New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-01-28
CustomhOuse Investigation.

New YORK, January "a In the custom
house investigation today letter was re-
ceived from the secretary of the National
Revenue Reform Association directing atten
ton to frauds among inspectors. The prac-
tice is to have certain inspectors assigned
for the examination of foreign baggage
there by collision with customhOuse
brokers to enable the latter to secure sun
dry amounts from passengers on the plea
that they can facilitate the entry of their
goods.
r. l.. Moore. one of the largest importing
firms in the city. testified that he knew of a
high official of the government walking into
the customhouse few weeks after Grinnell
became collector and Offering him check
TOR $4,000 for the general order business
Grlnnell politely requested him to leave his
office. The gentleman who made the offer
told witness, and he had it from the col
iector.
The witness was not asked to name the
enterprising official.
To Senator Stewart-The profits Of the
general order business are enormous. He
believed they were between 100000 and
$30O.0O0 per year.
j. j. Roberts importer of watches testi-
fled that year ago he paid duty of $3.50
on a case OF watches worth $4,000, and never
got the case. He applied for redress, and
was referred to the carman who took 1t
from the ship, and found that the carman
was an irresponsible person. He applied to
Mr. Hoffman, the carman's employer,
whose real name is Patterson. who gave
him no satisfaction. He has instituted pro-
ceedings against Murphy on finding that
the carman's bond did not protect the mer-
chant, but the collector personally. He
wrote to the collector. and got no answer
He called at the custOmhouse, and after
being kept two hours waiting. with great
difficulty got copy of the bond. He ascer-
tanned that the names on the bond We're
Crane and Hoffman. and was told that Hoti-
man was a fictitious name. the real name
being Patterson. The surety was H. G.
Wells. The watches were stolen on their
way to the Greenwich street store. When
he went to look for Wells, whose name is
down for so. 900. there was no Wells. He
was told he had ''gone South He has
communicated these facts to the Secretary
OF the Treasury. The loss was in Novem-
Der. 1870. He has never Leard from Wells
since.
James w. Buchanan. importer. testified
thathe got over thirty cases of goods ma
chinery, etc. The day the vessel arrived
she commenced discharging, and when he
had his papers down, at one o'clock that
day, he found that twenty cases were in the
general order stores. He was charged
S253 % general order charges. although the
cases were never in the general order store.
but were left outside in the rain alongside
the store.
At the evening session of the Custom
house Investigating Committee, Peter Raj
ferty was examined in reference to auction
sales of unclaimed goods. At public sale
he had bought bag purporting to be filled
with English down feathers for thirty-twO
dollars, and on opening it found that it was
filled with rags; also a box marked 'tea,"
and he found on opening it that it was en-
tirely empty: in cask of rum purporting
to contain sixty gallons he found only
eighteen gallons. He had made purchases
to the amount of 500 at sale in August,
1863 and the value of the goods did not ex-
ceed $40. He was guided in his purchases
by catalogue. and did not see the goods
until he had paid for them. He had seen
boxes catalogued as containing sewing ma
chine machinery, and when opened We're
found to be filled with scrap iron. Ad
journed