The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-06-20

nothing OF Alaska Does not this simple statement
taxes upon tins number OF articles by knowledge
| OF the customs 0f1cers. To be imported under an
to protect rom smuggling SO extended customs
line by any practical number or OFFICIALS me CON-
i ON Ways and Means forget 70 tel you also
that in additi on to the number OF officers which
taxes upon goods she still has a preventive SER
trained oricers covering her whole coast, and
watching every bay, inlet and headand OF her
island whereon contraoand goods can possibly De
landed. We have no such service, but officers en-
gagged in collecting revenues upon regu-
OF the Treasury and the revenue marine
excepted exc How, then, ,on can smuggling and
crime, the Importation OF goods by false
values and false weight and measurement, be pre-
that they viii make the hazard Of se eu
ness more than Commensurate with the profits Now
may be hundreds OF thousands, while smuggling
must OF necessity be OF very much less value at the
single venture. Therefore the importation at
undervauation, and by false weights ana meas
ures, is much more dangerous to the revenue
than any possible smuggling. Yet the committee
! ing from penalties frauds by INTERPRETATIONS and
cheating by false invoices, whereby the greatest
ment and to have given their attention to the
prevention OF smuggling. which. OF necessity,
must be comparatively tnnocuOus and IN much
smaller amounts.
| THE "cHRIsTIAN" MERCHANT
The smuggler must hide in hooks and inlets. and
e q ms y a aed OF 81
! The fraudulent importer, by false valuation.
II wssSs y TIVE
pool, and passes them through by briOed officer
at under valuation IN perured invoice OF con-
federate partner house In Europe, cheats the peo-
pie o. the United States out OF millions thereby
becomes 'merchant prince" and covers his sins,
ti0us acts OF advertising benevoence which
bring. trade TO his house; at the same
/ Of the honest customs oficer. For how can he be-
lieve that such benevolent, rich and praying
ties by defraudng the revenue, Cheating the peo-
pie out OF million OF dollars and giving thou
an t 70 s the Il ouss
get through that this is no fancy picture. Yet from
THIS class q deiraaaers Of the revenue the bill Of
and relieves substantially of every penalty.
Penalties, however severe, will be OF no value
as q preventive unless it Is known that they VIII
be enforced. What does the experience OF all time
and OF all peoples teach US as to the detection OF
crime where there is great interest to cover it upy
This truth that under such circumst ances crime
is only to De found out and thwarJed by an equal
the only safety to The revenue OF the country
she belief OF the fraudulent importer that he Is
liable to be pursued by men whose inteIlees are re
an equal interest IT, to , discover tine the dra5d "a
the the" wrong Il is replied to this that it is to
be presumed merchants are all honest that IT is
not to be assumed that they deiraud the revenue
the pains and penalties simply vexatous, and
have their only application TO injure the innocent
importer who may happen to have made mistakes
The committee, however, have again forgotten to
tell US that N every case OF honest mistake the
penalties. Penalties can only be inflicted on the
merchant when the Secretary OF the Treasury can
ton, however, upon this point viii give better
idea Of the honesty Of all merchants than any
udiced win take the tea trade Of Boston. The
House Ia aware that our revenue system allows
as duties ms and ssep n e
bond, and IN case he desires, export them without
payment Of duties. the House wiz "a also TO me ing
the cupidity OF some ''honest merchants" In 1867
there were exported IN bond Tree OF duty from
Boston to certain small places IN the British
provinces bordering on the coast OF Maine-to
wit, St. Stephens, st. Andrews the Island OF
Crane Menau, campo Beno. Indian Island and
st. Johns River-6.7s packages, containing
s3s,3Os pounds OF tea. But in the latter part OF
1851 one OF these 'pestierous inIormers,n upon
whom the very Walls OF wrath OF the cnar-
man Of the committee were poured out-an
Treasury, went down East along the line dividing
Us from the province 81 New Brunswlck ana com ON
bill Of the committee now iorblds,, especially
seizures OF books and papers: and the consequence
only l,7s4 packages OF tea, amounting to s5,sos
pounds or one-quarter as many, were sent theI
States. Does not this conclustvely prove The
necessity for the use or the iniormer and the pen
!
Tor the government. so that he may be willing tC
be vtuperated by the learned chairman of the
committee in the following choice language:-
An odious, despised being from whom everybody
shrnks who has no place whatever N decent society
In %raisse"' ~'0''f "A'' "' "A''' u ~"O
who would not require at least ne-half OF all
the penalties he could get to have such billings.
gate thrown at him in the lace OF the countrys
(Laughter.) Did 1t ever occur TO tile chair.
form Of before there could be an iniormer'
that the "honest merchant must have COM
mltted 2 crime before anybody could ten OF that
crime2 that the 'hOnest merchant must he con-
victed OF defrauding the revenue by jury, unless
he conesses his guilt, before the informer can get
the Court sentences the criminai In all this most
remarkable ebullitt on OF vltuperaton the learned
terizaton Of the dishonest. perj1red. fraudulent.
smuggling importer, because OF whose crimes
alone the 'pestilerous informer" can exist
AMI who would not rather be the "merchant
prince" who derauds his government ana cheats
the people ana Is false TO hts country and his God
alike to be praised and be lauded therefor by the
Committee or Ways and Means, rather than the
citizen who informs the government OF his crimes
' To tey e fact shas ali hs
ttou OF tea in bond from BostOn-fOr do not take
into the account the other ports OF the United
pose of being Struggled back into the United
States by the ''honest merchants" call attention
tea, and in 1873, with all the increase OF popula
ton, there was sent from Boston 10 the same p0r
only twenty-eigh packages OF tea. amounting tt
l,766 pounds, In, ind l, 1913 packages containing
33s 600 pounds when 1t could be struggled witt
profit, the duty In the provinces being the same
country alone. The table I send to the Clerk
desk win snow this better than have stated 1t.
SMUGGLING VS.. HONESTY.
rRos1scEs punsa THE YEARS 1887 AND isss saos I'M
OF BOSTON.
w., 8e9ss ne H. Afsr he Suit Ag 1,k by ~ W.
Brunsrick - - =