goods, wares, and merchandise, imported in the , whereof is master, from , for account of any person whomsoever, for whom I am authorized to enter the same; that the said invoice and bill of lading are in the state in which they were actually received by me, and that I do not know nor believe in the existence of any other invoice, or bill of lading of the said goods, wares, and merchandise; that the entry now delivered to the collector, contains a just and true account of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, according to the said invoice and bill of lading; that nothing has been, on my part, nor, to my knowledge, on the part of any other person, concealed or suppressed, whereby the United States may be defrauded of any part of the duty lawfully due on the said goods, wares, and merchandise, and that, if, at any time hereafter, I discover any error in the said invoice, or in the account now rendered of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, or receive any other invoice of the same, I will immediately make the same known to the collector of this district. And I do further solemnly and truly (swear or affirm) that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, (insert the name and residence of the owner or owners, is or are) of the goods, wares, and merchandise, mentioned in the annexed entry; that the invoice now produced by me exhibits the actual cost, (if purchased,) or fair market value, (if otherwise obtained,) at the time or times, and place or places, when or where procured, (as the case may be,) of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, all the charges thereon, and no other or different discount, bounty, or drawback, but such as has been actually allowed on the same.
Owner’s oath, in cases where goods, wares, or merchandise, have been actually purchased.
Owner’s oath, where goods, &c. have been purchased.I , do solemnly and truly (swear or affirm) that the entry now delivered by me to the collector of , contains a just and true account of all the goods, wares, and merchandise, imported by, or consigned to, me, in the , whereof is master, from ; that the invoice which I now produce, contains a just and faithful account the actual cost of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, of all charges thereon, including charges of purchasing, carriages, bleaching, dyeing, dressing, finishing, putting up, and packing, and no other discount, drawback, or bounty, but such as has been actually allowed on the same; that I do not know nor believe in the existence of any invoice or bill of lading other than those now produced by me, and that they are in the state in which I actually received them. And I do further solemnly and truly (swear or affirm) that I have not, in the said entry or invoice, concealed or suppressed any thing whereby the United States may be defrauded of any part of the duty lawfully due on the said goods, wares, and merchandise; and that if, at any time hereafter, I discover any error in the said invoice, or in the account now produced, of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, or receive any other invoice of the same, I will immediately make the same known to the collector of this district.[1]
- ↑ The defendant was indicted for perjury in falsely taking and swearing the “owner’s oath in cases where goods have been actually purchased;” as prescribed by the fourth section of the supplementary collection law, of the first of March, 1823. The perjury was charged to have been committed in April, 1837, at the custom-house in New York, on the importation of certain woollen goods in the ship Sheridan. The indictment charged the defendant with having intentionally suppressed the true cost of the goods, with the intent to defraud the United States. 2. Charging the perjury in swearing to the truth of the invoice produced by him at the time of entry of the goods, the invoice being false, &c. &c. It appeared by the evidence, that the goods mentioned in the entry had been bought by the defendant from John Wood, his father, of Saddleworth, England. No witness was produced by the United States to prove that the value or cost of the goods was greater than that for which they were entered at the custom-house in New York. The evidence of this, offered by the prosecution was, the invoice book of John Wood, and thirty-five original letters from the defendant to John Wood, between 1834 and 1837, showing a combination between John Wood and the defendant to defraud the United States, by invoicing and entering goods at less than their actual cost; that this combination comprehended the goods imported in the Sheridan; and that the goods received by that ship had been entered by the defendant,
