National Republican., 1883-07-04
NEW YORK BRoKERs, CASES.
Forty-one Suits Against the Governnen
Instituted fs, the Court Of Claims Yes

Forty-one Suits Against the Government
Instituted in the Court OF Claims Ycs-
terday-Two Hundred More TO Follow.
At the last session Of congress resolution
passed both houses authorizing tho bringing
of suits in tho court of claims for the recov-
cry of taxes illegally collected from bankers
and brokers in the old thirty-second internal
revenue district Of New York prior TO June
@, 1872. Tho resolution was sent to the Pres
ident on Jan. 12 1883, and became law with
out his approval, he having failed to return
it TO congress within the time prescribed by
the constitution.
Yesterday forty-one suits were begun in the
court of claims under the terms of the resolu-
tion by j. W. and G.. r. Douglas acting as at
torneys for members of the New York stock
exchange, and il is understood that at least
200 additional suits will be brought under the
operation of tho same resolution within a
year from tho date when tho resolution be-
came a law
/ Tho history of these claims is rs follows
In the years 1869 1870 1871, and part Of 1872
! the collector of internal revenue in the then
thirty-second internal revenue district of New
| York collected taxes upon certain sums of
| borrowed money, which he had assessed as
capital of bankers and brokers doing busi-
ness in that district. 1t was claimed at the
timo that the tax was illegal, and il was paid
under protest A committee from the Now
| York stock exchange was appointed to take
| legal steps for the recovery of the money. This
committee had a conference with the district
| attorney (Mr. Pierrepont), who advised them
that it would be useless for all the complain
ants to bring suits; that one test suit would
be sufficient to settle the whole matter, and
that all claims for the refundng of this class
of taxes would abide the result of the test
case. Two test cases were accordingly insti-
tuted and carried through the circuit court
and to tho supreme court of the United States
the remaining complainants taking no steps
to prosecute their claims pending the decision
in the test cases. In these test cases, the titles
! of which were, Bailey, collector, vs. Clark
Dodge and Others" the supreme court, at the
October term in 1874 finally decided in favor
of the plaintiffs, and against the legality ol
the tax
In the meantime, however, congress hat
June 9, 1872 passed an act containing a pro
vision that all claims for refund of taxes col
lected prior to that date must be presented
within one year, so that the claims of al
those persons in these particular cases, WHIT
had relied upon the arrangement with Dis
trict Attorney Pierrepont, and awaited thu
decision of the supreme court in 1874, wer
cut Off Efforts were made in the lifetime o
the forty fifth and forty-sixth congresses t
secure the enactment of a law authorizing tn
secretary of the treasury to refund the take
which the decision of the supreme court il
1874 had shown were illegally collected, bu
they failed, and in the forty-sevent
congress all that was asked was Law
relieving these laims from the opera
tion of the statute of limitations, an
authorizing their reference to the court o
claims. This was done by congress, stipula
tion being made however, in the act that al
claims must be laid before the court of claim
within one year from the enactment of tn
, law.