The Red Cloud chief., 1889-10-25
IMPORTANT RULING.

AaeI 'tsry W1ndom Will E6t IsterSere with
r. Present ImportatlAa Of Mexican Ores
Congress Must Decide the Matter.
WASHINGTON, Ok 19-Secretary Win.
dom last night made public the longer.
pected lead ore decision, in which he sus.
tanned the present classification. thai ad.
mitted argshtiferous lead ores imported
rom Mexico free of duty.
The Secretary, after reciting the uni.
form decisions and practice Of the depart.
inent with respect to the classification OF
these ores since 1850, says: THE du.iable
or non-dutiabie caarac;er of these ores
Vas the subject OF an investiga.
tion by the Judiciary Committee OF
the Senate. who reported on July
8. 1855, in effect that ores Of
the character mentioned. namely: ores
containing more lead in weight than
either gold and silver. but more gold o.
silver than lead in value-are not in the
opinion of the committee subject to duty
under existing Law. II the question pre-
sented were q new one and had not been
the subject OF administrative construc.
tion fortified by the opinion Of the Ju-
dietary Committee OF the Senate. / would
feel at liberty to give greater considera.
fion to b weighty arguments which
have been adduced, tending to estab-
lish the duriable character Of all
ores Of this description containing
lead in appreciate or considerable guam
fity. the more SO il it had been satisfac.
torily demonstrates tiat these ores are
not known nor entitled to be known com.
m~ercially as ores of silver. 1t not having
been SO demonstrated, and it being the
fact that since the original decision Of
1880 on this subject Congress has re.en.
acted the p~re-existiag provisions of the
tariff with regard to lead ores and silver
ores respectively. l do not feel at liberty
to set aside the existing Classification. Il
must be assumed that the rulings and
practice Of the department were known
TO Congress when il passed the tariff act
OF 1SS3
lit must he held that the designation Of
lead ore and silver ore in the thrift in the
absence OF legislative definition was that
of existing decisions that e. ngress in.
tended the Classification should turn on
the question Of value and not of quantity.
1t is therefore considered that this depart.
ment is without authority to change the
departmental and Congressional defini.
tion Of these ores, and in IA i,h OF which
large business interests have been estab-
liShed.
THAT Congress did not intend to impose
duty upon the lead which might be found
in the different ores but only upon such
ores as were then recognized under the
decisions of the dspartm mt as lead ores,
is gathered from the other parts OF the
tariff acts, for in paragraph lSG copper
Is made dutiable whenever found in ore,
and in paragraph 1911 nickel is also made
dutiable whenever found in ore or other
crude forms. In those cases it is clearly
the metal contained in the 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 duti-
able at the rate prescribed whenever
found in ore.
According to we'll settled rules Of
statutory construction this difference in
the form of expression must be deemed to
indicate a d fsrenr legislative intent and
to limit the authority of the department
to impose duty in such cases to the ore
itself under ex sting rules of classifica-
tion. l consider. therefore. that the pres
ent classification has attained the force
OF Congressional enactment, and that
ought Cousressiona, Intervention.
hS ores of this description
ARE I'M PS!eea. which are distinctly known
As lead ores in the legal and commercial
sense. they would as such be du'iable 1t
is deemed advisable in this connection to
enjoin upon customs eff .ers q strict en-.
forcement OF the regulations OF this de-.
partment intended to correct abuses which
formerly existed in the methods If entry,
sampling and Classification of ores OF the
character mentioned"