(Vol. XXVII, p. 421.)

To the Secretary of Agriculture, June 19, 1909.

EMPLOYEES OF THE FOREST SERVICE IN WASHINGTON-TRANSFER-THREE YEARS' SERVICE.

Classified employees on the rolls of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, in Washington, are required by the terms of section 5 of the act of June 22, 1906 (34 Stat., 389, 449), to serve three years before their transfer to other departments is permissible.

(Vol. XXVII, p. 479.)

To the President, July 26, 1909.

IMMIGRATION—HAWAII.

The President is authorized to sign a blank form of letter addressed to officers of the United States abroad commending to their favorable consideration Mr. A. J. Campbell, an agent of the Hawaiian Government, who is being sent to the Azores and Madeira to make arrangements for the transportation of immigrants from those islands to Hawaii, their passage being prepaid by the Hawaiian Government, and their immigration being induced solely by a representation of the resources of Hawaiian Islands and the industrial conditions existing there, without any offer or promise of employment being made to any of them, such persons to have perfect freedom of action in choosing their places of residence and vocations. Courts are inclined to construe statutes against contract alien laborers strictly, and seek to enforce the spirit rather than the letter of such acts.

A Territorial government, such as Hawaii, is not a municipality or a quasi municipality. The act of March 22, 1909, of the Territorial legislature of Hawaii, providing a special tax of 2 per cent on incomes in excess of $4,000, three-fourths of the proceeds thereof to be used by the Territorial board of immigration for immigration purposes, is valid.

The course being pursued by the Hawaiian Government is strictly within the alien contract labor law and the immigration laws of the United States.

(Vol. XXVII, p. 507.)

To the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, July 30, 1909.

IMMIGRATION-CITIZENSHIP-DEPORTATION-ALIEN WOMAN MARRIED TO AN AMERICAN

CITIZEN.

An alien prostitute who entered the United States and was found an inmate of a house of ill fame and practicing prostitution within three years after landing, having been since lawfully married to a native-born citizen of the United States, is to be deemed a citizen, and can not be deported under the immigration laws for her conduct previous to her marriage.

The words "who might herself be lawfully naturalized," in the act of February 10, 1855 (10 Stat., 604), and section 1994, Revised Statutes, refer to the class or race who might be lawfully naturalized, and compliance with the other conditions of the naturalization laws is not required.

The immigration laws have not added to the classes of persons incapable in their own right of naturalization.

(Vol. XXVII, p. 578.)

To the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, August 27, 1909.

IMMIGRATION-MARRIAGE OF ALIEN WOMAN TO CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES-
EVIDENCE.

The Secretary of Commerce and Labor has authority to consider the evidence connected with the marriage of an alien prostitute to a citizen of the United States, and subject to the principle that the validity of the marriage is to be determined by the law of the place where the contract is made, may deport the woman if the facts justify the conclusion that the ceremony was entered into merely for the purpose of evading the immigration law, and with no intention on the part of the parties to live together as husband and wife.

(Vol. XXVII, p. 594.)

To the Secretary of War, September 8, 1909.

TARIFF ACT OF 1909-CANAL ZONE.

The first clause of the tariff act of August 5, 1909 (36 Stat., 11), which provides that the rates of duty prescribed in the dutiable list of that section shall be levied, collected, and paid upon all articles imported from any foreign country into the United States or into any of its possessions (except the Philippine Islands and the islands of Guam and Tutuila), does not apply to the Canal Zone.

The Canal Zone is not one of the possessions of the United States within the meaning of the tariff act of 1909, but rather a place subject to the use, occupation, and control of the United States for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a ship canal connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

(Vol. XXVII, p. 623.)

To the Secretary of the Interior, September 24, 1909.

REGISTRATION OF TRADE-MARKS-RESIDENTS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

Residents of the Philippine Islands have the right, under the act of February 20, 1905 (33 Stat., 724), to avail themselves of the provisions of the trade-mark law of the United States.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 24.)

To the Secretary of the Navy, October 20, 1909.

