Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1866-10-11
THE COTTON TAX.
Important Opinion of the Attorney Genera
ON the Collection OF the Cotton Tax.
ATTORNEY GEMS OFFICE, Sept. 2!

T., u.
Hon. Hugh lNcCulloch,
Secretary Of the Treasury:
SIR: am i'll receipt of your letter of the
9th, requesting my opinion on the follow
ing point: Whether the laws imposing a
tax on cotton and providing for its collec-
ton SO restrict the executive authorities as
to forbid the arranging of the cotton States
into single cotton district for the purpose
of collecting the tax on cotton, having re-
ference to the cotton tax only, and without
necessarily involving any change of dis
tricts which may be most convenient for
the collection of other taxes. ] am clearly
of opinion that such consolidation of the
cotton-growing States as is described by
the terms of the foregoing inquiry, into
single collection district for the purpose of
levying and collecting the duties imposed
by the Internal Revenue laws upon cotton
cannot lawfully be effected under the ex-
listing provisions of those laws. The au-
thority conferred upon the President by
the act of June 80, 1864, section 7, to alter
the respective collection districts as the
public interest may require, enables him
only to modify from time to time, as may
be required, existing arrangements of the
several districts designated by him
for the levying and collection Of all
the duties and taxes prescribed and i'm
posed to the acts of Congress relating to
internal revenue By the original act of
July II, 1862, the President was empower
ed simply to divide respectively the States
and Territories of the United States, and
the District of Columbia, into convenient
collection districts. Soon after the passage
of this act a question arose as to the au
thority of the President to alter the az
rangement of collection districts made and
established by him in pursuance of this
provision of law. That question was care
fully considered by my predecessor, Attor-
ney- General Bates, who gave his opinion
that the President when he made the origi-
nal division of the States into collection
districts exhausted his power in the pre-
misses, this was held on the general princi-
pie that where an act of Congress establish
ing general system confers Oh the Presi-
dent the authority to do a specific act for
the purpose of perfecting the means by
which the system shall be carried into effect
The act of the President. when performed
according to the terms of the statute, have
all the validity and authority of the statute
itself. u. S. Opip., Bates, A. G., p. 1884.
This view of the law having been adopted
by the Treasury Department, Congress was
applied to for additional legislation confer
ring the authority, which was not contained
the act of June 80 1864, was accordingly
enacted to remedy the particular effect
which was found to exist in the statute of
1862. It is too clear to admit of doubt |
that collection districts,' within the |
meaning of the act, are those districts re-
spectively in which the internal duties and
taxes imposed by law upon all the subjects |
of taxation are collected in the manner and
by the officers designated in the statute
The districts cannot be established or ar
ranged with reference to the duties imposed |
on particular subjects. That is not the plan |
upon which the internal revenue laws pro-
coed.
Such an arrangement as is proposed in
the memorials which you have submitted
to me should not be carried into effect with |
the machinery established by existing law
for the collecting of internal duties The |
President has no power to appoint special
collector for the taS imposed on the parti-
cular article of cotton, nor could he desig-
nate any one of the district collectors as
the officer who should proceed throughout
the entire cotton territory and collect the
tax on that article wherever found. The |
mischiefs of the present system complained |
of by the Chambers of Commerce of Mobile |
and New Orleans can only be remedied by
Congress.
The act of July ID, 1866 to which refer
ence is made by the memorialist, contains
all the exceptional provisions as to the tax
on cotton which Congress deemed to be
necessary, and those provisions, instead of
giving authority to make the additional ex-
ceptlon now requested seem to me wholly |
with it.
have the honor to be, &c.
HENRY STANBERRY
Attorney General