Public policy, national purposes, and the regular operations of
government require that the revenue system shall be faithfully
observed and strictly executed.
The omission of the owner of foreign merchandise transported
across the State of Delaware from Baltimore to Philadelphia to take
a permit for the same subjects them to seizure and forfeiture
according to the provisions of the nineteenth section of the Act of
Congress passed 18 February, 1793, entitled "an act for enrolling
and licensing ships or vessels employed in the coasting trade. . .
."
An information was filed in the district court in the following
terms:
"Be it remembered, that on this 15 January, 1798, into the
District Court of the United States for the Pennsylvania District,
in his proper person comes William Rawle attorney for the said
United States for the district aforesaid, who for the said United
States in this behalf prosecutes and for the said United States
gives the court here to understand and be informed that between the
first day of November last past and the exhibition of this bill two
hundred and three silver watches, three gold watches, two enameled
watches, two metal watches, two hunting watches, and seven
pinchbeck watches, being articles of foreign manufacture and liable
to the payment of duties imposed by the laws of the United States
and being together of the value of $800. and more were transported
from the State of Maryland across the State of Delaware to the
District of Pennsylvania without a permit from the collector of any
district in the said State of Maryland for that purpose first had
and obtained."
"And the attorney aforesaid prosecuting as aforesaid further
gives the court to understand and be informed that the said goods
wares and merchandises so as aforesaid transported to
Page 4 U. S. 29
the District of Pennsylvania were not within twenty-four hours
after the arrival thereof in the said District of Pennsylvania
reported to the collector of the said District of Pennsylvania by
the owner or consignee thereof or by any other person
whatever."
"Whereby and by force of the acts of the Congress of the said
United States, the said 203 silver watches, 3 gold watches, 2
enameled watches, 2 metal watches, 2 hunting watches, and 7
pinchbeck watches have become forfeited to the said United States
and for the causes aforesaid have been seized by Sharp Delany,
Esq., Collector of the said District of Pennsylvania, and are now
in the custody of the marshal, &c. Wherefore the said attorney
prosecuting as aforesaid prays the advice of the court upon the
premises, and due process. . . ."
This information was founded on the act of Congress entitled "An
act for enrolling and licensing ships, or vessels to be employed in
the coasting trade and fisheries, and for regulating the same," 2
vol. 168, and particularly upon the 19th section of the act, which
is in these words:
"Sec. 19. And be it further enacted that it shall and may be
lawful for the Collector of the District of Pennsylvania to grant
permits for the transportation of goods, wares, or merchandise of
foreign growth or manufacture, across the State of New Jersey to
the District of New York, or across the State of Delaware, to any
district in the State of Maryland or Virginia, and for the
collector of the District of New York, to grant like permits for
the transportation across the State of New Jersey, and for the
collector of any District of Maryland or Virginia, to grant like
permits for the transportation across the State of Delaware, to the
District of Pennsylvania, provided that every such permit shall
express the name of the owner, or person sending such goods, and of
the person or persons, to whom such goods shall be consigned, with
the marks, numbers and description of the packages, whether bale,
box, chest, or otherwise, and the kind of goods contained therein,
and the date, when granted, and the owner or person sending such
goods shall swear or affirm that they were legally imported, and
the duties thereupon paid or secured, and provided also that the
owner or consignee of all such goods, wares, and merchandise shall,
within twenty-four hours after the arrival thereof, at the place to
which they were permitted to be transported, report the same, to
the collector of the district where they shall so arrive, and shall
deliver up the permit accompanying the same, and if the owner or
consignee aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse to make due entry of
such goods within the time, and in the manner, herein directed, all
such goods, wares, and merchandise shall be subject to forfeiture,
and if the permit granted shall not be given up,
Page 4 U. S. 30
within the time limited for making the said report, the person
or persons to whom it was granted, neglecting or refusing to
deliver it up, shall forfeit fifty dollars for every twenty-four
hours it shall be withheld afterwards, provided that where the
goods, wares and merchandise, to be transported in manner
aforesaid, shall be of less value than eight hundred dollars, the
said oath and permit shall not be deemed necessary, nor shall the
owner or consignee be obliged to make report to the collector of
the district where the said goods, wares and merchandise shall
arrive."
William Priestman, the plaintiff in error, filed a claim for the
watches, setting forth
"that he had paid the duties upon them, and that he did not
transport them from the District of Maryland, across the State of
Delaware, into the District of Pennsylvania."
The attorney of the district having filed a general replication
to the claim, a case was made for the opinion of the court, in
which the material facts were stated, as follows:
"That the watches in question were of the value of $3,899. That
they were imported into the District of Maryland, and the duties
thereon paid or secured according to law. That they were afterwards
carried by the claimant or his agent, from the District of Maryland
across the State of Delaware to the State of Pennsylvania, to-wit,
to the City of Philadelphia without any license or permit so to do,
first had and obtained from the collector of the port of Baltimore,
and that no notice was given to the collector of the port of
Philadelphia. That the watches were publicly offered for sale, next
door to the custom house, in the City of Philadelphia with a number
of other articles; and were afterwards seized as forfeited. That
the watches did not belong to the master, owner, or any mariner of
the ship, or vessel, in which they were imported from beyond sea
into Baltimore; nor was the claimant captain, owner, or mariner, of
the packet boat, in which they were brought from Baltimore to
Frenchtown, or from Newcastle to Philadelphia."
The case was argued before the district judge in December 1798,
and a decree of condemnation pronounced, which was affirmed upon a
writ of error to the circuit court, in April term, 1800, and
thereupon the cause was removed into this Court.
Page 4 U. S. 34
On 15 August, the judges briefly delivered their opinions
seriatim, concurring in the following result.
By the Court:
The case stated comes clearly within the 19th section of the act
of Congress for enrolling and licensing vessels to be employed in
the coasting trade and fisheries. The provisions of the section are
salutary, and were made to guard against frauds upon the revenue in
the transportation of goods of foreign growth or manufacture across
the several states. Public policy, national purposes, and the
regular operations of government require that the revenue system
should be faithfully observed and strictly executed. It is obvious
that the claimant is an offender within the purview of the 19th
section. To purge the offense, he relies upon the 33d section of
the same act. But it is too plain for argument that this section
cannot, by any fair and rational construction, be made to refer to
the 19th section. It is inapplicable, because the objects are
entirely different.
Judgment affirmed.