The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-06
JUDGE sPEER,s BUSY TERM.
The United States Courts Adjourn
Some of the Cases.


The terms of the United States Circuit
and District Courts were brought to close
yesterday. Judge Speer ordered an adj
journment from Saturday to Saturday,
until he can render DEGREES in such cases as
he has under consideration. He left last
night for Macon, where he will hold court
tomorrow.
A MORNING NEWS reporter last night
found Mr.. Erwin, the obliging clerk of the
court, busily engaged taxing costs and
making up his reports Of the business OF
the term for the departments at Washing
ton. He was congratulating himself upon
getting rid, at this term, of some of the
causes that have encountered the dockets
for many years. Although quite large
amount of business has been disposed Of,
there are still on the civil dOckets forty
eight cases which 90 over 10 Che next term.
The case of A. O. Lochrane VS.. De ROssett
Lamar was dismissed because the parties
to the contract are dead This case, how
ever, received its death blow several years
ago when the Circuit Judge decided that a
written contract to pay a lawyer $4,000 for
his services before a committee of congress
was illegal and void under the statute
against lobbying
The equity causes of Eugene Kelly and
Morris K Jesup against the Atlantic and
Gulf Railroad Co., were stricken as finally
concluded, the Intervention having been dis
posed Of
The case Of Mrs. Elizabeth T. Belt against
the estate of the late ex-Gov. Charles J.
jenkins, has been finally disposed Of, the
decree denying the petition for a rehearing.
Mrs. Belt was seeking TO charge the estate
with an indebtedness of $l00,0 00 The
judgments and final DEGREES rendered in
favor of plaintiffs aggregate in money and
value OF property recovered over S53, $50.
The admiralty case in the United States
Circuit Court, in which judgment was rem
dered Thursday for the plaintiff, Captain Of
the Austrian brig Maratona, for damages
by collision with the steamship State of
Texas, has been referred to Mr.. Marion
Erwin as special master.
The Jones VS.. Lamar case, involving
some $4,000, has been disposed of except
as to Mrs. Caroline A. Lamar, by decree
for the defendant, and so far as she is con-
cerned the decree is only interlocutory.
Quite a number of cases brought by the
New England Mortgage Security Company
and the American-London Mortgage Com
pany of London, limited, were dismissed by
the plaintiffs counsel on account of Judge
Speer's decision on the usury question, the
plaintiffs preferring to commence suit over
again in the State courts rather than have
the 20 per cent. commissions, which were
retained out of the loan by the Corbin
Banking Company, declared usury and de-
Quoted from their judgments.
On the criminal docket the most import
ant decision rendered during the term was
in the casa of Otto Johanne.ep, in which
the court held that in no case in which the
imprisonment might be for time longer
than one year can defendant be prose
cuted upon information, but only after in
dictment by grand jury. This decision
resulted in the liberation of two. prisoners
from jail and the quashing of five other in
formations on the docket.