The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-09-05

Fl IMPORTANT O6CIoAOCE-HS ShR SAS
following report of a case in the Circuit
Court of the United States, held at Par
kersburg, recently, from the Clarks-
burg Telegraph. The points raised are
of interest to business men, and their
determination by that tribunal may be
regarded as a finality.
CIRCUIT COURT OF UNITED. STATES, I
DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA,
THURSDAY, Aug. IA, 1868.
Present-The Honorable Salmon P.
Chase, Chief Justice of the. United
States, and the Honorable John j.
jackson, Jr., District Judge.
United States as. the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Company
Indictments numbered from 1 to 81,
inclusive, for breaches of the Revenue
Laws of the United States.
Counsel appeared for the United
States. Smith, District Attorney for
the traverser, Lee.
Counsel for the traverser filed gen.
eral demurrer to each of the indtct-
ments, and the District Attorney joined
in the demurrers.
Lee, for the traverser, stated that hity
of these indictments were for issuing
receipts for goods delivered to the de-
fendant at their depot in Parkersburg,
to be transported by 1t as common
carrier, to different points upon ITS
road, and the remaining four 1or lssu
ing receipts for moneys paid Tor Tolls
and transportation upon the road. with,
out being stamped or having Onileu
States revenue stamps affixed and can
ceIled. He stated that he had made no
objection for matter of form, as In that
respect the indictments were above e4-
ception, but that he should make two
points as to matter OF substance IN sup.
port of the demurrers:
i. AS to the receipts Tor Ireights IN
question, that at the times they were
issued, in 1865 and 1866, upon the true
construction of the Revenue Laws OF
the United States then in force, sHch
receipts being in legal effect inland
bills of lading, were not subject TO
stamp duty. EaI
to constitute the offence under The act
of Congress of unlawfully issuing pa
pers required to be stamped Without
having the proper stamps athxeli, the
party Issuing must have done SO with
the unlawful intent TO eyade the pro
visions of the act and to defraud the
revenue, and that such intent on The
part of the platform clerk or agent
issuing the receipts for the company, II
it existed, could not be imputed 10
corporation having no sentient or Vlst-
BILE tangible being, but existed only In
contem plation OF law, but that the
clerk, or agent himself only, and not
the corporation as such, could be held
criminHlly responsible for the unlawful
act.
The Court then directed the argu,
ments on the demurrers TO be confined
at this stage to the first point stated,
and il was accordingly lully argued by
Lee in support OF the demurrer and by
the District Attorney, contra. Lee in re-
ply WAS stopped by1 The Court, ana
cltriG ddViSare VttLt.
After short recess the Court resnm-
ed It's session, and Chase, Chief JUSTICE
stated his opinion to be that at the times
the freight receipts in question were
issued, they were not subject TO stamp
duty under the Acts of Congress then
in force, and that the demurrers to the
indictments upon them would have to
be sustained.
Jackson, District Judge, stated that
his first impression was that tho terms
OF the act OF 1864. were sufficiently COM
prehensive to embrace receipts Tor
goods delivered to common carrier
for transportation and to subject them
to stamp duty, but that since he had
heard the argument of the counsel and
had come to construe the act of 1854 in
connection with the several other acts
of Congress inpnri mdteTic. his views
had undergone change, ana II inc
question were now u De ueOlueuS 10
should not dissent from the opinion of
the Chief Justice to sustain the demnr-
rers. He added however thatif the
counsel so desired, division of opinion
between the judges might be entered
pro JOTmG upon The record, so that the
cases might be taken TO the Supreme
Court of the United States.
Chase, Chief Justice, remarked that
upon the second point made by Lee for
the trayerser, both the District Judge
and himself were inclined to think the
demurrer could not be sustained, but
that they were willing to hear argu-
ment upon it if necessary or desired.
Jackson, District Judge, inquired If
the counsel with the knowledge of the
views of the Court as just expressed,
could not now adjust the whole contro-
versy by agreement between them
selves.
Lee for the traversor then proposed
to withdraw his demurrer to indict-
ment No. l5 and suffer judgment to go
upon 1t by non sum iUfoTmIGtus if the
District Attorney would permit non
pros. to be entered in each of the other
tifty-three cases. This proposition was
after consideration accepted by the Dis
trict Attorney, and accordingly with the
assent of the Court, a judgment was
rendered for the statutory fine and
costs in No. Is, and non pros. entered
in each of the other cases,