The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, August 16, 1878, Image 1
M| *
^iat latfii *uauu( caseA
Compromise Probable Without
Prejudice to tiie State.
Washington, July 30.?Notwithstanding
the auoounccd purpose of the l'rcsi dent
?o assert the sovereignty of the Federal
H^ovemment and to rcuiovo the South Car'ol-itta
iuterual revenue cases to tlio United
'States Circuit Court, there has been a
'Strong feeliug to-dry in official circles that
'this line of aetiou may be after all abandoned,
and a solution of tho existing difficulty
reached iu another way, without further
issue between tho'Fedoral and State
authorities. Nothing defiuite regarding
rv *"'A* this can be ascertained, but the fact that
the matter is seriously discussed iu aduiinistratioiPturqics
gives some credibility to the
story.
The Administratis is very desirous of
QYoidiug a conflict or raising an open issue
with the State of South Carolina, and there
cau be no doubt the President will avoid
one, if he cau consistently with the duticB
of his office, as ho understands them. It
is hinted, but not officially, that the cases
may be compromised without prejudice to
the Slate, uud this may account for the delay
iti the proceedings. Commissioner
llaum received, to-day, a long letter regarding
these cases from District Attorney Northrop,
the text of which he would not make
public. J udge Northrop takes strong ground
in favor of the sovereignty of the Federal
Government in these cases.?Baltimore
Sun.
Wusk Instructions from Commissioner
IIaum.
Washington, July 29, 1878.
IK. II. Chapman, Es<j.} Revenue A'jent,
Greensboro', N. C. :
Now that you arc about to assume charge
of your division, I deem it proper to place
in writing tko verbal statements I made to
you before you left this city.
I earnestly desire that tho internal revonue
laws shall bo cuforced peacebly and
quietly and without the necessity of using
an nrmed forco. This can only be done
where the officers arc supported by a public
sentiment fuvorablo to tho observance aud
enforcement of the laws.
I wish yoa to visit the Counties of Pickens,
Greenville, York, Spartanburg, Anderson
aud Oconee
- cm 13tip* 1? n*
' * *5Iott may think proper to suggest, and
there confer with leudiug citizens and cndoavor
to interest their sympathies in be
halt ot the observance of the laws, and a
peaceful and orderly enforcement of thorn.
I desire that you Bball put yourself in
communication with such persons as wish
to pursuo the business of operating distilleries,
aud to impress upon them the fact
that there is a fixed determination on the
part of the government to suppress frauds
against its revenues j and it is important
that you should fully explain to them that
in the end it is moro profitable for them to
opcrato legal distilleries and pay the taxes
imposed by law upon their products than to
engage iu illicit distilling.
The law for the collection of * tax upon
distilled spirits is unifordt
country, and tb^^overnmenfyciffiM^from
the tax nearly sixty millions of dollars per
annum. While this law remains upon the
statute books it is the duty of every good
citizen to observe it, and of every officer of.
the United SiftfapHtffligned to that duty to
cnforco it. The pains and penalties for its
-violation arc scvero. No inau can with
-safety violate its provisions, and any community
where tko violations of laws are numerous
is soon given over to auarchy aud
disorder, and many persons are constantly
skulking from their homes to avoid arrest.
This state of things is certniuly to be deprecated,
but must necessarily continuo until
the people of tbese sections of country
arc willing to observe the law.
There is no disposition or intention cn
my part to require or allow a vindictive enforcement
the htftin a community where
those who huvo been engaged in violating
the )<Wf ha^e honesty and in good faith
abandoned their practices. A lenient course
has been pursued in many districts where
the circumstances would warrant it, and it
^vould afford mc great pleijsuro to know
(Lhat the violators of tbo law iu Jbe districts
to which you are assigned have returned to
a sense of their duty to the general government,
to observe tbo law, and to pay the
tax imposed by it upon their products.
I desire that you shall impress upon citizens
generally my determination that the
laws shall be enforced in an orderly and
lawful maimer, avoiding all unnecessary
collisions, and by officers who are permanent
citizens of the districts or divisions to
which they arc appointed, and arc men of
respectability, integrity, discretion and
courugo. 1 wish you particularly to inform
the people that this office is open at all
times to hear the complaint of citizens
against the unlawful acts of officers.
