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 The Supreme Court of Tennessee.

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be said to have practically put an end to the stitutional as impairing the obligation of con tracts, in an elaborate opinion by Judge "Code " in Tennessee. Judge Catron was on the United States Hay wood, which gave incidentally a complete Supreme Bench at the time of the breaking history of the various colonial paper issues. out of the war between the States. He The action of the Supreme Court of Ken sided with the Union when his State seceded. tucky in declaring unconstitutional a like During the possession of Nashville by the stay law passed to meet the same emergency Confederates he was forced to leave the resulted in an attempted removal of the State, but returned and continued to hold his judges through a reorganization of the court, and in a long struggle

courts after the occu between the judges pation of the city by and claimants elected the Federal forces. to the positions by the He died May 30, 1865. Legislature which had With the adoption attempted to oust the of the Constitution of old court. The effort 1834, ended what to remove the judges might be called the in Kentucky failed first period of the only because the court court. Under the new was intrenched behind order the composition the Constitution cre of the court was al ating it. In Tennes most entirely changed; see the court had no Judge Green, who had such protection; but been on the bench for its decision was ac only three years, alone quiesced in, and no being continued as a attempt was made to judge of the new Su preme Court, then for disturb it. While not hesitat the first time recog ing to declare the en nized in the Consti actments of the Leg tution of the State. islature void, when From 1810 to 1834 the court existed only their duty required JOHN CATRON by the sufferance of it, the judges of that the Legislature, which period were much had the power to abolish it at any time its slower to annul them than some of their rulings did not meet its pleasure. successors have been. Most of the acts Notwithstanding its precarious tenure, the whose constitutionality was drawn in ques court did not hesitate courageously to set tion before them, were sustained. aside acts of the Legislature as invalid. At The larger part of the litigation before the the time of the great financial depression of court down to 1834 consisted of cases involv 1819, the Legislature enacted a statute stay ing titles to land, and in that field the judges ing all executions for two years unless the made their greatest reputation. They cre judgment creditor should endorse on the ex ated an orderly system out of a chaotic mass ecution a direction to the sheriff to accept in of conflicting laws and adverse claims. Ten payment notes of the Bank of Tennessee at nessee was won by conquest from its Indian their par value. In the case of Townsend 7'. possessors gradually. Years after it had be Townsend, Peck, i, the act was held uncon- come a State they still had sufficient power