De Pass v. Bidwell

124 F. 615, 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 4111
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York
DecidedAugust 14, 1903
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 124 F. 615 (De Pass v. Bidwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
De Pass v. Bidwell, 124 F. 615, 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 4111 (circtsdny 1903).

Opinion

RAY, District Judge.

The vessel Lilian Woodruff sailed from the port of Areceibo, Porto Rico, June 12, 1899, and arrived at the port of New York, U. S. A., June 24, 1899. She brought as part of her cargo certain sugars consigned to A. S. Dascelles & Co., the plaintiffs. When the vessel arrived at New York, the sugars were put in bonded warehouses; the warehouse’s entry being No. 101,121, and the bond No. 54,386. The entry was liquidated November 14, 1899, and duties assessed, it is asserted, under the provisions of the Dingley tariff act (Act July 24, 1897, c. 11, 30 Stat. 151 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 1626]). June 6, 1900, the entry was reliquidated, and duties were reassessed under the provisions of the Porto Rican act, commonly known as the “Foraker Bill” (Act April 12, 1900, 31 Stat. 77, c. 191). Due protest was made against the imposition of any and all duties. These sugars were withdrawn from time to time, and duties paid thereon as follows : About June 30, 1900, the sum of $332.99 about August 2, 1900, the sum of $2,166.79; about August 8, 1900, the sum of $1.19. George R. Bidwell was collector of the port of New York at all the times mentioned.

The allegations of the complaint, so far as material here, are as follows:

“First. That at all the times hereinafter mentioned the said defendant was the duly appointed and commissioned collector of customs of the United States at the port of New York, in the actual and unrestricted exercise of his functions as such collector, and fully vested with all the powers and authority of his said office.
“Second. That the defendant, being such collector as aforesaid, did, under color of his said office, and through the erroneous exercise of the powers and authority in him vested- for the performance of his duties as such collector, unlawfully demand, and by duress of goods collect, from the said plaintiffs, said firm of A. S. Lascelles & Co., as alleged duties upon certain sugars, the product of the island of Porto Rico, consigned to these plaintiffs at the port of New York, and brought thither from the port of Areceibo, in the said island, by the vessel Lilian Woodruff, which said vessel sailed from the said port of Areceibo at or about .Tune 12, 1899, and arrived at the port of New York at or about Tune 24, 1899 (the said sugars being those mentioned and described in warehouse entry No. 101,121, bond No. 54,386, liquidated November 14, 1899, reliquidated Tune 6, 1900), the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars and ninety-seven cents ($2,500.97). The said sum was exacted from these plaintiffs in the amounts and at the times following: On or about Tune 30, 1900, the sum of three hundred thirty-two dollars and ninety-nine cents ($332.99); on or about August 2, 1900, the sum of two thousand one hundred sixty-six dollars and seventy-nine cents ($2,166.79); on or about August 8, 1900, the sum of one dollar and nineteen cents ($1.19)— which sum plaintiffs were unlawfully and against their will, and in spite of their formal protest, duly made, and compelled to pay, and did pay, in order to obtain possession of the said sugars, to which they were entitled, but which he, enabled so to do by the power and authority of his said office, had detained, was detaining, and threatened to continue to detain from them, exacting as a condition of the delivery thereof such payment of said alleged duties, whereas the said sugars were not liable to duty, the same not having [617]*617been imported from any foreign country, within the meaning of any valid statute or executive order of the United States, but were merchandise which must, under and by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States in that regard, be admitted to free entry in any port of the United States.”

To this complaint the defendant demurs on the following grounds;

“That said complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the defendant. That said goods were lawfully dutiable under the provisions of section 5 of the act of April 12, 1900, c. 191, 31 Stat. 77, entitled ‘an act temporarily to provide revenues and a civil government for Porto Rico and for other purposes.’ ”

The plaintiff contends that these sugars were entitled to free entry at the time of their arrival at the port of New York; that they were liable to American duties when imported, or not at all; that they were not lawfully dutiable under the provisions of section 5 of the act of April 12, 1900, entitled “An act temporarily to provide revenues and a civil government for Porto Rico and for other purposes,” and which act went into effect May 1, 1900, and contained, among others, the following provisions:

“See. 3. That on and after the passage of this act all merchandise coming into the United States from Porto Rico and coming into Porto Rico from the United States shall be entered at the several ports of entry upon payment of fifteen per centum of the duties which are required to be levied, collected and paid upon like articles of merchandise imported from foreign countries; and in ¿ddition thereto, upon articles of merchandise from Porto Rican manufacture coming into the United States and withdrawn for consumption or sale upon payment of a tax equal to the internal revenue tax imposed in the United States upon the like articles of merchandise of domestic manufacture; such tax to be paid by internal revenue stamp or stamps to be purchased and provided by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and to be procured from the collector of internal revenue at or most convenient to the port of entry of said merchandise in the United States, and to be affixed under such regulations as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe; and on all articles of merchandise of United States manufacture coming into Porto Rico in addition to the duty above provided upon payment of a tax equal in rate and amount to the internal revenue tax imposed in Porto Rico upon the like articles of Porto Rican manufacture: provided, that on and after the date when this act shall take effect, all merchandise and articles except coffee, not dutiable under the tariff laws of the United States, and all merchandise and articles entered in Porto Rico free of duty under order heretofore made by the Secretary of War, shall be admitted into the several ports thereof, when imported from the United States, free of duty, all laws or parts of laws to the contrary notwithstanding; and whenever the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico shall have enacted and put into operation a system of local taxation to meet the necessities of the government of Porto Rico by this act established, and shall by resolution duly passed so notify the President, he shall make proclamation thereof, and thereupon all tariff duties on merchandise and articles going into Porto Rico from the United States or coming into the United States from Porto Rico shall cease, and from and after such date all such merchandise and articles shall be entered at the several ports of entry free of duty; and in no event shall any duties be collected after the first day of March, nineteen hundred and two, on merchandise and articles going into Porto Rico from the United States, or coming into the United States from Porto Rico.”
“Sec. 5. That on and after the day when this act shall go into effect all goods, wares and merchandise previously imported from Porto Rico, for which no entry has been made, and all goods, wares and merchandise previously entered without payment of duty and under bond for warehousing, [618]

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Bluebook (online)
124 F. 615, 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 4111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-pass-v-bidwell-circtsdny-1903.