East Tennessee Law Stories. like operations. These are reasons which might perhaps justify the destruction of enemy prizes; but none of them seem suffi cient to justify the destruction of neutral prizes with the possible exception of unsea worthiness and danger of recapture. The Russian Regulations are plainly at variance with the principle of International Law, as stated above. It is not alleged that the Knight Commander was unseaworthy or in imminent danger of recapture, or even that it was impossible to
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bring her into port. Still less was there an overpowering or extreme necessity for her destruction. It was not even vital to Russia's military interests that that portion of her cargo which consisted of railway ma terial be destroyed or prevented from reach ing its destination. Under the circumstances we must pronounce the sinking of the Knight Commander a serious and wanton attack upon neutral rights and an undoubted vioIntion of International Law.
EAST TENNESSEE LAW STORIES. BY CHARLES D. McGUFFEY, Of the Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bar.
THERE have been, and are still, strong men among the Bar of East Tennessee. Anyone familiar with the Courts at Knoxville in the sixties and seventies can remem ber much of interest. Aside from the local Bench and Bar, the Supreme Court, chosen from the -three divisions of the State and sitting at Knoxville for East Tennessee cases, brought lawyers from a distance. Some of the men of that day still live at Knoxville, others have gone to other places, not a few have ceased practice unless before "Heaven's high Chancery." Horace Maynard, distinguished as a law yer, had been by that time so claimed by public life that but little was seen of him in court. For many years in Congress, after wards Minister to Turkey and PostmasterGeneral, a fine scholar, man of irreproach able private life, elder in the Presbyterian Church, he was a standing refutation of the thoughtless claim sometimes made that no one can succeed in politics without dirty work. He has long since joined the great silent majority. One of his sons, now a retired rear-admiral, captured the first prize in our late war with Spain. It is told of Mr. Maynard that on one occa-
sion, probably at a country court, being as signed by the court to defend a woman, he read from the court Bible the story of Christ's reply to those who accused the woman taken in adultery, telling the jury that that was the oldest and best law book, and asking them to govern themselves ac cordingly, with the result that the woman was acquitted. Another story is told of his exasperating an opponent in court to the extent of a personal attack, by merely shak ing his forefinger at him and exclaiming in his sarcastic tones, "I am not mistaken, sir!" There was a legend that he had In dian blood, to which color was given by his straight figure, straight black hair, com plexion and cast of features, and the name "The Narragansett (he came from Massa chusetts) was as well understood as is now "The Sage of Wolfert's Roost." Associated in some stories of this olden time were two genial gentlemen, Colonel T. R. Cornick, one of the older members of the Bat, long since departed, and Colonel Will A. Henderson, one of the younger set, now for many years Assistant General Counsel of the Southern Railway, with an office at Washington, one of those happy
