Year: 1861

| one at Oe0rgetoWn, one nj CnarleStOnihnu
one at Beaufort and collector, surveyor
aud naval officer, are 10 be appointed to
reside at Charleston" The custom.house
officers are required to reside at the ports
of entry designated in the law. So II is
! with all the collection districts In all the
other States. Another sectiOn-section
eighteen-of the law makes it unlawful to
enter goods or collect revenue elsewhere
than the "ports Of entry" designated in
the law. 1t expressly prohibits the col
lection Of revenue or the entry Of goods at
any other place. Then, subsequent sec.
tion-Section eighty.tive Of the same law
makes an exception to this rule; and
/ that is, in case vessel is prevented by
ice from approaching the pier or wharf at
the port Of entry, tho captain, on applica-
ton to the collector, may receive permit
to land the goods and pay the duties at
any other place in the district designated
in the permit. The only case then, where
revenue can lawfully he collected, or goods
lawfully be entered, at any other point
than the port Of entry designated in the
law, is where the vessel is obstructed by
ice from approaching the wharf at such
port. Such being the case, no revenue
ran be collected ut Charleston, Savannah,
Mobile or New Orleans, or any other Of
! the ports which nrc now in the possession
| of the Confederate" States.


1t has been suggested, and the people
of the country, North and South, huve
been led to believe, that it is the purpose
Of this Administration without authority
of law, to order revenue cutters down to
those Southern ports. and collect revenue
on board Of them. | wish to call the at.
: the fact that the law forbids the collection
Of revenue on ship board or anywhere
C Sc, except at Charleston, Mt Savannah,
at New Orleans. and at each one Of the
ports designated in the law. Tile Presi-
dent Of tho United States uouM Mbject
himSey justIy and t0,Jully to impcach-
! ment VhC should att6mpt TO collect rere
/ me on ship.6oard, or in any other man
ner, or nj ony other place, than that du-
MOrised By late. The law in this respect
stands now just as it did when Gen. Jack
son, in 1899, called on Congress for ad-
ditional legislation to enable him to col.
lcct revenue at the port Of Charleston.
Then Gen. Jackson had no power to re.
move the custom house from the city Of
Charleston to ship-board in the harbor
lie had no power to order the collection
Of revenue anyw here else than ut the place
designated by law. Because Of the alb
Sencc Of legal authority to do this, he
called on Congress to pass law which
authorized him to collect the revenue on
land or ship.board, anywhere within the
harbor other than at the place designated
as the port OF entry. Congress passed
the bill known to the country as the
'lorcc BILL" The force bill was passed
March 81, 1888 and the first and fifth
sections, which gave authority to collect
the revenue at any place in tho harbor,
and tho power to use military force, eX-
pired at the end OF the next session Of
Congress by the express Limitation Of the
Act Hence the law stands now Just as
it did before the force bill was passed !;
and there is no more authority to collect
revenue on ship-board now than there
was before the passage Of the Act Of 1888.
But, sir, even if the force bill were now
in operation, it would not be possible to
collect the revenue under it in the exist
ing state Of the case, for that bill confines
the right to collect revenue within the
port itself, whereas all these ports are in
possession Of the Southern confederacy,
so that you cannot place ship inside OF
the bar. Your vessel would have to be
out in the open sea, and could not come
into the port at all. What is true Of
Charleston in this respect is clearly cor
rect Of Savannah, Of Mobile, and of New
Orleans. They are all situated from thir-
ty to forty, or fifty, and two hundred
miles from the sea. You cannot and dare
not place collector Of customs at either
Of these places until you conquer the city
where your collector is TO reside. You
cannot, under the law, collect the revenue
anywhere else. either on ship board or on
land. Then, what danger is there of any
collision between this Government and
the seeded States upon the question OF
collecting revenueG There is none, unless
Senators suppose that the President of
the United States is going to violate the
law and his oath Of Office by using force
to do that which the law forbids him to
do. do not believe Mr.. Lincoln is GO
ing to do any such thing.


But zee are told that the country is to
be precipitdted into Nar by Jlockuding
all the Southern ports; 6l0ckading ports
within the Cnited States 1lOckading
our OWn parts rGth our owR army anil
nary! Where ID the authority for that ?
What ldw dvthoriees tic President Of the
United States to MockadS Federal forts
at discretion /? He hns no more authori-
~ to blockade Ner Orleans and Charles.
ton than hs has to blockade New York or
Boston and no more legal right to
blockade Mobile than Chicago. Sir, /
cannot consent that the PreaIlent Of tie
United States may, at his discretion,
blockade the ports Of tho United States or
Of any other country. Ho can do only
wkat tie Constitution and the lawS Gu.
thorisc him to do. He dare not attempt
Obstruct commerce at the mouth Of the
llfississippi sirer, or at Mobile or at any
other port in tho secccied States, or eren
those that hare remained loyal to the
Constitution and to tile Onion. The in
timation that he 10 to do this implies a
arant Of respect for tie President, or an
ignorance Of tho LateS Of tho land on the
part Of those tch0 are disturbing the hGr-
mOny and quiet Of the country by MreGts
Of illegal riOlenco.


Mr.. King the Senator allow me
to ask him . question in relation to this
InatterI Ia it not the duty Of the Presi-
dent to prevent smuggling in all the ports
of this Union!


Mr.. DOug!as--I am not talking about
smuggling. 1t is his duty to enforce the
laws Of the land in respect to smuggling.


Mr.. King--Certainly.


Mr.. DOuglas--But sir. it is not his du-
ty to prevent smuggling in any other
mode or by any other means than those
provided BY Law. will the Senator from
New York intimate to the Senate and to
the country that, under the pretext Of
preventing smuggling. the President can
close port created by law, and stop all
commerce connected with It? win he