No. 240.
Mr. Hartley to Mr.
Fish
Treasury Department, Washington, D. C., September 2, 1871. (Received September
4.)
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of August 28, inclosing a copy of the opinion of the Attorney General
on the question
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of the amount of
taxes due from the sum appropriated for the payment of an award to the Puget
Sound Agricultural Company. You ask to be informed whether any tax for the
use of the United States, as imposed by any act of Congress, has been
legally assessed upon any of the property of that company covered by the
award in question.
I herewith transmit in reply a copy of a letter from the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue, to whom the subject was referred for report.
In view of the result of the Commissioner’s investigation, I am enabled to
state that this Department is not informed of any unpaid assessment of tax
due the United States, against the property of the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company.
Respectfully, &c.,
J. F. HARTLEY, Acting Secretary of the
Treasury.
Mr. Douglass to Mr. Boutwell
Treasury Department,
Washington, D. C.,
August 31, 1871.
Sir: Yours of the 28th instant, inclosing
letter of the honorable Secretary of State with the opinion of the
Attorney General upon the question “what taxes if any are to be withheld
by this Government from the sum appropriated for the payment of an award
to the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, by the act of February 21,
1871, required by the treaty with Great Britain of July 1, 1863,” is
acknowledged.
You request me to state whether any such taxes have been legally assessed
and remain unpaid to the United States. I perceive by reference to the
second page of the “opinion of the Attorney General,” that your inquiry
relates to taxes assessed before the “award” was made. It not appearing
at what time the award was made, I have caused investigation to be made
with reference to the entire period covered by the operations of the
internal revenue system, and find that no taxes have been assessed
during that period on the property of the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company which remain unpaid at the present date.
Respectfully,
J. W. DOUGLASS, Commissioner.
Memorandum.—For the correspondence of the
consul of the United States at Hong-Kong, see China.]