In this connection you should call attention
to tho stringent provisions of Section
3,l(ii), United States Revised Statutes,
which enact that an officer who is found
guilty of any extortion or wilful oppression
under color of law shall be subject to indiptmcnt,
and, on conviction, shall he fined
not less than one thousand, nor more than
, five thousand dollars, .and imprisoned not
less than six months nor more than three
years. The Court is directed to render a
judgment agaiust the officer or agent for
the amount of damages sustained by the
party injured, to be collected by, execution
Under the provisions of this section the
citizen has an ample remedy, and I know
that the Courts of the Uuited States would
be as ready to afford rolief to the citizen
against the unlawful acts of officers as to
puuish thi citizen for violations of the law
The laws of tho United States are enacted
by the representatives of tho people, and
m;c designed to promote the general welfare
of the whole people. TJho Courts of tho
United StutQfcJty-fttis much the cburte ef the
pcof^o.a* the Stale Courts, and are as ready
to protect tbo rights of citizens as the State'
Court* ore..
In my opinion it is essential to the happiness
aud prosperity of tho country that
commnities should not be kept in a state of
execitcment over the qucstiou of a conflict
of authority between the laws and Courts
of tho United States and those of a State,
and. to avoid this, eitiznn* rHuiiM
aged to appeal lor redress- against the alleged
unlawful acts of officers of the United
States to the Courts of the Uuited
States.
You will understand that in writing as I
do I do not disparage the character or jurisdiction
of the State Courts, but I wish
to point out to you that the laws of tho
United States uot only make provision for
misconduct of its officers ; that these taxes
are to be collected through tho instrumentality
of the officers and Courts of the
United States, and that all grievances can
be better redressed in the same manner.
Respectfully, Grkkn B. Raum,
Commissioner.
Commissioner Raum Assures the Distillers
that Faith will be kept, and that they arc
Entitled to the Clemency of the Government.
Treasury Department,
Office of Internal Revenue, [
Washington, D. C., August, 2, 1878.)
E. M. Bray ton, Collector, Columbia, S. C.:
c..? . 1? - ? - -?
the lines of the Spartanburg and Asheville
Railroad, and surrendered themselves to
Deputy Marshall 0. W. Cummings and
Deputy Collector J. T. Kirklaud, who were
accompanied by a United States commissioner,
and that these parties coufesscd their
guilt aud gave bail for their appearance at
Court, and returned to their homes with an
assurance that if they abstained from furthjr
violations of tho law they would not
bo prosecuted. ,
The ooniments of the News and Courier
aro very severe upon the officers for their ,
conduct, alleging that tho illicit distill
Icrs will be tho victims of misplaced confidence
and will be treacherously dealt with.
It is needless for me to say to you that I
4m earnestly desirous,of coercing tho laws,
an<f%hfct it is no eratifiSaCibiu to niejlo have
men punished. While violators of the law
arm themselves to resist the officers in the
enforcement of the luw, I tun unwilling to
intke terms with them, but when they express
a deterniiuu'iou to abandon their
fraudulent practices and submit themselves
to the authorities, I am roady to deal withthcui
with the most liberal spirit, and in
doing this 1 am quite sure I will be fully
supported by the department of justice and
by the President.
In portions of Tennessee, Georgia and
Alabama illicit distillers have placed themselves
in an attitude that would warrant a
lenient course, and it has been extended
towards them; aud I will be perfectly will
ing to pursue a similar course towards the
illicit distillers of South Caroliua, if they
acHn'a manner to cutitle themselves to it.
If the facts are as stated in the News
and Courier, that ? humher of illicit distillers
have surrendered themselves, you arc
authorized in the most public manner to
announce that the government will act in
the utmost good faith towards them, and if
they abstain from violations of the law and
contribute to a public sentiment favorable
to the enforcement of the law, they will
place themselves in a position to entitle them
to the clemency of the government, and /
have no doubt will receive it.
Xcry respectfully,
Git ken J*. Haum, Commissioner.
Peat if rito>i 11 ydromioiha.?A most
remarkable death from hydrophobia occurred
on the 23d instant, near Lamar, in
liartoii County, Mo. The victim was a
prominent citizen of that locality, named
.Inhn 11 ;ili>m Twplvn venrs airo lift was
bitten by a mail dog, and the wound healed
u|>, never giving him any pain, and the oecurreuce
had nearly boon forgotten. On
Friday ho was suddenly taken with convulsions
of a terrible nature, lie continued
thus until Tuesday, when he died. The
first two days of his convulsions he was
perfectly rational, ami on Sunday became
crazy. His death and sulTeriDgs were terrible
to witness, it taking four stout men to
hold hint, lie leave a wife and two children.
? I II . ?
THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE SEVEN*?
TROUBLES IN SOUTH CAROLINA. ?