HOMICIDE COMMITTED ON HOSPITAL SHIP STATIONED AT OLONGAPO, P. I.—JURISDICTION.
A homicide committed on board of the hospital ship Relief while stationed at Olon-
gapo, P. I., by the acting master of the vessel, who committed this act by order
of the commanding officer of the ship, occurred "out of the jurisdiction of any
particular State or district," within the meaning of section 730, Revised Statutes,
and the parties accused may be tried in any judicial district either in a State or
a Territory of the United States into which they shall be first brought.
The word "district," as used in section 730, Revised Statutes, includes every Terri-
tory within which there are courts regularly organized and having jurisdiction
over offenses against the United States; that is, such courts as are mentioned in
section 1910, Revised Statutes.

The courts of the Philippine Islands are not vested with jurisdiction in cases arising
under the Constitution and laws of the United States, as prescribed by section 1910,
Revised Statutes.

a

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 70.)

To the Secretary of the Treasury, November 12, 1909.

PHILIPPINE INTERNAL-REVENUE STAMPS-FUNDS DERIVED FROM SALE.

Funds derived from the sale of internal-revenue stamps in the Philippine Islands belong to the Philippine Government, under the provisions of section 4 of the act of March 8, 1902 (32 Stat., 54), and should be paid into the Philippine Treasury. This section remains in full force and effect, notwithstanding the provisions of section 5 of the tariff act of August 5, 1909 (36 Stat., 84, 85.)

Where there are two acts upon the same subject they must stand together, if possible, but if they are repugnant in any of their provisions, the later act operates as a repeal of the earlier only so far as its provisions are repugnant to the provisions of the earlier act.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 99.)

To the Secretary of the Treasury, December 16, 1909.

MARKING OF IMPORTED LIQUORS-ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 240 OF THE CRIMINAL

CODE.

It is not within the province of the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations governing the marking of imported liquors to conform to section 240 of the criminal code adopted by the act of March 4, 1909 (35 Stat., 1088).

That section is a criminal statute, with no reference to the collection of internal revenue or duties on imports, and there is no statute authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to formulate rules and regulations for the enforcement of a general criminal statute which has no relation to the collection of revenue.

The Treasury Department may, however, instruct collectors of customs that when a package shipped from a foreign country or a place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, but noncontiguous thereto, into the United States, containing intoxicating liquors, and clearly not labeled as required by that section, comes within the observation of a customs officer, he should sieze the same and have it declared forfeited by like proceedings as those provided to enforce forfeitures for violation of the customs laws.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 103.)

To the Secretary of War, December 18, 1909.

DISPOSITION OF FRIAR LANDS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

The limitations in section 15 of the act of July 1, 1902 (32 Stat., 696), of the amount of public land which may be acquired by individuals and corporations in the Philippine Islands do not apply to estates purchased by the Philippine Government from religious orders pursuant to the authority of sections 63, 64, and 65 of said act.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 173.)

To the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, February 8, 1910.

FUR-SEAL SKINS ON VESSELS SEIZED-IMPORTATIONS.

Fur-seal skins taken in waters outside of the 2-mile limit, but within the area described by section 1 of the act of December 29, 1897 (30 Stat., 226), and afterwards seized on schooners engaged in unlawful seal fishing within the 3-mile limit, are forfeitable to the United States and need not be destroyed as directed by section 9 of that act, as this does not constitute an importation within the meaning of that section.

The word "importation," as used in the customs laws, is the bringing of goods into the ports of the United States for the purpose of introducing them into the commerce of the country.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 218.)

To the Secretary of War, March 17, 1910.

ISTHMIAN CANAL COMMISSION-AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FURNISHING OILS,

A contract for furnishing oils to the Isthmian Canal Commission may be awarded under the provisions of War Department circulars of December 11, 1909, and February 9, 1910, only to bidders who have acquired these products bona fide and in their own right, and not as middlemen or agents of such companies as have been adjudicated parties to an unlawful trust and monopoly.

The advisory powers of the Attorney General do not extend to an examination of evidence to ascertain what is established by a preponderance of testimony, nor can he settle facts ex parte from papers submitted and then proceed to give an opinion thereon.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 227.)

To the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, March 19, 1910.

CENSUS OFFICE-CITIZENSHIP OF ENUMERATORS AND INTERPRETERS.

The provision of section 10 of the permanent census act of March 6, 1902 (32 Stat., 53), which prohibits the employment in the Census Office of persons other than citizens of the United States, does not prevent the employment of persons as enumerators and interpreters who are not such citizens.

