Year: 1872




"Col Howe said prepared to settle the matter
for $4,000 Such proposition we never contemplated for


moment either making accepting, and OF course uc-
cliDed Col Howe's proposal We then determined no
longer suffer this oppression II there were any eg
means by which IL could be stopped and to this end we
made application TO the u. 3. District Court to require
Mr. George Brown the officer who made tho seizureI 10
show cause why the examination should not cease, ana
an order TO that effect issued. We then informed
the Secretary of the Treasury Of these proceedings and
ON the following Saturday, whom the argument was to
be heard in Court the DstricAttonoy applied for post
pOnement which granted ON condition that the e1
animation should cease; and very soon aterward, tbo
Secretary OF the Treasury instructed tho Collector 10
take charge of tho matter, and final order was then
entered dsmssing the warrant; the examiners taxing
with them copies from our DOCKS hnu eoreSpohuonco'
which our counsel certified"


The books of William Redmond g. Sons
were seized without even q warrant, and kept
for two months. The charge was improper
valuation. 1t never was pursued, and the hrm
never could learn the grounds for the seizure.
They had been in business hero for forty years,
bore an unblemished reputation, and had
never had any difficulty with the Custom
house. The books of Whiteside Brothers,
linen merchants of fourteen years standing,
were seized on a similar charge, the amount
of duty in dispute being S27i, on fifteen ship
ments Some of the books were returned at
the end of ten days. some at the end OF two
months, and at the time of the inycstigatlon
eight months after the SEIZURE the rest OF the
papers were still retained. The Secretary OF
the Treasury finally interfered to stop the
case. being satisfied that it was mere persecu-
ton; but in the meantime the house had been
oto off a
loss of 100000.


Other cases equally bad were brought to
light, though for obvious reasons merchant
who has been subjected to such indignities Is
generally anxious to keep the matter quiet
And to appreciate the cnormity of the system
we should recOllect that the Government is
in no danger of loss from such trifing errors
or understatements When an importer enters
goods he gives O bond for the liquidation of
the duties in case of mistakes in valuation
and it constantly happens that he is called
upon to pay deficit, or that the Government
has to refund an Overcharge. But the infa-
nous methods of seizure and compromise
which prevail under the present Administra-
| ton, offer rapacious informers heavy induce
ment to rersecute, plunder, and ruin mer-
chants for the petty errors inseparable from
| Custom-house business, which these liquida-
| ton bonds are intended to cover. The testi-
| mony too is unanimous that to the essential
outrage of the seizure, the agents have added
insolence and unlawful violence and Mr.
Special Agent Jayne in particular has acquired
an agreeable fame from his habit of keeping
q pair of handouts in his Office, and dangling
and swapping them in the face of merchants
whom he wants to terrify into q compromise.
| A bill to abolish these shameful abuses was
introduced into Congress in consequence of
the disclosures this "ruinOus investigation !"
but Mr.. Conkling and his friends did not
choose to take it up, and so the merchants
are still at the mercy of the special agents.