The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-04-25
United States Circuit Court.
n.ror. Hon IndOa Rata

United States Circuit Court.
Before Hon. Judge Belts
SUIT AGAINST THE LATE COLLECTOR or sAs FRAN
CISCO.
APRIL 24-The United States against james Collier
The defendant in this formerly Collector OF the
district OF Upper California, and this suit Is brought
against him balance of money alleged to have
been received by him in that capacity account OF the
United States Mr. 0'Conor and Mr.. Dunning appeared
for the government and Senator Dickinson and Mr. John
A Collier for tire defendant From the staten ent of the
case by Mr. OCopor il appeared that Mr. Collier vas tie
fs regular Collector at San Fran Cisco that his appoint
ment tool place November lS49 and that he continued
IN Office untl January, 1851 (being period Of about
fn,reen rlopthsD wh-n he ceased to hold the Office
During the leCd o. his service it Is alleged that the
sollecfor received nearly two mill ons and half of
nnev After all allowances for .syments and expenses
and allowing the Collector 80, $50 5S, balance of
s24I 500 AZ is claimed as being due by him to the
Mr. oConor proceeded at some length TO describe the
general law of the case the duties which then devoved
Ipen the Collector in the condemnation of goods &C..
consequence of there being judicial authority estab
lished tlere at that time Tie Collector is charged
with having taken half the Proceeds and paid the
penses out Of the other half then sending the ba
lance OF that other half to Washington The Collector
claims that he is entitled to half share of the property
condemned lie claims, in addition TO the regular salary
allowed HIN, three per cent all he collected amount
ing TO $3.50 30 Those fees and commissions al
lowed him and he was mGgnfcenty paid, he appears
to have received very larg5sum. After that was
limited TO salary OF 900 year. and this leaves
difference in his account of $4,000 The government
charge BIZ Collier with fees to the amount of eleven thou
and odd dollars and fourteen thousand and dol
lars Mr. Collier admitted when he went out of once
that he indebted to the $50 0o0 he was
then under solid surees OF 81 so 000 Either BY his sure
ties or b. himself the 600 which
though he (Mr OConor) was not instructed to admit,
would, doubt be shown the other side and If So
it would reduce the claim OF the government against Mr.
Collier. Mr.. OConor then put in documentary evidence
statement u an account between the government
the Collector.
Mr. A. Collier replied for the defendant saying that
he proposed TO give the jury general outline Of the
history or this extraordinary showing the law
der which the Collector appointed the pur
sued by the the state in which the Collector
found things in an almost unknown port the duties per-
formed by him. the he met with in the
performance Of those duties and the great responsible
ties under which he was placed; the defendant in this
case invited the strctest scrutiny into his conduct for
there never case in which the public have been
nsled as to tie duties and state of accounts between
the Collector and the government. In 1872 was first
pas ed the Revenue law extending over the newly
qued district OF California which was to take effect
the 10th day OF March then next ensuing Counsel here
read the statute There were no courts of law then Or
gained in California, and jurisdiction given TO the
State Of Oregon and Louisiana, where suits for the VIOLA
ton of revenue laws We're to be prosecuted by the Col
Rector Under this act the Collector appointed and
Mr.. George Law and he (slr j. A. Colier) became his
securities The government for some reason or another
desired that the Collector instead OF proceeding IN ms
way to California should accompany military es-
cort, and be notified that he was required to be at
Fort Leavenworth particular day He accordingly
proceeded the plains with the troops in May and
reached his destination in the November following after
great hardships several months after his appointment
In November he entered on the duties oil his once ana
placed there alone to enforce the revenue laws we
had no naval officers no appraisers no sarveyoTs no
three hundred vessels there for his adjudication;
he six seven thousand miles from the seat
of government. There mails then, and 1t took
four months to communicate with the government and
receive their reply and he therefore obliged to act
and rely on his own Judgment and TO that the laws
executed. AT that time there was great rush to
California vessels from all quarters Of the globe were
there and occurred every day in which the
nue. laws we're placed defiance The Collector gave
notice that the laws of the United States should be strict
y enforced and that their violation would not tole-
rated He (counse mentioned this because it had been
intmaed that the Collector had acted in an arbitrary
manner. In many instances the owners consented to
AZ tna
and exI of trial They abandoned all claim to the
goods the Collector proceeded to sell and converted the
properly into money, and paid to the government
the otion which they entitled, and he contends
that lie is entitled to the residue If this had not
been adopted by the Collector-had he stored the
soods-neher he the government could have realized
anything in OF the great expense OF storage
From the necessity q ng the Collector was obliged
al cost OF 81 600: vas cut down by some mschiev
persons and the timber strewn about. He charged
the cost If the wharf to the government ana no obJec
ton 10 that item made until after his term of
office had expired The government had had the use
the SO ooo that it cost go TO swell the balance
claimed by the government against the Collector The
had no vaults, no safe in it, and persons engaged
by the Collector were obliged to sleep there with
yo.vers within their reach. The Collector was conse
qreny, compelled hire another building at California
rates some $1,000 a month"; for eight months The
fused to allow it, that item is discained and behold the
Collector is charged deauter in that instance to
the amount Of s4s oCo Tie Collector restricted to
the cook in the Custom House than that-he paid
him $3.50 month. The defendant therefore, contends
that understood that he 10 have the fees and
that the go, is not entitled to them. The
sci for the United States admits that he was entitled 10
three per cent commission, and the defendant asks no
more, and all he asked the court and jury is to be
allowed to retain in his hands the fees and the
ptifu salary of 900 year he asked no more and he
expected The price OF the wharf the storage,
Cor he was obliged to pay some) expenses OF
officers, all dsallowed the Collector. The govern
ment made objection at the time but now that he
10 settle his account ii disputed The Collector
rented the cid custom house to the firm of Palmer Co.
for So eco year which is also charged to him in the
account though he received it, and Mr.. Palmer
his visit to Washington informed the government
that he had not paid tho Collector The learned
eel then enumerated several other items OF claims made
by the Collector for expenses incurred the part OF the
United states but which are disaowed He stated that
he (counse of Mr.. Golfers securities and he
was not ashamed to own he was his brother, though
he is here held to the country deauter 1t also
appeared from the statement Of the counsel that the Of
fee of deputy OF the Collector broken open in Cali
fornia and about sl4 goo stolen while the deputy at
tea Some were arrested under suspicious cir
cumsances; large sums OF money found upon them
but the Collector could not identify the moneyit being
all in speciethere was, therefore, difficulty in
victng them. The jury disagreed, and the prisoners
rather than be put trial again. compromised the mat
set at large The Collector paid his counsel fees Of
the amount returned that not dollar of that money
came into his hands Two Of these fellows subsequently
fell into the hands of tribunal which the jury may
have heard Of though they have such body in New
York-"1hc Vigilance Committee" They took them,
not for this felony but for another and they hung them
both but the galows they confessed the robbery of
the Collectors room at Monterey. Counsel went on to
state that the Collectors appointment being repudated
by the Senate, he at the time OF the robbery out
of office, yet the government charge him with the
money stolen from the Office OF the Deputy Collector.
The SubTreasurer OF the city of New YORK has some
millions of dollars in his possession, and the law pro-
vides that il it should be taken by a mob lost BY
fire the government cannot make him responsible for
it, Mr. Collier claimed that the late Collector at San
Francisco had been belied by the publication of these
imaginary balances Of accounts He was always willing
ray up what due, but he denied the legality OF
the claim made by the government Counsel continued
his argument till the rising of the court Adjourned
irliel OF John Wilson Tor the Murder OF
Henry DIgAkmeyer.