Howell Edmunds Jackson

“ Congress cannot have intended that it should be within the power of a state by its statutes to prevent a defendant sued in a circuit court of the United States, in a district in which congress has said that he shall not be compelled to answer, from obtaining a determination of that matter by that court in the first instance, and by this court on writ of error. ”

“ It is well setteld that mere matters of procedure, such as the granting or refusing of motions for new trials, and questions respecting amendments to the pleadings, are purely discretionary matters for the consideration of the trial court, and unless there has been gross abuse of that discretion they are not reviewable in this court on writ of error. ”

“ We are of opinion that under the statutes of the United States the jurisdiction of the federal courts sitting in Texas is not to be controlled by the statutes of that state above referred to. Jurisdiction is acquired as against the person by service of process, but, as against property within the jurisdiction of the court, personal service is not required. ”