The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-02-23
PICKENS, S. c., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY %, 1893
the officers who unlawfully levied upon
and seized the property under control
of this court"


and seized the property under contro
of this court"
A recess was taken for few minutes
and upon the court reassembling at
o'clock p. m., the Hon. Ira b. Jones
opened the closidg argument in behalf
of the county officers His was a mas
terly effort; earnest. clear, fOrcible. HI
beat down his legal adversaries' cita
tlons OF authorities in short order Chat
is, to the satisfaction Of most of his
listeners), and then proceeded to present
his case in his own well-founded, simple
and powerful style.
At the outset Mr.. Jones said: We con
cede that property in the hands of
receivers is in the custody of the law
and that for private claims it is not Ii
able TO seizure, but our contention is
that the receivers possession Is subject
to the right of a sovereign State to as
sess and collect taxes in it's own estab.
llshed way. This is of vital importance
to the State, for without the taxes col.
lected the government must be para.
lyzed ald fall to pec"s. This point has
never been fully and clearly decided by
the highest tribunal in the land, and
we want 1t decided in this case. Our
contention is indisputably established
Brewer, and the counsel on the other
sice has tailed completely to show that
the tax as asseSSe1 was illegal.
lnde: J, they have had very little to
say bearing upon the real point at is-
sac. What does it matt er if, as they
say, lnconVf hence and damage has
arisen from the seizures for delinQuent
taxes? The paramount right In the
matter is the collection of those reve-
nues, upon which the State depends for
her existence, and consequently the
railroads for their existence also.
The inconvenience and damage that
may have resulted is altogether attrib-
utable to the delinquency Of the rail-
roads, and should bloc dshed have been
occasloned, the possibility of which
was referred :. by Mr.. CrawfOrd) the
railroads, by their illegal refusal to pay
their honest debts, would have been re
spOnSlble ard not the sheriifs nor the
State of South Carolina. No illegal tax
IS shown in their petition. but on the
other hand. its legality is amply estab-
llShed in OF" answer and by the atlida-
Wits we have filed. Mr.. Jones then ex-
planned the method Cf assessing prop
erty in South Carolina, showing con
clusively that 1t is fairly and legally
done, and furthermore that railroad
property is assessed upon the returns
made by the companies to the Comp
troller General.
The State Of South Carolina, he said.
places the receivers On the same ground
with owners of property. He denied
the allegation of conspiracy in cOnnec-
ton with the levylng and seizing of the
property in question and he claimed
that the allegation was completely dis
proved by his answer and atfidayIts.
When the sheritfs can Justify their ac-
tlons by IA valid law Of the State they
are agents Of the State and cannot be
prosecuted; nor can the State be sued
without its consent.
Jones then addressed himself to clear
ing his clients Of the charge of con-
tempt lie maintained that Judge 81
monton's orders did not command the
release of the property seized, but only
::orDade new seizures. This, he con
Tended. the sher'i1S had not dlsobeyed
The honesty, faithfulness and compe-
tence of the county officers was warmly
praised by the speaker, and his tribute
to them was an able refutation of the
many calumnies which they have suf-
fered during the present trial.
MI. Jones fought hard in his battle
TO overcome the charge Of contempt on
the part of his clients and his authori-
ties We're overwhelming in establishing
the correctness of his position. He
showed that claiming down the trains
was the only adequate means the sher-
ills had for securing their levies, for
otherwise the trains would ny aWay
from them as they first did with Sheriff
Vance Of Abbeville.
MIR. Barnwell tried to hedge for the
railroads by saying that his clients
would be glad to have the county Off
GERS let off II Mr.. Jones would promise
for them that they would release the
seized property and desist from furth-
er seizures.
Mr.. Jones replied that he would rest
his case upon the papers as they have
been submitted. Very briefly, keenly
and ably Mr.. Jones rcpelled the politi
Cal attacks made under Che guise of
legal argument. lie concluded by
saying: "lf it is true that q sovereign
State is bound to come down to the
level Of common suitor, the better it
Will be for the people of the United
states 10 know 1T as soon as possible"
AT the conclusion of his speech, Mr..
Jones asked the Judges if, while await
ing the rendering of their decision, the
sherl1lS and treasurers might return to
their several homes throughout the
State?
Judge Goff promptly and emphatical-
ly answered, "No."
The Decision.
CHARLESTON. S. c., Feb. 16.-The
United States Court has decided the