The present action is one to declare forfeited the sum of P20,600 Philippine currency, which the defendant attempted to export from the Philippine Islands,  in violation of the provisions of Act No. 1411 of the Philippine Commission.

On or about the 20th of December, 1906, a criminal action was  commenced against the present defendant for his attempt to  export said Philippine  currency, in violation of said  law.   Upon a full consideration of all of the evidence presented in  the criminal action, this  court  decided that the defendant was guilty of  a violation of said  law and sentenced him to be imprisoned for a period of sixty days and  to pay a fine of P2OO.^[1] Later the Attorney-General of the Philippine Islands  instituted the present action for the purpose of declaring  forfeited to the Government, in accordance with the provisions of said Act No.  1411, the money which the defendant attempted to export  from the Philippine Islands.

Upon the  issues presented in said cause  and after  a stipulation by  the respective  lawyers  that  the   evidence adduced during  the trial  of the  criminal cause should  be presented and accepted as proof in the civil cause,  the lower court rendered the following decision:

"As the British  steamer Taming had weighed anchor and was about to sail from this port for Hongkong, China, in the afternoon of the 12th  of  December,  1906, the sum of 20,600 pesos, Philippine silver currency,  coined under authority  of  the Act of Congress of the United  States of March 2, 1903, was found in the cabin occupied by Ling Su Fan, the comprador or purser of said steamer, by agents of the  customs secret service, who immediately  seized  the money and  reported the matter to the proper authorities.

"In view of the foregoing a criminal complaint was presented before this Court of First Instance on the 20th of said month  of December, charging Ling  Su Fan with  attempting to ship Philippine silver currency out of the Philippine Islands, in violation of the provisions of Act No. 1411 of  the  Philippine Commission.   The case proceeded to trial and evidence was adduced by the prosecution and by the  defense.   On  the  15th of  February, 1907, judgment was  entered by this court in part 2, declaring Ling Su Fan guilty of the crime charged and  sentencing him to imprisonment for sixty days and to pay  a fine of P200, which judgment, the accused having appealed therefrom, was affirmed by the Supreme Court on  the 10th of February  of the present year 1908.

"The Insular Collector of Customs,who  had been  informed of the matter  after the seizure fallowing the discovery of the P20,600,  as hereinbefore stated, acting under the provisions of Act No. 864, and after notifying Ling  Su Fan, investigated the matter administratively at a hearing held on the 5th of January, 1907; at the hearing evidence was  adduced by the parties, the evidence in the  previously cited criminal case prosecuted  in  this court against  Ling Su Fan was  taken into account as stipulated  between the parties, and a conclusion was arrived at on the 23d of said month  of January, holding that  the owner and agent  of the  money had  intended to export  the  same beyond the jurisdiction of the Philippine Islands to the port of Hongkong, a foreign country, and that the only circumstance that  frustrated such intention was the seizure of the money by agents of the secret  service of the Manila custom-house; in consequence thereof, the forfeiture or seizure of the said P20,600 was decreed, in accordance with the provisions  of said  Act No. 1411; it was thereupon directed that an order be immediately  issued and that the  money  be retained subject thereto until the matter was finally disposed of; the order was issued on the same date, and the 20,600 pesos Philippine currency were formally deposited in the Insular Treasury where the money had been placed when it was seized by the agents immediately after it was found in the possession of Ling Su Fan, in hi 5 cabin on board the steamship Taming, The accused, Ling Su Fan, has interposed no appeal against the decision  of the Insular Collector of Customs.

"On the same day,  December 20,  the Attorney-General on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands, filed with this court the complaint that has given rise to  these proceedings, therein alleging the fact of the discovery and seizure of the P20,600 that were in  the possession of the Chinese  comprador on  board  the said steamship Taming, and the confiscation of said money by the customs authorities, as well as the intent on  the part of the said Chinese comprador to export the money from the Islands, in contravention of the provisions of Act No. 1411 of the Philippine Commission; he then prayed the court to declare said sum forfeited and to direct the Insular Treasurer to dispose of said Philippine currency in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of said Act, and to sentence the defendant to pay the costs.

"Finally, on the 26th of March, 1907, an amended  complaint  was presented by said representative of the Insular Government,  in  which he made a more detailed statement of the facts previously set forth, as  well  as of the administrative  proceedings taken  by the  Insular Collector of Customs in conformity with the provisions of section 313 ^[1] of said Act No.  864, of the hearing of the case before said officer, and of the decision rendered  by him on January 9, 1907, and, presenting to the court below in compliance with the provisions of said section 313 the  certified copies of said proceedings by the said Collector of Customs in connection with the confiscation  of the  money, finally prayed  that judgment be entered as requested in the first or  original complaint.

