The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-08-30
May Effect Oriental Trade
Via Vancouver.
Old Treaty With England Covers
the Point of Discrimina-
ting Duty.

| WASHlNGION, August 10. - AL
though the Attorney-General has given
his intimation of the nature of his de-
cision with regard to the question of
the application of section % of the tar
iff law to goods brought into this coun-
| try from Canada under Consular seal.
| the belief is growing that it will be
| favorable to the imposition of the dis
eliminating duty. During the hearing
| it was noticed that his questions to ex-
| Secretary Carlisle were almost entirely
| of character to bring out reasons for
| knowledged freely his doubt as to the
| true construction of the section, it
seemed to those who were present that
| he was seeking for arguments to justify
| a radical protection.
Should it be decided that the discrim-
mating duty applies to goods in bond,
then the shipments by way of Vancou-
yer would be seriously diminished and
consequently the commerce of San
Francisco would be greatly benefited,
for teas and other Oriental products
would be brought to American ports
and shipped across the continent over
bered that in his decision rendered
last week in regard to the importation
of diamonds at Detroit, the Attorney
General said: For the purpose of this
ini0 10 ho
precise effect of the words come into
as distinguished from the word i'm
ported if, indeed, there be any diff
ference in meaning"
The question of the application of the
discriminating duty to goods trans
shipped in bond depends to a great ex-
tent upon whether there is such diff
ference in meaning or not, and wheth-
er the word from" a contiguous coun-
try is equivalent to the word
through
In some of the discussions concern |
ing the question at issue there has been
a good deal of confusion as to the class
of goods which would be affected by a
decision in favor of the discriminating
duty The question is not, as some |
have surmised, whether goods coming |
in ships ordinarily subject to duty |
shall escape the duty through trans |
shipment in bond. Mr.. Carlisle admit
ted to, Attorne rney-General McKenna that
goods which came to Vancouver for ex-
ample, in vessels which rendered them
subject to duty were subject to the
duty whether transshipped in bond or
not. Indeed. one of the points Of his
lou in
tended to apply to those goods alone, |
and that its sole purpose was to dis
criminate against foreign vessels, with |
out reference to railroads in any way. |
The point at issue is whether goods !
coming to a Canadian port in a vessel
not subject to the discriminating duty
became subject to the duty by reason of
entering the United States from Cana |
dian territory Were this not the point |
at issue the question would hardly be
worth discussion by the railroads, as |
the amount of goods which would be |
subject to the discriminating duty |
could never be great, unless 1t should |
appear that the ships of Great Britain |
are not protected from the discrimina- |
ton by treaty. in which event there |
would be a marked change in the COM
merciaI arrangements of the United |
States and Great Britain pending the |
negotiation of a new treaty.
Treasury officials. who have been un- !
able to find any treaty provision on |
this subject, except the article in the |
treaty of 1915. which protects from dis |
elimination produce of "His Britannia /
Maiestv's territories in Europe" have |
no intention to press this interpreta- |
ton at present. although the question |
may be brought up for decision later, |
when it will be possible to remedy the