Ever since tbc war the ?uforeemcut.\f
the government tax on whUkuy has led l|i
difficulties and occasional ?o)>&cLs iu life
mountain districts of Teunes^a, the Carolina?
aud Georgia, where small ptills abound
and the tax is regarded as au intolerable
exaction. These difficulties have not been
confined, any uioro tlmn the business of illicit
distilling, to tl^sc States, i They have
occurcd at the North, where (the bulk of
"crooked whiskey" is ntade'aud the largest
and most successful^ frauds upipi the reveuuo
have been committed. In iireoklyu aud
other NofthCTn
have had to invoke the aS^vntrfee una protootiou
of the UuiMi'^tatcs Soldier* And.
marines while makings the seizures. In
those cases, the very cxistenco-of the tax
and the opportunity for illegal profit thereby
presented, have boon the inducement to an
evasion of the law. In '.ho SoutlK'jji States
WO liiivn nniiiiwl tL.i A'ica ?q uninAM?l...t O.B
ent. Long before the war, ond beifirc th<- [
iutcrual revenue law was passed, \tc bnsi j
ness of distilling was carried on small j
scale. In the mouutaius'a still wjs'almost j
as usual an adjunct to an orchard iyia brew
house is to an old fashioucd JSng li* homestead,
or a cider press to a New ^England
farm. The manufacture of upplejfnd peach
bruudy was regarded quite as legitimate a
branch of farm industry as thev'pfoparation.
farmers think, of the large distilleries of
the town. It is not simply tho pay incut of
the manufacturer's tax that is objected to*;
tho numerous aud complicated provisions
and requirements of the law designed to
prevent fraud and insure the collection of,
the tax are simply impossible to be complied
with by the owners of those small stills.? ,
Hence tho farmers had to give up the business
or carry it ou surreptitiously and at
the risk of the penalties of the law. lleuce
the encouragement giveu to illicit distilling,*
particularly in outlying aud remote mountain
districts, difficult of access, and where
the population aro in sentiment bitterly opposed
to the enforcement of a law j|hich
they regardja* unjust^ aud unc^uarici its
and sympathisers is not surprising.
A legal complication which is attracting
cousidcrablo attention at this timo lias just
grown out of one of these occurrences in
South Carolina. A party of four revenue
officers went to a man's house, suspected of
being engaged iu illicit distilling, intending
to arrest him. Tho man attempted to shoot
ono of them, his rifle, how jvor, missing fire.
Thereupon the revenue officers shot him
dead. They subsequently surrendered
thomsclves to the local authorities, by whom
jpyii*l.iig'fittfi ^Wf.ltti^avo since
hhenToaicted for murder by the grand jury
of the county. These facts coming to the
knowledge of the Internal Revenue Commissioner,
a demand was made on Judge
Kershaw, the State Judge, for the transfer
of the prisoners to the jurisdiction of the
United States, under the section of the revised
statutist whifch provides for the removal
to the United States Circuit* Court
of civu out- -incommenced
in State courts against revenue
officers uud. aegftte on account of acts done
ia their official capacity.^ Th# application
for removal lias bet?*-4yufed by Jmlge Kershaw,
upon tho ground that the prosecution
is not for any act done by the officers
in their official capacity, hut for an offense
neainst the laws of South Carolina, viz :
homicide, aud that the dcreij.se' set up by
the accused, viz.: that they acted in selfdefense,
can be made as effectually in the
State court as in the Federal court. Judgo
Kershaw signified his willingness to have
the cases removed iuto the Supremo Court
of the State, nnd?to have his decision reviewed
by that tribunal. s*>t)?ut ap rfppeal
might be taken to the Supreme Court of
the United States. Meanwhile ho would
consent to release the imprisoned government
officers on bail.
To this perfectly fair and reasonable
course, it is said, President Hayes and Attorney
General Downs were at first disposed
to accede, but upon the first intimation
of such a solution of the difficulty a (
portion 01 me ncpuuiican press was up in
arms immediately. Judge Kershaw's decision
was a renewal of the old doctrine of
nulliiicatiou. The refusal to surrender the
accused revenue officers to be tried in the
Federal court was a frosh act of rebellion
on the part of South Carolina. To yield
to it for one moment was a piece id' cowardly
truckling to the arch-rebel liairiptob.
In short, the Radical politicians saw a
splendid chance once more to wave the
'-bloody shirt" aud beat the war-drum, and
talk about rebellion and treason, and to fire
the Northern heart with memories of Fort
Sumter, &c. Consequently a strong pressure
was brought to bear upon the President,
with the result, it is stated, of inducing
him tu adopt a different course.?
Judge Bond was communicated with as to
, holdiug a special term of the Circuit Court
of South Carolina, and to issuing writs of
hahca* corpus for the imprisoned officers.?
