Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1834-11-20
From the Boston Atlas.

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the Hon. Judge Davis-The district Attor.
uev A. Dunlap, esq ., appeared tor the 60
gernuent, and Daniel Webster esq.,, for tho I
defendants Mr.. Dunlap stated, that Ibis
was an action on custom house bond Civ
len by Messrs l. &. Co. for the payment Of
certain duties claimed by the government
upon large quantity of leaden busts i'm.
ported per ship Ju'ian-which duties de-
PENDANTS now refused 70 pay, Messrs. L.
u Co.. Mr.. D said. were white lead manu-.
features at Brooklyn, N Y, and had i'm
lported these articles under the name of
metal hus,s, affirming them as such to be
free from duty under the &C. passed bv
Cfngress in 1882, which provides that "all
busts of marble. metal or plaster. shall be
imported into the United States free Of du.
Nv" The cns,on house authorities, how
ever, attended tina, the busts in this case
were but pigs of lead, thrown into their
present form, for the purpose of evading
the duty. This, Mr.. Dunlap, said was
clearly the case, and the defendants had
violated the law, at least in .,s spirit, by
which alone The decision of he court ought
to be governed. Congress-, he said, had
evidently never intended thal lead should
be thus imported: they had lately discov.,
cred the "leak" ln The former act, and had
at the last session, passed another act, pro-
hibiting the admission of busts, nniess hey.
could he proved TO be double the value of
The metal Of which they were composed.
This Mr.. d.. designated as "decara,ofy
law" and we understood hun as saying
that it ought TO have its effect on the pres.
ent occasion.
Mr. Webster said the law imp 1sed . du-
~ of three cents per h. upon lead in pigs,
bars, or Sheets Now the simple question
was whether the articles before the court,
('he busts) were or we're moi pigs. bars, or
sheets Of lead. Certainly they we're not.
lie had no desire to see the laws eva5ed;
and he had performed his share # duty
elsewhere in supplying the defect which
existed IN relation to the important ~ Of
lead. There was, however, fatal em,s-
sion in the act of '32, under which ,hess
busts had been imporied-a 'ieak,' AS The
council for the government had termed it,
and such being the case, he defendants in
the present instance could not he called up
on 10 pay the duty. As 10 The law passed
by the last session of congress, ttdt had
nothing to 90 with the present case. No
Jaw could operate retrnspcctivelv. All now
laws looked 10 the future and noi he past;
and he very act of congress having amen.
ded he law of 80, proved The existence Of
the detect and omission which led TO the
Importation ofthe articles lii question. He
Mr.. W.repeated that he had H. wish TO sanc-
ton an evasion of the law, out he thought
it better now that The isak in the law of'32
had beens topped; now that no further evil
could accrue, that he revenue should sui.
fer in a single instance, rather than that
forced construction should be pa, upon tho
'sw IN order to procure Conviction.
Alter reply from Mr.. Dunlap, his hon.
Judge Davis addressed the jury in most
able aud impartial charge, in the course Of
which he alluded to former decision in
relation to sugar. The duty on loaf sugar,
he sad, had been fixed al IA high rate; but
was eluded in many cases by The in,roduc.
ton OF the Article in IA pounded state. The
government claimed the duty, but the court,
notwithstanding the pounded sugar was su.
perlor to the best American loaf sugar that
could be obtained, decided that it was not
loaf sugar, and therefore, not subiec. to
duty
The jury, after some elaboration, gave
1t as their opinion, that the articles in ques-
ton we're leaden busts, and consequently
free from Duty
The total amount Of lead imported by
Messrs. Leaviu u Co. in The shape of busts
during the summer, was stated to be $751;
900 lbs. ~.
U. S. Circuit Couri.-At the u. S.
Circuit Cour' this morning, Judge Story
on the bench, the murders OF capt. Cros.
ny we're arranged, and each furnished
win copy OF the indictment found a.
gainSt him. and also list Of the names
OF the Jurors who we're empannelled to
try the issue. -Messrs. B. B. TEACHER
and Wm. Brigham we're appointed eoun-
eel TOR the prisoners. Their trials will
probably commence Oh Monday next.
The twelve Spanish pirates were negt
arranged aud also each furnished with
copy of the indictment, TRANSLATED into
the Spanish language, and list Of the
Jurors names. and Messrs. G. S. Hillard
aud ID. a. Child appointed their coun-
sci. They will be brough, into court on
Mns.dau A.