Fairbank v. United States

Citations

• 181 U.S. 283
• 21 S. Ct. 648
• 45 L. Ed. 862
• 1901 U.S. LEXIS 1367

Syllabus

<p>A stamp tax on a foreign bill of lading is, in substance and effect, equivalent to a tax on tbe articles included in that bill of lading, and therefore is a tax or duty on exports, and therefore in conflict with article I, section 9 of the Constitution of the United States, that “hfo tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State.”</p> <p>An act of Congress is to be accepted as constitutional, unless on examination it clearly appears to be in conflict with provisions of the Federal Constitution.</p> <p>If the Constitution in its grant of powers is to be able to carry into full effect the powers granted, it is equally imperative that where prohibition or limitation is placed upon the power of Congress, that prohibition or limitation should be enforced in its spirit and to its entirety.</p>