Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-12-14

pe1ylsor Cobb sends to the Internal
Revenue Office the report Of a success
full raid made by Deputy Collector
Marshall of the Fifth Tennessee Dis
trlct, on Dec. }, against one Of the larg-
est and best arranged illicit distilleries
that has yet been found in Supervisor
Cobb's district. The stills, worms. and
tubs were all new. The distillely was
situated IN Sumner county, at place
called Spout Springs, and was owned
by three men, named Cloy Bloodworth,
D. Bloodworth. and Col Edison. The
Deputy had with him eight officers.
including guides. The raiding party
started from Nashville after dark
and reached the dwelling-hnuse
of the distillers at 4 O'Clock
A. II, but found no one in the house.
They arrived at the distillery one hour
Later, but their approach was made
known by the barking of bounds. The
officers surrounded the distillery as well
as they could in the darkness. 0neman
made his escape. two shots being fred
at hlm, but without effect. The officers
destroyed SO new mash tubs, 5000 gal
Ions of beer, six barrels Of low wines
and 40 bushels OF meal. They seized
three new copper stills, three sets OF
copper worms and three still caps. The
raldlng party on their return were at
tackled with stones by the females of
the house Of the distillers, but received
no injury. The proceeds of the sale of
the captured property will more than
| pay the cost Of the raid. Warrants viii
be issued for the arrest OF the distillers.
We find the aboye in the Neac York
Tribune Of the I1th inst. The lawless-
ness Of the ''moonshiners" viii receive
little sympathy from good citizens; but
the lawlessness Of these revenue raiders
is equally reprehensible. Two wrongs
never make a right. 1t is mentioned
as matter fer triumph that ''the pro-
ceeds of the sale of the captured pro-
perty will more than pay the cost Of
the raid. !" Was this captured proper
ty' condemned by ycompetent court
before its ''sale?" And was there any
condemnation of the property destroy
ed on the spot?-worth from 81 200 to
$500. The closing sentence answers
these questions, by showing that no
warrants had yet issued against the
parties whose property was destroyed |
and carried off.
Article " Of the Amendments to |
the Constitution of the United. States
reads:
"The right of the people to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers and eff
fects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violated; and
no warrants shall issue but upon prob
able cause, supported by oath and af-
firmation, and particularly describing
the place to be searched and the per-
sons or things to be seized.
These whisky raiders have violated
every clause of this constitutional pro-
wise. They have violated the security
of private houses by unreasonable search
in the dead hour Of night, and have
made unreasonable seizures Of private
effects-both unreasonable, becau5ethey
had no warrants" Of any kind, de-
scribing either the place to be searched
or the persons or things to be seized.
Again, Article '. Of the constitutional
Amendments provides that
'No person shall = < = be deprived
of life, liberty OF property, without due
process Of law
In this raid we see persons deprived
OF their property without even arrest,
to say nothing Of trial, conviction and
judgment. Not only is the due pro-
cess Of law absent, but the property !
was destroyed without any process" !
whatever. This phrase due process
Of law" has meaning well settled ;
and defined in all our courts, Federal !
and State. There is no excuse for Off ,
GERS Of the law being ignorant Of its I
The United States Con-
stitution is binding on every citizen of /
the country, and particularly on those !
who undertake to execute the laws. (
The man, high or low, who seizes and
destroys the property Of another with 5
out due process Of law" violates the I
law Of the land and !
can be made to suffer theref,r No r
clause of any revenue enactment will 2
shield an officer in violating the Fed v
eral Constitution, because this instru- q
ment is binding on all, and he must be q
to know its provisions. In !
The Northern States, infractions OF the j
revenue laws go through the courts and Y
IRE tried like other cases, except where t
hey are compromised, as we have al a
'eady shown was the course pursued in E
l large number Of cases in New York. d
When one of the rich and influential f
Importers of New York is detected G
Il defrauding the revenue laws u
# the government, de- a
cent is not made upon his premises in a
he night and his property, or any por- "
ion of it destroyed, but he is proceeded Il
.gainst by "due process Of law" as V
.ther yiolators of the law are. His +
property is not only not destroyed, but b
he is not dragged off to some remote a
portion of the State to be imprisoned, v
f he finds no friend there TO stand bail .
or him. Why is not this policy pur- Il
sued toward those in the South who 4
violate the revenue law by Illicit dis II
iling? We have no word of apology o
OF those who knowingly violate the h
NV. They should be arrested and pro- 81
eeded against as the supreme law Of II
he land prescribes, and punished b
When their guilt is legally ascertained. =
But Congress cannot constitute an Off q"
er of the law as judge, jury and exc oi
and some day these raiders Il
nay ascertain this fact to their cost. o,
THEss CHRISTIAN SOLDIER. q
Touching the revelations in regard W