The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1911-03-02
MARION BUFFERS RAIL
EICH SPEECH,
CONTINUED from Page ID

,h. Constitution providing that the
Stale may be sued by an inoiFiauai
- the Legislature gives permission.
-rpfs argument shows that be Is eth
.- very weak and shallow man In
,eilectuaIly. with no knowledge OF
.bc Law or the decisions Of the Su-
irene Court. Or else shows that he
,s wiIfuIly and deliberately falsifying
70 fool the people. and that his ef-
forts are an insult TO the intelligence
o fthe people Of the State.
Does he not know that no Legis-
Iature can give permission for a suit
10 be brought against the Supreme
Court of the State on any question,
which is inhibited by the Constitu-
ton? The act OF Legislature In at
tempting TO do such a thing would,
Of course. be declared unconstitu
tlonal now, as IL has been declared
unconstitutional in the past,
The Supreme Court OF North Car
DINA. in Horns case ga y. c.. 362),
and In Baltzer's case f104 -. c.,
2G5D. has expressly held covering
this point. Besides, IL is known to
every lawyer, as well as TO the people
generally. that the Supreme Court Of
the United States follows the decis-
ions OF the Supreme Court Of State
in interpreting the meaning, force
and effect of the Constitution of each
State.
I'm the last named case, the court
in unanimous decision, said: 1T
was idle, futile and ridiculous for
this court TO declare and adjudge the
validity OF a claim against the State,
and 10 recommend to the General AS
sembly to provide for its payment
when the Constitution expressly for
bids 1t to pay or provide for the pay
ment of such a claim
This was a case in which an eff
fort was made by number of DEM
ocratic lawyers to enforce the collec-
ton of these very carpet-bag bonds.
In that case, Judge Thomas c. Full
er. a leading Democratic lawyer Of
the bar of the State, was the leading
counsel for the bond holders.
In the first case (Horn's case)
there was also an effort made to sue
the State and collect the special tax
carpet-bag bonds of the State. w. P.
Bachelor, of the Raleigh bar. q prom
inent Democrat, was the leading law
yer for the bond holders in that case
before the court. In that case it was
held by the Supreme Court that the
State could not be sued.
A Republican Supreme Court First
Declares the Carpet-Bag Bonds I'm
constitutional.
The cases cited above are not the
only cases that have been brought be-
fore the Supreme Court of North
Carolina in an effort to collect these
carpet-bag bonds. The decisions just
referred to follow a former decision
rendered by a Republican Supreme
Court
In 1869, the Supreme Court OF
North Carolina was composed OF
Richmond Pearson, Chief Justice;
Edwin G. Read, w. B. Rodman, R.
P. Dick, and Thomas Settle, as Asso-
ciates Justices, all of them Republi-
cans. 1t was a very able court. An
effort was made by great array OF
Democratic counsel to have that
court uphold the validity of these
of Galloway VS.. Jenkins (63 n. c.,
147).
The facts in that case were that
the act of the Legislature, ratified
December Is, 1868, authorized sub
scription to the Chatham County
Railroad of two million dollars,
which subscription was to be paid by
the delivery to the president of the
company of that road the bonds OF
the State at par. The attorneys be-
fore the court in that case were w.
III. Battle & Sons, B. F. Moore, ex-
Governor Bragg, Judge Phillips,
Judge Merrimon, and if l remember
correctly, Governor Fowle and two or
three other Democratic lawyers.
Judge Merrimon had been the at
torney for these bond holders, and
had drawn the legislation under
which this effort had been made to
loot the State. This Republican SUI
preme Court held against the bond
holders. Chief Justice Pearson, in a
lengthy decision, laid Down the law
to the effect that the Legislature had
no power under the Constitution to
issue these bonds without first sub
hitting the proposition to the peo-
pie and having it ratified by major
ity Of the voters. That was the law
then and that is the law now. That
decision has been upheld by the Su-
preme Court in every case since
where an effort has been made look
ing to the collection of these bonds
in any shape.
Even Judge Merrimon, though
the author Of this legislation provid-
ing for the issuing of these fraudu-
lent and it,,t