Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-09-26
THE LATE INJUNCTION.
Remarks Of W. S. Flippin in Reference
TO Rule No. 6.

from entering the city and the legality
of the same, the condensed report Of
the points made by the attorney for
N. w. Speers in his application before
Special Judge J. S. Galloway, sitting
in the Circuit Court ofShelby county,
on Wednesday last, are herewith print
ed. Judge w. S. Flippin, as attorney
for Mr.. Speers, said
We are entitled to an injunction as
to rule No, 6 of State board, which
prohibits the entry of seed or lint cot
ton into Memphis during the cpl
demic. It's in direct violation Of the
constitution OF the United States, and
as insist is an assumption of power
by the State board not warranted by
the letter or spirit of the act of our
legislature Of 1879, p. 1870, sec. 2. The
order is an attempt to regulate com
merce, which is in congress alone, and
which the court Of last resort has held
must be exclusive. It is not denied
but that the legislature of State may
pass health regulations and create
State boards Of health, and to a very
limited extent pass laws which may to
some extent interfere with trade in a
State, where such trade is exclusively
local and internal; but these powers
are closely guarded and must in no
sense interfere with interstate, for.
eign or general commerce. Laws may
be passed for the inspection of pro-
visions that go to market, or quarau-
tine may be established against per-
sons, baggage, cargoes or freight conhl
ing from infected localities. Even a
pauper population may be provided
against or shipments of diseased arti.
cles, stock or passengers. But the
restrictions of order No. 6 do not
come within any of these rules. This
rule is simply an interdiction of COM
merce. 1t is not, in any proper sense,
quarantine regulation, because that
applies only to an infected article OF
person and for a certain time fixed,
during which it or he is supposed 10
be fumigated, cleansed or purified,
and then he or it can enter. Here it
is not pretended that lint or seed cot
ton coming from the country is infect
ed or that it comes from an infected
locality, aud as a consequence quaran-
tine is not applicable to it. Any in
terfefence, therefore, with it is simply
suppression Of trade or commerce
or in tho language Of the constitu-
ton is a regulation of commerce
And why not exclude cotton seed {?
1t is notorious that each oil mill in
Memphis takes from its seed several
bales of cotton per annum before the
hulls are broken and the oil extracted.
Is there not as much hidden danger
in these as in seed cotton ?
Commerce means trade, exchange Of
commodities, transportation, inter
course, navigation. Any State law
which puts an end to trade, naviga-
ton or intercourse between States, IS
an interference with the power of COM
merce and is unconstitutional. The
bill in this case alleges that contracts
for ginning cotton had been made by
and between citizens of Arkansas,
Mississippi and Tennessee With CON-
plainant; that order No. 6 prevented
persons from bringing the cotton from
Mississippi and Arkansas, whether by
vessel or otherwise that it broke off
all intercourse between them and him,
a. citizen of Tennessee that it, in
effect, broke up or appulled his con
tracts, Or rendered them incapable
of being fulfilled. Not because or by
reason of a necessary quarantine, or,
in fact, of any quarantine, but under
the pretended or presumed idea
that the cotton might become
injected after it had entered this city.
Such rules would destroy all trade and
commerce between States, and be-
tween this and foreign States. Mem
phis was great cotton mart and a
great cotton port, simply from the
fact that cotton was brought here and
sold here for shipment to other and
foreign ports
Under this order or rule No. 8, sew
eral provisions of the constitution Of
the. United States were violated.
There Is provision that no preference
shall be given to theports Of one State
over those of another But, while
cotton ginner may ply his vocation
at Hopedeld or Helena, Ark, unintcr-
ruptedly, citizen Of Memphis can,
under this rule, do no such thing. At
Hcpefeld he may buy and have ship
ped to him cotton from the country
and there gin it, but he cannot have
.l,t -, -, . A AL. T., c.t