"The complaint  was answered by  the defendant, Ling Su Fan, and, as stipulated between the parties, the evidence adduced in the criminal cause mentioned above was also offered as evidence in this case by the  representative of the defendant, together with the depositions taken from witnesses in the British colony of Hongkong; several documents connected with the testimony of said witnesses were presented, and even though a part of the evidence was objected to  as  immaterial by the  representative of  the plaintiff, the first and main question to  be resolved  in this case is whether or not this Court of First Instance has jurisdiction to  try  and to decide the matter on its merits, that is, whether it should consider the result of the evidence in order to render judgment, or, whether the court should limit its action to  a review and to a decision  upon the regularity of the proceedings before the Insular Collector of Customs, for the purpose of  confirming the decision entered by him ordering the confiscation of the 20,600 pesos because of the violation of Act No. 1411, as pretended by counsel for the plaintiff.

"Section 1  of said Act prohibits the exportation from the Philippine  Islands  of Philippine silver coins, coined by authority of  the Act of Congress approved March 2,  1903, or of bullion  made by melting such coins, and provides that any of the aforementioned silver coins or bullion exported, or the exportation of which is attempted, subsequent to the passage of said Act, which was enacted on November 12, 1905, shall be liable to forfeiture by due process of law.

"Section 2 of the same Act declares that the exportation or the attempt to export Philippine  silver coins or bullion made from such coins is a criminal offense and fixes  the penalty with which, in addition to the forfeiture, said crime shall be punished.

"Section  3 thereof directs  that the provisions of section 1 of said Act shall be enforced by the collectors of customs for the Philippine Islands, in accordance with the provisions of Acts Nos. 355 as amended, 864 as amended, and 1405.

"As  may be seen from section 3 of said Act No. 1411, collectors of customs for the Islands are authorized to try and to decide matters in connection with the violation of section 1 of said Act, and to declare or make rulings with respect to the forfeiture of the silver coins or bullion made from such coins, that may be exported  or attempted to be exported  from the Islands,  following the procedure mentioned in said section 3, to wit, such as  prescribed by Acts Nos. 355, 864, and 1405 cited therein.

"In these laws, the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance - the court that succeeded the now abolished Court of Customs Appeals - over the  proceedings of the Collector of Customs is clearly shown.   In proper cases the latter files with the court a record of the proceedings, together with  a petition relating the facts, asking, under section 313 of Act No. 355, as amended by section 5 of Act No. 864, the judgment of the court upon the issue of fine or penalty, or confiscation or forfeiture.  The said  section  toward the end reads: 'The judgment of the court in such proceedings shall be limited to one in rem against the property seized.'

"Nothing contained in the  said laws authorizes the Court of  First Instance to hold a new  trial, or to  admit  new evidence in connection with  the facts determined and decided upon by the Collector of Customs,  in order to render judgment in view of the result thereof, and by the provision in section 313 that the judgment of the  court in such proceedings shall be limited to one against the property seized, it must be clearly understood that it is not the duty of the court to make any declaration of rights  in the matter  submitted to it, but merely to decide with regard to the confiscation or forfeiture ordered by the Collector of Customs, either affirming or reversing it in view of the procedure followed before the Collector.

"It appears in the present case that, after the confiscation of the P20,600 found in  the possession of Ling  Su Fan on the steamer Taming at the moment the steamer was about to sail for the port of Hongkong, apart from the criminal proceeding brought against Ling Su Fan for the punishment of the crime defined by section 2 of Act No. 1411, the Insular Collector of Customs took action in accordance with the provisions of law heretofore mentioned; that the matter was investigated and tried before said officer  after the defendant Ling Su Fan, in whose possession the money was found, had been duly notified; that  at the trial  evidence was adduced by the defendant and,  by stipulation of the parties, the proofs in the aforesaid criminal case were taken into account, and the allegations  made by Ling Su Fan to the effect that the money did not belong to him but to Wong Tai of Hongkong, and was imported from said port to these Islands on the steamer Taming, were also considered; that in view  of all of said allegations and of  the  evidence adduced  the Insular Collector of Customs entered his decision ordering that said money be confiscated, and to this effect issued the  order providing  that the money be  retained until the matter was  finally  settled; and, finally, it also appears  that, notwithstanding the fact  that the defendant was notified he  has  interposed  no  appeal  whatever,  for which  reason, taking into account the regularity observed in the  proceedings had before  the Insular Collector of Customs, and  the fact that the decision  rendered by him has now become final, nothing remains  to  be done except  to affirm the decision.

