Dwight v. Merritt

Citations

• 140 U.S. 213
• 11 S. Ct. 768
• 35 L. Ed. 450
• 1891 U.S. LEXIS 2455

Syllabus

<p>In an aetion against a collector to recover back an alleged excess of duties imposed upon an importation of iron rails, the duty having been imposed upon them as “ iron bars for railroads ” under Rev. Stat. § 2504, Schedule E, and the importer claiming that they were subject to duty as “ wrought scrap iron ” under the same schedule, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to satisfy the jury that they had been in actual use before exportation, and that fact must be proved in order to recover.</p> <p>The dutiable classification of articles imported must be ascertained by an examination óf them, and not by their description in the invoice.</p> <p>The statutes codified in the Revised Statutes and repealed with their enactment may be referred to in order to interpret the meaning of obscure and ambiguous phrases in the revision; but not when the meaning is clear and free from doubt.</p>