The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-03-26

revolution, and sacrifices Of goods take place, sales
then made, not being characterized by the ordina-
ry free and healthy state of trade do not, il 10
ceived. form proper data for the establishment Of
AN actual market value in contemplation Of
law "
Thereis sense and sound reason in all tbs; but it
was as will be seen In the end, in violation Of law
The dangers TO the revenue from changing all spe-
yet another circular, December 20, lS4S, in which
the Secretary says:
1.-The intent Of the 18th section of the act of 30th
Of August, 1912, in the appointment Of merchant
appraisers, is evidently to give the merchants an
opportunity to appeal from one class of appraisers
to another. But it is clear that Congress did not
design to rclinquish the power in the Government
to select the merchant appraisers to whom the
might be referred, 10 give the parties appeal
ing any more voice in the selection OF such appTas
ers than of any other Government officers To
consult the parties concerned, aLoo them roice IA
the selection Of merchant appraisers, would soon
suit in permitting the importers to control the APP
praisement OF their own goods, and il ia presumed
IL not permitted at any port. Merchant appras.
era should be particularly instructed, that when
acting in that capacity, they are to be governed by
the same rules and regulations provided by law
for the direction Of regular appraisers, and 10
act upon the principle that the inroice price,
the price actually paid for an article Of merchandise u
by means true criterion of the fair market ualue
as prescribed BY lalc. Adopt contrary principle,
and ono who IL SO fortunate to have quantity
OF merchandise given him, would be entitled to re-
ceve IT Tree OF duty, or at nominal duty, il pur-
chased at nominal prices, and different rates would
often be assessed by appraisers articles of the
same value. The fair market value intended by
law, is the general ruling price Of the article
lin the principal markets OF the country from which
the same shall have been imported.'"
The Secretaries OF the Treasury who followed
Mr.. Walker necessarily followed the principles Of
construction he had established in his circulars and
the precedents, until they were overruled by the
courts; and, among them all, they piled circular
upon circular, Pelion upon Os5a, till an indignant
| community appealed from the high court Of the
Treasury to the higher federal courts Of udicaturc
The principles Of collecting duties enacted by
these Treasury circulars, and all in violation Of
law, as subsequently decided, were:
lst That the value Of goods at the time and
place Of shipment to the United States were to be
the 0d UatoJem on which duties were to be collected
at the American custom houses.
I'd. That the Treasury circulars were binding
and conclusive upon collectors and all classes Of
appraisers-merchant as well as Government up
praisers-and that the Government had power in
removing as well "a in selecting merchant ap-
prasers
These Treasury circulars thus established Ia
riff Of their own, known under act Of Congress,
and "a soon as they were tested in the federal
court, the federal court swept them away at once,
The Wings contended, and commended truly, that
the tariff acts Of 1896 they have passed. left the
whole revenue Of the Government prey to foreign
fraud or foreign caprice, or foreign invoices, sub
Ject to all sort OF foreign uctuation Of value. The
Wings contended that under such tariff there
could be no adequate revenue. The Wings con-
tended, that to allow foreign manufacturers to fix
the market values of all dutiabc (American i'm
ported) manufactures, at their own door, by their
own workshops, was not only wrongful and sub
versive OF all true principles OF tariff, or sound
political economy, but in utter violation of the
Constitution of the United States, which requires
that call duties shall be uniform throughout the
United States" The keen eye of Mr. Walker saw
all ths; aud hence in the civil and diplomatic bill
(August 10, lS4S) he obtained, he thought,
new powers for Treasury constructions; and hence
bis great effort under the tariff act Of lS42 to make
his construction and instructions "con usive and
binding" Ii ia impossible to say, even to guess,
how much Of additional duties he gained to the
Government by these illegal circulars; but II ia
enough to show, by his own Treasury confessions.
that without such circulars, under the tariff Of
1916, enormous frauds, simulated, fictitious and
antedated purchases" would have prevailed; and,
"under such system, the whole importing bust.
ness would soon be (have been) thrown into the
hands OF the dishonest and fraudulent"
NuLLTIEp TREASURY CIRCULARS.
These Treasury circulars on, and were acted
upon as law, from December, 1876, till January,
1851, when the Supreme Court of the United States
nulhhed the great body Of them, and pronounced
them void, and without law. The revenue, never
theless-the revenue boosted of as SO large but
made so large only by lawless circulars-was col
lected under them for three years and over. Judge
Woodbury., sitting in a casc in Boston, (Greely
Thompson and Johnson,) first overruled these cir
culars He decided
l. That the date OF the procurement of a cargo of
iron IN Newport, Wales, TO w.t. the oath Of Janua-
ry. ls49, was the time at which the appraisers
should have fixed the value of the iron and the
date oil Invoice bill Of ading, the oath of Febru-
airy; (the price had materially advanced during the
previous thirty days, and the jury assessed dam
sges against the collector in the S6,6Sl 2s, ms
illegally exacted)
like made in New York. La
G. Griswold sued the collector for excess Of duties
upon plantain bark, or hemp and sugar imported
from Manila, the collector exacting duties upon
the market value at the time Of shipment, and the
plaintiff paying under protest, contending that
the law only compelled them TO pay dutes upon
the market value at the time Of purchase. The
jury, under the instructions Of Judge Neson. give
verdict 10 the plaintiff Of 206 a. (diffcrence,)
and the verdict was affirmed, on appeal by the su
preme Court in Washington.
These two cases, the pioneers Of others now
pressing, not only nulI6ed the Treasury roscrpts,
and broke down the Treasury code, but they ex-
posed the 10 all the fatal es that
Mr.. Walker had set forth in bis circulars, and re-
sized at once the prediction fsuch men as George
Evans and others, that under such tariff the Gov.
eminent could not be carried on. These decisions
were made known Immediately to the Treasury
Department, TO the Ways and Means Committee
OF the House, and to the Finance Committee of the
Senate, and they inspired all with alarm. A
double alarm was felt. First, IL was asked, what
are we to do for revenuel and next how are we TO
get rid OF paying back the enormous in illegal
duties we have been over four years exacting I'M
der these illegal Treasury circusrs' An honorable
Senator from Virginia, (Mr. HysrER,) the chair
man OF the Finance Committee, a gentleman, l am
happy TO see, whose views extending beyond
the Blue Ridge and ude-water, Immediately
brought the whole difficulty and danger before the
Senate. He introduced bill which, March g. 1851,
became n law, and which really and substantially
revOlutionized the old tariff, in re-enactng the
Treasury circulars. and providing stronger guards
and greater securities than against under-val-
uations, false invoices, unequal duties, &c. Mr..
HUNTER, in introducing his bill, said;
The result will be, that hereafter, unless We
legisatc in relation TO the subject the foreign
luc OF goods will be computed at the time Of the
procurement or purchase, or at the place Of pur-
chase and time OF importation, and not at the time
and place OF importation, has been hereto
lore done, and IL now proposed. THIS wordd gipe
rss 10 great inequality, and open door, perhaps
roy uide door, 10 fraud. All men experienced in
regard TO this matter testify alike. All the Secre-
taries Of the Treasury-Mr Walker, Mr.. Meredith,
Mr. Corvin-were Of the same opinion in regard
TO the mode in which the foreign value should be
computed. And when come 10 look at the
effect of substituting the value at the time and
place Of purchase. for that time and place which
this bill proposes, and Dir. Walkers circular re-
quired, we lind that il throws open n very wide
door TO fraud, and s calculated TO drive the import
ing business into the hs nds Of foreign merchants
thus discriminating in favor Of foreign and ganst