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skins are seized by an officer of the United States, there will be nothing in the immediate circumstances surrounding their importation which will determine their liability to such seizure. The question whether the skins have been taken in certain waters, and, if in such waters, whether they fall within the exceptions made by sections 6 and 7 of the act of December 29, 1897, are questions eminently fitted for judicial and not executive determination, nor would any emergency exist which would necessarily require summary action. Quite different is the situation in regard to opium. Whether the importation be for medicinal purposes or be of the character which is wholly prohibited can be determined by the immediate facts surrounding the importation. Res ipsa loquitur. And the harmful nature of the article is such that nothing but its immediate destruction will effectively prevent the evils flowing from its importation.

(4) It may be said that the act of February 9, 1909, is a penal statute, and, therefore, to be strictly construed. This is undoubtedly true of that portion of the second section which provides for a fine or imprisonment of an offender. On the other hand, the provision regarding the forfeiture and destruction of the opium itself would not at the present day (whatever the ancient law may have been) be regarded as penal but remedial, since it provides an additional and efficacious remedy for preventing the great evil denounced by the statute. It should, therefore, receive a beneficial construction, with the purpose to carry out, as far as possible, the general object Congress had in mind as disclosed by the statute, namely, the suppression of the opium traffic. It is now settled that revenue laws providing for forfeitures are to be so construed. (United States v. Stowell, 133 U. S., 1, 12).

In Johnson v. Southern Pacific Co. (196 U. S., 1, 17), the Supreme Court said:

The primary object of the act was to promote the public welfare by securing the safety of employees and travelers, and it was in that aspect remedial, while for violations a penalty of one hundred dollars, recoverable in a civil action, was provided for, and in that aspect it was penal. But the design to give relief was more dominant than to inflict punishment, and the act might well be held to fall within the rule applicable to statutes to prevent fraud upon the revenue, and for the collection of customs, that rule not requiring absolute strictness of construction. Taylor v. United States (3 How., 197); United States v. Stowell (133 U. S., 1, 12, and cases cited). And see Farmers' and Merchants' National Bank v. Dearing (91 U. S., 29, 35); Gray v. Bennett (3 Met. (Mass.), 522).

In 18 Op., 246, 248, Attorney General Garland said of revenue statutes:

It is to be said, as a general rule in matters of this kind, that the construction of these statutes must be such as is most favorable to their enforcement. There is no liberal interpretation in favor of the individual to be indulged in; but, as statutes for the accomplishment of great public purposes, they must be construed in a manner to reach those purposes, and to carry out the intention of the legislature in passing them. *

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To the same effect is the language of Lord Kenyon in Turtle v. Hartwell (6 T. R., 426, 429), quoted with approval by Maxwell (Interpretation of Statutes, 4th ed., p. 101):

In expounding remedial laws, it is a settled rule of construction to extend the remedy as far as the words will admit.

The additional remedy which Congress added in the act of February 9, 1909, was that relating to the destruction of the forfeited opium, and this addition to the remedy was coupled with the equally significant omission of the express provisions of prior and other acts relating to a condemnation by judicial process. It is this new remedy by way of destruction, with the omission to provide for judicial condemnation, which is to be beneficially construed so as effectively to carry out the general purpose of Congress.

The act of February 23, 1887 (24 Stat., 409), prohibited the importation of opium into the United States by subjects of the Emperor of China, and section 2 thereof provided that opium imported contrary to the statute "shall be deemed forfeited to the United States; and proceedings for the declaration and consequences of such forfeiture may be instituted in the courts of the United States as in other cases of the violation of the laws relating to other illegal importations."

The tariff act of October 1, 1890 (26 Stat., 567), which levied a customs duty of $12 per pound on smoking opium (ibid., 569, par. 48), also levied an internal-revenue tax on smoking opium manufactured in the United States (sec. 36), provided that smoking opium imported into the United States should be stamped to denote that the duty was paid (sec. 38), and that for a violation of these provisions said smoking opium "shall be forfeited" (sec. 40). This latter section was amended by the act of March 3, 1897 (29 Stat., 695), by adding, after the word "forfeited," the following: And may be sold to the highest bidder, pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-four hundred and sixty, Revised Statutes, if not valued as therein provided at over five hundred dollars; but if valued at more than five hundred dollars the sale shall be made pursuant to the judgment of the court in the proceedings for condemnation or forfeiture.

