New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-08-20
PRICE FOUR CENTS.
SOUTHERN REVENUE CASES.
AN OPINION or THE LAW.

OF THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. GENERAL
AKERNAN on THE LAW IN THESE cAsEs-wHY
ILLICIT DIsTILLING is so HARD TO BREAK UP
IN TIE SOUTH.
\. The Hon. A. T. Alderman, ex-Attoney- General of
the United States, was in New-York yesterday, but
knew nothing about the truth of the report from
Washington that he and ex-Secretary Bristow ara
to be employed by the Government in the South
Carolina Revenue Mr.. Akerman said that tho
same questions which are involved in the South
Carolina cases have been raised IN Georgia and de-
cided in favor of the Government officers
One of these cases came before the United States
Circuit Court at Atlanta, Judge Woods presiding in
the Fall of 1875. 1t was reported in Tho
Central Lao Journal of st. Louis. and
the following Is brief history of it small dis
tillery had been captured in Gilmer County By an
Internal Revenue officer, accompanied by three
United States soldiersa sergeant and two privates
-as posse The sergeant left the two privates to
guard the still and some prisoners whom they had
taken, while he went for wagon with which tore
move them. One of .he soldiers remained inside
and the other was on the outside acting as a sem
tine
In the meantime some Of the neighbors, learning
of the seizure, aroused the owner, who sleeping
in bis house at the top of HILL and told him, in the
language of the mountains of Georgia. that the
Revenue was in" meaning that the Revenue officers
were around. The owner hastily dressed himself.t
and not knowing that his still had already been
captured, rushed down the hill shouting TO those
who had charge of it, The soldier on guard out
side heard him coming and, supposing an attack
was about to be made, challenged him and ordered
him to halt. As the man paid no attention to the
challenge the soldier fired aud heard nothing more.
he did not know that he had hit any one When
the sergeant returned. the still and prisoners were
taken away and the next morning the owner was
found dead in small branch of water with
bullet-hole in his head.
The sergeant and two privates were arrested by
the local authorities of Gilmer County and were in
dcted for murder. They sued out writ of habeas
corpus causa, under section 643 of the Revised
Statutes 1.-THE by authority of which the South
Carolina officers now demand that their cases shall
be transferred to the United States Court and tho
sheriff under instructions of the local court obeyed
the writ When the cases came to be tried in the
United States Court, the Attorney Genera of the
State. Mr.. Hammond, appeared by direction of the
Governor to deny the jurisdiction of the Court but
the Judge having decided in a case, then just tried,
that he should sustain the jurisdiction of the Court
the question was not raised.
Another more recent case in which there was q
formal decision occurred in Lumpkin County, in tho
same judicial circuit in which GIlmer County is.
+ In the meantime new judge has been elected.
In this case Internal Revenue officer
with two men, who were acting as posse,
were in pursuit of illicit dstillers when one of the
latter turned about and pointed his gun at the pur
suing party. One of the Internal Revenue men, sup
posing that they were to be fired upon, drew his
pistol and shot one of the fugitives, wounding him,
but not fatally. The Revenue officer and his posse
were all indicted in the local court and gave bail.
They then sued out a writ of habeas corpus cum
causa, under section G43, of the Revised Statutes,
but the local Judge directed the Sheriff not to obey
it, as the law of which it was sought TO take
advantage was, in his opinion unconstitutional.
| Subsequently the United States Court issued an
ordinary writ of habeas corpus on the ground set
forth in the petition that the were detained by
the Sheriff of Lumpkin County in violation of the
Constitution and laws of the United States, their
case having been transferred to the United States
Court This writ the Sheriff obeyed and the Attor-
ney-General of the State-Ely-appeared and made
an argument in favor of remanding the prisoners to
the custody of the State authorities. After a full
hearing, Mr.. Akerman, appearing in behalf Of the
Revenue officers, the Court, Judge Woods, decided
that the law Section 643 of the Revised Statutesl
was constitutional and was applicable to the cases
in question. The prisoners were subsequently tried
before the United States Court and acquitted.
"This case" said Mr.. Alderman, is almost iden-
teal with that which has recently arisen in South
Carolina"
"On what ground do they assert that the law
transferring such to the United States Court is
unconstitutional ~ asked the representative of THE
TRIBUNE.
"Their strongestpont is that an indictment found
in one jurisdiction cannot be tried in another But
it seems to me that there can be no question about
the right of the higher power to enact that this
shall be done, aud that is just hat Congress has
Al. Al.
continued Mr. Akerman, that all laws which are at
all dstasteful to that section of the country have
been enacted since the war, and are the fruit
of the hatred of the North toward the
South That is what they think about this section
643 of the Revised Statutes when the truth is that
il was enacted in 1888, during General JacKsOn's
Administration aud upon his recommendation. You
will find by reading his famous Ant-Nullifcation
Message that President Jackson referred to sim
liar law that had been temporarily placed on the
statute book during MadisOn's Administration, just
at the close of the last war with England, and
advised that 1T be revived. This section G43 is that
law it was voted for by many of the leading South
ern men then in Congress and approved by jack
son, his legal adviser at that time being Attorney
General r. Is. Taney."
Il suppose it is almost impossible to break up
illicit dlstlling in the South" remarked The TRIB-
UNE man.
eyes" replied Mr.. Akerman, the most that can
be done is TO prevent 1t from assuming larger pro.
portions. The men engaged IN it live in the noun
tains remote from market. Their chief crop is corn,
which they cannot SELL the cost of transporting it
would be more than could be obtained for it. They,
therefore, distl it INTO whiskey which is more
portable and more potable. They like to mako
it; they like TO sell it, they like to drink it,
and they don't like to pay the tax OnIt. They have
always made il aud are only following in the foot
steps of their fathers and grandfathers from whom
thev think thcY inhertel the right. / once heard