Huntsville gazette., 1882-02-11
JsL AI xt84l4t ~ At tsi k44A s-yis .4-sJ tl
SOUTHERN GLEANINGS.

| ,5..-..f - 81 u s---4 5aUl4Sa Y ai y
i The United States Circuit Court re-
| Gently rendered avery important decision,in
the case Of the United States, on relation Of
/ Lucinda Walb, vs. the justices Of Lauder
| dale County, Tenn, Judge Shelby Ham
| mond delivering the opinion. The plaintiff
recovered a.judginent against the county for
| S2S,O0o on bonds issued in aid Of the old
Memphis & Padiieah Railroad, which was
affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United
States A peremptory mandamus was issued
! requiring the County Court to levy tax to
| pay it and the Justices all resigned to evade
'oheyarce'to writ. They were arraigned for
| contempt on the ground that, notwithstand-
ing the resignation, they were still in Office
and bound toobey, because the Constitution
OF Tennessee provides that every officer shalt
hold his office until his successor is elected
| or appointed and qualified. The statutes
require Sheriff, when Justice of the
Peace resigns, to hold an election to fill a
vacancy within ten days, but the Sheriff has
never held elections, because the people Of
| the county determined not to pay the
| subscriptions claiming that the bonds are
void and the railroad did not build the
! road. Judge Hammond decides that un-
der the Constitution no officer in Tennessee
can abandon his offices until his Successor is
| qualified He may resign sub nodo, to
| authorizes the appointing power or electorto
supply q successor, but until his successor
is qualified the resigning officer must con-
tinue in the discharge, Of his duties. This
was rule Of common law, and has been re-
stored by the Constitution Of 1870 to prevent
! paralysis OF governmental agencies. The
Court withholds sentence OF fine to the full
amount of Judgment, distributed according
to the ability TO pay among the twenty three
| resigning justices, and orders an alias man-
damus TO levy tax in April next, the reg
ular annual levy. This sentence will be
passed if there is any further disobedience
| Of writ by Justices or their successors. This
is test case, and there are other judgments
| to large amount against Lauderdale and
Eother counties. The effect of the decision is
to destroy all power to eYade process OF
| court by resignation, and to furnish a COM
plete remedy to enforce Judgment OF courts
against defaulting counties in Tennessee
There is no appeal from the decision, as it is
criminal case, and the Justices will have
! W oDcy biic W III VI 80 10 jan uuIi IL 10 uOHC,
| and pay fines and costs into the United
| States Treasury. M
In private letter to q friend in New
York City, Judah P. Benjamin, on the SUBJ
| ject of Confederate bonds, says:
&C At the close Of the war the United States
4 Government, claiming the right to receive the
entire assets OF the Confederate Government,
4 instituted suits against Fraser, Trenholm 4
! Co. and against MacRea. After a determined
and protracted litigation Fraser, Trenholm &
I Co. were driven into bankruptcy, as their
Y wholebusness was destroyed and their credit
/ broken by the apprehensions created in the
! mercantile world of the result of the enor
7 nous claims hanging over them. when they
| really.owed little or nothing. and think the
! United States ultimately recovered few
| thousand dollars as a compromise. MacRea
I proved in'hls case that he had rendered full
and faithful account to the Confederate Gov
eminent of the entire proceeds of the lean, in
payment OF supplies and munitions Of war to
the various commiSsaliat and quarterma5-
| ters' officers in this country, and of the cou-
| pons ON the bonds, but he was ready tn rem
l. der his accounts over again if the United
| States would agree to reimburse him any bal
'ahce found due in his favor.''
Circuit Judge Pardee, of the United
| States Court, in the case of Mercer Colony
| against the Commissioner of the General
| Land Office OF Texas, decided to perpetuate
the injunction granted p9RdeRte lite by JUS
7 tice Wood, restraining the Commissioner
from Issuing land certificates or patents to
any one except the complainants for lands
within the bounds of Mercer Colony. The
Judge refused all other relief sought, in
cluding a mandamus requiring an issue OF
land script to complainants within and
without the colony limits. The significance
tof the-decision is that the Supreme Court of
1.-THE State has decided that the Land Com
missioner and other heads of departments
of the State Government are not subject to
writs to the courts commanding them to
7 perform official acts, or restraining or en-
Joining them from the performance of any
act. 1t is surmised that the decree is Of no
value to complainants, as there is no vacant
land in the colony limits, and the decree
seems to contemplate no interference with
holders of land in the colony whose titles
were complete from the State when the
temporary injunction was instituted. The
State will carry the matter to the United
States Supreme Court.
In the recent report of the President
Of the st. Louis Merchants Exchange it is
sta ed that the shipments by river last year
equaled SS4, OPS tons, or 173.500 tons less than
the previous year, or only 5000 tons more
than were moved in 1872. ssThe loss in river
shipments seems strangely at variance with
the Improvements of barges and other ap-
pliances in transportation which have gained
such popularity for the Mississippi. The
loss can be fairly ascribed to the result OF
speculation and deficient haryests, which in
duced high prices and embargoed all ex-
ports ofproduce- ge.4
The steamer Drouillard encountered
terrific storm on the Ohio in recent trip
from Cairo to Nashville, waves running ten
feet high frequently sweeping the decks.
The steamer was beat about and often blown
toward the woods, with no place to land
within five miles. Had she not been new
boat she would have been torn to pieces by
the gale and sunk. The officers said they
had never seen such floods in all their ex-
perience. They could only make four land
ings between the mouth Of the river and
Clarksyille, and then under the buffs.
Dionycio Garcia, a postal messenger
at Laredo, Texas, and Fernando Garcia,
e,nn1nved in a newspaper Office, have been