Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-04-09
The Tennessee Legislature-The Con
stitution ard Corporations.
pec.al Correspondence Cfths hrt nice

pec.aI CorresI o-dsnce ofths hrt nice
Mr.. EDITOR: I do not like to
venture a criticism in reference to
the Legislature of Tennessee-its
Governor, It's action or its laws, as
all for some time past, have manifest
ed the wild authority of the unre-
strained lawless comet; so that what
seems F" to be lawless, unconstitu
tional and absurd, may, really, be
the most perfect and consistent har-
mony. But I will venture to cite
two authorities, which appear
very expressly opposite and
antagonistic, and ask you, or
somebody else, to explain. No one
of the majority of the late Legis
lature could throw much light on
the subject. A lawyer might do
SO. FIRST, our new Constitution,
framed and ratified in 1870, pro-
vidcd in the latter clause Of Section
s, Article II, the following: " No
corporation shall be created, or its
powers increased or diminished, by
special laws but the General AS
sembly shall provide by general
laws for tao organization of all
corporations hereafter created,
which laws may at any time be
altered or repealed; and no such
alteration or repeal shall interfere
with or divest rights which have
become vested. In accordance
with this clause Of The Cynstitu~
ton, the Legislature OF 1871 pro
ylded three separate modes and
powers of incorporation: LIST, Mu-
nicipal corporations to be created
by the County Court upon petition
Of at least twenty free~h0lders; the
proceedings to be an election; and
if the application is decided affirma-
lively by popular vote, the court
DEGREES the charter for registration.
That ends it. Or such application
may be made by three petitioners to
the Chancery Court to be followed
by an election and decree, etc. End,
The Chanccry Court upon petition
and publication, may decree private
interpretations and Bird, De-
scriptions of corporations may
be registered in the county of the To-
calty and a copy filed in the Office Of
the Secretary of State-the seal of
State attached-and the corporate
power is complete. Any corporas
ton, thus authorized and created
may secure an enlargement, diminu-
ton or change by similar appli>
cation to that b. which it was Great
ed, and it looks reasonable as well
as lawful, that corporations existing
prior to 1871, may and can only,
by the means provided under gen
eral law procure a modification or
change Of charter; and, that the /
only mode Of surrendering char |
ter--for instance Of a municipal |
Corporation, would be to surrender |
it by petition of twenty freeholders |
to the County Court, or by three to |.
the Chancery Court, and if the APP |
plication be approved by popular |
vote, the Court to decree an cad Of
the corporate life. But, the late |
has abolished corpora
tons rather by wholesale and, IN
the case of the Dyersburg Female
Academy, actually by special
statute made important amendments
to the charter. The question is,
are these special legislative acts Of
the Legislature valid? If SO, the
express constitution is inUalid, un>
less it be true that to destroy all tie
p0aoeTs Of a corporation is not d.
Of ats poooers. am, how
ever, led to suppose that the Legis>
lature in thus specially acting, and the
Governor in equally special APPROX
al mean this: That a law prohibit
ing chips to be cut from a growing
tree is not violated if you I" chop all
the way round it'-dsaaon at thor
2ughly. Or, again, this may be the
'r9e facts of the case /: That the Leg
.slatiye and Executive powers OF
our State look upon our Constitu-
.ion-especially Section s of Article
las 'post-soar Mineral Home) !
bond" and so repuiiate it, or at
least reduce it to 335 per centum
value, not receivable in 8 corporation
cases or for corporation pur-
poses" LEX.
T. S.-The best illustration of |
the exercise of the higher law pow