Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 3.djvu/841

 834 VEBSBAL BEFOBTEB. �most important part of those judicial powers. Its duty is not to establish new rules, unknown to the common law, for the conduct of the people or the regulation of their property, but to apply and enforce those prineiples of the common law which cannot be enforced by the other courts. In the case of thia bank a court of chancery will probably sustain a bill by one or more of the stockholders for the beneflt of ail." �Th© cases of Merchants' Bank of Newberryport v. Stevenson, 10 Gray, 232, and Spence v. Ragera, 11 M. & W. 191, are also cited ; in the latter of which it was held that the assignee in bankruptcy may sue at law for injuries affecting the bank- rupt's property, so far as they do not involve such damages to his person as he might sue for irrespectively of injury to his property ; but that the assignee could not sue for torts, because of the rule actio personalis moritur cumpersona; nor on con- tracts affecting the person only. �The case of Attomey General v. Aspinall, 3 M. & G. 613, is one of a numerous class which decide that the ordinary juris- diction of chancery over trustees and trusts is not ousted by special remedies or proceedings at law prescribed by statute in cases of breach of trust. �That direotors are trustees; that equity bas jurisdiction of suits against them by virtue of its original cognizance of trusts; that they are liable separately and jointly for the losses resulting from fraud and negligence; that they may be sued by their corporation, or by one or more of its stock- holders, or by one or more of the company's creditors, and that they may be made defendants in a bill along with other persons who are not directors; in short, that a court of equ- ity, trampling under foot aU technical pleas and excuses, will go straight to the wrong, and shape its remedy to suit every case demanding its intervention, will abundantly appear from the folio wing review of authorities : �Judge Story, (Equity Jurisprudence, § 1252,) after saying that the property of a corporation will be held afifected with a trust, primarily for the creditors and secondarily for the stock- holders ; and that, where dividends have been paid in diminu- tion of the capital stock, every stockholder is liable pro rata ����