The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-02-02
Two Dollars a Year.
Decision or .he supreme Cour..
lPUBLIsHED by ORDER OF THE HOUSE. 7
THE STATE,
V. & n. h. r. Co.

y Congress, For the endowment, suppo
n and maintenance OF at least one co
lege," for instruction in agriculture aud I'll
e mechanic arts. Tire grant was accepted b
the Legislature in 1866. The State thereb
assumed TO deal with the fund, accordin
% tie conditions prescribed in the act {
y Congress.
e 1t requires no argument TO show that tn
. state could only control the fund, so as {
make 1t productive and subserve the puT
y poses OF the grant, by the action of the DO
II iitical department of the government w
a accordingly find that the first thing don
| by the Legislature was to direct that TIA
land scrip should be sold, and the none,
placed I'm State bonds, and the annual inter
4 est paid over In certain proportions TO th,
universities of the State. Afterwards b,
, the act of 1873, the moneys. bonds anC
securities, derived from the sale o
the land scrip, are set apart and APP
: propriated, to be used in the CONSTRUCTION
OF the Vicksburg and Nashville Railroad
For which the State Treasurer shall take
the notes or bonds of the Company, payable
ia ten years, to be secured by the first mort.
page bonds of the Comp any, with interest
at per cent payable semi-annually, and
to be turned over as under the previous
~et TO the Universities a
The Attorney -UptieI al, Iu sue
State, brought bill in Chancery to restrain
the Treasurer from delivering the fund. aud
securities, or any part of il, TO the Railroad
Company. Upon motion the Injunction
was dissolved, and from that order this
| appeal was taken.
As already observed. the grant was made
to the State fora specific purpose. Necessa-
| rtly the law-making department must adj
| minister and control the fund; by the selec-
| ton or establishment of one or more coli
| legeS to impart the requisite instruction :;
| and by an investment of the fund, so as to
| make it productive. The State too, IL may
| be said, is under moral obligation to con-
/ form TO the terms and conditions contained
| in the act of Congress.
/ hat fha nj "a no
encroaehed upon, or diminished; but shall
/ be Invested in United States bonds, or other
| safe stock, to be1r interest at not less than
| hye per cent; and that the interest alone
| shall be used for the endowment and sup
| port of at least one college," etc. The 9th
| section imp a guaranty on the State,
| against the contingency of loss by an inn
| proVIdent Investment. So that IL any por-
| non of the fund invested, or the interest
shall he diminished or lost, IL shall
/ be replaced by the State. The capital must
remain forever undiminished, and the annu-
al interest shall be regularly applied, with
| out diminution, To the purposes mentioned.
| Two ideas are distinctly set forth First.
| That the capital SUN shall be kept peTpetu-
| ally invested; aud Secondly, If the State
| shall make "A bad Investment, and loss
| should happen, the State must make IL good.
1 Where the State is under "A duty to renlace
| the capital that may be lost il Is too plain
| for argumenC that she ought TO have the
selection of Investments; and 1t was in
tended that such discretion should be con
| ferred. And if at any time the Legislature
should discover, or be Of opinion, that an
Investment authorized is unsafe, the Legis-
latuTe is competent to direct such invest
ment not to be made,
Here is q fund to he perpetually
invested in interest bearing securities,
and yet, none of them enumerated In the
act of Congress, are or that character. The
bonds of the United States, of the several
States, of the municipalities, of the railroad
corporations, have liked maturities. Ger
tainly all that is meant by the act OF Con-
gress is, that the inVestnent may be
changed, tram time TO time, as the wisdom
of the Legislature may determine; hut re-
investment shall be mado, SO that the fund
shall be nerpetually out, at interest, i'm safe
stocks or securities to be selected by the
Legislature.
When the money, under the act of 1871,
was placed in State bonds, mono of them
had longer time to ran than three or four
years. If the Legislature for any reason,
should choose to change the Investment
there is nothing in the legislation which
prevents it.
The discretionary power of the Legisla-
ture on the subject is full.
The foregoing observations are appliea-
bic in the main, as respects the college or
colleges that may become the beneticarieS. |
The Legislature is free to establish one or |
more colleges of the character described in |
the act of Congress and make them the re- |
cipients OF the interest, for their support, or
it may, as it has done, bestow it upon the /
universities.
These Universities are public eleemosy- |
nary corporations. which dispense the |
bounty of the State, their founder, to such /
persons as il directs. They were created
by the State and are supported by public
funds, and are instTUmentalities Ia the !
scheme of education. Both Of them are
subject TO change aud modification by the
Legislature. against the State neither OF |
Ill - .
or corporate franchises. Their governing |
wards are appointees of the State, without !
right or power to continue the succession. |
Tho State could Withdraw the interest of this |
fund from them, and found another institu- |
ton and make il the recipient of it,
But the bill AYERS, in substance that the |
railroad company is insOlVent, and that the |
investment of the tuUd, or any part of it, in |
its bonds and mortgage, is unsafe. That |
allegation proceeds on the predicate of law, |
that a Court of Equity, by reason of its |
general jurisdiction over trusts and trustees, |
can control or defeat the action Of CO. |
ordinate department Of the Government in /
the exercise of its legislative power and dis |
erection, if, in the opinion Of the court it has /
been unwisely exercised. If that be So |
then the legislative department may revise |
and reverse the Judgment of court, il, in
its opinion. it is improvident aud erroneous.
If the regulation of "A subject belongs 20 the /
Legislature, the CHOICE of means IS purely |
i'm its discretion. And no other depart !
ment of the government can intervene on |
the ground that the law Is unwse. 1t per- /
tains exclusively to the Legislature 10 say /
what "stocks" are saft and solvent It's de- /
cision is binding and conclusive on the iu- /
dietary nor can they interposs on the sug- !
gestion that tho stocks they have selected /
are unsafe. To attempt to control or re- !
strain the law-making department in this |
respect, would be an encroachment on the \
functions of another branch OF the govern |
ment,
The argument in support OF this aspect of /
the bill was that when the State assumed |
the position of trustee, she was subject, !
also, to its responsibilities. But when the 4
State administers a trust, it acts through /
the Legislature perry on trusts. Al and |
assumes the same measure of responsibility /
that pertains to IL in the exercise of its law !
making power.
No other mode can be suggested |
in which the State can manage a fund for
charitable uses. II must by statute devise /
the machinery to carry out the object. If
the agent, or officer of the State, acting un- |
der the law, disobeys its injunctio tran I
scends his powers, or refuses altogether to |
act, then the jurisdiction Of the judicial de- |
partment, to restrain his illegal acts and |
compel him to conform to the law.
If in this case the Treasurer should as |
sumo to part with the fund upon any other !
security than that named in the act II /
would be competent for court to restrain |
him.
But II the court should undertake 70 de- !
clare that the Investment should not be
made. because I'm its opinion, the security |
authorized by the act of the Legislature, /
was suusafe" it would be the assumption OF
right to decide, a question which had al |
ready been determined by the Legislature, |
and which it alone has the right to decide.
A Court of Chancery has the Jurisdiction, |
to control, advise. and direct private per-
sons. and corporations. in the administra-
ton of charitable funds. 1t may direct an
unsafe investment TO be called in, and
new one of its own selection to be made,
IL NAV hold the trustee responsible
in proper cases. Manifestly, the State In Its
sovereign capacity, cannot he called 70 the
bar of its own court, and be compelled 70
render an account, and be directed not 70