Board of Harbor Commissioners v. Pashley

Citations

• 19 S.C. 315
• 1883 S.C. LEXIS 85

Syllabus

<p>Under a statute which created a board of harbor commissioners for the port of Charleston, authority was given to this board to levy such fees and harbor or port charges as were necessary to pay its officers and to defray its expenses. The board imposed a scale of charges, according to kind, upon all vessels entering that port, the amount in each case being determined by the “ length over all ” in feet. Held, that the charge not being for services rendered to a vessel, it was a tonnage duty, which is prohibited by the constitution of the United States.</p>