The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1871-06-15
Masked MArauders and Concealed
Weapons 4
FROM the Nashville Bahnsr,I

FrOratAc Nashville Bahnsr.I
Two important cases affecting the
rights aud personal safety Of every man
in Tennessee, were decided in the Su-
Preme Court sitting at Jackson. last
Wednesday. The first involved the on
s~titutionahty Of the Act Of June 80, 1870,
to preserve the pubic peace and punish
masked msrauaers Of which the third
section is AZ follows:
Be 1t further enacted, That, IL any person or
persons go ProWling, travelling, riding OF walk
ing through the towns or country OF This state,
masked or in disguise, shall or may assault an.
other with q deadly weapon, he or they shall
% deemed guilty Of an assault with intent to
commit murder in the first degree, and, on con-
'leton thereof, shall suffer death by hanging:
provided, thejury trying the cause may substi-
tute Imprisonment In the penitentiary for u Pc
rlOd OF moi less than ten years nor more than
tWeptyVup years. d AtnfR
The court held that the act is not in
conflict with the Constitution, and that
the punishment is not cruel or unusual.
1t VIII thus be seen not only that the
people OF Tennessee have, through their
Legislative representatives, authorized
their Judicial officers 10 impose the death
penalty upon'a all who commit such Of
lenses az are peculiar to what is known
as "~kukluxism, but hat their court of
last resort had passed upon and affirm
ed the validity Of the law In Question.
As to the disposition shown throughout
the State OBSCURE its prompt enforce
ment, the extreme nrity OF Ku-Klux
outrages, compared to the unsettled
condition Of affairs two or three Years
ago, under Radical rule, is evidence sat-
isfactory enough. The only case which
has occurred in Davidson County was
Investigated before one of our local mag
istrates, yesterday, and the disposition
made Of the offenders indicate that law
lessness is at u discount not only in the
now famous Twenty-frst Civil District,
but everywhere throughout the county.
In no section of country, North, South,
East and West, does profounder peace
prevail than i'll Tennessee. We have q
Legislature honest and efficient enough
to enact the right kind of laws, rs well
as the courts to enforce and the citizens
to obey them. To invent a plausible
excuse for putting the infamous Kukhlx
act OF Congress in operation here, would
puzzle even the dsyilish ingenuity of the
Executive who suggested, OF the parti-
san body who enacted it.
In the other case decided at Jackson
Judge Freeman delivered the opinion of
the court, holding the act of 1870 con-
stitutional so far as it makes it unlawful
for any person ito publicly or privately
carry a dirk, sword cane, Spaniard sti-
letto, belt or pocket pistol" but declar-
ingt he last clause as to "revolvers" UNI
constitutional, because some weapons of
that character are suitable for use in civ
ilized warfare. Judge Nelson delivered
a dissenting opinion, assailing the whole
act as not only unconstitutional, but in
conflict with the spirit of English lib
erty, and derogatihg from the natural
right of defense which no legislation
can ~rightfully tako away from the citi-
zcns. w
Judge Turney concurred with Judge
Nelson. Judge Sneed agreed with the
majority of tho court, but thought that
the opinion should have grne farther in
the assertion Of the propriety Of regula-
ting the Use of Weapons by legislation.
The argument in these cnses was heard
in the section composed of Judges Mel
son, Turney and Freeman, SO that the
dissenting Judges in full court were q
majority Of the section before whom the
argument was made.