Saxonville Mills v. Russell

1 F. 118, 1880 U.S. App. LEXIS 2023

This text of 1 F. 118 (Saxonville Mills v. Russell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saxonville Mills v. Russell, 1 F. 118, 1880 U.S. App. LEXIS 2023 (circtdma 1880).

Opinion

Clark, J.

The act of June 30, 1864, entitled “An act to increase duties on imports and for other purposes,” imposed a duty on unmanufactured wool, according to its grade or value, at the port whence exported to the United States, exclusive of charges in such port. If of the value of “twelve cents or less, three cents per pound; exceeding twelve cents, and not exceeding twenty-four cents per pound, six cents per pound; exceeding twenty-four cents per pound, and not exceeding thirty-two cents, ten cents per pound, and in addition thereto ton por centum ad valorem; exceeding thirty-two cents per pound, twelve cents per pound,, and in addition thereto ten per centum ad valorem.” This act also contained a provision for the appraisal of goods, wares and merchandise in accordance with the provisions of existing laws, and a further provision “that the duty shall not be assessed upon an amount less than the invoice or entered value, any latv of congress to the contrary notwithstanding.” 13 St. at Large, 217, § 7.

The act of March 3, 1865, entitled “An act amendatory of certain acts imposing duties upon foreign importations,” did not change the grade or rate per pound at which wool was to he taked, hut provided “that in all cases where there is or shall be imposed any ad valorem rate of duty on any goods, wares or merchandise imported into the United States, and in all cases where the duty imposed by law shall be regulated by, or directed to be estimated or based upon, the value of the square yard, or of any specified quantity or parcel of such goods, wares or merchandise, it shall be the duty of the collector, within whose district the same shall be imported or entered, to cause the actual value or wholesale price thereof, at the period of exportation to the United States, in the prin[120]*120cipal markets of the country, from which the same shall have been imported into the United States, to be appraised, and such appraised value shall be considered the value upon which duty shall be assessed.” “Provided, the duty shall not be assessed upon an amount less than the invoice or entered value, any act of Congress to the contrary notioithstanding.” 13 St. at Large, 493, § 7.

The act of July 28, 1866, entitled “An act to protect the revenue, and for other purposes,” while altering the rates of duty on many other articles, did not change the rate of duty on wool further or otherwise than it provided “that, in determining the dutiable value of merchandise hereafter imported, there shall be added to the cost, or to the actual wholesale price or general market value, at the time of exportation, in the principal markets of the country from whence the same shall have been imported into the United States, the 'cost of transportation, shipment and transhipment, with all the expenses included from the place of growth, production, or manufacture, whether by land or water, to the vessel in which shipment is made to the United States; the valúe of the sack, box, or covering of any kind in which such goods are contained; commission at the usual rates, but in no ease less than two cents and a half per centum; brokerage, export duty, and all other actual or usual charges for putting up, preparing and packing for transportation and shipment.” All charges of a general nature to be distributed pro rata among all parts of the invoice. 14 St. at Large, 330, § 9. But “the dibty in no case to be assessed upon an amount less than the invoice or entered value.”

From these provisions of the act of 1866 “long combing or carpet wools, costing 12 cents or less per pound, unless, the charges so added should carry the cost above 12 cents per pound, in which case one cent per pound should be added, ” were expressly excluded, showing quite clearly that other kinds of manufactured wools were included. Expressio unius est exclusio alterius.

This act of 1866 did not repeal the act of 1865 only so far as it was inconsistent therewith, and it did not change or [121]*121alter the duty of the appraiser or collector in regard to imported goods, as provided and expressed in section 7 of the act of 1865, further than to add costs and charges of various kinds to the wholesale price of the goods in the principal markets of the country from which the same shall have been imported into the United States.

The act of March 2, 1867, (11 St. at Large, 559,) entitled "An act to provide increased revenue from imported wool, and for other purposes,” provided for a classification of wools into “clothing wooi,” “combing wools,” “and carpet and other similar wools.” These classes were again divided, each into two grades. The class to which any imported wool belonged was to be determined by samples prepared under the direction of the secretary of the treasury and deposited in the custom houses and elsewhere; the grade of the wool, in its particular class, by the value at the last port or place whence exported to the United States, excluding charges in such port. This act contained no words repealing any former act, except the expression “in lieu of the duties now imposed by law” there shall be levied, etc., certain other rates of duty on various articles, among which was wool, as above stated. ‘ The act of June 6, 1872, (17 St. at Large, 230,) reduced these rates of duty on wool 10 per centum.

With the law as provided and enacted in these several statutes, the plaintiff, in August, 1873, imported into Boston from Bosario, by the bark “Yelox,” 321 bales of unwashed Cordova wool, and entered it in bond. The entry was accompanied by the invoice of the wool, showing the cost of the wool and the charges thereon, separately. The wool was purchased March 2, 1873, and cost more than 12 cents per pound; it was shipped on the fifth of June following. On the tenth of the same June Thomas B. Wood, acting consul of the United States at Rosario, made the following certificate on the invoice:

“U. S. Consulate, June 10, 1873.
“I, Thomas B. Wood, acting U. S. consul for Bosario, do hereby certify, after investigation, that the market value of unwashed Cordova wool at this place, at the date of the [122]*122shipment of the annexed invoice, was 32 to 32£ Bolivia reals, equivalent to 24 38-100 to 24 76-100 reals fuerta, per arroba, net weight.
“Given under my hand and seal this day.
“Thomas B. Wood,
“Acting U. S. Consul.”

—Which, being reduced to United States weight and currency, shows a value at Bosario less than 12 cents per pound.

When this entry came before the appraiser, for examination and appraisal, he appraised the wool at the invoice price — that is, more than 12 cents per pound. With this appraisement the plaintiff was dissatisfied, claiming, as appears by his protest, that the wool was of value less than 12 cents per pound at the last port whence exported to the United States, at the date of exportation; that “the acting United States consul so certified in the invoice.” But he claimed no appeal therefrom to the merchant appraisers. The defendant, collector of customs, assessed and exacted of the plaintiff a duty of six cents per pound, less 10 per centum. The plaintiff claimed that a duty of three cents per pound, less 10 per centum, should have been laid upon the wool, and paid the extra three cents under protest.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Rankin v. Hoyt
45 U.S. 327 (Supreme Court, 1845)
Bartlett v. Kane
57 U.S. 263 (Supreme Court, 1854)
Belcher v. Linn
65 U.S. 508 (Supreme Court, 1861)
Iasigi v. The Collector
68 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1864)
Kimball v. the Collector
77 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1870)
Tappan v. United States
23 F. Cas. 690 (U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts, 1822)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1 F. 118, 1880 U.S. App. LEXIS 2023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saxonville-mills-v-russell-circtdma-1880.