Tho Judge bas had experience in matters
| of tho kind. The writs, if disobeyed,
would bo enforced with the whole power of
the army of the United States, even if the
warlike llownrd should have to be recalled
lroin the pursuit and slaughter of the fugitive
Bauuocks aud other "bostiles" for the
purpose. A fine, stirring "issue," it is
hoped, may thus be presented at tho fall
elections; upon the strength of which tho
aduiibistfatioo uity possibly gain several
members of Congress, besides reinstating itself
iu the friendship of that portion of the
party which has boeu alienated ever since
to1
uioro foolish aud wicked talk of the kind
oue may read in some of tho Radical
journals. It is refreshing, therefore, iu
contrast, to tiud language like the follow
ing in the sober, steadfast Journalnf Commerce.
of New York, which rebukes the
agitators and would-be mischiefmakers after
the following fashion :
' South Carolina is not loved by some
people at the North. They cannot forgive
or forget her past. In every question that
arises between her and the Federal government
they always try to put her iu the
wrong. They assume that she is at heart
as rebellious as ever. Merely legal and technical
controversies, such as come up betweeu
the Federal power and oue of the Northeru
g any attention, are
this spirit of unjust judgment they treat a
simple law issue which has been raised iu
South Carolina between oue of her courts
and the national government, growiug out
of tho arrest of four revenue officers who
killed a man said to have been implicated
in the illicit whiskey business. The questions
involved arc purely legal ones, u ere,
er were not, the four revenue officers acting
in the line of their official duty when
they entered the house, and was the killiug
of tho man an official act ? It is not rebellious
to take the stand Judge Kershaw has
taken. Should an exactly similar case occur
in the North our eitizens would applaud
the firmness of a State Judge who should J
dfccliny to make the transfer, if ho had con- c
scientious objections to it. While wo have i
WwautbwUy of the local tribunals, even ?
tho humblest?to which wo first look for ?
protection against wroug and injustico? I
should bo maintained in the fullness of t
their lawful scope. If tho South Caroli- t
uians sympathize with their own courts and 1
their own judges, so should we iu a paral- r
lol iijstauco iu the State of New York."? . t
Baltimore Sun. I
i
Roundabout Way op IIeahino? c
There is a passago from tho cavity of the a
drUm of the ear to the throat, known as a
the Eustachian tube. Its main purpose t
Becms to be to regulate the pressure of t
air in tho cavity; but under certain cir- t
custanccs it serves to convey sounds to the a
inner ear. Writers on physiology record t
instances in which persons who could uot j
hear through the external ear were enabled
to do so through tho mouth. Another
roundabout way of hearing is by means oi c
the tooth. A simple experiment illustrates the
transmission of sonorous sounds by the V
vey 'fee'bl^ JiwiLPllid. bodies con- j
Lay a watch, face downwards, on a table i
and stand so fur from it that you cannot c
hew the ticking- Now let one end of a 1
woodch rod rest On the back of tho watch, t
and grip the other end with the teeth ; i
close the ears wiih the fingers, to exclude i
other sounds, and tho beat of tho watch s
will he distinctly audible. Other sounds i
may be conveyed in the same manner. If
one end of a very long rod be placed on a 1
piano and tho other held between the f
teeth, one can distiuguish the tune played i
though his ears be stopped. That the sound t
is tranuiitted butter through solids than <
through tfie air is shown by the old experiment
of suspending a poker or an iron bar ]
by a cord held with the teeth. If the iron
be struck the sound will appear louder than <
when heard in the ordinary way Kngin- 1
eois. when they suspect a leakage or other i
mischief inside the cylinder of a steam- I
engine, sometimes put a small piece of iron :
between the teeth, press it lirmly against i
the outside of the cylinder, and close the
ears, when the sounds produced within become
clearly audible.?Journal of Chemistry.
Lee and Washington.?A word to
Mr Barnum : When hi* clown associates
Robert E. Lee with Washington as a patriot
who will "always have a place in the
hearts of his countrymen," he grossly offends
and insults his audiences. Mr. Barnuui
ought to see that this bespangled fool
is suppressed.? Chicago Inter- Ocean.
Well, J^ec was a "lectlc the best man" of
the two, but wc of the South don't mind
having Washington associated with him.?
Washington would have bltff as good if he
had known how. Mr. Barnum's clown
iugf go ahead with his oratiou.?Augusta
Chronicle.
* . _ 1
An unpleasant sort of Arithmetic. Di- 1
visions among families.