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Moreover, section 2 of the act of February 9, 1909, was redrafted from section 3082, Revised Statutes (Cong. Rec., 60th Cong., 2d sess., p. 1681). Section 3082, Revised Statutes, however,. merely provides that the merchandise shall be forfeited and it does not contain the significant addition that it "shall be destroyed.”

These provisions of law show that, prior to the enactment of the act of February 9, 1909, where what was contemplated was the sale, not the destruction, of the opium, Congress had always provided for a process by judicial condemnation or by judicial condemnation concurrently with summary proceedings. Opium was regarded in the light of a commercial import, and, naturally, when unlawfully imported, its disposition was dealt with as in the case of other unlawful importations. When, however, its importation was entirely prohibited for reasons which are patent, its destruction was decreed, and the provisions as to judicial proceedings were dropped, and it is a fair presumption that these changes were intentionally made because of the entire change in the nature of the enactment and of the purpose which Congress had in view, requiring a more efficacious remedy. Bearing in mind, then, this evident change in the purpose of Congress from mere regulation to absolute prohibition, with its concomitant change to the bare enactment that the opium "shall be destroyed," it fairly follows that a construction which called for a condemnation by judicial proceedings would not be beneficial. If the Government proceeded by way of a libel in rem against seized smoking opium, no question, evidently, could be raised in the case except one, namely, is or is not the article smoking opium? There could be no question of title, or of criminal intent, or of mistake. Such matters are irrelevant under the drastic provisions of the statute. Questions which could be, and are, raised in cases of condemnation of property seized for violation of the customs or navigation laws would have no place in such a proceeding. Such being the case, it is not to be supposed that Congress intended to require the submission to solemn judicial inquiry of the question whether the thing seized is smoking opium, a matter which can be determined on mere inspection by any collector of customs familiar with his duty.

Giving full weight to each of the foregoing considerations, I have reached the conclusion that section 2 of the act of February 9, 1909, authorizes the summary destruction, without judicial proceedings, of opium imported in violation of section 1.

Respectfully,

The SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

GEO. W. WICKERSHAM, Attorney General.

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Additional duties accruing for undervaluation on goods the product of Cuba under subsection 7 of section 28, tariff act of 1909, are not subject to a deduction of 20 per cent provided by section 2 of the reciprocity treaty between the United States and Cuba.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 7, 1913.

SIR: The department is in receipt of your memorandum of November 12 last, inviting attention to the failure of the collector of customs at San Juan, Porto Rico, to make a reduction of 20 per cent of the additional duty accruing under subsection 7 of section 28 of the tariff act of August 5, 1909, on products of Cuba.

Section 2 of the reciprocity treaty between the United States and Cuba, proclaimed by the President on December 17, 1903, provides that the products of the soil and industry of Cuba shall be admitted at the reduction of 20 per cent of the rate of duty thereon.

There is no specific provision as to the additional duties imposed for undervaluation, but the department is of the opinion that the reduction should be applied only to the regular duties and that the additional duties accruing for undervaluation under said subsection 7 are not subject to the allowance of 20 per cent.

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The regulations published in T. D. 32863 of October 16, 1912, amended.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 8, 1913. To officers of the customs and others concerned:

The appended regulations, issued by the Secretary of Agriculture on December 20, 1912, under the provisions of the plant quarantine act, approved August 20, 1912, supersede the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture published in T. D. 32863 of October 16, 1912. At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, your attention is invited particularly to the following-described papers required under the said regulations to be filed on entry:

1. The importer's permit. (Regulation 5.)

2. The shipper's declaration. (Regulation 9.)

3. The report of the importer or broker to the Secretary of Agriculture (Regulation 8), which will also become the collector's notification to the Secretary of Agriculture of the arrival and disposition of

the articles. The collector will compare this report with the invoice, certify to its agreement with the latter, noting any discrepancies, and transmit it to the Secretary of Agriculture.

4. On and after July 1, 1913, the original foreign certificate of inspection. (Regulations 6 and 7.)

The blank forms required under the said regulations will not be furnished by this department.

