New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-02-01
duty did not understand at the time that the reyi
| sion would accom- lish such result.
| SUPREME COURT DECIsfONS.

clear eaee, the spafuion and contradictory
oe courts that hiss ensd customs eses "a. que
chiefly this MULTIPLICITY Of epeae statutes the sas o. smyue
recently Court being nsnee
The court eov held that Quite. were sa.rgts uId s'S s,
=. icing Sails ed by the SUR me Court decision Of 1868 Appears
have been observed thru the revision and pas oen
beng the collection Of the customs s'enae
Here IL will be that tue Department again con-
statutes IN force on Dec 1889 beng
the cause OF much misc0Bsfrucion, were dropped al
Lher la the revision, and adds that TINS mole OF con
densne revising the laws has been justified BY re-
cent decision Of the Supreme Court copy OF the decl
The question involved was the rate OF duty i'm
pOsed article known as silk neck tiesi and tue
court very properly decided that they duable at
so per cent under the the eighth secton OF
Tariff law OF 1884 Aud IN this very opinion OF the
court tere Is confirmation OF the charge that
the Revised Statutes did actually and intention;
ally change the previous law; T ,.,, Law W.,0 OF
schedule, which embraced. among other things, AR
tcles worn by men, women, or children, or whatever
by hand not otherwise provided for" In schedule OF
the Revised stiues, page 49, tbs provision 10 repro
men, women, or children, Of whatever materials com
posed, except silk and linen, made up or male wholly or
IN part by hand, not otherwso PROVIDED Iof' IL wiz no
seen that the revision inserts the WORDS except SIM
aud linen" The opinion OF tue court calls attention 10
The exceptions , and nuenwers here for the i time
tb ae 81 the aw on tue December eIoep
op Of he Act Of 1874 Accordance with hat when We
tort 1t wa the declared purpose Of Congress u ose all me s.'u.s'
Obviously these exceptions were nea-d 70 feinSe dons
| sIeuL"
de not language, used In circular OF t1e Sec
rotary OF the Treasury OF Aug o. 1874 to the effect tt
Congress declared mat the Revised Statues contain
the law force Dec l, 1873, therefore the Insertion
the law o. 1862 Of the words except Fix and linen
be- taken ny tue Court IA COaTessiOndl nstruc-
ton declaration that such the meaning " the
previous SO that the Supreme Court, Instead or
having held that the mode OF revlson was the correct
oue or the Of 1861 aud 1862 ought to nave been
court cannot look beyond the declaration Congress
laws matter whether that deearatlon IN the opinion
this declaration the eV onsmay unless Congress IN
tervenes influence AL ure decisions OF the court Oh
ques, ions OF duty turning on the oG Jaws.
LAWS or 1861 AND 1867.
Between the dates Oh the general Lam act OF March
1861 and OF the Revised Statutes Congress mad passed
some Gu laws relating To duties Imports and col
lee ion Five Of these, Damel Two enacted IN 1901 one
III 1862 one In 1854 IN 1879, may DC clasSed
as general tar II acts becauo gncy covered large class
articles Neither OF these In terms entirely repeated
the previous ones did Congress intend they should
he altogether repealed One oYeTL1pped tie other or
otherwise modified II, and 50 III 1877 reference
was had 10 1861 10 decide what rates cert"in
articles should pay. Tue system OF continuous legs
aUon bad. Dut tAus IL was, and tue necessity OF
back to oid laws was Increased py the nal whlch
had grown in Congress OF generally imposing tat the
end Of certain enumerationsl ON all a,tces mahufIc-
tHred OF specliei III eriAi ptcNcr0eu rate 3i duly,
articles had been "Otherwise provided for"
TIL. phrase made IL necessary TO raDsack al previous
laws 70 see II there WAS any such provision WIN lms
eXpauatOn the comprehensive fOfco OI the following
sentences IN circular oi tue lf,asuy ptrIu'ont 20
collectors Of customs. dated August ~ laf condIned
ms repy the HoueJ interpreting tAe revision, oo-
IT.
Seer uscs TarG Of March 1851, ard Jay a.
lSJ2 whoa al hr suppose to 10 mdad or re- ca 81 % tue
var ous tAousl OF VI s Department
ay olce after tsr ests ito passage aaas these are , o
o. GUY certain cescrp ions o. Loeroaai-eT or U.s. costing
lions nenuobrl Of ,o6l 1854 repeated
ro. of M .st atsAs 10 par Of cotton S wool or wr.td hemp
ute da imposed BY these two acs eng 50
Mshy i5nc have renaiped enargrabe sh uJ
aunGn Of h e. @e but no ea Gas he-uGn = contained
he Of joe p le4 81 gocls o Ae 40 eLseI NJ aoS
charged with ACCORDING 70 'hef identity "1 or ASSIMILATION - other
il reference be now had 20 the report OF Appraiser
partIDcut before ana after June - 49, VIII re sech
tut articles were thrown INTO new scneIuier and rates
duty enormously Increased on uu!actures VI
goats hair wool cotton, SILK, and mixed materials, by
exclusion from the revision OF these Jaws OF l56l ana
1901 universally ned TO he IN force D-cemDer 1873.