Farmyard Manure.?Everybody will
admit tho statements made by scientific agriculturists
concerning tho luw9 of* plant
growth and the relation of manures to tho
crop. We all understand that plants never
take up and assimilate food in solid forma ) ;
that they uiuet obtain- that upou which
they feed and grow in a gaseous state from
the atmosphere, (which amounts to fully ,
ninety per cent of thoir eutiro food,) or in ,
a liquid condition through the soil; and
that the food clcuieuts in farm yard manure
must go through certain chemical changes befonMh^dau^mayail
itself of thent.?r-: * ' '
tests give that a thousand pounds of this "
undecomj)osed manure will yield on an ovoragc
but five pounds of nitrogen, six and
a half pounds of potash aud a little over
two pounds of phosphoric acid?tho moBt
necessary elements of plant food, and those
which it is essential to supply to the soil
for the perfect growth of aR farm crops.?
So far we agree with those who advocato
ll?c use of patent chcuiicul mixtures as fertilizers,
because we recognize them as the
truths of science?but beyond this wo cannot.
For instuuee ; we do not believe that niue
hundred and eighty-six pounds of solid
matter in a thousuud pounds of farm yard
manure is worthless ; that it does not act a
most important part in the economy of plant
growth and soil improvement, or that it is
just as well if not better to dump this over
the bank, and supply its plsce in the soil
with fourteen pounds of absolute chemical
plan ^
aot to bo forgotten to the makings'saving
md use of farui-yard manure or animal
iuug ; its mechanical action in the soil performs
a most important part iu tho growth
af the crop, in bettering the condition of
t.h* soil as the home of the plant, and in
aulocking and rendering available the inert
fertility of "mother earth." The application
of this nine hundred and eighty-six
sounds of updccomposed organio or vegetable
matter iu every thousand?or about
linety-fivo per cent of the bulk of all aninal
manures?performs a most essential and
mportant ageucy on the inorganio and
earthly particles of the soil, io setting free
ilant food. Among these may be mentionid
that its fermentation or decomposition
n the soil gives just those physical con?
i good start. Besides, as is well known, its
ipplication to some soils renders them.light,
>orous aud readily aerated; assists thorn in
he power of ahsorbiug aud retaining ferilizing
olements, which would be lost but
or the presence aud action of these organio
md vegetable matters in tho soil; increases
he amount of dew fall and enables it to
lold the influences of that and of rain,
t. 1 -a ?
uuuu longer man would otherwise be the
ase, and gives the soil the ability to gather
nd keep the fertilizing gases of the air
ud earth, and prevent the mineral elcucots
which are in solution in the soil from
>eing carried down beyond the reach of
he rootlets of the growiug crops. What
in important agency is this, and how essenial
to the growth of the plants !?Maine
Farmer.
.
No Tramps in the South.?The tramps
lo not take kindly to the Southern States
?probably because the negroes do not take
tiddly to them. In that region colored
jeoplo have charge of the kitchens and ;
ng'mendicants ravorar"' rdiy,"'pd..t/i.aJ}ow>ne
reason why so few tramps are to he
bund in the South. Another reason is ,
bat the South does not afford the same
idvantages for plunder and free living that
ire 16 he found-in the North. There was
in irruption of tramps into Louisiana ltpit,
winter during the sugar-uiakiug season.?
They pretended to be iu search of work,
jut when furnished with employment, they
loon showed that they were not fascinated,
wit!) it. They wandered from one planta.ion
to another, and became as much disgusted
with the country us it was with them.
The negroes showed them no favor, and the
planters closed their doors against them.?.
I hey wore iounu to be an uudcsiruble aor
jession to the populatron, and the New Orleans
Democrat advises that "if thero is%
more cotton produced than can he picked j
by our own people, it is better to let it rot,
away than bring down this visitation of
tramps upon us, under tho delusion that,
they will do auy work."
Apple Dumpling.?Use good sized,
rather tart apples, pare, and remove the
cores ; envelope each separately in puff paste
and tie it in a piece of cloth ; boil or stcatn
for one hour. Before serving, remove the,
cloths, cut a piece from each aud put in,,
some sugar and fr?h butter; replace the
piece of paste, and sprinkle with powdered
sugar. If preferred, they may ho served
with liquid sauce or sweet cream. The
same correspondent sends
Baked Apple Dumplings.?Pare and;
core smooth apples of uniform size, and fill
the cavity of each with sugar and a little
cinnamon. Divide the paste into as many
parts as there are apples; roll caek piece
out square, and inclose an apple in it, slightly
wetting the edges to make them stick.?
Bake in shallow pans, and serve with hard
sauce.