The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-09-09
%.
WILSON GIVES UP HIS POPU-
LAR PLANA.

State IN her sovereign capacity can
CONSENT" but with that qualification
he glanted all that is asked. How
far, it becomes important to enquire,
can the State in her sovereign capacl>
ity permit the courts to enquire into
the legality of a debt against her? ?
just 50 far as will not cOnstrain the
State in its sovereign capacity from
acting for the good of the people as a
governing agency. The United States
Government. the English Govern
ment, so far as we know, every gov
ernment permits the bringing suits to
make judicial inquiry as to claims.
No sovereign permits execution to go,
as against an individual, or allows any
coustraint upon Its powers a, a gov
ernment. We have always insisted
that the State of Tennessee should
never be subjected to any such con.
straint as can only he submitted to
without an abdication Of a portion of
its sovereignty. We have insisted
that the courts should never be allow
ed to go beyond the power to deter>
mine questions judicially as to the
right or wrong, or what is the same
thing, the legality of a claim against
the State.
Commenting on the jurisdiction
claimed for the United States courts
in cases where bonds had been assigns
ed to a State to be sued on, We insist
ed that, even if the United States
courts had such jurisdiction, which
we did not grant, it cO@ld only go to
the extent of trying and determining
the legality of the bonds and not to
taking any steps to enforce payment.
The Supreme Court Of the United
States has since that time confirmed
this view in decision involving the
law of Tennessee which once allowed
suit to be brought against the State.
The court said the right only extend>
ed to trying the question Of liability,
ana intimateG very strongly that no
suit against government could ever
go beyond that.
No government can ever permit
more, and much as we desire the set>
tlement of this question, much as we
believe its settlement necessary to the
progress of the State, the prosperity of
its people, and to its moral standing,
we should resist every attempt tosub-
ject Tennessee to the indignity of any
constraining power on the part of its
own or the Federal Court Our sole
interest in this question is the interest
of Tennessee, and that shall never be
assailed by bondholder, railroad or
over zealons State>credit advocates,
without our earnest protest.
Mr.. Wilson, however, goes to the
extent of putting himself out of court
when he says he is willing to allow
this appeal to the courts as far as the
State may allow 1t consistently with
its inherent sovereignty. The State
can consistently with her sovereignty
submit to her own tribunals any ques-
tion of the liability of the State and
no further; but that is going as far as
anybody ever demanded. To the
courts we submit our lives and for
tunes and liberties, and certain we can
submit to them question involving
the validity Of a.debt. When judg-
meut is rendered it is simply against
the State or for the State, that it owes
or does not owe a certain debt. That
is the end of it. To arrange for its
payment is still with tie State and
that sovereign right we should never
yield to any, never take away from
the people, acting through their rep
representatives. But Mr. Wilson has
yielded all of his popular principle he
was contending for. If he is willing
to pay as the courts decide the liabili
ty, as he says he is, then he has
pretermitted the right of the
people to settle it, pay it as the court
decides it, then the popular right of
legislation at once disappears and Mr..
Wilson stands, as Judge Wright said,
upon the Democratic platform. This
is just what Democracy proposes in its
platform-to refer all disputed bonds
to a tribunal to be created, as all tri-
bunals are created, except the Su-
preme Court, which is constitutional
court, by the Legislature; when the
decision is rendered an appeal may be
taken by either party to the Supreme
Court, which is elected by the people,
its decision to be final and upon that
the settlement of the entire matter to
be based on such terms as the two par
ties can agree upon. In that admis~
sion Mr.. Wilson entirely eliminated
his popular plank and placed himself
on the platform OF the Democratic
party and now of what Use to the peo-
pie to keep open his side show?-
NashUille american.
The Republican Congressional cam
paign committee has devised new
and ingenious scheme for influencing
Al r, L.