Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-10-06
WARRINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

presenting the decision of the United States
Court, for the southern district Of New York,
In the Collier case, concerning which 30 much
has appeared in newspapers in the course of
the last year: .
UNITED STATES CIRcUrr CoURr-before
Judges Nelson and LIBERALIZATION - The
United States as. James Collier, Collector of
the Port Of San Francisco.-This was q suit to
recover large amount Of money, alleged to
have been received by the defendant in his
capacity Of Collector, and owing to the United
States. As set of to this claim, the defend.
ant made claim for several sums which he
alleged he was entitled to, and denied his liza
bility for other moneys which were received in
his Office. The Court decided that the de-
PENDANT is not entitled to o credit for the mole.
y OF 81, goo, received as additional duties of
~ cent. ad valorem, under the 9Th section of
the Tariff act of July 30th, 1916 The de.
PENDANT is not liable for the So, Ito which was
received by the Deputy Collector, and which
was stolen from him, without default on his
part or that Of the Collector The defendant
u entitled to credit for S34,sl5 42, being Q
molety OF the nett proceeds Of the liquors
seized and sold for violation of the revenue
laws. The defendant is not entitled to credit
TOR the moiety Of SA 900 secured by bonds
glVed upon the value of vessels seized for q
violation OF the revenue laws; the defendant is
entitled to credit as a compensation for his
services as collector to the amount Of 81 500.
per annum, and the fees and commissions al.
lowed by law, without Limitation or restriction
under the 4th section of the act of March Sd.
1874, from the date of his appointment under
the said act, and during the continuance of
his services, as such collector, down to the I4th
OF January, 1852, when he surrendered the
custom. house to 7. Butler King, who then ap-
peared and took possession of the same, and
entered upon the discharge Of the duties of the
office as collector under the act of September
2otn, 1880, which organized the Territory of
california into six collection districts and pro-
vided for the appointment Of collector in each
district, The question of intent is reserved
until the account is stated between the Gov.
eminent and the defendant
This decision, if adopted by the Supreme
Court of the United States, will of course.
greatly reduce the balance owed by Collier to
the Government, though it will not liouidate
it. We hear that it is the intention of the
Government to carry the case up to the Supreme
Court, and that the suit was commenced to the
end Of taking it there for final adjudication,
II the claims Of the Treasury Department
were disallowed in any Of their important par
ticulars.
1t will be perceived that the District Court
decides that he (Collier) is entitled to a mo:e,v
OF the value of certain liquors seized by him
and confscated for violation of the revenue
laws The owners of the liquors in question
proved to the satisfaction of Congress that
they had been illegally and improperly seized,
and a law was passed directing that they
should be paid back their full value. which it
Is said was actually being done while the Dis
trict Court were awarding to Mr. G. moiety
OF their value for illegally and improperly
seizing them-and thus deciding that he shall,
profit by his own wrong act We mention
this fact only by illustrating the occasional
vagaries of the law a
The Result, so far.-The FORMULATION OF
the Americas news tn eetenso, is causing
thoughtful men to stare over the result of the
war on the condition of England and France.
In those countries, so great is the danger from
the shortness of crops, that the commercial pa-
Pers are beginning to hint Of coming starva-
ton among their millions, unless the United
States can furnish them with quite forty mil.
lions of bushels of wheat. While We are happy
to know that there need be no uneasiness as
to our capability to do that thing, we are
struck with the evidence of governmental in
sanity involved in the danger to which we re.
fer above. The htelitgeneer computes that
the Allies have sent from five to six hundred
men to the Crimea. Certainly more
than enough of these have been taken from
the labor Of growing breadstuffs in France
and England 10 account for the deficiency in
their crop of forty millions of bushels of wheat.
These governments have also cut their SUBJ
jects of from the Russian markets for their
which were of very great i'm
portance to them; while they have also de-
prived them Of their main supplies of hemp,
duck, tallow, &c, &C., used in their manufac-
lures, which were of little importance to
their continued prosperity. And they have
further cut of the supply of grain for which
western and southern Europe were accus.
toned to look to the Crimea, the granary
Of the Old World, without which, competing
in the market, the prices to be paid by
the people of England and France for the
grain they must buy this season must be enor-
nous, without taking into. consideration the
diminution of their actual means of buying,
by the war taxes. In the meanwhile the &C.
tual means Of living of the Russians are not
impaired by the war. On the contrary they
are practically increased, because the Allies
having blockaded all the Russian ports of ex-
port. Russia's surplus wheat always enor.
nous, lies rotting for want of consumers, her
population not being sufficient to consume all
Of it. The Allies, by the by, as if by way of
giving stronger proofs of their virtual insani-
ty, seem to have made it rule to wantonly
destroy as much Russian wheat as they could
lay their hands on, instead of shipping it to
Balaklava and Constantinople, and elsewhere
where they have troops in the Crimea
The Auueduct -Our fellow, citizens NAV NOT