· T. D. 32863 of October 16, 1912, is hereby amended accordingly. (92655-19.) FRANKLIN MACVEAGH, Secretary.

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RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR CARRYING OUT THE PLANT QUARANTINE ACT.

Under date of September 18, 1912, rules and regulations for the enforcement of the plant quarantine act, August 20, 1912, were issued. Regulations 2 to 9 are amended to read as herein set forth.

Date: December 3, 1912.

RULES AND REGULATIONS.

JAMES WILSON, Secretary.

Regulation 1. Short title of the act.-The act "To regulate the importation of nursery stock and other plants and plant products; to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and maintain quarantine districts for plant diseases and insect pests; to permit and regulate the movement of fruits, plants, and vegetables therefrom, and for other purposes," approved August 20, 1912, shall be known and referred to as "The plant quarantine act, August 20, 1912.”

Regulation 2. Definition. For the purpose of this act the term "nursery stock" includes all field-grown florists' stock, trees, shrubs, vines, cuttings, grafts, scions, buds, fruit pits, and other seeds of fruit and ornamental trees or shrubs, and other plants and plant products for propagation, except field, vegetable, and flower seeds, bedding plants, and other herbaceous plants, bulbs, and roots.

All woody plants and parts thereof for propagation or planting are included within the term "nursery stock" as used in this act.

"Field-grown florists' stock" is all florists' stock which is usually grown outside of greenhouses for all or part of the year.

Regulation 3. Applications for permits for importation of nursery stock.-Persons contemplating the importation by mail, express, freight, or other form of transportation of nursery stock as defined in this act from any part of the world will first make application to the Secretary of Agriculture for a permit, stating in the application the general nature and quantity of the nursery stock, the district or locality where grown, the name and address of the exporter, together with the name and address of the importer in the United States and the proposed port of entry. (NOTE.-The port of entry is the port where the imported nursery stock is cleared from customs and the duty paid.)

By "general nature" is meant the class or type of stock, as fruit trees, fruit-tree stocks, etc., as specified in the official form of permit.

Applications for permits should be made in advance of the shipment of the nursery stock, but if through no fault of the importer stock shall arrive before the issue of a

permit the stock will be held in customs custody at the risk and expense of the importer for a period not exceeding 10 days pending the issue of a permit.

Applications for permits should contain the following information:

Application for permit to import nursery stock.

To the Federal Horticultural Board, Washington, D. C.:

A permit is requested for the importation of nursery stock from the firm of in the district or locality and country of

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for the shipping season of

191-.

as follows:

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Forest and ornamental deciduous trees.

Ornamental deciduous shrubs.

Coniferous trees other than pines.

Pines Species should be named.

Evergreen trees other than conifers.

Evergreen shrubs other than conifers.

Field-grown florists' stock not otherwise listed.

Stocks, cuttings, or seedlings not otherwise listed.

Name and address of shipper,

Port of entry,

Name of importer,

(Name)

(Address)

Regulation 4. Delivery in bond.-(Sec. 1.) If the required permit be not at hand at the time of the arrival at port of entry of the nursery stock, the latter may be delivered to the importer, consignee, or agent for the proper care thereof upon the filing of a voluntary bond with approved sureties in double the invoice value of the property (the amount of the bond in no case to be less than $20) conditioned upon the redelivery thereof to the collector within 20 days from the date of arrival and providing that the same shall not be removed from the port of entry within such period or until the presentation of the proper permit; or, if the importer, consignee, or agent shall so elect, the goods may be retained in the custody of the officer of the customs pending the issuance of the permit, wholly at the expense of the importer.

Regulation 5. Permits for entry of nursery stock.—(Sec. 1.) On approval by the Secretary of Agriculture of an application for the importation of nursery stock from countries which maintain nursery stock inspection a permit will be issued in triplicate. One copy of the permit will be furnished to the applicant, one copy will be mailed to the collector at the port of entry, and the third filed with the application. Permits will expire on the 30th day of June of the year following the date of issue. They will be in the following form:

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SIR: You are hereby authorized, so far as the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture is concerned, to permit the importation under "The plant quarantine act, August 20, 1912," of the nursery stock specified in the application of

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