David Josiah Brewer

“ A close and literal construction deprives them of half their efficacy, and leads to gradual depreciation of the right, as if it consisted more in sound than in substance. It is the duty of courts to be watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any stealthy encroachments thereon. ”

“ Of the power of Congress to condemn whatever land may be necessary for such canal, there can be no question; and of the equal necessity of paying full compensation for all private property taken, there can be as little doubt. If a man's house must be taken, that must be paid for; and if the property is held and improved under a franchise from the state, with power to take tolls, that franchise must be paid for, because it is a substantial element in the value of the property taken. ”

“ We are not here confronted with a question of the extent of the powers of Congress, but one of the limitations imposed by the Constitution on its action, and it seems to us clear that the same rule and spirit of construction must also be recognized. If powers granted are to be taken as broadly granted, and as carrying with them authority to pass those acts which may be reasonably necessary to carry them into full execution ”

“ It is true, a merchant or manufacturer in one state may erect or hire a warehouse or store in another state, in which to place his goods, and await the chances of being able to sell them. But this would require a warehouse or store in every state with which he might desire to trade. Surely, he cannot be compelled to take this inconvenient and expensive course. In certain branches of business it may be adopted with advantage. Many manufacturers do open houses or places of business in other states than those in which they reside, and send their goods there to be kept on sale. ”

“ The proper fees accruing in the due administration of the laws and regulations necessary to be observed to protect the government from imposition and fraud likely to be committed under pretense of exportation are in no sense a duty on exportation. They are simply the compensation given for services properly rendered. ”

“ The power to regulate commerce is not given in any broader terms than that to establish post-offices and post roads; but if Congress wishes to take private property upon which to build a postoffice, it must either agree upon a price with the owner, or in condemnation pay just compensation therefor. And if that property be improved under authority of a charter granted by the state, with a franchise to take tolls for the use of the improvement, in order to determine the just compensation such franchise must be taken into account. ”

“ But we think the sound construction of the Constitution must allow to the national legislature that discretion with respect to the means by which the powers it confers are to be carried into execution, which will enable that body to perform the high duties assigned to it, in the manner most beneficial to the people. ”

“ Because Congress has power to take the property, it does not follow that it may destroy the franchise without compensation. Whatever be the true value of that which it takes from the individual owner must be paid to him, before it can be said that just compensation for the property has been made. And that which is true in respect to a condemnation of property for a postoffice is equally true when condemnation is sought for the purpose of improving a natural highway. ”

“ If mere discrimination between the states was all that was contemplated, it would seem to follow that an ad valorem tax upon all exports would not be obnoxious to this constitutional prohibition. But surely under this limitation Congress can impose an export tax neither on one article of export, nor on all articles of export In other words, the purpose of the restriction is that exportation all exportation-shall be free from national burden. ”

“ After showing that the tax was not a direct tax within the constitutional meaning of the term, we examined the objection that it was not uniform throughout the United States, and, after full consideration, held that the uniformity required was a geographical, and not an intrinsic, uniformity, and was synonymous with the expression 'to operate generally throughout the United States.' While upon some of the questions in that case there was a difference of opinion, yet concerning the construction of the uniformity clause the justices who took part in the decision were agreed. ”

“ The point to guard against is the imposition of a duty under the pretext of fixing a fee. In the case under consideration, having due regard to that latitude of discretion which the legislature is entitled to exercise in the selection of the means for attaining a constitutional object, we cannot say that the charge imposed is excessive, or that it amounts to an infringement of the constitutional provision referred to. ”

“ Do not such restrictions affect the very foundation of interstate trade? How is a manufacturer or a merchant of one state to sell his goods in another state without, in some way, obtaining orders therefor? ”

“ Mingling in one statute two or three unconstitutional taxes cannot be held operative to validate either one, and if the reasoning we have stated and followed in reaching the conclusion in this case shall also lead to the result that such taxes are invalid, it of itself does not weaken the force of the reasoning or justify us in departing from its conslusions. ”

“ In the case before us the stamp is distinctly for the purpose of revenue, and not by way of compensation for services rendered, so that the question is whether revenue can be collected from exports by changing the form of the tax from a tax on the article exported to a tax on the bill of lading which evidences the export. ”

“ But there are also expressed in the same instrument three limitations. As said by Chief Justice Chase, in the License Tax Cases, 5 Wall. 462, 471, 18 L. ed. 497, 500:
'It is true that the power of Congress to tax is a very extensive power. It is given in the Constitution, with only one exception and only two qualifications. Congress can not tax exports, and it must impose direct taxes by the rule of apportionment, and indirect taxes by the rule of uniformity. ”

“ Where there was obviously a matter of doubt, we have yielded assent to the construction placed by those having actual charge of the execution of the statute, but where there was no doubt we have steadfastly declined to recognize any force in practical construction. Thus, before any appeal can be made to practical construction, it must appear that the true meaning is doubtful.
We have no disposition to belittle the signifiance of this matter. It is always entitled to careful consideration, and in doubtful cases will, as we have shown, often turn the scale ”

“ Many estates, as well of deceased persons, as of persons insolvent who have made general assignments, have been settled upon the footing of its correctness. A practice so long and so general would, of itself, furnish strong grounds for a liberal construction, and could not now be disturbed without introducing a train of serious mischiefs. ”

“ The act of 1868 (15 Stat. at L. 125, chap. 186) , imposed certain taxes on the manufacture of tobacco for consumption or use, required as evidence of the payment of such taxes the affixing of revenue stamps to the packages, and forbade the removal of any tobacco from the factory without payment of the taxes and affixing of the stamps. It further provided that tobacco might be manufactured for export and exported without payment of any tax. ”

“ And it is hardly less necessary to the existence of such commerce than casks to cover tobacco, or bagging to cover cotton, when such articles are exported to a foreign country; for no one would put his property in the hands of a ship master without taking written evidence of its receipt on board the vessel, and the purposes for which it was placed in his hands. ”

“ The scope of this argument is that, inasmuch as interstate commerce can only be regulated by Congress, and is free from state interference, state legislation, although not directly prohibiting interstate commerce, if in substance and effect directly casting a burden thereon, cannot be sustained. ”

“ The merchant could not send an agent with every vessel, to inform the consignee of the cargo what articles he had shipped, and prove the contract of the master if he failed to deliver them in safety. A bill of lading, therefore, or some equivalent instrument of writing, is invariably associated with every cargo of merchandise exported to a foreign country, and consequently a duty upon that is, in substance and effect, a duty on the article exported.'
It is true that thereafter, in Woodruff v. ”

“ A raiser of farm produce in New Jersey or Connecticut, or a manufacturer of leather or woodenware, may, perhaps, safely take his goods to the city of New York and be sure of finding a stable and reliable market for them. ”