Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-07-08

The customs administrative act, supra, Is,
according to its title, an act to. simplify
the laws In relation to the collection of
the revenues. Section - thereof. the Sec
ton of the act which makes provision for
refundments by you, reads:
That whenever 1t shall be shown to the
ury that in any case of unascertained
estimated duties or payments made upon
appeal more money has been paid to or de-
posted with a collector of customs than.
as had been ascertained by final liquidation
thereof, the law required to be paid or
deposited. the Secretary Of the Treasury
snail direct the treasurer to refund and
pay the same out OF any money in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated. The
necessary moneys therefor are hereby APP
propr1ated, and this appropriation shall be
deemed zee. permanent. indefinite appropria-
ton. and the Secretary of the Treasury Is
hereby authorized to correct MANIFEST
clerical errors In any entry or liquidation
Tor or against the United States at any
time within one year from the date of such
entry, but not afterward; provided that
the Secretary Of the Treasury shall In his
annual report to Congress give a detailed
statement of the various sums OF money
or OF any other act of Congress relating
TO the revenue. together with copies of
were made"
This section authorizes Won to refund
dutieS
ta) Unascertained. or (b) estimated. or
(acbl payments made on appeal: where:
% Paid or (2) deposited in excess of
amount ascertained by final liquidation.
The Secretary of the Treasury may cor
rect manifest clerical errors:
la) In an entry or (b) in liquidation
within one year.
/ am of opinion that the duties sought
to be refunded cannot be properly be said
to come within the purview of this latter
act, however literally we may e0nstrue
it's provisions
1t provides, as above indicated, that you
may refund unascertained or estimated
duties on imports, or upon payments made
on appeal. Evidently the appeal referred
to Is the appeal provided from the board of
general appraisers. but we have already
seen that the board of appraisers could not
consider or determine the question whether
an article was an import; hence there can
not possibly be an appeal to the courts
from a matter which could not be consid-
cred.
The duties exacted In this case cannot
be said to be ascertained or estimated, as
these two matters evidently refer to
amounts depending upon classification of
value. Neither can we say the duty ex-
acted in this case as an import duty was
duty paid or deposited in excess of
amount ascertained by final liquidation. for
the final liquidation referred to is the lfqui-
dation provided by the cognate sections IA
and ID of this act, and necessarily refers
to liquidation made in consequence Of an
appeal to the board of appraisers as pro-
vided by the act, and over a matter of
WHICH Sdlu UOdTu ndQ JURISDICTION.
Your power to refund depends upon the
fact as to whether the act of 1875 supra, is
In force. If repealed by the act of June 10.
1880, supra. You do not have such power;
if not, then you do have the power under
the restrictions herein set forth.
Recent Decision.
In recent decision rendered by me on a
question of your power to refund duties
collected by an army officer in Porto Rico
during the same period Of time as in this
case on goods imported into Porto Rico
from the United States said that this act
Of 1875 was obsolete. 1t Is not material to
said decision whether this was correct
statement or otherwise. for the said de-
cision turned upon the fact that the duties
in that case were not exacted by a collector
of customs of the United States within
regularly constituted customs district Of the
United States, nor under the color OF any
tariff act of the United States, but were
collected under a military order. and the
moneys SO collected never went into the
treasury of the United States The facts in
that case are clearly DISTINGUISHING from
those in this case. AS said In that case,
Congress never had 1t in mind when legls-
lating on the question of refundment that
the condition of affairs shown in that case
might arise their legislation was conhned
to duties collected by collectors OF customs
in regular customs districts. and concerning
moneys that went into the United states
treasury.
l adherS 10 the OeciSloL luelSiii &c
CARELESS of the fact whether said act OF
1875 is or Is not in force and operative.
Was Not Repealed.
On a careful reconsideration of whether
this act was repealed by implication by
the customs administrative act of June 10.
1885, SUPRA l am led to conclude that 1t
was not repealed for the reasons following:
l. This act by section . thereof. in
specific terms repeats sections 2&'1, Gt2,
BOIL. 3012. 3O121a and 3013. and various other
sections of the Revised Statutes. and other
acts Of Congress relating to the tariff laws
passed subsequent to the revision Of the
statutes, and Ontts from the repeating Sec
ton the act of 1870.
2 BY the terms Of said section %, SUPRA
1t is provided that all other acts inconsist-
ent with the provisions of this act are here
by repealed.
8. The act Of 1875 was restrictive as to
other laws. but Is not Inconsistent with the
sections Of said act Of June TO- 1880, supra,
as 1t relates to refundments. 1t relates to
a class Of refundments not embraced In
said last mentioned section.
4. That by the act of June 10. 1880, you
are required to report to Congress a state
ment Of all moneys refunded under that or
any other act of Congress II the act Of
1875 is not In force then this language is
senseless. as there would be no act of Con-
gress authorizing q refund except the said
5. The Treasury Department has contin-
uously held since the passage of the act Of
June 10. 1880, that the act of 1875 was In
force and effect, and have been continu-
ousiy making refundments Hereunder.
WOrkmen's Old-Age Pensions.
From the New York World.
French government Is about to establis
a state pension system for old and disa-