Edwin Bartlett, Plaintiff in Error v. George P. Kane

This suit was commenced by the plaintiff as consignee of six hundred and fourteen seroons of Peruvian bark imported into the port of Baltimore, and entered at the custom-house, for an excess of duties charged by the defendant as collector, and paid under protest. Two hundred seroons of the first quality were entered for consumption, and the remainder for warehousing. On the 4th of October, 1849, the appraisers of the custom-house reported the value of the invoice to be ten per cent., and more, above the value declared by the agents of the plaintiff who made the entry, and in consequence the collector, besides the legal duty of fifteen per cent. ad valorem, assessed an additional duty of twenty per cent. under the eighth section of the act of 1846, 9 Stat. at Large, 43, c. 74, for undervaluation. On the 6th of October, 1849, the plaintiff duly protested against the appraisement, and requested that the case might be submitted to merchant appraisers, as provided by law. After notice of the appeal, the same day, the permanent appraisers required the plaintiff 'to produce all their correspondence, letters, and accounts, relative to the shipment, and to make a deposition that the documents furnished were all that he had concerning the shipment.' In reply to this, some five days after, the plaintiff instructed his agents that it would be tedious and difficult to comply with the requisition, in consequence of the volume of the correspondence, says he cannot understand what use the appraisers could make of them, as they had made their report; that he should defer their presentation for another tribunal, and that he withdraws his appeal, and will pay the duties under protest. He still insists upon the overvaluation, but offers to settle at that rate, provided the additional duty is not charged. He says that this exaction is illegal, and they can test it at their leisure. That he had been advised that an appeal appraisement might interfere with his rights in a court of justice. These letters of the plaintiff were submitted to the permanent appraisers, who replied they could make no alteration of their estimate, and the appeal of the plaintiff was withdrawn. The plaintiff paid the entire duties exacted upon the appraised value of the entire import, including those entered for consumption as well as warehousing, and an additional duty of twenty per cent. for undervaluation. These sums were paid under protest. A portion of the bark was exported, and upon this the plaintiff became entitled to drawback, which was paid to the extent of the regular duty, but the additional duty was not refunded.