United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Arthur v. Rheims, 96 U.S. 143 (1877)

Arthur v. Rheims

96 U.S. 143

Syllabus

1. The rule that an article, dutiable by its specific designation, will not be affected by the general words of the same or another statute which would otherwise embrace it applies as well to statutes reducing duties as to those increasing them.

2. As the twelfth section of the Act of June 30, 1864, 13 Stat. 213, imposes a duty of fifty percent ad valorem upon artificial flowers eo nomine, they are not subject to the deduction of ten percent allowed by the second section of the Act of June 6, 1872, 17 id. 231, "on all manufactures of cotton of which cotton is the component part of chief value."

In 1874, Rheims, the plaintiff below, imported into the port of New York a quantity of artificial flowers, composed of iron, paper, wire, and cotton, and on which Arthur, the collector, imposed, under the twelfth section of the Act of June 30, 1864, 13 Stat. 213, a duty of fifty percent ad valorem.

Rheims claimed that, under the second section of the Act of June 6, 1872, 17 Stat. 231, the merchandise was liable only to ninety percent of the duty imposed by the Act of June 30, 1864, but having, under protest, paid the duty imposed by the collector, brought this suit to recover the excess.

Under the instructions of the court below, the jury found that the importer was entitled to the deduction. From the judgment rendered upon the verdict, this writ of error is brought.