The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-15
ALIEN OR AMERICAN
STATUS or PORTO RICO AND HA-
wAII DISCUSSED.
TO BE CONTINUED IN OUR NEXT
SEEMINGLY ENDLESS ARGUMENT
STILL PROCEEDS.

Smith-As Hawaii Has BeeR For
maiIy Accepted ms a Part of the
United states How Can Goods From
the Island he Made DutiabIe, Mr,
smith Inquiries.
Washington. Jan. 1.-THE United States
| Supreme Court to-day resumed its hear
Ing in the case of Charles Huus VS. the
New York and Porto Rico Steamship
Company and Senator Lindsay continued
the argument begun by him on Friday
The action involves the question of pilot
age. the owner OF the steamship claiming
exemption on the ground tifat Porto Ri
can ports had ceased to be foreign
Senator Lindsay in the course of his ar
| gument said:
Should It be decided that Porto Rican
ports are not foreign ports in the ordi-
nary sense OF the word, It would be a
violent construction to interpret the lam
| guage Of the statute of the state of New
York, passed In 1884, so to exempt from
pilotage vessels from land then foreign
but since brought under the dominion OF
the United States. 1t is a fundamental
rule OF construction that laws are to ba
construed as of the time of their enact
ment
And it would not be reasonable to as
sumo that the Legislature of the stale
proposed to exempt from pilotage vessels
belonging to after-acquired and far-dis-
tant territory OF the United States. even
supposing human foresight could have
foreseen the intention of Congress to
exempt from pllotage vessels bound TO or
from England Australia or the Phil
ippine Islands. Likewise the state of New
York could exempt such vessels from nj
lotage or could entirely abrogato com
pulsory pilotage. This however, is not
to be implied from the general language
in an act of Congress relating TO sub
ject Of an entirely different nature which
cannot now be reasonably constructed TO
affect the statutes of New York reguat-
ing pilotage."
Senator Lindsay quoted from decisions
Of the court to establish his contention
tha' the term foreign port could be
used in its broadest sense and that in
early acts the trade between the Atlantic
| and Pacific coasts was so considered as
between foreign ports. Also that the
Treasury Department did consider a port
| foreign unless the clearance of the vessel
| coming to mis- country was given by an
| officer in a customs collection district es-
| tabished by Congress and exercising his
! functions under the laws of the United
| States. San Juan, he argued, was never
| made a domestic port of the United States
| and must be considered "a foreign port un-
| III Congress includes It. in one of che col
| lection districts of the United States
Following this Hne he argued that YES
sells trading between New York and Porto
Rican ports were not in the coasting
trade
1t was further argued that Congress
| did not intend to make the trade coast
ing trade, for trade was discussed as be-
tween Porto Rico and the United States
which would not have been the case had
II been considered that Porto Rico ports
were domestic ports. None OF the pro-
visions Of the act to govern Porto Rico,
Mr.. Lindsay urged. controlled or MENTION
ed pilotage and could be interpreted as
affecting the point at issue.
Senator Lindsay referred to the decision
just rendered by the court in the Neely
case He argued that that decision es-
tablishes two propositions in support of
the governments contention which apply
to the pilotage case The first of these
was that the government of the United
over country over which its sovereignty
extends in time OF peace without neces-
sarily extending the constitution of the
United States to that country or its peo-
pie, and the second that the grant of
legislative power to Congress includes the
power TO legislate for any people over
which sovereignty Is extended.
Senator Lindsay was followed by f.
Kngsbury Curtis for the steamship COM
pauy. who contended that the vessel upon
which pilotage was defuanded was ex-
empt on the ground thai Porto Rican
goods had ceased 10 be loreign and that
by act OF April ~. 1900 the trade between
Porto Rico and the United States had
been made coastwise.
The court authorized Charles A.
Gardiner to file brief In
the pending Porto Rico and Philip
pine cases in behalf of the Tobacco Grow
ers' Association of New England. The
brief sustains the governments conten-
tion, that 1t is entirely competent for the
United States TO lay tariff of commerce
between the United States and their In
sular possessions.
When the hearing had been completed
I'm the other cases involving the connec-
tlon OF the United States with their in
sular possessions the case of George w.
Crossman ct al, appellants, VS.. the United
States, was called.
This case Is one covering the entry OF
goods from Hawaii consisting of whisky.
brandy and jam. at the custom house OF
New York April 26, 1900. and is the only
Hawaiian case in the Nst. Duty was as
sessed under the provisions of the Ding
ley law. The importers protested against
collection of duty on the ground that the
Hawaiian Islands were part of the
United States, that the provision of the
annexation resolution which continued the
customs laws of the republic OF Hawaii
In force until Congress should legislate
was unconstitutional Appeal was taken
to the board of general appraisers TO the
United States Cirduit Court and to the
United States Supreme Court MIR. Wick
ham Smith presented the case for the ap-
pellants He laid down the following
propositions, upon which he said his cli-
ents rely:
First At the time Of the importation OF
these goods the Hawaiian Islands, having
been by, the action OF Congress, approved
by the President annexed as a part OF the
territory OF the United States were not
a foreign country within any sense Of thot
term, and certainly not within the sense
Of that term as used In the enacting
clause of the Dingley tariff act
Second. The action of Congress IN pro
vlding in the joint resolution OF annexa-
tion that the customs re ations OF the Ha-
%continued on Fifth Pagel