THE sIMHIrUDE LAW OF lS42
from the principal 1t appears % mo That large
p0rCOn OF the articles besides those generally de-is
mated a. lie fabrics, on when duties have been
changed under revision, the result nY
accomplished by sigut variations ~ he text OF the law
Executive Interpretation has DO doubt OyersiIuued
THESE slight variations Dut the foundation ol he mas
chief is III This mischief might, ncycrLhe-
les, have bcen remedied Il the Treasury hhd he'd LIST
IN execution Of tic new provisions 70 The general
declaration OF the revlsers and OF Cen Butler AMI sen
ator Couking that no change of me cld Law was m
tended. But 1t did not, aud one Of the
most potential instruments IN working TIE con-
fusion ana injustice OF wAiGh importers Complain
is the uee when has been made or tr
Goth section OF Tariff law OF Aug. 81, 1912, which
i contained IN Section 2499 OF the revision D4hS the
20 Years before 1861 the three general taI1n acts
D, 10,
sautay the system o. schedules or ehHherIt IONS IN
ls4 only reducing tue rates OF duty. These .a~s vi
1872 aud lA6 we're, PERHAPS tue most comprehensive
and best eousdcreI taIH euactueu'S on Ic Htd, dte
books tnc sense OF precise, commerciu aHd alphabet
ic4l designation OF each article IN separate schedules.
10 pr0vIdo for any accideutdlE oMld "ILt't oE 4Ay
newly made fanrc the following sec.I0A Vas Inserted
SEC 20 further mated That thee shall be levied
eorcte atd paid on each and every Eoaeuumef art ia
bears material qual
w4eh NAY apphe enumerated article 4u
The same auy levied
aae u 9A{ ISc D o s,cb serSat - o., e-, '
sha be eved collected and paid oa saci i 49,
lea the soi, ,l he ssr It the a. best ra e. a. winch
Of i,s poleut parts may be enarseaDle"
Under tue lave or 1876 duI 1857, which continued the
system OF 1872, the courts vry properly heid tt tls
n force, not 70 impose new rare "t DUTY
give rule lOr ascertalIng tho trua r-'e Ou
article Arlth'r specially pfON|eu iot Dy name DO 'n"'e
Laws nor falling within the cltuses for non euurerlt"d
articles, because sOrrsemDug an enunr aed az ,c3 a.
To De governed hN Tue srcIoh' Ihe tlLEe inquiry "t-
whether article enumerated. Bar the tar legs
lation durug the reneilOu was, iuucn OF IT, necessarily
nasty auu adope" 10 met pressing neeu lpr rev thu''
No law repealed Ike tai Of 1872. aii previous laws,
but as have said before tue tai acts eleven years
Oyrrlapped ana we're ihterIiced Que wu another Il-
il obvious any who carefully studies IN" legs
atiou 1861 1862 1864 ana 1874 Those laws ATTEMPTED
materials OF their mauufaotlre, Wheeler o. IRON,
steel, glass, cotton, wool or fla" And after enumer.-
tng articles specially. " the exeut winch the power
convenience Of Congress or aniagOn eng Interests
therein permitted, there wOud be concluding c'usc
81 different rate OF duty TOT general eLuh'r'1l ~
articles OF specified naterai OF mannIactur not
Congress under this system OF esaon sine, 1861, the
AID section referred TO Ia the law o. I-{z
rarely invoked because there was rarely article not
either specifically o generally enumerated. Aud the
ipusce Of invoking II can Oe made apparent bv reer
Cuce the law known the Ltt!c Isud bI.I" which
has lust passed Congress- ana winch dlrDrs That
features specially provided tor shall ~
II containing than rs parts IA value 81 sA, bUt
o. per II containing more tndn that a. pan" SIX.
Here enumeration OF the two classes OF uunufic-
ture. But clause OF this Law OF loi2 and OF
ton 2.4g9 OF the Revised Statutes says:
AND MANUFACTURED from 100 srirl1 he
p4ris be ehargeAbe."
The rate for pure silk Is co per cent ana undeF this