"Against such affirmation  can  not now be pleaded the fact that the  defendant Ling Su Fan, as shown by the evidence, on being notified on  December 20,  1906, that the trial would take place on the 22d  of said month before the Insular Collector of Customs, and that he should appear and present his  proofs, was  informed that the P20,600 found in his possession on board  the  steamer Taming had been seized or confiscated on account of an  alleged violation of Act No.  1042  of the Philippine Commission, as stated in Exhibit 10, and not of Act No. 1411 as appears in Exhibit A attached to the complaint, because, although a mistake were made in the notice giving the defendant to understand that he was charged with a violation of Act No. 1042, which prohibits the importation of Mexican currency, instead of Act No,  1411 which prohibits and punishes the exportation of Philippine coins, such defect was cured by the defendant's own act in consenting to said error by  admitting that he was informed of the true meaning thereof when he appeared before the Collector of Customs at the trial, adducing evidence thereat, and stipulating for the admission therein of the evidence taken in the criminal case in which he  was charged  with the violation of Act No.  1411, and finally by admitting, through his own  acts,  that  the charge made against him before the said  Collector of Customs was for the  violation of Act No. 1411  inasmuch  as,  in answer thereto, said proofs were made and presented; finally, he has waived all claims on account of such defect by not interposing  any  appeal whatever from  the decision  of the said Collector of Customs.

"Although in Exhibit A the number of the Act referred to in said notification appears to have been changed, the figures 1411 being placed over those which must  have previously appeared in the document, the explanation given by counsel for the plaintiff as to how and why the alteration must have been made, and as to why, in the notification marked 'Exhibit 10' and offered in  evidence by counsel for the defendant,  No. 1042 appears and  not No. 1411 as in said Exhibit A, shows that it must have all  been due to a mistake which, according to the said counsel, an endeavor was1 made to correct in due course,  that is, before the trial by the Collector of Customs; but be that as  it may,  and without prejudging the fact alleged by the counsel for the defendant, that  the said  document, Exhibit A, has  been falsified,  a fact  which may be  investigated if the representative of the defendant  should insist upon it, it is evident that the error committed in said notice, Exhibit 10, although it constituted an irregularity in procedure, such irregularity has practically ceased to exist because of the defendant's own acts; and since he did not in any manner protest against it, it can not now be considered for the purpose of annulling the proceedings before the Insular Collector of Customs and the decision rendered by him.

"However, the defendant has alleged in his answer that he had not attempted to export  the  said P20,600 outside of these Islands,  but  that, on  the contrary,  the money belonged  to Wong  Tai, a  merchant of Hongkong, and was brought by him from said  colony on the Taming  for the purpose of exchanging the same  for Spanish and Mexican silver coins; this allegation has already been  made in the criminal proceedings  brought  against said defendant, and was considered in the judgment rendered therein, evidence having been adduced by the representative of said defendant in connection with these same facts  and,  by stipulation between the  parties, proof submitted in the criminal case was also admitted as  evidence in  the  present one.  Lastly, the said Wong Tai has filed a  motion to intervene in this action,  alleging himself to be the owner of said money and asking that judgment be entered in his favor therefor, with legal interest thereon from the 11th of December, 1906; this motion was admitted by the lower court, notwithstanding the objection of the plaintiff's representative, because Wong Tai is an aider and  abettor of the defendant and has a right to be heard in the proceedings.  The result of said  evidence therefore must be considered in this decision,  for the purpose of also making  the proper  finding with respect to the decision entered  in said  case  by the Collector of Customs.

"As was said in the beginning hereof, the evidence taken in criminal cause No. 2947, brought before this court against Ling Su Fan wherein  judgment was rendered  by the  Hon. A, S. Crossfield of Part II of the same, constitutes a  part of these proofs.  The said judgment  was affirmed  by the Supreme Court on the  10th of February of the present  year and was published in the Official Gazette of the 4th of March following.   By reason of these said proofs the facts must be considered to have been proven that were so found by this court in its said judgment which reads as follows:

"'That on the  12th day of December, 1906,  an employee at the Manila custom-house found on board the steamship Taming in the bunk occupied by and in the exclusive use and control of the defendant, who was the comprador on board  (said ship), 20,600 silver coins each of 1 peso, being coin made and issued by and under the direction of the Government of the Philippine Islands; that when the said coins were discovered as aforesaid and the defendant was confronted with the fact, he stated at first that he  knew nothing about it, and afterwards that they had been brought on board by different  Filipinos whom  he  did  not  know and had  been  stored  in  the place in which they  were found  for  transportation to Hongkong;  that  those  statements  were made by the defendant voluntarily; that the steamship  Taming,  on which  these  coins  were found, had already been cleared  from the port of Manila  for Hongkong  and  that she was about ready to sail, and that the coins  were not manifested either in the incoming or outgoing voyage  of the said vessel; that the finding of the coins on board the said  steamship Taming, as before state'd,  was admitted  by the defendant at the trial; that the bullion value  of the said coins at the time they were alleged  to  have left Hongkong  was  at  least 9  per  cent more  than  their apparent  face  value in  the Philippine Islands.'

