He believed in the persuasiveness of
ruffianism.
Whether he thought his marriage would frighten Judges Sawyer and
Deady, who had just rendered their decision in the United States
Circuit Court, and cause them either to modify the terms of the decree
not yet entered, or deter them from its enforcement, is a matter of
uncertainty. He was of the ultra State's-rights school and had great
faith in the power of the courts of a State when arrayed against those
of the United States. He had always denied the jurisdiction of the
latter in the case of Sarah Althea, both as to the subject-matter and
as to the parties. He refused to see any difference between a suit for
a divorce and a suit to cancel a forged paper, which, if allowed to
pass as genuine, would entitle its holder to another's property. He
persisted in denying that Sharon had been a citizen of Nevada during
his lifetime, and ignored the determination of this question by the
Circuit Court.
But if Judge Terry had counted on the fears of the United States
judges of California he had reckoned too boldly, for on the 15th
of January, 1886, eight days after his marriage, the decree of the
Circuit Court was formally entered. This decree adjudged the
alleged marriage contract of August 25, 1880, false, counterfeited,
fabricated, and fraudulent, and ordered that it be surrendered to
be cancelled and annulled, and be kept in the custody of the clerk,
subject to the further order of the court; and Sarah Althea Hill
and her representatives were perpetually enjoined from alleging the
genuineness or the validity of the instrument, or making use of it in
any way to support her claims as wife of the complainant.
Pages:
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312