Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-05-17
Ehe Lottery question Again---Opin.
ION Of AttOrney-sE eneral SsacVeash

Ion of Attorney General HsacEeaSh,
WAsHIHGToN, April 29.-Attorney-
General MacVeagh, at the request of
Postm aster- General James, has prepared
an opinion upon the question of the right
of the Postmaster General to prohibit the
delivery of registered letters and the pay
ment of money orders addressed and
payable to Nj. A. Daughin, secretary of
the Louisiana Lottery Company. The
Attorney General in his opin on at the
Company as an institution to which the
legislature of Louisiana has, for q very
large moneyed consideration granted the
exclusive privilege of carrying on the lott
| terry business IN that State, and which, he
says, is the only lottery conducted under
| the sanction Of law in the United States.
After quoting from the revised statutes
| which authorize the exclusion of lottery
matter from the mails, the Attorney-Gen-
eral says: Those who deny the power Of
| the Postmaster-General to forbid delivery
| of money orders and registered letters to
| Mr.. Daughin lest their denial upon the
| qualifying adjective fraudulent in the
statutes which permit the Postmas er.
| General to Instruct postmaster3 to Withhold
such letters and orders from any person
| whom he may find upon evidence satisfac-
tory to be engaged in conducting any
fraudulent lottery, gift, enterprise, or
SCENE for the distribution of money, or of
any rea! or personal property by lot,
chance or drawing ofany kind"
He holds thE4 in the present case the
government, under the statutary provisions
bearing upon the subject, denies certain
postal facilities to th0se;s lotteries, &c. found
by the Postmaster-Gepersl to be fraudu.
lent not to those which are illegal. What
is or not legal is purely question Of law
what is fraudulent is either one of pure fac
or of mixed law and fact Referring to the
argument odvanced by the friends of the
lottery company that "a lottery authorized
by the law of the State in which it has it
chief office cannot be fraudulent, the
Acknowledgement says:
"If we concede that the word fraudulen
qualities those words succeeding lottery II
tIe statutes, it by no means follows that {
legalzed lottery or scheme for the dis
tribution of mOner by lot, chance or draw
ing of any kind, may not be fraudulent. a
least as to every body outside the jurisdic
diction of the State which charters it. Blu
whatever its nature, the questions is on
solely for the determination of the Post
master-General. Il is not in terms al
fraudulent lotteries, &c, they are excluded
from the use Of the registry and money
order systems, it is those found to b
fraudulent by the Postmaster General tina
are denied these privileges. He is the sol
arbiter of law and fact pom this subject.
The Attorney General therefore con
cludes that if he Postmaster Gen eral find
upon evidence satisfactory to him, wh at
; everi its probative force with other minds
that Mr. Daughin is engaged in conduct
ing a fraudulent lottery be may and shout
forbid the delivery of money orders to hiI
| and instruct postmasters to return to tn
, senders unregistered Lottery addressed
NJ. A. Dauphin.