Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-10
A NOVEL FORGERY CASE Said to Be the First of Its Kind
 on Record WHERE A LAW WAS FORGED Farmers Are Prevented From Giving Mortgages
 on Their Crops. THE SUPREME COURT REFUSES RELIEF The Enrolling Clerk and the Principal Clerk of the House Have Been Indicted
 and They Are Now on Trial
 for the Crime.
WHERE A LAW WAS FORGED
THE SUPREME COURT REFUSES RELIEF

Raleigh, N. C., Jan. 9-The trial of a very peculiar case began here today. It dates back to the last legislature, of which J. w. Brown was enrolling clerk and s. P. Satterfield principal clerk of the lower house. bill was introduced at the instance of lawyer named Smith, who says he dictated it. The bill was in these words: That all conditional sales, assignments, mortgages or deeds of trust which are executed to secure any debt, obligation, note or bond, which gives preferences to any creditor of the maker, shall be absolutely void as to existing creditors, except those given to secure cash advanced at the time of the execu- tion of the same, or to secure advance ments for farming purposes"
 The committee struck out all after the word creditors and reported the bill favorably. It is stamped tabled in the house March 12, 1895" The bill was never before the senate at all, yet when the secretary of state began to copy the acts for publication after the legislature adjourned he found this act duly rati- fled and signed by the speaker of the - house and president of the senate. The act completely stopped the giving of mortgages on crops, and thus prevented farmers from procuring supplies from merchants. Governor Carr, acting as a citizen, sued the secretary of state to compel the latter to eliminate this fraudulent act from the volume of the acts of the legislature. There was no de- nial of the fact that the act was a fraud. The question was, how to undo what had been illegally done. The case went up to the supreme court, which said the question presented was absolutely new; that if the court did not look behind the record lobbyists and corrupt men would feel safer in their attempts to prevent the laws, while on the other hand, if the court permitted every act to be inquired into the state would be plagued with a ponderous tax of evils. The court fur ther declared that this was the first case on record in the world where a forger tried to play lawmaker Three of the justices of the court decided that there was no power to go behind ratification, but that this act must be construed as given above in it's integrity and not as amended. Two justices dissented, say ing the court had power to go behind falsely obtained signatures of the presi- dent and speaker and declare the act invalid. At the last term of the Wake county criminal court true bills were found by the grand jury against Satter- field and Brown, that against the former being for negligently and willfully fail ing to perform the duties of his office in that he delivered to Brown bill entitled du dSSlS iiIHeHl dCt, dHu dlSO WllH COT ruptly procuring it's enrolment. Brown was charged with willfully and negli- gently permitting the enrolment of the act.
 The first case, that against Satterfield, was taken up today. He had four attor- neys and several witnesses. The state summoned as witnesses Speaker Walser, w. M. Smith, who dictated the bill R. L. Smith, the member who introduced it: W. I. Christian, Washington correspond ent of the Raleigh News and Observer; w. P. Bachelor, chief clerk of the secre- tary of state, and c. Ellington, state librarian. Enrolling Clerk Brown is also here with four lawyers and several wit nesses. The contention of the state is that the bill enrolled is Identical with the bill as amended. and that this proves that the original bill was the one from which the enrolled bill was made. The defense contends that the original bill never left Satterfield's possession and that forged bill was the one from which the enrolled one was made.