The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1879-07-18
Arbitrary Petty Officials.

The Pascagoula DEMoCRAT-STAl
announces that the United State
deputy marshals are on the wa
path among the logs in Haneoel
county and are giving some of th
citizens considerable trouble ant
annoyance. '-''
The marshal in charge is on,
WIN. ID. POstlethwaite. He hal
the log boom in the Hobolochittt
river, near Col. L. Kimbau, "guard
ed by Federal officials armed will
double barrel shot-guns." These
officials refuse to allow any of thu
logs to pass out, on the ground
that they suppose--''they suppose
some OF the logs in the streams
were cut from Government lands"
We understand that the owners
of the logs alluded to have request.
ed these Federal petty officials to
point out specifically what logs
they claim to have been cut from
the Government lands, but this
reasonable request has not been
complied with. The owners, we
learn, also offered to give bond to
account for any or all of the proper
ty, but this reasonable request,
which has been granted before in
snclr cases in the South, was also
refused. -. .,.... -.....,
Now, Article s of the constitu.
tion OF the United States meets
this arbitrary course of the deputy
marshals face to- face. 1t says: !:
'sThe right of the, people to be
secure in their persons, houses,
papers and effects, against unrea-
souable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated; and no warrants
shall issue but on probable cause,
supported by oath or affirming and
particularly describing the place to
be searched and the persons or
things to be seizedp l 9it Aat
And article VII says : 'No per-
son I" shall be deprived of
life, liberty or property without due
proceedings of law"
1t isnot necessary to argue the
point how far Postlethwaite and his
deputies have complied with these
organic laws, by acting on their
own suppositions, in stopping the
removal ofprivate property.
1t might have been supposed that
there over-zealous Federal officials
bad already been taught severe les
SONS by their experience of last
yeal3iH the Wholesale seizure of logs
aud lumber along the Mississippi
Sound and the rivers empting there
in. Large sums of money were
thea expended by the government
in the prosecution of these sweeping
seizures, and only u very few cases
did this double-barrcl shotgun
Federal process eyentuate i'll any
thing like result favorable to the
prosecution.
Offers of compromise followed
many of these unjustitiable whole
sale seizures. The question natur7
ally occurs: Why should an official,
intrusted with such responsible
duties and powers, offer, or have
right to compromise III such cases J
Ii the government property has been
stolen, in open violation of we'll
known laws and despite severe
penalties, why should the gnilty
person be allowed to compromise ?
That policy only opens the way to
further violations of the law; aud,
besides, engenders the suspicion
that officials are stepping outside
the limits OF their powers and duty,
for personal purpose of illegal gain.
An innocent man, not a man of
means, it is clear, could easily be
induced to compromise with bold
and INSCRIPTIONS sub officials,
armed with the Federal authority,
and whose proceedings may not
be under the direct and vigilant
supervision of superior and more
responsible officers. Should the
Hobolochitto be a navigable stream
the deputy marshals, in prevent.
ing the log-boom they are guard
ing with double-barrel guns, from
passing out, are obstucting naviga.
tion. They have no right to do
that, no matter how many fowling
pieces they may display. f.sia
We trust that the whole matter
will be thoroughly investigated,
and this illegal and unconstitional
violation of the rights OF private
property and of the citizens, be
effectually stopped. There has
been too much of 1t, under similar
precedents and auspices, already.
Macon SIM: We presume it