New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-06-12
.SNTGCLJNG.

The sudden activity Of the officers OF the
Treasury and Law Departments in pursuing
offenders against the revenue promises to yleld
such important fruit to the Government that
the public is almost ready to forget how long
smuggling has gone unpublished, and how long
the Customs officers and the Dstrict-AttOrneys
have been blind to practices which now incense
their official virtue. The fact of the importa-
ton and sale of certain classes of goods in
this city without payment OF duty has
been notorious for great while, and
it is hardly credible that the guilty persons
could not have been reached if the Government
had exercised ordinary shrewdncss and dill
gcnce. In point of fact while the crime of
differentiation has been sharply followed up,
the Offense of smuggling has been so lenlently
treated that a great many honest anu we'll
meaning people have come to look upon 1t as
no wrong at all. A merchant who swears to
the value of his invoices understands
of course that he must declare the
truth or incur the grave moral guilt OF per-
Jury but to get goods into port without pay
ing anything and without making announcement
affidavits seems to too many of our citizens
good stroke of business which wrongs no one.
/" 1t is the business of the Government" such
persons reason, 4" to find out what is imported
I" and collect its dues the best way it can if l
"can get ahead of it without taking false
Oaths, | do MT see that l commit any SIM"
The statements recently published on author
ity of the Treasury Department respecting the
prevalence of smuggling on the European pas
senger steamers, afford a striking illustration
of the laxity of the CustOm-hOuse officers 1t
has been estimated that $4,000 first-class pas
scngcrs land at tho port OF New-YOrk every
year, each passenger bringing Oh an average
five trunks each trunk is valued at $500, and
contains dutiablo articles, but as rule no
duty is collected. This is no doubt a gross
Overcstmate of the value of the luggage
which the average returning tourist brings
home with him. but that the evasion of
duty is an every day practice among travelling
ladies and gentlemen no one needs to be as
sred. The following statement was tele-
graphed from Washington yesterday:
Special agents OF the Treasury Department report that
boxes Of medical works. surgical Instruments, harness,
dolls dry goods kinds. pictures. and in one
instance entire buggy. have been imported through
certain CustomhOuses as wearing apparel The agents
are now on the track of lot Of pictures valued at
$4,000 which lately imported and passed through
This apparently REFERS according to the
context, to passengers baggage, and though
it is not quite clear how "an entire buggy"
could have been passed as wearing apparel,
we are by no means certain that in these days
of big trunks even such feat may not have
been accomplished by judicious packing. 1t is
clearly impossible, however. that either
buggy, or a doll. or $15O,OOO worth of pic
lures, should be admitted "a "clOthing in
"actual USE" without phenomenal inefficicncy
or corruption on the part of the inspectors,
nor is it conceivable that passengers should
have the effrontery to do such things as the
Treasury charges upon them, unless they had
been encouraged by long-continued official
carelcssness.
As matter of course when the New-YOrker
travelling for pleasure has INDUCED in this
high-tOned sort of smuggling and has seen all
his fellow tourists doing the same thing with
perfect impunity, he has no scruple in after
ward repeating the operation on rather lager
scale in the course of trade. Why, indeed,
should he demur at purchasing case of dry
goods which some lOw-bred rascal has got into
the country untaxcd, when he was allowed by
a reckless Government to bring in the coat on
his own back and the paintings on his parlor
walls in the same wayf
We hope therefore that the Secretary of
the Treasury will persevere in his determine
ton to put a summary stop to the petty snug
Cling which goes on every day at the docks OF
the great passenger steamers. Official encOur-
agement of the small Oitenso is sure to pave
the way for the great one and if we want to
break I'D the business of the obscure and dis
reputable dealers in crooked dry goods. it is
an excellent plan to begin by making snug
Cling OdiOus in the domestic circle.
TIE TRAGEDY or SCHOOL, HOTSR