The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1866-10-27


~ nv mn HrH hag
"a ~ IwB
sin uH Us al af g9ut
htfdf III tW Itbl Wl lFHiaF W
apnIHn an fhe hiImeiu8 paHf
Whether ihe lae Impmtr0 tav an
efien 5Hi ptvrliea m \ mIin
fi0u ffslHaf ibt ts@Higa amhn
tits A. to mrtid the arranging III
fha ftiau slate inta slnslf #din
district ff ihe pufre n collecting
fhn iat On f1iioh having reference
~ tie Wtt1u tHx only Hni Wiftmt
lha uereally n Involving any elantt
uf Districts, which miy w. Wust rnh
vauitu fuf lhr collection ~ uiItr
mto4g I im cImfIg " opinion tht
aaeh consolidation af thr aflpu
growing Suites as !. desired w iie
terma 1T fhe foregoing ntuiry. inle
u single collection district iur thr
purpsa NJ letFint tnI collecting iic
duties imposed BY the Internal rove
nuc laws upon cotton, caunot law
tully effect, under the existing pro-
visions " these laws, the authority
conferred upm the President by The
net Of Junc sob, 1864, section I. to
alter the respective districts a- The
public interest may require; but
enables him only 70 modify from
time 70 time, o. may be required by
existing arrangements of the several
districts designated by him for The
Icvyng aud collection Of MI the
duties aud taxes prescribed and im-
posed by the acts Of Congress relative
10 internal revenue IIy the original
act Of july II, 1862, the President
was empowered 10 supply and 10
divide respectively, the States and
territories of the United States, aud
the District of Columbia into con.
ycnicnt collection districts. Soon
after the passage Of this act n qucs-
ton arose as to the authority OF the
President to alter the Arrangement
Of collection districts made and c,-
tablished by him in pursuance OF
this provision Of law. That question
was carefully considered by my pre-
deccssor, Attorney General Bates,
who gave his opinion that the Prcsi-
dent, when he made the original
division of the States into collection
districts, exhausted his power in the
premises. This was held on the
general principle that where an act
Of Congress establishing general
system, il confcIs on the President
the authority to do a specific act for
the purpose of pcriecting the means
by which the system shall be carried
into effect. The act OF the Prcsi-
dent, when performed according to
the terms of the statute, has all the
validity and authority of the Statute
itself. IL. $. opinion, Bates, Attor-
ney General, page 3si.l
This view of the law having been
adopted by the Treasury Department.
Congress was applied Ia for additional
legislation, comforting the authority
which was not contained in the orig
inal act. The seventh section of the
act of June 30, 1864, was accordingly
enacted to remedy the particular
effect which was found to exist in the
statute of 1862. II is too clear to
admit of doubt, that the collection
districts within the meaning of the
act, are those districts respectively,
in which the internal duties and
taxes imposed by law upon all the
subjects of taxation are collected in
the manner aud by the officers de.ig-
mated in the statute. The district
cannot be established or arranged
with refer renee to the duties imposed
on particular subjects. This Is not
the plan upon which the internal
revenue laws proceed. Such an ar
rlngemcnt as is proposed in the me-
MORALS which Won have presented to
me, could not be carried into effect
with the machinery established hy
existing law for the collecting Of
internal duties.
The President ha. no power To
appoint n special collector for the tax
imposed on the particular article, ol
cotton; nor could he designate any
one Of the district collectors as the
officer who should proceed through
out the entire cotton territory and
collect the tax on that article where
ever found.
The mischief Of the present system
complained of by the Chambers nI
Commerce of Mobile and New Or.
leans can only be rrmediei by Con-
gress.
The net Of July ~, 1866. to which
reference Is madc by the memorials
contains all the exceptional provision.
Us tp the tax nn cotton which Con.
| gress deemed to he Necessary. and
these provisions, instead of giving
authority to make the additional ex.
rrrtinns now requested, seem to b,
wholly inconsistent with it.
| have the honor to br, t9c. g.,
lSigncD Henry sTASBKHaY.
Attorney General
Any one young girl living in Mid
{ IL. To- aN..... Afs