1900.] HASTINGS—POLICE POWER OF THE STATE. 395 
elsewhere, has no foundation. It is not an allowable inference from the 
denial of that position or from the assertion of the reverse of it.”’ 
The long account of how the opinion in the case of City of 
New York vs. Miln came to be given, and especially to contain 
the remark that persons are not subjects of commerce, has no rela- 
tion to the police power except as showing how almost by accident 
an opinion so important in the history of that power and in popu- 
larizing the use of the term came to be adopted and published as 
the opinion of the court. 
Justice Catron does not discuss the question of the concurrent 
but subordinate power in the states to regulate commerce which 
he upheld in the License cases. He finds that these laws now in 
question provided a tax on foreign commerce, which is contrary 
to the national policy and legislation, and, therefore, that they are 
void. 
1 «‘ Were this court once to hold that aliens belonging to foreign com- 
merce and passengers coming from other states could have a poll tax 
levied on them on entering any port of the state, on the assumption 
that the tax could be applied to maintain state police powers, and by 
this means the state treasury could be filled, the time is not distant when. 
states holding the great inlets of commerce might raise all necessary 
revenues from foreign intercourse and from intercourse among the states 
and thereby exempt their own inhabitants*from taxation altogether.” 
He finds the passengers in these cases were not subjects of any 
police power or sanitary regulations, and thus frankly rests his 
conclusions on general expediencies, and is noticeably cautious of 
approaching the abstract question as to the exclusiveness or other- 
wise of the federal power over commerce. 
* Justice McKinley deals only with clause 1 of article 9 of the 
federal constitution as to the exclusion of persons, and thinks it 
does not refer simply to the slave trade, but puts the whole question 
of immigrants and their regulation into the hands of Congress. 
Justice Grier follows substantially the ideas of Justice Catron, 
that twelve states in the Union had no seaport, that the constitu- 
tion was adopted principally to avoid commercial disagreements 
and troubles between the states; and he leaves practically out of 
view both the claim of police jurisdiction for the state and that of 
exclusive power on the part of Congress. 
17 How., 448. BMG UNS. 
