New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-06-09
rHE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE,
InvestigatiOns Continued.

~ ten O'CLOCK.
Executive session being called, business
quarter to eleven. At the expiration of
that time the doors were opened.
Special Agent Kinsella resumed his teeti-
mOny:
on the schooner Harkaway was $37 $50: the
tax on that seized on the Greenland
amounted to $64,8l4; on another lot of
whisky, also on the Greenland, bound to q
different port, the tax was $36, AS.
Mr.. Kinsella then read the statement of
G. B. Dyche, inspector of customs. repre-
senting that the shipments on these vessels
were fraudulent. Also that General Benton
and j. NJ. Sutherland had come to him and
represented that they we're about to make
an Ostensible shipment of goods to Mata-
moras; that they had made all the neces.
sary arrangements for carrying out the
transaction. Dyche was promised reward
by Benton and Sutherland.
An affidavit was then read by Mr.. KiuseI-
Ia from Mr.. N. B. Marshall, consul at Mata-
moras, in 1867, declaring the certificates
Of the landing of goods. alleged to have
been shipped by the Greenland, forgeries !;
Mr.. Kinsella's suspiciOns were aroused It
ths haste in which Mr.. Marshall's decisiI a
was made, and his subsequent attempt Co
change his handwriting the atidsvits and
certificates were taken to Washington BY
Mr.. Kinsella, and experts there declared
to be genuine; the bonds for the expectation
of the goods were signed by j. H. Cohen, as
principal, and j. NJ Sutherland, John T.
johnson and j. T. Galloway, as sureties.
Memoranda in the corners of the bonds
sho wed that the certificates were on
file in the Office of the collector of internal
revenue, S. A. Stockdale, under date of
March 5. 1868.
An affidavit was then read by Mr.. Kin
sella, from the deputy collector. w. c: Gray,
in relation to the cancellation Of the onds,
which we're placed in the hands of the
United States District Attorney, but
the parties wanted could not be found;
in relation to the four bonds delivered over
by Mr.. Powers, suits against the parties
concerned in the 1924 barrels of whisky
were commenced in New York before the
bonds were sent to Washington; it was in
ferred by Mr.. Kinsella from Mr.. Powers
representation that the bonds would GRIM
mate prominent persons, but when in pos
session of witness he could not see thss
prominent parties we're implicated: on in
quiry of Powers the latter said, 'If You
catch Harris and squeeze him he will
squeal:" no suits were entered on the
bonds; the aggregate amount of the four
bonds was el34,0OO.
Mr.. Kinsella then gave q history of the
bonded warehouse system, and the locality
of the warehouses. Was of opinion that
more permits for goods went to No. than
any other. This was owing to the fact that
importers having the right to specify the
entry warehouse to which their goods
should be sent, choose No. 6 because it was
centrally located, and q good warehouse;
the collector was instructed from Washing
ton to take new bonds in the case Of
Pickles; month ago q statement appeared
in the papers that Pickles had been a bank
rupt q year, and that was aware of that
fact; made inquiry and examinations, but
could not find that he had gone into bank.
ruptcy: l learned that he owned $4,000
acres of land in Texas; l consulted with the
collector, and the result was the instruc-
tion to take new bonds; the storage rates in
the warehouse are regulated by the Cham
Der of Commerce; there was very little op-
pOrtunity for warehouse officers to impose
upon the importers without the latter OBJ
tanning redress; since June, 1874, there have
been five general order warehouses; two of
these have since beer closed.
To Mr.. Conger-Thiel is the proprietor of
warehouse No. 6: he pays the collector for
the stOrekeeper, as required by law, "a per
day; the honorable chairman of the COM
mittee Mr.. GibsOn) is, believe, the owner
stands; the storage charges belong to the
proprietor OF the building, and the rates of
storage are governed by the practices of
the port; complaint as to charges, etc can
be made to tho collector or to myself;
storage rates correspond; the charge for
hauling is regulated in the same way.
The witness then gave the details of the
custOmhOuse regulations relative to ports
of entry and ports of delivery.
To Nv NJ
the receipt here of q cargo of salt owned
by Mr.. jackson, Of the firm of Masichs g.
jackson, in January 1871; nor of the al
legged irregularity in entering the salt in
bulk instead of in sacks; have some faint
remembrance of investigating some salt
transactions, but the facts have escaped my
memory; remembers that the investigation
resulted in the discharge OF several officials,
but not for improper assessment on salt;
the duty on salt in bulk is eighteen cents
per 100 pounds-in sacks twenty -four cents
per 100 pounds.
Mr.. Kinsella had no recollection OF tie
would look over his reports relative to the
same; in 1870 five trunks, containing "a 600
cigars, were seized opposite the St. Charles
Hotel; G.. p. Wright was the baggage ex
aminer; the trunks were not passed ashore
under Wright's seal; he and another
baggage examiner were reported and dis
charged for permitting the Decentralization
of the trunks; the cigars seized at Bailey q
vinegar factory were sold by Deputy Mar
shall Stockton on the CustomhOuse stairs;
they were sold for $3.50 per thousand.
A request was made by Messrs. Gibson
and COnger to furnish more particulars
relative to two transactions referred to
above, when Mr.. Reilly desired witness to
bring before tho committee his reports, or
a copy of the same, of all seizures made
by him during the last four or five years
Mr.. Kinsella said he would do all he could
toward furnishing the committee with all
data in his possession, but the task was
somewhat herculean in its nature, when q
list of all the seizures was required. He
had found Irregularities on the part OF
boarders of vessels and reported them.
William B. Hall sworn-To Mr.. Gibson
reside in this city; was formerly in the
grocery business; was in the Cust0mhouse
from 1868 to 1866, as Inspector; was after
ward appointed chief weigher, after which
l resigned; l was atterward engaged az
State harb0r master; also occasionally in
the measurement of ships; reported in
writing when the measurement was wrong;
in some cases cust0mh0use measurement
reduced their tonnage seventy-fve to loo
tone; reported the facts to the collector OF
inaccuracies in the measurement by my
successor; don't know that any notice wse
taken Of my report; when harbor master in
1870 came across packages of cigars 0cca-
sionally, from 1000 to 1900; q mar
named j. Coleman told me last year
that he was on the rolls of the Custom.
house and drew pay without doing any
work; another man named Donough, q
sailor or shipping master, drew pay about
four months without work; another. George
Norcross, bought property Al tax sales
when he should have been attending to his
duties; there are vessels coming to thus port
now where the measurement is incorrect;