The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-03-26

and Means Committee. Without reference To- precon.
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II business on any S,ner principle Bankers viii
their assounis the government % retain re
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commii,se are s, nS TO- believe their efforts
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they were sraded beyond at the CONSTANT an
wagering and pa lent attention shown by every member
erai hours OF the day and o. evening and covering
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as to matters in the revenue laws showed their
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part the officers AMI members committee win be
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animated BY the same iaudable motive-the prosperity
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Thss TIE So Chamber the
and hesry approye and endorse the ehsnse:
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iormity thereto, without unnecessary delay -
The above report and resolution was then put TO
were unanimously adopted. l - T--
SPEECH OF JOSEPH H. CHOATE.
MR.. CHAIRMAN AND CENT? EMEN-lt seems when
we see that the Chamber Of Commerce, the
recognized representatives OF the commercial IN
have volunteered their services and pledged them.
selves selves to carry 1t out, to carry the war into
al y as we are asscTea they are to
1t thus seems that the reign OF terror under
which the merchants OF the country have SO
strongest and most honest merchants have
succumbed. is near its end and that the chains
! about to be broken. (Appause.) And for one OF
another profession, must say that the merchants
are to be warmly congratulated on the present
aspect OF affairs. And one who has looked quietly
on Tor the last ten years, since the passage OF the
noted law Of 1853, and seen how 1t has been per.
verified to weapon of destruction to the honest
importer and unoffendlng merchant cannot buJ
express qualification and pride that at last the
merchants OF this great city have been reused TO
sense Of their danger and taken their vindi-
cation in their own hands. 1t must be
said, however, that the importers and the
merchants have, to a great extent, themselves TO
thank Tor the oppression with which they have
been harassed and the tyranny exercised over
them. The merchants seem to have awakened to
q knowledge OF their rights, and now knowing are
determined to maintain them. Appausel 1t is
true as regards them as III The political sense,
that they who would be Tree themselves must
strike the blow" Applause.l The matter is now
long suffered under Will vanish like mist be ore
the morning sun the momenJ they have made up
preston which imposes on them these grievances.
The merchants want, above all Things, to be placed
understand their rights and duties under the law,
ana thus to be able to take care OF themselves;
that the extraordinary motives Tor extortion and
corruption that has been placed in the hands OF
pacous officers and more rapac0us and corrupt in
formers shalt be stricken out OF the law. Appause.)
The great evil that lies at the bottom OF all this Is
IN the ad vaOrem instead OF the specific system of
duties The greatevil which the Chamber of Com
merce is likely TO strike with one full swOop Is the
Ubiquitous mOiety system by which these extraOr-
binary inducements-toO great IN fact, Tor human,
preston. You all know to what refer. The law
by which in every case OF forfeiture only One-half
goes 70 Ene aGlrauneo anu .ne 9'nea
other half goes among certain revenue officers
VINO are supposed to be charged with the protec-
ton Of the government and the collection OF the
honest duties OF the governments. now come TO
the great engine OF oppression which the law Of
Congress has placed In the hands OF revenue off,
GERS and tnOrmerS-l refer to the well known act
Of 1868, providing Tor the examination OF the
the revenue officers and iniormers may de-
sire or pretend to suspect OF frauds. ! be-
Der of Commerce OF this city demand that this law
shall be stricken from the statute book and nothing
OF the kind ever again put In its place. Applause.)
You all remember what the famous Lord Chatham
said about the great maxim Of English liberty
that every mans mouse Is hts caste-and whyY Be-
cause 1t Is surrounded with mOat or defended by
walls and rampartsY No. 1t might be a hut OF
straw, tne winds might whistle through It, the
not Great .applause.) II tnat was good
doctrine for Englsnmen before our Revolution is
It not good doctrine for americans t under our con-
this obnoxious law Is to abolish it altogether. Ap
pause.) What is the great plea for 1t ? Necessity
say. whether prosecution should be instituted
And our present District Attorney went 10 Wash
lngton the otner day and told the committee Of
s w mG t. i %us
be said that the law was never thought
Of til 1885, and If the 9st Alamo
harmoniously In the matter of revenue from the
foundation oil the government until 1868 l cannot
see how they cannot get on without 1t In the
future. The history of the passage OF that law Is
well known. The law never was passed with the
knowledge Of the people Of the country-lt was
what is vulgarly called putup job-a job put on
the merchants by informers and Custom House
officers. (Appause.) The law was passed in 1868,
when our great and glorious Secretary of the
Treasury that we had on that day was overwhelmed
with the terrible prospect before the country
when the lie Of the nation was at
stake, and he was anxlously devising the
means OF successful rescue; then it was that
the leading depredators on the private rights and
pockets OF the merchants got up that law by the
aid OF revenue officials. Under these considera-
tions the law received the nominal, II not the vir-
tual, assent Of the Secretary OF the Treasury and
the law passed Congress before any one knew that
such an oppressive clause was Incorporated in the
Revenue bill. Lord Chatham said that the most
oppressive and obnoxious OF laws was that OF
general warrants to enter a mans house and
search and seize, II they were to be found, all
papers or books or other articles that might be
used to testify against him. Lord Chatham said
about the same time that he did not believe
q man could be found or sufficient prOnigacy