Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-23

The New York Herald says that the importer
Of that city are determined to test the validity
Of the Mckinley tariff law. 1t IL claimed that
section so Of the printed copy Of the bill given
out a. having been signed by the President b
incomplete. It now reads - follow:
Section 80. That on and after the ist day Of
January, 1891, the internal taxes on smoking
and manufactured tobacco shall be cents Der
pound and on snuff cents per pound
In the original bill passed BY the House (H.
r. 94l6) this section read:
(44s) Section 80. That on ell original and I'M
broken factory packages Of smoking and manu-
featured tobacco and SNUFF, held by mansfact-
| urers or dealers ~ the time the reduction
herein provided for shall 90 into effect, upon
which the tax has been paid there shall be al
lowed . drawback or rebate Of the full amount
Of the reduction, but the same shall not apply
in any case where the claim has not been pre-
scented within sixty days following the date Of
reduction; and such rebate to manufacturers
may be paid in stamps at the reduced rate and
no claim shall be allowed or drawback paid for
q less amount than S5.
It shall be the duty Of the commissioner of
internal revenue, with the approval OF the Sec
Rotary OF the Treasury, to adopt such rules and
regulations and to prescribe and to furnish such
blanks and forms as may be necessary to carry
this section into effect For the payment Of
the rebates provided for in this section there
is hereby appropriated any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
THE SENATE AMENDED
this section BY amendment ~, 90 40 to have Il
read first given; but IL 10 alleged that in con-
ference the committee receded from its amend
ment and that the section should have been
restored % it originally stood
According to the story in the Herald i'm
porters have prepared formal protest to Col
lector Erhardt against the payment Of duties
under the new tariff law, claiming it to be un-
constitutional, by reason Of the fact that the
bill as signed by the President and promulgated
"a . law is not the same that was passed BY the
two houses of Congress.
1t is further stated that Senators Mcpherson
and Carlisle support this view of the invalidity
Of the tariff bill and it 10 added that the au-
thorities in that city have become aware Of the
fatal defect and that the main object Of the
President for desiring an extra session of Con-
gress after the elections 10 to remedy this
blunder.
SUCH OMISSIONS ARE YREoUBNf.
The question raised as to the validity Of the
tariff bill, on account Of the omission Of sec
ton 80 from the enrolled bill, which was signed
BY the officers Of the House and Seuats and
the President is one which the
Supreme Court alone could settle.
but there is considerable surprise
should raise the point, since similar omissions
have not caused other laws to be called into
question. It very often happens that there is
word or a clause omitted from bill BY the
enrolling clerks, and in such cases the bills
which they received the Presidents signature.
the signed bill being the evidence Of the act
Probably half the laws ON the statute
books since the war have been erroneous in en-
rollment in some more or less important par
ticular. It il seldom that some such errors are
not discovered in the enrolment Of the appro-
priation bills after they have been signed. II
an item Of appropriation 10 omitted by the en-
rolling clerks it has never been held TO affect
the validity Of the rest Of the bill.
Several such errors occurred in the sundry
civil bill last Congress, but the bill went into
effect as signed In the river and harbor BILL
passed at the last session, an item Of e200 900
was appropriated for the improvement Of the
Illinois river, and in the enrolment e20O was
put in instead. This was corrected by q sup
Elemental action, but the purpose Of making
the correction was not to save the rest of tho
bill, but merely to save that item.
Many such errors have occurred and have
not been discovered until long after Congress
has adjourned, but the bills, as signed have
always been regarded az laws and % put into
ton OF larger amount than was in.
tended was valid il properly signed. The
executive has nothing to do with what Congress
intends in such eases, but merely with the action
reported in legal form. When bill ia passed
by both houses and all differences settled
examined by the committee on enrolled
bills, who report upon the enrolment
The Speaker then lays the enrolled bill before
the House with his signature and 1t 10 accepted
as correct Tho acceptance Of the enrolment
by the House as correct would presumably in
itself validate the measure.
WILL EXECUTE THE LAW.
Secretary Window said this morning that he
knew nothing officially about the protests
81 do not" he said "regard il a. the province
Of an executive officer to question the constitu-
tionality Of the acts of Congress- Il was for
him to inforce the law as he finds il and not to
determine questions affecting its legality. /
am therefore executing the Mckinley tariff
of the United States and certified as
correct by the President of the Senate and the
Speaker Of the House of Representatives, and
shall continue to do SO unless Q COM
petent legal tribunal such as the Supreme
Court decides that the law is uncon-
stitutlonal- 1t is not for me to question
the validity Of any Of the signatures to the bill
as enrolled, neither 10 it for me to determine
whether the bill signed by the President did or
did not in fact pass the lower House, much less
is it for me to determine whether the omission
OF the tobacco drawback section or any other
provision of the bill invalidates the law
as q whole. fAs / understand IL the
act Of October l, 1890, is the law Of the land
My duty, therefore, Is plain and shall exc
cute its provisions to the best Of my ability.
Its constitutionaity il question for the courts,
and until they decide against it I shall be gov.
erned by it 40 it stands"
Secyetarv Rlsina Al WasfA~u T~,c
Secretary end Mrs. Blaine and Miss Blaine