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2 F. Cas. 325

Bacon v. Bancroft

U.S. District Court

Decided October 15, 1840

U.S. District Court · decided 1840-10-15

At law. This was an action [by Samuel C. Bacon] against the defendant, [George Bancroft,] as collector of the port of Boston, to recover back the amount of duties, paid under protest, upon a quantity of gunny cloth, imported by the plaintiff, and by the collect- or charged with the duty on cotton bagging, tVerdict for plaintiff.] It was agreed, that gunny cloth was imported and used extensively for the purpose of covering cotton in bales, and as a substitute for the article…

Decided 1840-10-15

STORY, Circuit Justice,

¶1instructed the jury, that the tariff being a statute, regulating commerce, the terms of it must be construed according to commercial usage and understanding; and that if they found, of which there appeared no doubt, the evidence being uniform to that effect, that the two articles were understood and known among merchants to be different articles of commerce, and that the article in question had not been known in commerce as cotton bagging, it was not subject to the duty, whatever might be the use to which it had been applied.

¶2The jury immediately returned a verdict for the plaintiff.

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