Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-03-29


would be no room for considerable
" unless that solemn evidence of deh
is overcome by positive proof. Wha
are the defeTees that are relied upul
y to lnVaiidate these solemn Obliga
+ tions2 The first is that the Stat
r cannot niakea bond; that this piec
" of paper WAS executed withou
e authority, and void o6 igsitiO. 1t i
Is too we'll atteSted by che adiudica
} tions Of the civilized world to ques
a tion whether the State can bind
: herself by contract. We sit here
: day after day and pass laws author.
J, izing subordinate divisions of the
! State, and private corporations over
:, whom we have control, to enter into
e contracts; and did the world ever
r hear of power being delegated that
a the party delegating did not pOsseSss
/ Who ever heard of such a soleeisn?
r The power of making contract is
. essential to the life of an Individual
{ Incorporation. Withoutthis power
| all other powers conferred upon it
} amounts to nothing. All the civil
= lied governments of the world enter
! into treaties and contracts. Yet we
are told in this nineteenth century
. that the State is powerless to make
r IA contract. Mr.. Clapp then read
various legal opinions, including %
J Miss. Rep. and Humphreys.
; Mr.. Savage-What do you read
, from?
Mr.. Clapp gave the authorities,
. and said, when you can nlasticate
and digest these, ] can supply more
if your appetite Graves thefa. Re-
ferring again to the cancelled bond
in his hand, he said, GovernOrs who
sign the bords of the State, either
perjured or stultified themselves,
and would never have signed them,
if they had not believed they had a
right to do it. Now, the question is
settled except in tue mind of my
| venerable friend from Warren, and
he will die with the delusiOn.
The next, according to- the report
of the committee, is that if the state
| is liable for these instruments at All,
she is only secondarily liable. Whc
is first liable? If there is q party
secondarily liable, there must be a
party primarily liable. Who is that
party? / hold this instrument NJ
for inspection. 1t examines it care
fully and finds the great seal of the
State and the signature of the Gov
ernor upon it.
Mr.. Clapp read the bond, show
ing upon it's face that the State prom !
ised to pay.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, sitting as |
Judge 10 decide the law of this case |
and to instruct the jury, how would |
you settle that question How |
would any man with common sense,
who had never looked in a law |
book ? / say that the statement OF |
the fact that the State is secondarily |
fliahle implies that somebody is pri- |
marily liable. When you look for
secondary liability, you look on the
back of the paper. There is where
the guarantOr, the man who intends
to- become sec0ndarily liable by all
the rules of commercial paper, signs
his name. Look on the back of
this instrument-blan But here
on the face blazes out the great seal
of the State, with the signature of
the Governor. This throws the
whole burden upon the State, 711'ilna
fdciQ, the most solemn evidence
which can be possibly presented.
But they say you have vecOmpOunded
war interest. 1 said in the minori-
ty report that this question of the
suspension of interest during the
war was between the belligeTents.
It is a principle of public policy,
universally recognized, that all con-
tracts are suspended between the
citizens of a State and its belliger-
ents. For If / pay money during
-, ,,fh a LAnNs1n Gfafn 1 I
am furnishing tirGgfnews of war>tn4
my adversary. But does that have
anything to do with the interest
owing by the belligerents them
selves So far as they are con- :
cerned, the law takes no knowledge (
of its being interrupted.
My friend referred to the cores !
pondence between Jefferson and !
Hammond. Mr.. Jefferson was in
formed that if he undertook 10
avoid treaty stipulations by taking I
shelter behind State laws, it would
be regarded as a c0Stts 6eiIi, and, as
a matter of fact and history, the |
United States paid the claims. IF {
YOU reject these bonds because they !
are given for interest, will you not
have to go back and pay the inter- {
est on the original obligation? What [
has released you from it A? | think
before you get through with that {
you would be very willing to pay
this interest.
AS to the argument about the sig |
nature of the Brownlow bonds, sup
pose he did not sign them with his
own hand ? Because some one took I
the hand of BroWnlow, trembling 1
with age and disease, and affixed {
the signature, will you account that {
a forgery? Oh, no. There Is no {
lawyer in the State that would ur- |
dertake to make such defense as
that in court of justice.
They say that the legislatures
were fraudulent, corrupt and {
bribed. 1t is greatly to be deplored |
that the agents of the people should {
prove false to their high trust, but
who Is to suffer by it p? If my agent,
authorized by me, commits a fraud !
on an innocent party, where does
the law place the Suffering? Why, I
upon the man who causes the suffer /
ing. You are bound to put your =
finger on some specific act OF bribery. !
You have done less towards assail-
lux l4lAo 1LAON iiACn A9AealNlN AaAftA !
its successors of I869-70. We re- >
quest you to be specific in so grave !
a charge as this. The testimony /
fails to fix the charge of bribery on .
a single member of the Legislature.
The only specific case was that of 7
member bribed by Bearden, and +
that member showed he had, as /
sworn to by him, returned the bribe {
and voted against the bill for which t
he was expected to give his vote.
Hurriedly prepared, it would !
be matter of surprise if the miner |
ity report were not open to criticism, I
but it shows upon its face a careful
examination referred to by the ma Z
iority report. It's soundness as to :
the law, If may be pardOned for t
stating it, is sustained by testimo- d
nials that came to me unsolicited 4
from different portions of the State, t
and from lawyers who stand at the Z
head of the profession, and now, af- \
ter all the official records have been
CLEANED, and musty books and pom 4
der0us manuscripts introduced, the /
report still stands as inn >
pregnable as the rock Of Gibraltar. {