Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-23
Mexican Lead to Come Into
the United States
Duty Free.
He Hides Under the Cover of
the Congressional Anti
Lead Mantle.
A Blow to the Miners and Mine-
Owners of the Whole
Country.

WASHINGTON. October 1S. Secretary
Window tonight made public the long ex
pected lead ore decision, in which he sus
tains the present classification that admits
argentiferous lead ores imported hon
Mexico free OF duty.
The secretary in the letter pro mitigating
the decision, which sent to the Gus
toms officers to-day, after recitirg uniform
decisions and the practice OF the depart
ment with respect to the classification oi
those ores since 1880, says: 1.-THE dutiable
or non-dutiable character OF these ores
was the subject OF investigation by the
judiciary committee OF the senate, who re-
ported on the fifth OF July, 1888, in effect
that ores OF the character mentioned.
namely ore containing more lead in weight
than either gold or silver, but more gold or
silver than lead in value are not, in opin.
ion OF the committee, subject to duert y und
the existing law.
II the question presented was new one
and had not been the subject Of admins
tratiYe construction and fortified by the
opinion OF the judicial committee OF the
senate, would feel at liberty to give
greater consideration to the weighty argu.
ments which have been adduced, tending to
establish q dutiable character OF all ores OF
this description containing lead in appreci.
able or considerable quantity. More SO, il
it had been satisfactorily demonstrated
that these ores are not known nor entitled
to be known, commercially, as ores OF
silver, il not having been so demonstrated,
and it being q fact that since the original
decision OF 1880 on this subject, congress
has re enacted the pre-existing provisions
OF the tariff with regard to lead ores and
silver ores, respectively. do not feel at
liberty to set aside the existing classfi-
cation.
1t must be assumed that the rulings and
practice OF the department were known to
congress when it passed the tariff act OF
1888. 1t must be held that the designa-
tion OF lead ore and silver Gre in the tariff
in the absence OF q legislative definition
was that OF the existing decisions that con-
gress intended that the classification should
turn on the question OF value, and not OF
quantity.
1t is therefore considered that this de.
partment is without authority to change
the departmental and congressional defini-
tion OF these ores, and, in the faith OF
which large business interests have been
established, that congress did not intend
to impose duty upon lead
which might be found in different
ores, but only upon such
ores as were then recognized under the de.
cisons OF the departments. The following
is gathered from other parts OF the tariff
act, in paragraph 1856, copper" is made
duitable whenever found in ores. In para
graph 191 "nicker' is also made dutiable
whenever found in ore or other crude forms.
In these cases it is clearly q metal con
tanned in ore which is made subject to duty
and had the same form OF expression been
used in reference to lead, that metal would
have been dutiable at the rate prescribed
whenever found in ore. According to the
well settled rules OF statutory construction
this difference in the form OF expression
must be deemed to indicate different legis-
lative intent and to limit the authority OF
the department to impose duty in such
cases to the ore itself under the existing
rules OF classification.
consider, therefore, that the present
classification has attained the force OF the
congressional enactment, and that the
change, il desired, must be sought in a con-
gressional Intervention. II, however, the
ores OF this description areimported, which
are distinctively known as lead ores, in the
legal and commercial sense, they would, as
such, be dutiable. It is deemed advisable
in this connection to enjoin upon the Gus
toms officers a strict enforcement OF the
regulations OF this department intended to
correct the abuse which formerly existed in
the methnds OF the entry OF samples and
the classification OF ores OF the character
mentioned.