Commercial Regulations. Decisions of the Treasury Department Under The Tariff Acts. (Orchella weed, so styled.)

Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review.
Edited by William B. Dana
Volume Fifty-First
From July to December, Inclusive, 1864.
New York: William B. Dana, publisher and proprietor, Chamber of Commons and Underwriters' Building, Nos. 61 and 62 William Street.
1864.

Orchella weed, so styled
Treasury Department, April 22, 1864.

SIR:
John Boyd, Jr., has appealed from your decision assessing duty at the rate of 10 per cent ad valorem, on certain (so-styled) "orchella weed," imported by him and alleges:

"The tariff act, in my opinion, allows this article to entry duty free, and poses a duty of 10 per cent ad valorem om 'orchella' and 'cudbear,' two manufactured articles. Whereas 'orchella weed,' the article in question, is a crude article of no use whatever, except to manufacture, by a slow and expansive operation, into the two articles above-named, viz.: 'orclie:la and cudbear' - vegetable dyes. It cannot be the intention of the law to impose the same duty upon a perfectly crude article, as it dues upon the articles manufactured from that crude material."

Under the 23d section of the act of March, 1861, "cudbear, vegetable, and orchil," were admitted to entry free of duty.

Under the 5th section of the act of July, 1862, on "orchil and cudbear," a duty of 10 per centum ad valorem is imposed.

It will be observed that the phraseology in the act of July, 1862, differs from that in the act of March, 1861, only in the transposition of the words "orchil and cudbear," and in the absence of the word "vegetable," which last word it may be said was superfluous, inasmuch as cudbear, being a distinctly defined article, needed no qualification.

It is apparent that the attention of Congress was, as is shown by the preparation of the act of July, 1862, distinctly drawn to the subject; and if it had been intended that any form of orchil or archil was to be exempted from the ten per cent duty, it is reasonable to presume that it would have Deen specially provided for.

I am of the opinion that the article in question imported by Mr. John Boyd, Jr., was properly assessed at 10 per cent ad valorem, and your decision is hereby affirmed.

I am, very respectfully,

S. P. Chass, Secretary of the Treasury.

To Hiram Barney, Esq..
Collector, New York.