The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1901-01-17
THE PILOTAGE QUESTION
A CASE OF GREAT IMPORTANCk
BEFORE 3. SUPREME COURT.
The Court Hears the Contention OF
Counsel that it Is Competent fos
the United States Government ta
Lay Tariff on Commerce Between
the United States and Their Insu.
lar Possessions.

ltS nearing III the case or CndrleS Huus
VS.. the New York and Porto Rico
Steamship Company and Senator Lind
say continued the argument begun by
him on Friday Th.: action involves the
question OF pilOta@e, the owner of the
steamship claiming exemption on the
ground that Pcrtp Rican ports hac
ceased TO be fGI cicn.
Senator LinGsLs said: Should it be
decided that Porto Rican ports are not
foreign ports in the ord. nary sense o,
the word it would be q violent con.
suuction to interpret the language cl
the statute Of the State oi New York
passed i'll 1884, 50 as to exempt from
pilOtage vessels from a land then for.
eiGn but since brought under the do.
mIni@n Of the United States. 1t Is .
fundamental rule Of construction thai
laws are to be construed OF the time
# their enactmeEt.
And it would not be reasonable tt
assume that the legislature of the Stat,
proposed to exempt from pilotage yes
sells belonging t. after acquired and faI
distant territory Of the United States
Senator Lindsay quoted from decis.
ions Of the court to esta blish his con
tcntiun that IT,. term foreign port
could be used i. its broaD ast sense anC
that in early acts the trade between the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts was 50 con
sidcred as between foreign ports.
Also that the Treasury Department
3ii consider q nort foreign unless the
clearance Of ii" vessel coming to tili:
country vas giTen by az officer In
'ust0m ro!lectl'l distric; established
1y Congr, - arI cxerciSj ng his func.
= -.
states. ga. jan he argued. HaS nevel
mad dome lic port Of the UniteC
states and must be considered d foreign
port until C1ESresG includes it III one
If IT, voErctje-i districts of the United
States. Nrss.l= trading between New
York and Porto Rican ports We're not
III the cu2st:ns- trade.
1t was fuit..er argued that Congress
did not intend - make the trade coast
ing trade. Non Of the provisions of the
act u govern HGrto Rico. AIr. Lindsay
drged, c0ntrt y. or mentioned p!lotage
Senator Li:.C-ly referred to the de-
risiun just rendered by the court in the
Necley case. -" argued that that de-
C!sion establishes two propositions in
support of th" governments contention,
which apply 10 the pilotage case. The
first of these Was that the Government
If the United States may occupy and
'A,Fc.St cUHlTUl over d country over
which its sovereignty extends in time
I peace without necessarily extending
the Constitution of the United States
t. that country or its people. and the
second that the grant of Legislative
power to Congress includes the power
to lcgiSlate for any people over which
sovereignty is extended.
Senator Lindsay was followed by F.
kingsbury Curtis for the steamship
.ompany who contended that the YES
sci upon which pilotage was demanded
WAS exempt on the ground that Porte
Rican ports had ceased to be foreign
and that by the act of April u. 1900
the trade between Porto Rico and the
United States has been made coast
wise. The court authorized Charles A.
Gardiner to file a brief in the pending
Porto Rico and Philippine cases in be-
half of the Tobacco Growers Associa.
ton IF Me-" ENGLAND. The brief sus-
tairs the Governments contention thai
IL Is entirely competent for the United
Stat to lay a tariff On commerce be.
tvc,:. the I-I!ted States ard their In.
sui: pOSs, s-:.ons-
W..rn Il. hearing had been com.
rleted In lie other cases involving the
connection Il the United States with
their insular posse ssions the case o
George w. CrOssman, ct al. appellants
rs. the Un!t, States. was called.
The case is one covering the entry
of goods from Hawaii. consisting O
whiskcy. brandy and jam, at the Gus
tom house at New York April &c. 1900
ard is the only Hawaiian case in thi
| list. Duty was assessed under the pro
/ visions Of the Dingley law. The i'm
porter protested AGAINST the collection
/ of duty on the ground that the Ha
waiian islands Were a part of tn,
! United States: that the provision fo
/ the annexation resolution which con
/ tinued the customs laws Of the repub
/ lie of Hawaii III force until Congress
/ should l,@.siate. was unconstitutional
Appeal v.,s taken to the Board OF Gen
/ eral Appraisers. to the United State
/ Circuit Court and the Supreme Court
/ Mr. Wickham Smith for The appellant
/ laid down the following general propo
/ sit.uns'
l. Al the time of the importation o
I these goods the Hawaiian islands, hav
/ ing been by the action Of Congress ap
/ proved by the President annexed as
! part ui the territory of the Unitet
| states. were not foreign Countr.
| within any sense of that term, ant
! certainly not within the sense of tha
! terEl as used in the enacting clause o
/ The pincIey tariff act.
/ .. The action of Congress in provid
| Ing in the joint resolution Of annexation
| that the customs relations OF the Ha
| wai.au stands with the United State
and v-tn other countries should re
| main unchanged until Congress shOui
| further legislate on the subject. was
| violation of the provision of the Con
| stitution that all duties impOsts an
| EXCESS shan be uniform Throughout
! the United States.
| ;. AS such joint resol IiCn provide
| fer the collection AZ the ports of tn
| Hawaiian islands Of duties upon ar
| tiClvS sent thIther from other ports Q
| the United States, this was. in effect
| A violation of the provision of Sectio
of the Constitution that no tax o
| duty shall be laid on articles eXporte
from any State"
Counsel argued that this case was no
ike others before the court recently 70
the reason that there was no questio
| involved as to the force or effect of
| treaty. the government. of the republi
of Hawaii having ceded its soVereignt
10 the United States which cession tn
Congress ratified. There is no questio
Of military government. The Ian
guaSe OF the annexation act provide
that the islands were annexed as
part of the territory of the Unite
| States.
Mr.. Smith argued that in four out @
| Ave places where the words Unite
| States were used in the Constitution
the term includes the States and terri
tories az well. The exception is tha
i claus providing for the election @
! Presidential electors.
Counsel continued: There is no prin
ciple OF grammar. logic, law or com
mon sense on which the word
throughout the United States in tn
uniformity clause with regard to taxa
t1on can be restricted to the States. ex
Guiding the territories. Those who con
tend, as the other side does, that tht