Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-04-03

Il I"
elusive upon collectors and "a classes Of appraisers
merchant well as Governpent aPpraisers-and that thu
Government had power ip removing as well in select
i these Treasury -Iculars thus established tar;~ Of
their own know under nofact Of Congress and
as they in the Federal court the court
i swept tbsap away at once The Wings conthded and
copsended truly that the tariff acts Of 1916 as they have
passed. left the whole revenue Of the prey
to foreign fraud or foreign caprice, foreign invoices
subject TO all sort OF foreign uctuaton OF value The
Wings contended that under such tariff there could be
no adequate The Wings contended that to allow
foreign to fix the market values OF all du
table american imIprted) manufactures at their own
door, by their workshops not only wrongful and
subversiye of all true principles OF tariff sound pot
cal economy but in utter violation Of the Constitution Of
the United States which requires that all duties shall
be uniform throughout the United States" The keen eye
Of Mr. Walker oil this and hence in the civil and d.
pomatic bin August To- 64S) he obtained, he thought
powers for Treasury constructions; and hence his
great effort under the tariff of 1872 to make his
strucon and instructions conclusive and binding It
is impossible to say, to guess how much Of addition
al duties he gained to the Government by these illegal
circulars but il is enough to show BY his own Treasury
confessions that without such circulars under the tariff
Of 1896 frauds simulated, fictitious and ante
dated purchases woudhave prevailed and under such
o system, the whole importing business would soon be
have been thrown into the hands ofh dishonest and
fraudulent" .s
NULLIFIED TREASURY CIRCULARS.
These Treasury circulars on and upon
law from December, 1885, till january 1851, when the
Supreme Court of the United States nufed the great
body Of them, and pronounced them void and without
law The revenue nevertheless revenue boosted Of
as so large but made large only by lawless circulars
was collected under them for three years and Judge
Woodbury. sitting in case IN Boston, (Greey U.s. Thomp-
son g. Johnson,) first overruled these circulars. He
decided
l. That the date Of the procurement Of cargo Of iron in
Newport Wales to witt The Oath Of January 1840, was
the time which the appraisers should have fixed the
value Of the ron and not the date Of invoice bill Of
adng, the Oath Of February 1.-THE price had materially
advanced during the previous thirty days. and the jury
So, 681 90, as illegally exacted.)
A like case was made in New York. N. L. g. Girls
void sued the collector for of duties upon planain
bark, or hemp, and sugar, imported from Manila, the
collector exactng duties upon the market value at the
time of shipment and the plaintiffs paying under protest.
contendng that the law only compelled them to pay du
ties upon the market value at the time Of purchase The
jury under the instructions Of Judge Nelson gave
dict for the plaintiff Of $8, 20644 difference and the
verdict was affirmed appeal by the Supreme Court in
Washington.
These two cases. the pioneers Of others now pressing
only nufed the Treasury rescrpts and broke down
the Treasury code but they exposed the to all
the fatal consequences that Mr. Walker had forth in
his circulars and realized the prediction of such
George Evans and Others that under such tariff
the Government could not be carried These decisions
were made known Immediately to the Treasury Depart
ment the Ways and Means Committees Of the House.
and the Finance Committee Of the Senate and they
spired all with alarm. A double alarm felt First,
it asked, what to do for revenue and next
Illegal duties have been four years exacng under
these illegal Treasury circulars An honorable Senator
from Virginia (r Hunter the chairman Of the Finance
Committee gentleman am happy to see, whose views
are extending beyond the Blue Ridge and de-water inn
medately brought the whole difficulty and danger before
the Senate He introduced bill which, March 3d. 1861,
became law and which really and substantially reyou-
tonzed the old tariffs in reenactng the Treasury crcu-
lars and providing stronger guards and greater securities
than against under valuations false invoices unequal
duties, &c. Mr. Hunter, in introducing his BILL said:
The result will be that hereafter unless legislate in
laon the subject the foreign value Of goods win be
puted at the time of the procurement purchase at the
place of purchase and time Of Importation and not at the time
place Of Importation has been heretofore done and
proposed This ,uoud ge rise great inequality and
open door, perhaps Uery cdc door, fraud All
. 'ns W essy Mss.;, me-
the opinion in regard the mode in which
the foreign value should be computed And when
place purchase for that place which this bill pro-
poses and Mr. Walkers circular required ndhat throws
wide door to fraud and is calculated to drive
the importing business the hands Of foreign merchants
thus discriminating in favor of foreign and against
importers"
The tariff law of 1885, we thus see as e1pounded by
the court left the whole system subject sgreat
to fraud and calculated to drive the
importing business into the hands of foreign merchants
/" discriminating against our own"
Mr. Hunter continuesand cite his authority because
his condemnation Of the principles upon which the tariff
Of 1876 left the to be collected viii have
greater weight than any thing could say
Court the ship might bring cargo from the place
and deliver it at the port But part Of this cargo
having been purchased when the vessel sailed and the other
before say thirty days. done with the iron in the
of Thompson and Foman and the article purchased
different times but delivered at the moments would be
subject different rates of duty This would only
duce great inequality between and man, but would
often afford opportunity and temptation for fraud and make
difficult for the appraisers to ascertain what the
precise value Of these goods at the time designated by law for
their Let take, by Of illustration, the
Of port in the warehouses Of London. Wine may have
been kept there improving and after having been kept
three years the importer according to this decision, would
have duty for it according to its value the time Of
article he would have great advantage another importer
who the article of the warehouse and paid il the
value at the time of importation.
again If adopt such principle Of valuation
this the manufacturer would in very instances have
the advantage in carrying the import trade with
country and would probably possess himself Of the largest
share for such mode of valuation would discriminate in his
favor The manufacturer who has quantity Of goods
hand and wait when the market is gutted until they
rise in value, according to this decision could send them
hero and pay duty for them according their value at the
time Of procurement by fictitious sale transfer them
10 congnee Of date prices
lower He would thus have advantage American
importer which would 70 great extent throw the business OF
importation into his hands" /
THE TARIFF ACT OF 1851
1t is almost impossible describe stronger terms the
vicious principles Of in the tariff act which were
left to by the Congress Of 1s46 They Justify every
prediction every Of the Wings OF that
Congress Immediately procecde1uto correct them; and
without the act Of March g. 1861, sufficient revenue
could not have been collected The tariff act OF March
8, 1851, provides that
The actual market value Wholesale price, at the period
expectation TO the United States IN the principal markets