New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1842-05-09

I than the sum Tor WHICH tilcy "tie s''d'
James NJ Oakly, custom mouse 'hic'i,
who was the priRclpal superintendent a. me- .
ssl,s in answer To an inquiry whether ANY oiii-
o., ftbe customs. either in h own Esmv or By
tn Intervention OF another person, par, hA't ii
any goods At this sale :" t.s,,iirs: &" kno" noh-
lng on TIN. Subject except 4 ON fuu"1 "'''
va. rrport 10 Tia, effect, but have ho Aho"l-
.Gcs as to IT, trath This SAME custom mouse
oficer. At a subsequent day, offered ier 'aie' al
his ows house. 10 Mlchac! Levy, mole man one
hundred wards of cloth, which Nh Levy iesiiiles
was uar, of the cloth soli al ihe sucion o'
burned good. watch he declined 10 Purchisr, ID
eon.co1snce of ~ having been w,tanG "sinh @
Mr.. Otkly stated 10 HIM that he "hNc hlf d ccai
from IT, and would have cloak made from II ior
m, wife and retain the whole. rather than seii u
for tar-. hundred dollars" Tbs l. \ saHpi- ct
H., verify OF the custcm house officers cAu'd lo
testify concerning these sales, and OF ne 'S.lH""
which ought 20 be placed on then stat. me ''s'
Most Of the witnesses testify that the goods were
intentionally arranged soas 20 deceive bidders ana
IN many instances. heaps or lots of The same eA-
,ernal gupearance were bud OF, some OF ihem ~
Som tWo TO three hundred dollars, and others
al dining 10 them, apparently equally valuable
went OF NJ from forty 10 ninety dollars NirF
tn. sale Michael Levy, one OF the Witnesses Sd"
d., Ia, of t,nr,ecn ui.ces OF tine cloth. winch hac
h ..n ,,Lsn IN R-ooklyu 10 be- cleansed. which me-
had no doubt was part OF the goods Do"S"' a.
tbi. .,le bv a man If the name OF Harrison, Who
~ believed IN be. connected with the custom
house officers. On the whole, there can be- no
doubt that most of the valuable goods, and those
which had sustained the least INJURY, were lHf-
chased bv cu-iom-house officers. either m men
own names or IN the names OF oihrF per oh''
wmch opinion IS enforced by the declaration "l
Caspar Marks, who informed Mr.. Philips tAa' ne
had made good bargains. but that his information
had COS, him ,om one hundred TO one hunof'u
and h.iy dollars.
Whi,c this trauIulcn; sale was progressing, a
deputalon was sent to Mr.. ioyi. The collector 10
inform him OF the fact that the saie was unfairly
conducted. Mr. Phillips, who was charged WI"
this duty, reported that Mr.. Hoyi treated ms al
pilcaIoa with marked indifference, ana uu'iN
refused TO Interfere IN the matter. II Is also ~
evidence, that the officers and leborers thsa7Tu
m securing and preparing these so'us i"i az
tore off from the sound pieces OF cloth the marks
and ,,ds by which alone they could be identIhed
n, m, owner; and, at the close of the sale, no
nvrch,.er was permitted 10 enter the yard ana
receive ms goods. but they were delivered at the
entrance of the enclosure; and, whether they
belonged 10 the heaps or lots purchased or not
WIS impossible for any purchaser TO Know a. II
WIS IN the power of the officer, or hborers "ilhih
the enclosure to change the pieces "a; pleasure,
From the proceeds of these -acs II appears, oy
tb. statement of the auditor, Ecrtlnbeiore rcicf'
red 10. that, for expenses, lncluainS a ch"fge lo
starage-when IN fact, the goods were MOI e'oitu
after the trc-thrre was pad TO MI. hoy' me
sum OF -, 100 on his own private account ac-
cording to usage, and on the 3i'h February, l'Iu'
there was also paid 10 HIM, a. collector ol thI'
port, to be placed in the Treasury tor the beeit OF
the owners of these goods the sum OF -l3,9@9
Il which sum, nor any part thereof, was not al
any time paid into the Treasury, bur the whole
amount thereof was appropriated 10y Mr. lloyt To
h, own use, and n0nliHGHy passed 10 the credit OF
the Government IN the last quarter of his term of
service, ending on the 3l>t OF March, ISL, more
than one year after It had been received by HIM.
The claimants OF the goods applied Tor an equl-
table division OF the proceeds Of these sales, ac-
cordin, 10 the loss sustained by each, al the burn
ing Of the public store IN which thy were depo-
sIted This was denied 20 them by the collector,
who, IN a correspondence with Mr.. Woodbury.,
the Secretary of the Treasury, received An order
from the Department not only 10 refuse thus equl-
table division OF the money received by me coli
lector TO be held tor the benefit Of the sufferers,
but he obtained from that high officer of the Co
yernment positive instructions To investigate, by
all the means within his reach, the invoice price
of the burned goods, and to demand from each
importer the lull amount OF dutes which would
have accrued under their respective invoices.
Thu, Treasury order answered all the purposes OF
the collector, because It deferred any owner OF a
part of the goods rescued from the building from
making any clam on his individual account, d. II
would subject HIM 10 the operation Of the order
for the whole amount of duties accrulng on ms
importation and, thereby, Mr. liOyt remained
IN the undsturbed possession OF the money arising
ont oil the sales of these goods, without the fear
Of A demand OF any portion of II from any one OF
the sufferers by the fire. II stands credited to
the Government, IL IS true, but that will be the
last of it,
There are some peculiar facts IN relation 10 the
loss occasloned bv this fire. m addition so thosc
which deserve To be noticed. The
number Of packages In the public Al The linie
II was consumed was six hundred and cighiy-sryen,
consisting almost entirely Of wooen good II
British manufacture. Their value Is es'imatedb by
one Of the importers, who had full knowledge
Of their quality and amount, az about one mlllion
Of dollars. II appears, by the c,ideuc" Of John
TAYLOR. lr, and John Harris, two OF the largest
importers. that these wooll,ns would have been
entered Al the custom-housc, and the dutIc- paid,
long prior To the fire by which itoy were de-
uoyrd bat that the importers were TERED from
entering their goods by the arbitrary system 1t
seizures which mad been adopted by Mr.. HOST,
the collector, and which rendered everything m
cure which was placed within the grasp Of his
power. Many Of these importers offered 20 enter
ther good, according To law, dnd 10 subject them
to ap7raiscnent. 20 10 avoid thc risk 81 present
Ing an invoice, which at that iImr was the certain
precursor OF SEIZURE and comiFomise, or Of a
proraced and expensive litigation, which, mime
cases out If ten, ended in thu rn Il the unfortu-