cause.
To this action of the court the counsel
for Davidson county excepted, and it was
ordered that the action of the court be
spread on the minutes as part of the re-
cord, in the nature of a bill of exceptions.
After consultation among counsel, it was
settled, and SO decided by the court, that
no further action would be taken in the
Railroad cases until two wesks from next
Monday, unless in cases where an agreed
decree should be determined upon by
counsel on both sides.
Judge Cooper stated that arrangements
were being made with certain bondholders
OF the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad,
but did not state particularly the point
that had been reached in the negotiations