NEW YOKK. 





UK! Kiirronmling territory, by the enforcc- 



i>( the new excise law. After a ri^'nl 



application of tiic law lor a few days, it was 



up l>y tlio authorities until its const!* 



: U- derided ly tin- !ii^!n-t court 



-..UK- of tho li(iii(ir dealers COU- 



! t.i roniply \sith tlio law during that in- 



ternal; but practically it was of no effect. In 



order that the troublesome question might bo 



i'i-poscd of as quickly us possible, Governor 



i i-Mied tho following proclamation, call- 



ing a spi -rial term of the Supremo Court of the 



Judicial District: 



I, Reuben K. Fenton, Governor of the State of New 

 i>v virtue of the power reposed in mo by sec- 

 tion twenty-four of tba code of procedure, and at the 

 solicitation of the Board of Excise for the Metropo- 

 I'ohce District, as expressed by the following 



oilieial record of their proceedings, to. wit : "At a 



meeting of the Board of Excise for the Metropolitan 



District, held at No. 301 Mott Street, in the city 



of Now York, on the 27th day of July, 18G6, it was re- 



solved that his Excellency, the Governor of this 



be requested to appoint an extraordinary gen- 



eral term of the Supreme Court, to be held in the 



First Judicial District of the State, at as early a day 



as practicable," do hereby appoint an extraordinary 



1 term of the Supreme Court, to be held in and 



l-'ir-t Judicial District of this State, at the usual 



place of holding the general terms of the Supreme 



( 'ourt, in and for the said district, in the city of New 



York, on the 29th day of August, 1866, at ten 



o'clock, A. M., of that day, for the hearing and deci- 



sion of all cases, criminal or civil, arising under 



chapter 578 of the laws of 1866, which may be pre- 



sented to said court. 



In witness whereof I have herennto set my hand 

 and affixed the privy seal of the State, at the 

 city of Albany, this 7th day of August, I860. 



R. E. FENTON. 

 DAXIEL W. MERCHANT, Acting Private Secretary. 



At this court a case was argued, embracing 

 the controverted points, and a decision ren- 

 dered sustaining the constitutionality of tho 

 law. The judgment was affirmed by the Court 

 of Appeals, and officially reported as follows : 



Board of Excitt in Metropolitan District vs. Jack- 

 ton S. Scnultz, etc., and several other oatet. The Court 

 of Appeals have unanimously affirmed the judgment 

 of the General Term in the First District, holding the 

 Excise Law of April 14, 1866, constitutional and 

 valid. The court held that the provisions of that 

 act were, within the scope of legislative authority, 

 which extended to all subjects not prohibited by the 

 Constitution ; that the right to regulate the traffick- 

 ing in intoxicating liquors is prohibited by no con- 

 stitutional restriction; that such regulation does 

 not interfere with or restrain one of his liberty or 

 properly within the prohibitions of tho Constitution ; 

 that licenses to sell liquors are mere temporary per- 

 mits to do that which, without such permit, would 

 be an offence ; that such license is no contract be- 

 tween the State and the licensee giving the latter 

 :.n\ vested right ; that such licenses are a part of the 

 internal system of the State, and are usual in the 

 exercise of police powers, and are subject to tho di- 

 rection of the State, which may revoke, modify, or 

 continue them at pleasure; that the necessary 

 power of the Legislature over all subjects of internal 

 police regulation is a part of tho constitutional 

 grant of powers which cannot be sold, given away 

 or relinquished ; and in respect to which no Legis- 

 lature can bind its successor. 



Judgment affirmed. 



JOEL TIFFANY, State Reporter. 



The case of the New York State agent* at 

 Washington, (nee AXXCAI, ( v for 



1864,) was ultimately decided by the acquittal 

 an<l honorable discharge of the accused parties. 

 It will bo remembered that these agcnta f< 

 nel Samuel North, Levi Cohn, and Morvin M. 

 Jones) were arrested at "Washington, aud con- 

 signed to the Old Capitol Prison on tho charge 

 of '-defrauding soldiers of their vote." Colo- 

 nel North was tho duly accredited agent of the 

 State, appointed to look after tho interests of 

 the New York volunteers at Washington ; Mr. 

 Cohn was a paymaster of the State, temporarily 

 at Washington for the purpose of paying boun- 

 ties to the reiSnlisted men ; and Mr. Jones was 

 connected with the State agency in tho capacity 

 of a visitor of hospitals. All the parties had 

 proved energetic and highly useful in the dis- 

 charge of their several duties. Their jtnv-t 

 was claimed by their personal and political 

 friends to have been dictated by partisan hos- 

 tility, and without justification. After an in- 

 carceration of three months, during which 

 time they suffered many privations and hard- 

 ships, they were discharged on tho 26th of 

 January, 1865, nineteen days subsequent to the 

 formal rendering of the verdict of " not guilty." 



The following is the official record of the fact, 

 made public in .February, 1867: 



BJTT, } 



JUSTICE, v 

 I-.', IsOT. j 



WAR DEPAKTMHITT, 

 BUREAU or MILITARY Jus 

 WASHINGTON, D. 0., February 12, 

 Hon. diaries Goodyear : 



SIR : By direction of the Secretary of War, I have 

 the honor to transmit to you the enclosed copy of 

 the findings and judgment of the Military Commis- 

 sion in the case of Samuel North. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



J. HOLT, Judge-Advocate General. 



Findings of tJie Military Commission. 

 [Copy.] The Commission was then cleared for de- 

 liberation, and, after due consideration, do find the 

 accused Samuel North, Levi Cohn, and Morvin M. 

 Jones, as follows : 



As to the defendants, Samuel North.and Levi Cohn : 

 As to the specification NOT GUILTY. 

 As to the charge NOT GUILTY. 

 As to the defendant Morvin M. Jones : 

 As to the specification QUILTT, except as to the 

 words " With the intent and for the purpose of hav- 

 ing such blank, so signed, used as and for the act 

 aud deed of the real soldier, whose name purported ti> 

 be signed thereto, and in fraud of the true electors." 

 As to the charge NOT GUILTT. 

 And do, therefore, acquit said Samuel North, Levi 

 Cohn, and Morvin M. Jones. 

 [Signed] ABNER DODBLEDAY, 



Major-General Yols. 

 President of Military Commission. 



JOHN A. FOSTER, 

 Colonel and Judge-Advocate, 

 [Official.] J. HOLT, Judge-Advocate General. 



In July, 1866, there was a revival of anti- 

 rent troubles in the town of Knox, Albany- 

 County, and a battalion of the tenth regiment 

 of militia was detailed to suppress the disturb- 

 ances. The troops were met by sev?nty or 

 eighty persons, who broke and ran, leaving 

 nine prisoners in tho hands of the military. 

 No fire-arms were used, and no actual bodily 



