Johnson  (1866),  which  was  an  application  t6  the  Supreme
Court  for  an  injunction  to  prevent  President  Johnson  from
carrying  out  the  reconstruction  statutes  in  Mississippi.  The
court  without  dissent  refused  to  entertain  a  suit  in  matters
"  executive  and  political."

At  present  the  position  of  the  Supreme  Court  is  that  it  will
not  take  action  to  compel  a  state  formally  to  appear  against
its  will,  except  on  the  suit  of  another  state  ;  that  it  will  not  en-
tertain suits  against  state  officials,  to  compel  them  to  perform
duties  against  the  will  and  direction  of  their  state  government ;
but  that  in  controversies  begun  by  a  state  against  an  individual,
it  will  take  jurisdiction  on  writ  of  error,  and  may  decide  against
the  state.  In  cases  between  individuals  also,  the  Supreme
Court  freely  discusses  the  statutes  of  the  states,  and  often  lays
down  limitations  on  their  powers.
144.    Appeals.
The  Supreme  Court  has  original  jurisdiction  in  cases  involv-
ing foreign  representatives  or  states  as  parties ;  other  distinctly
federal  cases  must  be  brought  in  the  inferior  national  courts.
