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

on to substitute specific for al vaorem duties wher
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Susnss; on any n G'ne r. Rrd,cpls Bankers VII
render the government Is 70 retain tss
co%%ttse CHARGED with the defence Of
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triuphan deencs q the great house Of which hs hon
ss 81 Ss mis- Wit
IS ss sS tho, b 1S
GOOD result During he sns
they were grate beyond at the constan u
wagering and pa isns shown by every member
ra ho"rs q the day and evening
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as h he snd
nSs e y9 s
part Of the ofcers AMI members Your committee viii be
Animated the laudabIe moiive@the prosperity
ann your beg to ask your APP
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81 ri rssa Sr ssa S an
Tpst re
and heartily approve and endorse the changes in the
the ess a s
snse urge ~ e wsy ana Means
formity thereto, without unnecessary delay. ~
The above report and resolution was then put 10
were unanimously adopted.
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
teress OF New York, has taken the matter In hand
have volunteered their services and pledged them
selves to carry 1t out, to carry the war into
do by this report which we have just heard read
1T thus seems that the reign OF terror under
9nS 1ns n 70 OF the nave
strongest and most honest merchants have
succumbed. is near its end. and that the chains
VIII Oh have bound them under unjust laws are
about to be broken. (ApplauseJ 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
verted to weapon of destruction to the honest
importer and unonendlng merchant, cannot but
express qualification ana pride that at last the
sense Of their. danger and taken their vindi-
cation in their own hands 1t must be
merchants have, to great extent, themselves to
thank Tor the oppression with which they have
been haIassed and the tyranny exercised over
them. The merchants seem to have awakened to
a knowledge OF their rights, and now knowing are
|. determined to maintain them. (Applause.) 1t Is
true as regards them as III the political sense,
'that they who would be Tree themselves must
in their own hands, and the grievances they have
long suffered under will vanish like mist be ore
the morning sun the momenJ they have made up
their minds TO state them and to resist the OPP
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;
corruption that has been placed in the hands OF ra
paclous officers and more rapactOus and corrupt in
The great ev that lies at the bottom OF ali this Is
IN the ad valOren, instead OF the specific, system OF
duties. The greatevil watch the Chamber Of Com
Ubiquitous mOiety system BY which these extraOr-
binary INSTRUMENTATION great. IN fact, ior human
preston. You all know To what refer. The law
by which in every case OF forfeiture only one-haf
goes to the defrauded government and the other
half Is divided one-half to the informer and the
other half goes among certain revenue Officers
who are supposed to be charged with the prOtec-
ton Of the government and the collection OF the
honest duties OF the government. !! now come TO
Congress has placed In the hands of revenue off,
GERS and iniOrmers-I refer to the well known act
Of 1858, providing Tor the examination I3 Of the
the revenue officers and ini0rmers may de-
sire or pretend to suspect OF frauds. ! be-
neve that the merchants generally and the Cham
Der of Commerce OF this city demand that this law
shall be stricken from the statute book and nothing
You all remember what the famous Lord Chatham
said about the great maxim Of English liberty
that every mans mouse Is his castle-and whyY Be-
cause 1t is surrounded with moat or defended by
walls and rampartsf NO. 1t might be nut OF
ss Tnds n the kna t.
doctrine for Engllsnmen before our Revolution is
it not good doctrine for Americans under our con-
stituton ? (Cheers:) Now the only way to amend
this obnoxious law is to abolish 1t altogether. Zap
plause) What is the great plea for 1T Necessity
necessity, the tyrants only plea. Even our District
Attorney, on whose judicial Judgment it rested to
under the law receives his share Of the spoiIs.
And our present District Attorney went TO Wash:
lngton the otner day and told the committee Of
ment could dispense with 1t. Well II! must
tremendously In the matter of revenue from the
foundation OF the government until 1863 l cannot
see how they cannot get on without 1t in the
future. The history of the passage OF that law Is
Of the yas
what is vulgarly called put-up job-a job put on
the merchants by 1nformers and Custom House
officers. (Applause.) 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 anxiOusly devislng 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-
lions the law received the nominal, III not the vr-
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 prOhigacy
to advocate law OF that kind but II Lord
Chatham was with us to-day he would not be dis
appointed in mis- search Tor such q man or any
number Of such men. (Applause.) doubt If you
can find man among any OF those men who re.
Ceived moiety or percentage VINO will coincide
with Lord Chatham in that opinion. But, mat