Astor v. Merritt

• Decision Date: 07 April 1884
• Citation: 4 S.Ct. 413,111 U.S. 202,28 L.Ed. 401
• Parties: ASTOR v. MERRITT, Collector, etc
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

111 U.S. 202

4 S.Ct. 413

28 L.Ed. 401

ASTOR v. MERRITT, Collector, etc.

April 7, 1884.

Geo. De Forest Lord, for plaintiff in error.

Sol. Gen. Phillips, for defendant in error.

BLATCHFORD, J.

This suit was brought by William Astor, in a court of the state of New York, and removed into the circuit court of the United States for the Southern district of New York, to recover the sum of $1,880 paid to the defendant, as collector of the port of New York, by the plaintiff, for customs duties, on the twenty-second of September, 1878, on certain goods brought by the plaintiff with him from Liverpool, as a passenger in a vessel. The goods and the duties exacted were as follows, (the items of the goods not being more particularly set forth in the record:) 45 pounds wool and worsted wearing apparel, at 50 cents per pound, $22.50, and 40 per cent. on its value at $990, $396, amounting to $418.50; cotton wearing apparel, 35 per cent. on its value at $150, amounting to $52.50; leather gloves, 50 per cent. on their value at $250, amounting to $125; and silk wearing apparel, 60 per cent. on its value at $2,240, amounting to $1,284; being a total of $1,880. The plaintiff recovered a verdict for $737, with interest from September 22, 1878, on which he had a judgment. He has brought a writ of error, claiming that he was entitled to recover the entire $1,880, on the ground that the goods were exempt from duty under section 2505 of the Revised Statutes, (page 489, 2d Ed.,) which provides that the importation of the following articles shall be exempt from duty; 'Wearing apparel in actual use and other personal effects, (not merchandise,) professional books, impiements, instruments, and tools to trade, occupation, or employment, of persons arriving in the United States. But this exemption shall not be construed to include machinery, or other articles imported for use in any manufacturing establishment, or for sale.'

At the trial, in October, 1880, the plaintiff testified in his own behalf, that, in the summer of 1878, he, a citizen of the United States, was traveling in Europe with his wife, three daughters, and son, also citizens of the United States, and returned to this country with them, arriving in New York, by a steamer, on September 22, 1878; that he had, in his personal baggage, certain articles of wearing apparel, being the goods above mentioned, belonging to himself and other members of his family, purchased in Europe during that summer, on which the duties above mentioned were exacted, and that they were paid in order to get possession of the wearing apparel; that the articles belonged to him, and were intended for the personal use of himself and his said family; that the articles for his own and his son's use were such articles of wearing apparel as they ordinarily wore at that season of the year; that they were principally intended for use in the winter, and were in no sense imported by him as merchandise; that some of his own and his son's wearing apparel had been actually worn by them personally, and he explained that fact to the custom-house authorities at the time of the exaction of the duties; that the articles of wearing apparel of himself and his son were purchased by him with the intention of using them wherever he and his family might be; that he did not know, when he purchased them, how long he was going to remain abroad; that, when they were purchased at Paris and sent home, they were placed in with their other wearing apparel, so as to form part of their ordinary wardrobes; that, if they had been detained in Europe, the garments were such as they would have required the moment the weather grew cool; and that the articles were bought for use whenever the weather should make it proper to use them, and without reference to where he and his son should be at the time they encountered cold weather.

