Veazie Bank v. Fenno

Mr. Hoar, Attorney-General of the United States, argued the case fully, contra; he relying upon the case of Hylton v. The United States,2 as conclusive of the question independently of principle; and referring to the brief recently published3 of General Hamilton, by whom the case was argued, to explain and support his view of what was there decided; a case confirmed recently, the Attorney-General observed, in Pacific Insurance Company v. Soule.4 In reply, it was contended that Hylton v. The United States adjudged one point alone, which was that a tax on carriages was not a direct tax, and that from the dicta of the judges, in the case, it was obvious that the great question of what were direct taxes was but crudely considered.