The liquor traffic was the most difficult part of trading with slaves to regulate. The North Carolina code left whiskey in the same category with other articles, but in 1813 Tennessee made it punishable by a fine of not less than five nor more than ten dollars to sell it to slaves.[118] If a person was convicted of violating this regulation and could not pay his fine, he went to jail until he could pay it with cost. By act of 1829, a slave was given from three to ten lashes for having whiskey in his possession and from five to ten for selling it to another slave.[119] Any merchant, tavern-keeper, distiller, or any other person, who sold whiskey to a slave without permit from his master, was guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on being convicted, was subject to a fine of fifty dollars.[120] The laws regulating this traffic became increasingly strict. By act of 1832, a dealer in order to secure a license to sell whiskey was required to take an oath not to sell a slave unless he had a written permit from his master.[121] Clerks in liquor houses, not considering themselves dealers, continued to sell whiskey to slaves; so in 1846, the oath was modified to include sales within the knowledge of the person receiving the license.[122] In 1842, the punishment for selling whiskey to slaves or letting a free negro be intoxicated on one’s premises was made imprisonment for a period of not exceeding thirty days.[123] The policy of the state toward the liquor traffic with slaves was forcibly expressed by Judge Caruthers in the case of Jennings v. the State, as follows: Under no circumstances, not even in the presence, or by permission in writing or otherwise, can spirits be sold or delivered to a slave for his own use, but only for the use of the master, and even in that case, the owner or master must be present or send a written order, specifying that it is for himself, and the quantity to be sent.... A general or indefinite order, such as those exhibited in this case, is of no avail. An order can cover only a single transaction, and then it is exhausted.[124] It is noticed that this law applied to everybody and not merely to licensed liquor dealers. The laws on traffic with slaves finally concluded: “Any person who sells, loans, or delivers to any slave, except for his master or owner, and then only in such owner or master’s presence, or upon his written order, any liquor, gun, or weapon ... is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not less than fifty dollars, and imprisoned in the county jail at the discretion of the court.”[125] Judge Caruthers, commenting on this law, said: “This is intended to cut up the offense by the roots, and prescribes a penalty calculated to deter those that milder punishment had been found insufficient to restrain from the injury or destruction of their neighbor’s property.”[126]