Year: 1871

and in virtue of this appointment. got all OF
their patrimony into his hands and wasted or
applied it to his own purposes. Since the war
and after they became OF age, the defendcntS
brought suit in chanccry tur the purpose OF
recovering from Nance their estate, ana oD-
tanned decree against INN tor the money IN
hishands. due to and OF which lie had dcprlv-
ed them :; but they could not sue out executions
ON account of the stay law. The decree (Which
operatcd as Il lien on his lands they had enter
cd on the lien docket so is to make 1t effective
against alicnccs After this, Nance filed pc,
titon in the Federal court. and had himself
prosecuted rs bankrupt, and was declared Il
bankrupt and made an assignment OF all OF his
estate and effects to an aSslgnce-whereoy,
among other things. he conveyed his land sub
i.ct to the lien on it, The creditors who had
liens on the land, were not convened before the
bankrupt court, nor did they attempt to set
them up in that torum The aSsignccs, under
4 decree Of the bankrupt court, sold the land
subject to the liens on it, and 1t was bought hy
L friend of Nance, at his request Tor his wife,
at Il mere nominal price. the liens ON the land
amounting to more than its value) IN order that
he mi ght retain the possession; Nance was al
forwards by decree Of the bankrupt court,
discharged from the payment of i'll his just
debts. except those due in Il tiducary charac-
tcr-and those due to McCabe and his sisters
were of this class and came under this eNccp-
ton. After his NlcCabc and others brought Il
suit in cl,ancery to subj jcct the land of Nance
to the liens existing on it before he had him.
self declared bankrupt, from which 1t could
not be discharged by the bankrupt court
Nance and his assignee were regularly made
parties to this suit aid process duly served
on them and no objection made to the jurlsdlc-
ton Of the court, nor any qcston made rs 10
the right of the lien creditors 10 proceed to
enforce their liens upon the land in the State
court. \ decree Was passed directing CON-
missioner to take an account Of the liens on the
land with their relative prioritics III order
that the same might be sold and its proceeds
properly distributed among the lien creditors,
under which, after due notice to Nance and
his assignee and all the other parties. an ac-
count was taken and report OF 1T made to the
court. 70 this report neither Nance nor his
assignee took any exception, and Il decree was
made in conformity Herewith without any OBJ
lection against it either by Nance or his asSig
nec), directing the land to be sold to pay the
debts due from Nance to McCabe's heirs and
other lien creditors Under this decree the
land was sold and Nance became the purchaser
hut failed to give the security required by the
decree. Upon his failure to comply with the
terms Of sale the land was rcsold and another
person became the purchaser, who did comply
with the terms of sale.


Upon this Nance applied to the Judge OF
the L. s. District court, which had already, cX-
haustcd al the jurisdiction 1t had assumed IN
relation to the land, for an injunction to the
proceedings in the Circuit court OF Bedford
county, court of competent jurisdiction, upon
The prctcncc that he WAS entitled to ali cxemp-
lion Of $500 out of the land, and asked the
bankrupt court to take the land In which he.
Nance. had no interest whatever, Tor he had
already conveyed all of his interest in it to his
aSsignce) and sell it and give him $500 OF It's
proceeds, and strange rs it may appear to 4
lawyer or any man of the least appreciation
of fairness and Justice, the Judge of that court
granted the in junction and appointed Nance
a special messenger or deputy marshall
to execute the process in his own case:
He served it on the parties to the s!lt and
commissioners to sell the land during the term
of the court to which they were to report and
they brought the matter to the notice OF the
court in their report of the sale. The Circuit
court of course disrcgardcd the injunction. con-
tirmcd the sale and made Il rule against Nance
10 show cause why he should not be attached
for his contempt to the authority and jursdlc-
ton of the courts Of the State in attempting to
withdraw the case from the State court, to
whose jurisdiction he had submitted without
objection Upon the return OF the rule, Nance
still pcrsisting in his effort to subvcrt the au-
,horitv of the State courts and to carry the case
to the Federal courts. was cnjoined from prose
eating his Injunction there and fined for his
contempt and imprisoned until he should dis
miss his injunction. 1t appearing also that he
had been advised to this course by II. II. W. ellis
Of Richmond and aided by him in obtaining
the Injunction, rule WIS made against W ellis,
also rcturnablc to the next term. After tins,
Nance, instead of appealing to Il Judge OF Il
Virginia court, applied to }. &. Underwood,
the Judge Of the United States District court,
for 4 writ of habcas corpus, who granted 1t and
discharged Nance. At the next term OF the
Circui, court of Bedford MAY last new rule
was made against Nance for failing to surrcn-
der the land to the purchaser, and for his con-
tinucd contempt in attempting to hinder and
prevent the execution Of the decree OF the CIR
cult court through the instrumcntallty OF the
Federal court He appeared and intimated
that he would dismiss his injunction it time
was allowed him--the Federal court, as it was
said, was hot then in session. Upon this an
order WAS made providing that he might have
thirty days to dismiss his injunction, and that
j.! he did not do 50 within that time, he should
he attached until he did, and his fine should be
doubled


Wells answered tc the rule against him.
which showed that he was 4 practising lawyer
at the time he aided and advised Nance to ap.
ply to the Federal court for the injunction that
knew that the matter had been disposed of
and deereed upon in the State court Of compe-
tent jurisdiction in suit in which Nance was
regular party, whose dccrccd bound him I'M
til it was appealed from reversal and as Il


lawyer, he knew, or ought to have known that
II WAS contempt to court to resist the decree
thus obtained, either by direct or indirect
means and he (Wels) WAS therefore fined
! let the thirty days expire without disniSsine
J his injunction. At the expiration Of the time
he was again attached and put in Jail. He
again applied to Underwood for habeas COR
PuS, and Notwithstanding Nance is now i'll the
Western District Of Virginia, over which Tn,