"But, again, it may be said by some--and is probably thought, if not said, by this defendant and his secession friends--that, as this is a military court, it has not, and should not presume to have, any jurisdiction in civil matters, or matters touching the transfer of property, real or personal. As heretofore stated, this court surely would not have assumed any such jurisdiction, had there been a circuit, district, common pleas, or chancery court in this city, to which cases of this kind could have been referred; but, as all present well know, there has been no such court here since the Confederate troops left, and with them all the officers of State and county courts. Hence, as before stated, it was this court or nothing. But there is a view, and a very strong view, of the case, in which it would become not only the right, but the duty, of this court, or of any military court, to interfere in cases of this kind, namely, where it became known that property, or the proceeds from sales of property, was being surreptitiously transferred from the hands of friends to the hands of enemies. The third section of the third article of the Constitution of the United States defines treason to be the 'levying of war against the United States, or in adhering to their enemies, _giving them aid and comfort_.' Now, if the transfer of goods, or the transfer of money from the sale of goods, gives to an enemy 'aid and comfort,' then, surely, it is the business of a military court to stop it, and the evidence in this case shows this to have been done. The agent admits that he has sold the goods for cash in hand whenever he had opportunity, and that, as he has had opportunity, he has transmitted the money to Mr. S.; nor does he, or any other of his friends, pretend to deny that Mr. S. is an avowed enemy to the government which this court, in part, represents. "So suddenly and so unexpectedly has this new class of cases come upon the court, that no time has been had to consult with the Attorney-General or other legal gentlemen, or even to consult legal authorities with regard to the matter; but the court has no doubt that the principles laid down in every law text-book, including Blackstone, Kent, Parsons, Greenleaf, Chitty, Cockburn, Stephen, and others, will fully justify every position thus far taken by this court, even though there be not a single precedent to cite. While this court would much prefer to follow than to make precedents, yet it has no hesitancy in making them when the circumstances of a case call for, or justify, such action. At the earliest possible moment the court will draw up and promulgate a course of proceedings in cases of this character. Until then the form of proceedings and the manner of adjudication will have to depend altogether upon the facts in each particular case.