Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-04-16
CIRCUIT COURT.


in our last issue, are the following:
State Us. VIM. Edwards; house breaking
and larceny. The defendant pleaded guilty,
and was fined ten dollars, or to be imprisoned
five months in the penitentiary.
State us. Frank Workman; horse.stealing.
A noL pros. was entered, the defendant hav.
ing received the horse in North Carolina.
In the above cases, as we'll as those reported
last week, the defendants are all negroes
In reference to the points on which his
Honor charged the grand jury, at the open
ing of the term, that body made the following
report:
SOUTH CAROLINA, YORK COUNTY.
April Term, 1874.
TO the HON. T. J. MAcKEY, Judge Of the .sixth
judicial Circuit:
The grand jury respectfully report to your
Honor that they have considered the various
taken such testimony as was available during the
brief interval of their present session.
l. The following trial justices have submitted
their dockets to the grand jury for inspection: {:
J. X. Wagner, w. B. Williams John Martin,
J, J. l.. Gill, R. L. Simmons and IT. X. Bates, all
of which appear to have been regularly kept
C. j. Pride submitted his criminal docket only
for inspection. We find that Z. j. Pride has in
his possession, of fines collected and not paid
over to the county treasurer, twcnty-one dollars;
and J. X. Wagner ten dollars. No other trial
justices of the county have submitted their books
for examination.
g. The assessment against property ortaxation
in this county amounts to $797E.60, of which
amount S75, 10000 has been collected and Sl035.OO
has been abated, leaving uncollected $2957 go.
The offices of the county school commissioner,
county treasurer, judge Of probate, sheriff, clerk
and county commissioners, as also the poor-house
and Jail, have been examined, and seem to be
properly kept. In the Office of the county audit
or we find the books we'll kept; but report that
the values assessed upon property in the county,
both real and personal, are, in the average above
the actual selling value of such property.
The grand jury have information that disor-
derly house is kept by person of the name of
Laura Blaock, about one mile south of Rock Hill,
which has become serious nuisance to the COM
munity, from the disturbances and obscenity
permitted there. 1t is recommended that the nee
essary measures be taken to abateit
We also find that great irregularities have oc-
Cured in the county, since the last term, in the
measures instituted by the United States Govern
ment to suppress violations of the internal reve-
nue. laws. While we regard the illegal distillation
and traffic in whisky as wrong which the people
and lend to the officers of the Government their
moral support in effecting 80 desirable an end,
vet we can find nothing in these to warrant the
abuse of the liberty of the citizen or the wanton
destruction private property-wrongsi in them
selves Of greaterenormity than those attempted to
be suppressed.
FROM evidence before the grand jury, we find
that early in the present year, John B. Hubbard,
a revenue detective, accompanied by Lieutenant
Benner and detachment fsoldiers from the 18th
United States Infantry, on the Sabbath day, visit
ed the house of Mrs Rosanna Mooney, in the
northwestern part of the county, and forcibly en-
tered it, taking therefrom numerous articles OF
private property-such as flour, seven yards OF
cloth, scissors, sewing thread, .pillow-cases, &C. ;
and also shot down and carried away one hog and
some poultry from the yard. It appears that this
property had no connection with the revenue reg
ulations was not amenable to seizure, even sup
posing that its owners may have been charged
with such violations.
We also find that on the 7th of March, John B.
Hubbard went to the house of one +. H. Forbis,
near Clay Hill, and arrested and held in custody
w. F. Massey, (white,) and Anderson Barron,
icolored,) having no warrant or charge against
either OF them forcibly seized horse, the prop
erty of Forbis, saddle, the property of one Will
liam Jones, and plow-line the property of An
derson Barron, and carried away the same. The
plow-line has not been returned. Forbis, it's sad
was suspected Of being guilty of some evasion Of
the revenue laws, in retailing whisky at shop on
his premises; but admitting the suspicion to have
been we'll founded, it affords, in the opinion Of
the grand jury, no warrant for the seizure OF pri-
yate property not connected with the traf1c, or
the arrest of citizens of the county without charge
against them. Hubbard was intoxicated was
abusive in his language, threatening to burn the
house where Massey was found; and as culm!-
mating act of hostility to the whisky traffic. forci
bly, took from the shop seven or eight drinks Of
whisky for himself and the persons assisting him.
In the latter part of February last, John B.
Hubbard seized distillery belonging it is said,
to one John D. White, supposed to be ilcitly con-
Quoted. All the property on the premises, lncitl-
S,p,ItI h
Williams, who seems accidentally to have been
present, was arrested. During the next few days,
hogs belonging to A. j. Martin and others-farm-
ers residing ut distance of one-and -a-half miles
from the distillery-were driven into pens, one
shot and killed in the woods, and the remainder,
about thirteen in number, brought to Yorkyille
and sold by John B. Hubbard and John McMan-
us, Commissioner, at private sale, and without
notice to the owners.
Horses used for purpose OF agriculture, ana Ill
no way connected with any Illicit traffic, nave
been seized and carried off, and the owners put to
great inconvenience and expense in their recove-
ry. One seizure of this character appears to nave
been made Of property belonging to Mrs. Nancy
Martin, of this county. We are further informed
that seizures fstock animals, sent into this coun,
ty for legitimate sale have been made by said
Extraordinarily greatly infringing the progress
of trade and working injury and expense 10 the
owners. One such instance is before us, in the
case of S. S. Bohannon, of South Bend, 4adkln
county, North Carolina
The grand jury further have information that
whilst burning building in which an illicit dis
tilery was supposed to be conducted IN Inc NORTH
posse threw into the flames and caused to be con-
sumed, wagon, an axe grindstone, and other
property not connected with distil!lng. Ihe own
ers of this property, and the witnesses tnereto,
have not been ascertained.
Peaceable citizens, travelling with their teams
along the public highway, have been arrested
without warrant; themselves and their property
brought to Yorkvile; their persons incarcerated
in JAIL and afterward released-no warrant or
charge having been made against them. Elijah
McSwain, citizen of this county, furnishes one
such instance Of such an outrage.
The grand jury believe that while all due pre-
cautions should be taken, and all Just measures
manufacture, contrary to the laws of the United
States vet they feel equally bound to insist that
private rights and property shall be respected,
and that persons guilty of wantonly Infringing
either, shall be brought to punishment.
Complaints having been made that the appro-
priations made by the State legislature for the
Catawba Indians, under treaty with that tribe,
have not been applied for their benefit since the
wear 1871, we have had before us John Harris, a
former chief of the tribe and from his testimony,
and from other sources, we present the following
facts ,o
The appropriation made in 1871 was $500, Of
which the agent disbursed about $3.50 to the In
dians In 1872 the appropriation was $SOO and
the disbursements nothing. +. j. OConneli was
agent for the receipt and disbursement of these
funds during this period and we present him tor
prosecution for failure of duty in discharglng
his trust.
In 1873, NJ. L. Owens was appointed agent in
place of p. J. O'Connell. The appropriations for
is73 were $500, of which the Indian tribe received
from the agent about forty dollars. We discover
from the report of the State Treasurer that at least
five hundred dollars of this appropriation has
been turned over to the agent, NJ. L. Owens-S25O
in April, 1873, and $3.50 in December, 1873 No
reports have been filed by either of said agents
with the Clerk Of this Court, as required by law,
showing their receipts and disbursements; and
we have presumed that the appropriations by the
General Assembly for the years named, were duly
paid over to these agents, except for the year
S5a0 and of which the agent tlsbursed only about