The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-10-23
SEIZURE OF BONDED wH1sKBY.
THE REsUIT OF HIS VISIT.
Governor TiIlman Tells About His Re-
cont Trip TO Washington.

Governor TiIIman Tells About His Re
cent Trip TO Washington.
The dispensary law has raised a
question in which there seems to be a
conflict between Federal and State au-
thority. Under the law in this State
distilled spirits in the custody OF the
United States in bonded warehouses
belonging to parties who violated the
provisions of the dispensary law by
selling them within the State are de-
clared to be u nuisance, and on convic-
tion the State officers are authorized
to seize and contiscate such liquors.
Governor Til]man has proposed in such
cases to pay the tax to the government
and seize the spirits, which was not
agreed to by the revenue authorities in
South Carolina. The Governor made
visit last week to Washington in re-
gard to this matter, and on his return
Ige gave the following account Of the
tllp and it's results:
81 accomplished all went for, and
that was to prevent any conflict of
authority or friction between the Fed
eral and State authorities. 1 found
Commissioner Miller very anxious of
cooperating with me in the matter.
There is some doubt in his mind as to
whether he has authority to allow the
State to seize liquor in distillery
warehouse and pay the tax on it.. The
question has never been raised before
and there is no judicial decision along
this line. There have been cases of
sheriffs attempting to seize liquors and
imported goods in bonded warehouses
under warrants for the collection Of
debts and the courts have held that
this was not permissible. Until the
Of f10 l.,cf lnu hn
Wilson act as amended by the Senate,
liquor in warehouses was held under
certificates, which were used in the
markets and any one holding the cer-
tificate was considered the owner and
could pay the tax and remove it. Con-
gress, for some reason, changed the
phraseology and the law now provides
that the tax must be paid by the dis
tiller, and under strict construction
no one else is allowed to do it, not even
an administrator or executor.
81 contended that the government
only held the liquor for the purpose of
securing the tax that the States right
to police liquor within it's borders,
whether manufactured or imported,
was unquestioned. The Supreme Court
in any number of decisions, comedies
this in the most emphatic language,
and the Wilson act OF 1890, the last
Legislation by Congress on the SUBJECT,
also comedies it.
"The commissioner will submit the
matter to the Attorney General, whose
opinion will govern of course until the
Legislature and Congress meet The
whiskey in question will be proceeded
against and judgment obtained, if the
evidence will warrant and it will not
be allowed to be removed from the
warehouse until the matter is finally
determined. I have no doubt that the
police power Of the State, which diff
fers from the attempt to seize for the
purpose of collecting a debt, will re-
ceive recognition at the hands of the
Federal authorities, and if the law is
at present defective so as to permit
this, it will be amended when Congress
meets. 1t may become necessary for
the Legislature to pass an act to pro-
vide for the licensing of stills in this
State and the control of the output by
the State officers. One thing is very
certain, the illicit sale of liquor at dis
tilleries will be stopped"
The liquor in question was seized at
Modoc, in Edgetield County, and Gov
ernor Tillman expects to get it and
have it sent to the dispensary.