The provision referred to was not, however, repealed by the act of July 2, 1909 (36 Stat., 1).

The expression "all employees of the Census Office," in section 10 of the census act of 1902, does not relate to enumerators or interpreters.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 231.)

To the Secretary of War, March 23, 1910.

ISTHMIAN CANAL COMMISSION-AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FURNISHING OILS.

A contract for furnishing oils to the Isthmian Canal Commission may be awarded under War Department circular of December 11, 1909, to a bidder who, at the time the contract is entered into, satisfactorily shows that he has acquired these products bona fide and in his own right, either in immediate possession or for future delivery. The contract is not vitiated if these supplies are to be obtained from a prohibited company, provided that company has no interest whatever in the sale to the Government.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 239.)

To the Secretary of War, April 1, 1910.

ISTHMIAN CANAL COMMISSION-AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR FURNISHING OILS.

A contract for furnishing oils to the Isthmian Canal Commission may be awarded to a bidder who either owns the oils, or, at the time the agreement is made, has a valid contract to have the oils supplied; and the contract is not to be withheld because the oils are to be obtained from a company prohibited from selling to the Government, providing said company has no interest in the award.

The Attorney General declines to express an opinion upon hypothetical questions, nor will he enter into the consideration of disputed questions of evidence.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 245.)

To the Secretary of War, April 15, 1910.

PORTO RICO-LEGALITY OF BOND ISSUE.

The issuance of bonds by the insular government of Porto Rico for the purpose of constructing roads and bridges as provided by an act of the legislative assembly of Porto Rico, approved March 10, 1910, not being in excess of 7 per cent of the aggregate tax valuation of its property, is legal.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 247.)

To the Secretary of War, April 19, 1910.

PANAMA CANAL-PURCHASE OF MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT FROM UNLAWFUL TRUSTS.

A contract for the purchase of material and equipment for use in the construction of the Panama Canal which, by a joint resolution passed June 25, 1906 (34 Stat., 835), and an Executive order of January 6, 1908, is required to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, can not be ignored simply because such bidder has been adjudicated to be a party to an unlawful trust or monopoly.

The contracts of a party to an unlawful trust or monopoly for the sale and delivery of merchandise are enforceable under the law, and this is the test of a responsible bidder under the provisions above referred to.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 258.)

To the Secretary of State, April 29, 1910.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS-CORPORATIONS HOLDING REAL ESTATE.

Neither a corporation formed in Belgium to acquire and possess lands in the Philippine Islands, nor any other foreign or domestic corporation authorized to engage in agriculture, may legally purchase or hold more than 1,024 hectares of land in the Philippine Islands.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 262.)

To the Secretary of the Navy, April 29, 1910.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS TRANSFER OF LANDS RESERVED FOR NAVAL PURPOSES TO WAR

DEPARTMENT.

The President has authority to transfer the use and control of lands in the Philippine
Islands, reserved by Executive order for naval purposes, to the War Department
for military purposes.
Opinion of November 3, 1904 (25 Op., 269), approved.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 318.)

To the Secretary of Agriculture, May 18, 1910.

PURCHASE OF DEER SKINS IN ALASKA DURING CLOSED SEASON.

The Secretary of Agriculture has no authority to allow a manufacturer in Alaska to purchase deer skins in that Territory during the closed season, for the purpose of manufacturing the skins into gloves and other novelties to be shipped beyond the boundaries of the Territory, notwithstanding the hides are claimed to have been accumulated from the legal kill since the Alaska game law of May 11, 1908 (35 Stat., 102), became operative.

This

Section 4 of the act of May 11, 1908 (35 Stat., 103), forbids traffic in the hides, skins, or heads of game animals in Alaska at any time during the closed season. includes purchase as well as sale.

(Vol. XXVIII, p. 321.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, PORTO RICO-SIGNING BILL OF EXCEPTIONS.

Where the United States district judge for the district of Porto Rico left the jurisdiction before signing a bill of exceptions, he should return to Porto Rico and sign it; but in case that can not be done, the bill of exceptions should be prepared and agreed upon by counsel on both sides, and counsel should stipulate that it is correct and that the judge may allow and sign the same outside of his district.