otherwise appropriated by the said act, shall hereafter be and remain inviolably appropriated and applied to defraying the expenses of administering the government of this State; nor shall the duties on the manufacture of salt aforesaid, nor the duties on goods sold at auction, as established as aforesaid, be at any time hereaf ter reduced or diverted from the aforesaid object, until the full and complete payment of the principal and interest of the money borrowed, to make and complete the Erie and Champlain canals.”

And to this proposition the committee submit the following reso lution:

Resolved, That the Senate do agree to the said amendment,

IN SENATE,

February 1, 1833.

ANNUAL REPORT

Of David B. Wheeler, Inspector of sole leather, for the village of Auburn.

The Hon. the President of the Senate:

Permit me, sir, through you, to present to the Legislature of the State of New-York, my report as Inspector of sole leather, appointed for the village of Auburn, and also as one of the Inspectors appointed for the county of Cayuga, of the same article, in compliance with the requisition of the Revised Statutes.

From the time of my appointment in March, 1832, to January 1st, 1833, I have examined and sealed within the village, and other parts of the county of Cayuga, 2,720 sides of sole leather, all which I judged entitled to the impress "good," except 84 sides, which were stamped "damaged," or "bad.”

Expenses, horse hire, rent, storage, &c.........

$108 80

26 65

On reference to the 197th section of title 3d, chap. 17, part 1st, Revised Statutes, I find it is the duty of each Inspector to "communicate in his report such information possessed by him, as may tend to improve the quality of the article subject to his inspection."

In compliance with this requisition, I would beg leave respectfully to suggest an amendment to the existing laws in two particulars, which in my opinion would stimulate the honest, enterprising manufacturer, to improve the quality of his goods, as it would ensure to him a preference in a foreign market in proportion to their Senate, No. 46.]

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intrinsic value; of this preference he is now deprived by a practice pursued by one or two of our tanners in this county, and (if my information is correct,) by some others in other parts of the State. The practice alluded to is this-their leather, which they intend to send out of the State, they stamp upon each side, either with their own name, or the name of some person in their employ; and with such name they stamp all the other marks, as to weight and quality, which the proper officer is by law required to place upon that which passes through his hands; and this leather, where the name of the Inspector for the place whence it come is unknown, so far as marks are evidence, claims, and obtains the reputation of "New-York inspected leather," and the honest consumer, for whose security the law was intended, purchases it with the same confidence, that he does that in the same market, which is sent there by the upright manufacturer, and which has been by him submitted to the scrutiny of a disinterested person, who is bound by oath to do justice to all interested. My humble opinion is, that the intention of law, is to secure the honest consumer against fraud, either in weight, or quality; but by this practice, so far as marks are concerned, the probability of his being deceived is increased.

Secondly. The law intends that the honest, enterprising tanner shall send his leather into market with a legal recommendation in proportion to its intrinsic worth. Now I would ask if his motives to exertion are not diminished, when he finds an inferior article, recommended by the same marks, in a market where few can possible know, that they were placed there surreptitiously. I find by the Revised Statutes, vol. 1st, page 572, section 193, that any person counterfeiting the marks of an Inspector, incurs a heavy penalty; but the opinion of many lawyers is, that a tanner has a right to mark his leather with what he pleases, and particularly, if he uses his own name, and that he subjects himself to no penalty, unless with such marks he uses the name of the Inspector for the time being, although all the marks used may be exactly such as the law commands the Inspector to use, the name excepted.

Now, if this opinion is correct, I know of no remedy except by an enactment, declaring any mark placed upon a side of sole leather, which the Inspector is required by law to place upon the sides which pass through his hands, by any person other than the Inspector legally authorized, shall be deemed a counterfeit, according to the meaning of the section referred to.

A majority of the tanners in this county are men governed by as high a sense of honor, and by principles of as sound integrity as any of our citizens, and the leather they make will bear a comparison with any made in the State; and while they are exerting themselves at a heavy expense to improve the manufacture of this article, they ought to be protected from the competition they meet in a foreign market, by deceptive marks.

I beg leave to suggest a second amendment which appears requisite, viz: That every Inspector of sole leather, before he enters upon the duties of his office, shall give a bond, with ample security, for the payment of any penalty he may incur by dishonesty or carelessness. My reason for suggesting this is, the law makes the Inspector liable to the purchaser for any deficiency in weight over five per cent from his mark; and he is also liable to the vender for over deductions on account of wet; these variations may in some cases amount to a considerable sum, and as persons may be ap pointed to the office who are irresponsible in point of property, I am of the opinion that such a provision would increase the vigilance of the officer, add much to the security of the dealers, and stimulate the manufacturers to exertion, both in making and preparing their leather for market.

A third particular now occurs to me, in which the law may be improved by a further enactment. Under the old law regulating the inspection of sole leather, any person interested in manufacturing or dealing in leather, was disqualified from holding the office of Inspector. In revising the laws, this provision was omitted. really think such a provision requisite, and for obvious reasons will so appear to the Legislature.

All which is respectfully submitted.

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