The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-01

privilege OF ownership and vet no right
10 cast ballot on his shares. That
charter autcdatcs tho constitution Of
1877. 50 this decree Of the court is in
plain anuulment Of the fundamental
provisions granted and expressed In this
charter. So this court appointed a new
election, although the directors were
elected by the complainant herself, and
without an atom of authority
reversed these rights and laws set down
in this charter.
LOVELY PROPOSITION.
ut is a lovely proposition that the
10000 shares shall be preserved as prop
erty right and yet 1t shall be cut out from
it's fundamental rights granted by the
charter and prevented from voting or ex-
eroising its rights.
Each aud every shareOf stock had Just
as much right to participation as every
other share of stock. AS it stands this
section of the constitution is a restraint
upon the legislative power OF the
state. 1t would require no more
than a common school atlas 10 show
that this section has no application upon
the facts. The Georgia Pacific and the
Central no where come into competition.
NOT MAF1A SOCIETY.
"The Terminal Company is no common
carrier tt has been termed here II sort
of Malta society, but ii is really Sc
curity company. 1t had no business in
Georgia in competition with the Central
or anybody else on earth, It's business
was to hold securities and apparently to
lose money on them The Georgia com
pany formed in North Carolina never did
any business in Georgia and had nothing
to do with anybody in Georgia.
1T acquired 40 5000 shares of Central
stock It's immaterial to me whether
they were properly organized or not.
am inclined to think that this question
could be best brought by the common
wealth OF North Carolina, instead of a
respectable widow lady OF South Caro-
lima, in the federal court of Georgia.
TO CATCH HIM EITHER WAY.
They've got some way TO hush us up.
Because the Terminal which is a stock
holder in the Georgia company, is also a
majority stockholder in the r. x D.
They want to disfranchise US. They want
to disfranchise US also because the Termi-
nal to a minority Of stockholders in the
East Tennessee. Your honor will remem-
Der the western huntsman who built him
good trap, saying he built il to catch the
coon either going or coming.
"When a corporation goes into another
state it carries its charter powers with il.
and if 1t violates them it is the right of
Tue sovereign GLbuJl'l8 buC IOWC I W
check and restrain them. The state Of
North Carolina has never challenged the
acts of the Georgia Company. There was
no provision preventing the voting every
one of those shares. Those shares
are held by trust company
as a security for 100000 of bonds, and
the Terminal company has never exer-
Cised for an instant the power of them.
/ ask your honor not to hold this iniuuc-
tion and establish precedent for the dc
struction of private rights"
MR.. PATTERSON REPLIES.
Mr.. r. w. Patterson replied to Mr.
Crawfords argument.
If Mr. Crawford is correct" he said,
"the people of this state did an idle thing
when they put that provision into the
constitution. If that construction is put
upon it, every citizen of Georgia is stripped
of the rights guaranteed him under the
law ! hold in my hand a complaint for
which Mr. Crawford is solicitor against
Jno. w. Imam, Pat Calhoun and others,
in which he charges that these gentle
men formed plan to wreck the Central
railroad. 1t alleges that these gentlemen
were the incOrpOratOrs of the North Caro-
a-Georgia Company. 1t charges that
they had this company incorporated
for a mere fictitious purpose to mortgage
this stock TO the Central Trust Company.
It appears from me evidence that the
purpose of this company was to violate
the provision Of the constitution of this
state.n
The court adjourned at this point
and met again at O'Clock.
When the court convened in the after
noon Mr.. Patterson resumed his argu-
ment
''They could claim nothing, it seems by
any charter power granted anterior to the
formation of the constitution. l do not
think the constitution could be abrOgated
by the act of 1865.
The proposition that the Georgia com
pany, formed in North Carolina, is not
amenablo to the laws Of Georgia, is one
of the most startling | ever heard enUn-
ciated in a court. 1t is with hesitation
that federal court would declare mop
erative a statute of one of the sovereign
states.
In MIR. Oamans testimony
he said with regard to the
origin of the Georgia com
pany, and just here let me say have no
desire to adopt tho allegations of fraud
and conspiracy contained herein, Mr.
Oakman says they formed a syndicate to
own and control certain shares of the
Georgia Central company They pur-
chased 10000 shares az cost of about
"a, 100000. With the purpose and intent
of realizing on this purchase, they organ
lied corporation under the laws of
North Carolina.
FORMED TO DEFEAT THE CONSTITUTION
"Here is the sworn admission that this
Georgia company was formed with the
avOWCd purpose of controlling majority
stock in the Georgia Central. Here
is company born in North Carolina to
accomplish an Illegal purpose in the state
of Georgia.
THAT is the corporation which as
sumcs to violate the provisions of the
constitution of our state. Their purpose
was TO sell this property and realize upon
it as best they could. These parties were
the officers of the Richmond Terminal
Company, and they sold this property TO
the Terminal Company, and an action has
been brought against them for the
fraud committed III this deal.
we say they can take nsthing from the
fact that this corporation was born in
North Carolina. Ghis Georgia company
was intended to defeat competition in the
state of Georgia. That is their confessed
object to acquire the control of these
competing roads"
TO MAKE THE GEORGIA COMPANY RE-
sPoNsIBLE.
"Mr Patterson, was it or was it not
the object of that bill filed by the Tormi-
nal company TO make the Georgia company
responsible to the Terminal for unloading
on them?n asked Justice jackson.
Eyes, sir, replied Mr.. Patterson, "but
that question Is upotpriaI 70 fbis ;.c,,o