Nathan Clifford

“ By holding that this proviso controls the previous statute you hold out an inducement to merchants to make fraudulent sales to avoid the effect of such a construction. If, for example, prices fall between the date of purchase and the date of exportation so far as to exempt from duty that which was charged with a heavy duty, the owner will make a fictitious transfer at the lower price to some friend, and the goods will be invoiced anew at the lower price. The court must avoid a construction which makes Congress guilty of legislation whose effect is to cause frauds on the revenue. ”

“ Importers are required to make an entry of their importations, which should always be accompanied by the invoice, duly verified by oath, and when the entry is made and the permit granted the packages for appraisement are designated on the invoice by the collector who orders one in ten of them to the public store for the purpose of appraisal. ”

“ Wool unmanufactured, of the value of twenty cents per pound or less at the port of exportation, was at that time entitled to be admitted to entry free of duty, but wool unmanufactured, 'imported from abroad,' of greater value than twenty cents per pound at the port of exportation, was subject to an ad valorem duty of twenty-four per cent., as imposed by the act reducing the duty on imports and for other purposes. ”

“ Collectors are required by law to cause the dutiable value of imported goods subject to an ad valorem rate of duty to be appraised, estimated, and ascertained, and the provision is that if the appraised value shall exceed by ten per centum the value so declared in the entry, the goods are subject to a duty of twenty per cent. ”

“ Recent enactments have annexed certain other conditions, of a very important character, to the right of action in such cases, but it is not necessary to enter into those details as none of the new provisions have any application in the case before the court. ”