Mrs. Astor testified that the garments of ladies' wear contained in the baggage were generally dresses and cloaks of woolen, worsted, and silk, and linens, intended entirely for her own and her daughters' use, and which had been purchased, under her supervision, in Paris; that such garments were intended for the separate and individual use of herself and daughters as soon as it was cold enough to wear them for the approaching season; that some were adapted for ordinary wear, and some for balls and entertainments, and all were made upon measure; that the aggregate quantity of wearing apparel which formed part of the baggage of herself and daughters rather fell short of their usual supply of such articles for that season of the year; that she was obliged, after she arrived in this country, to have some dresses made; that none of the articles were purchased for sale or exchange, but only for the special use of the persons for whom they were made; that, when they were purchased and sent home from the persons who made them, they were placed indiscriminately in with the wardrobe of the particular person for whom they were intended, so as to form part of the personal wardrobe of such person at the time; that a great part of them had been worn before she returned to this country, but some few had not been worn, because there was no special occasion to wear them; that, if the party had been detained in Paris, and cold weather had suddenly come on, the articles were such as she and her daughters would have required for immediate use; that, if they had remained for the winter, or a month longer, they would have worn the dresses intended for entertainments; that, from the time when these articles were purchased, there was nothing to prevent their being put on and worn the moment a proper occasion for wearing them arrived; that the articles lasted during the fall and winter, until spring, and had been entirely consumed by use; that she thought there were four dresses that had not been worn, because there had been no occasion to wear them; that the party had intended, at the time the articles were purchased, to spend the winter in America, but, if their plans had been changed at all, they would have remained in Europe and worn the articles there; that they went to Europe in May or June, 1878, traveled through England and to Paris, then through the continent and back to Paris; that most of the articles were ordered upon their first arrival in Paris, before traveling through the continent, and were paid for on coming back; and that most of them (about half, perhaps) were ordered and worn before traveling through the continent, because they were then needed.

It appeared in evidence that the examiner who appraised the dutiable articles in the plaintiff's baggage went upon the principle of including as dutiable articles those which seemed not to have been worn.

The plaintiff's counsel requested the court to charge the jury as follows: '(1) The general purpose of the statute being to impose duties upon the importation of merchandise, the exemption of the wearing apparel of passengers is in accordance with that purpose, and the language providing for such exemption should have a wide and liberal interpretation. (2) The general pur- pose of exempting passengers' baggage, being as much in harmony with the statute as the general purpose of imposing duties on merchandise, all language which seems to bring such baggage within the same category with merchandise should be strictly contrued against the government, and all language tending to keep up the distinction should be liberally construed in favor of the citizen. (3) The words 'not merchandise,' in the clause of the statute now in question, relate to the words 'wearing apparel in actual use,' as well as to the words 'personal effects,' and the clause might properly be paraphrased as if it read 'wearing apparel in actual use (not merchandise) and personal effects (not merchandise.)' (4) The words 'not merchandise,' thus used, may properly be regarded as explaining and defining the words, 'in actual use,' and the clause may be rightly construed as if those were synonymous or correlative terms. (5) If, therefore, this wearing apparel was 'not merchandise,' it was 'in actual use,' within the statutory meaning of that term, and was therefore exempt. (6) The words 'in actual use,' not being scientific or technical words, should be applied in the common and ordinary sense in which they would be generally employed. If, therefore, this wearing apparel, under the circumstances disclosed in the testimony, would be generally and ordinarily described as being in actual use of the plaintiff and his family, then it should have been admitted duty free. (7) The words 'in actual use' do not mean 'in actual, immediate, personal use' at the moment, but must have a meaning somewhat more extended than that. The statute clearly shows that some wearing apparel intended for and awaiting use in a passenger's trunks, as well as that upon his person at the time, is to be admitted free. (8) If the words 'in actual use' were intended (as they clearly were) to embrace some wearing apparel which was only intended for and awaiting use in the passenger's trunks, there is nothing in the statute which shows an intention to exclude any wearing apparel so situated, and consequently, all such wearing apparel should be admitted free, provided the other requirements of the statute are fulfilled, viz, that it is 'not merchandise,' and belongs to the passenger. (9) Wearing apparel is properly and strictly 'in actual use' from the time when its use by its owner begins until it is finally consumed or worn out. (10) The use of wearing apparel which is purchased for the immediate personal comfort of the owner may be properly said to begin from the time when it is sent home from the maker and takes its place, ready for wear, in the owner's wardrobe. If these articles were in that condition they were 'in actual use,' within the statute, and should have been admitted free. (11) that 'wearing apparel' must be the 'wearing...