The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1879-08-27
CAN THEY MAKE Us PAYi
NEW HAMPSHIRE 10 THE RES
CUE OF THE BONDHOLDERS.
New York Graphic.

!. New Hampshire which may havr
. important practical consequences
: which cannot fail to have importan
legal consequences, "a the decision
to which it will give rise will SETTLE
the construction to be placed upol
the provisions of the Constitution o.
United States relating to suits
against a State of this Union.
There are, as it is well known
States that will not or cannot, but
at any rate do not, pay their bonded
debts. The amount of these debt:
is said to aggregate about $3.50, ,0OO.,
900. In a number of the States
there is great struggle going on at
this time-a large party being in
favor Of scaling down the debts
that is. repudiating certain por.
ton Of the debt; others are in fav-
or of compromising with the crsdi.
tor for long time aud low interest,
while there is, we are a1~ry to say,
only q minority in favor oT paying
in full. As ia we'll known, a State
can only be sued in it's own courts
by its own permission. Many per.
sons have come to the conclusion
that there is no tribunal In this
country before which State which
refuses to pay its dobts can be
| brought as a defendant and made
subject to the process of the courts.
This feeling Of immunity has had
much to do with creating the feeling
prevalent in some of the States that
if creditors do not like what the 'ad-
ipsters" or ''scalers" are willing to
do for them, they can take the less
Of it. What we offer or nothing"
is their ultimatum.
The second section OF the third
article of the Constitution of the
United States provides, among 9th.
er things, "that the judicial power
shall extend y to contro.
versies between two or more States
between a State and citizens of an
other State; between citizens of
different States between citizens Of
the same State claiming lands under
grants of different States, and be-
tween a State and the citizens there
of and foreign States, citizens or
subjects" The eleventh amend
ment to the Constitution is in these
words: THE judicial power of the
United States shall not be construed
to extend to any suit in law or equi-
ty commenced or prosecuted against
one of the United States by citizens
of another State or by citizens or
subjects of any foreign State"
It is perfectly plain that the pow.
er of State to sue another State of
the Union in the Supreme Court Of
the United States - for m cases
where a State is party that court
has original iurisdiction-is left in.
tact; that power is granted by the
Constitution as originally ratified,
and it has not been taken away by
the amendment. The only effect of
the amendment is to prevent a de-
fendant State, from being sued by
citizens of another State, or by sub
jects Of any foreign nation. A State
is still liable to be sued by a State.
The judicial power still extends. to
controversies between. two or more
States.
. A number of representatives of
the defaulted bondholders of certain
of the States, acting under legal ad-
vice, applied to the legislature of
this State to pass an act for their
relief. This act, which passed the
Legislature, but which Gov. Robin
son declined to sign, instructed the
Attorney General to begin an action
in the name of the State, but for the
benefit of its citizens, against States
that had refused to pay to those citi-
zens their just dues. Failing in
this State, the same parties went to
New Hampshire. There they have
been completely successful. The
act has been passed by the Legisla-
ture and signed by the Governor.
The act provides that any citizen of
that State holding a dishonored
claim against another State may as.
sign that claim to the people of the
State of New Hampshire, and on his
giving a bond to idemnify the State
for all costs and expenses arising in
the prosecution of the legislation,
and satisfying the Attorney Gener.
al that the claim is a meritorious
one, that officer is empowered to
bring an action in the name of the
Commonwealth against the default-
ing State. An attempt will no
doubt be made to draw the distinc-
tion that such q controversy" is
not the one contemplated by the
constitution. But it is very doubt
full if the Supreme Court will try the
issue as to how the State Of New
Hampshire acquired a claim against
it's sister State, but whether the claim
is or is not valid.
Doubtless the people Of the South
have Lost heavily during and since
the war. But despite his losses q