The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-10-25

Important TO Common Carriers -0pIn-
Ion or Judge Robertson In the Court
OF Appeals. Lexington. Ky.

STATE or KENTUCKY, CoUar or APPEALS, J
October s, 1864.
A7hpr Bland, appellant, Is. Adaats' Er-
press CombarH AppcHees-AppcIi iron
jefferson Circuit Court
The Court being sufficiently advised.
delivered the following opinion, to wit :
To petition of Arthur Bland against
the Adams Express Company, charging
the non-deliyery, according TO consign-
ment of package containing S2,279,
confded by him, at the city of Louis
Vile, on the 10th day of May, 1862, to
said Company as a common carrier, TO
carry from said city to his consignee at
the city oR Nashville, il filed an answer,
alleging that it placed the said package
with all its said contents in its iron safe
on the railroad train then departing
from Louisville TO Nashville; that on
the same day, John Morgan and his
band of Confederate soldiers, in the
way near Cave City, attacked the train,
burned most OF the cars, and by irresis-
tible armed force, robbed the safe of the
said package and all its contents, and
that no portion of the money so a0-
stracted had been rescued or restored.
These facts having been sufficiently
proved, the Circuit Judge, to whom the
law and the facts were submitted, dis
missed the petition, aud this appeal
seeks the reversal of that Judgment
Public POLICY, and consequently she
law, hold common carriers TO a pscu-
liar response bility extremely stringent
- Uniting no excuse for the loss of
goods, except an act of God or of a
public enemy, which could not by any
proper care or available force have
been overcome or sverted No other
human force than that OF public enc
my will exonerate the carrier, because,
otherwise, he might fraudulently mus
ter or combine with force to rob him
self The only question in the case Is
was Morgan's band in the technical
sense, public enemy, and the answer
depends on whether the strife in which
they were lighting is q civil war. War
is either International or civil-foreign
or domestic lnsurrection, however
violent or formidable, is not war. Civil
war is preceded by instruction, which
becomes magnified and matured into
war in the legitimate sense, and when
so characterised, the parties are bellig
erents and respectively entitled to bel
hgerent rights. The American Revolu-
ton of % commenced in instruction
But the insurgent Colonies soon be-
came belligerent States By the Dec
laration of independence civil war was
inaugurated. As often and authorita-
lively recognized and adjuged, after
that transforming event, the American
resistance was rebellion no longer, but
war for liberty. The struggle in which
the United States are now engaged
against the seeding States is mere stu
pendous and quite as eyentful Ii is
10 save that which the War of indie
pendence achieved; and history records
no civil war more fragrant or gigantic
than that in which our country is now
engaged If this be not war, what is
war, and when and where did il ever
rage, or desolate and destroy 1t has
been so treated at home and abroad
by our own Government in all its de-
partments es well as by foreign govern
ments; and if il be war now, it was as
certainly war, on the 10th of May, 1861
Wherefore the judgment is affirmed