"Concerning the said evidence  the court said in the same judgment:

" 'Evidence was offered on the part of the defense to the effect that  the  said money  was  owned by a Chinaman in Hongkong, who shipped the  same to the Philippine Islands by the defendant, for the purpose of purchasing Mexican silver coins and Spanish-Filipino silver coins, in accordance with an agreement made by the defendant with another person in Manila, under which for 82  Philippine pesos he was to receive 100 Spanish-Filipino pesos,  and for 97 Philippine pesos he was to receive 100 pesos Mexican currency, and in corroboration of  the  shipment there was presented an  insurance policy upon these coins, issued by an insurance company at Hongkong,  The defendant testified that upon bringing the  coins to Manila  he  ascertained that he  could not  purchase Mexican coins and  Spanish-Filipino  coins as advantageously  as he had  before agreed, and in accordance with his  understanding with the owner of the Philippine silver coins, and so decided to take the Philippine coins back to Hongkong to the owner thereof.'

"For the purpose of proving these facts, counsel for the plaintiff  has offered the second part of the evidence.   This consists  of the testimony given by Wong  Tai in the same criminal  case, the deposition of several witnesses taken in Hongkong, and the production of several documents in relation  with their testimony, whereby it was attempted to show that  Wong  Tai  had acquired in Hongkong from two Chinamen residing there, the 20,600 Philippine silver coins a few  days prior to the sailing  of the Taming from  that port on  the 4th day of December,  1906; that Wong Tai himself insured the money in a Japanese company of said city and  received from said company an  insurance policy therefor, of which he delivered one copy  to Ling Su  Fan when  he gave him  the money to be exchanged here  in Manila for Spanish-Filipino and  Mexican coins as stated above,  and that all of said sum was shipped  on the steamship Taming in gunny bags before the steamer's departure from the  port of Hongkong, on the 4th day of December.

"In considering the value that  should be attached to this testimony, and especially to that  of those persons who testified in  Hongkong,  and in  relation with said testimony to the  documents produced together  with said  deposition, the following must be taken  into  account:

"First. That when the money, was found by the customs secret  agents  in  the  possession  of  Ling  Su Fan on the afternoon of December 12, on board the steamship Taming, and upon the defendant being there and then examined as to the origin of the money, he said nothing regarding the policy of insurance, which according to  him and to Wong Tai,  was given him by the latter when the money was delivered to him in Hongkong; neither was the policy produced at the time, but  only when  he testified  in  the criminal proceedings on the 7th of January, 1907,  to wit, twenty-five days after the seizure, in spite of the fact that he testified in said case that when  the seizure was made he already had the policy in his possession.

"Second. That after the seizure  of the money, Ling Su Fan  returned  to Hongkong on the  same steamer Taming and had an interview and conversation with Wong Tai concerning said matter,  and  the latter  then told  him to explain the matter of the policy, and show it to the authorities  here.  (Folio 47 of the testimony  in  the criminal cause.)

"Third, That while Juan Ong King, the person who, according to Ling Su Fan,  had  agreed with him to exchange here   the  Philippine  coins  brought from  Hongkong for Spanish-Filipino and Mexican silver  coins, testified that the exchange was not effected because he wanted 86  pesos Conant for every 100 pesos of Spanish silver and 101 pesos Conant for every 100 pesos  Mexican, Ling Su Fan mentioned only the former but not the  latter, that  is, of the exchange of 100 pesos Conant  for 100 pesos Mexican, as the reason why the exchange was not made.   (Folios 25 and 33 of the testimony in said criminal case.)

"Fourth. That the said Juan Ong King was unable to give the name or address of the Filipino  who, according to him, was to furnish the Mexican and the Spanish coins in exchange for the Philippine  currency in  the possession of Ling Su  Fan, notwithstanding that Ling Su Fan said Juan Ong  King knew him well and that the Filipino frequently called on him to talk over the  matter.

"Fifth. That as already stated in the judgments of both the lower court and of the Supreme Court, the Philippine silver coins were worth in Hongkong,  at the time  when the money was seized on  board the  Taming - that  is,  at the period alleged by the defendant that it was shipped  to this port - 9 per cent more  as bullion than as currency.   It can not therefore be understood how  Wong  Tai  preferred to ship them to this port to be  exchanged for Spanish and Mexican coins, incurring the risk of transportation, besides having to insure them as he claims to have done and without the certainty of obtaining the profit which without trouble or risk he could have obtained in Hongkong.

"Sixth. That it was not  explained how and why, if according to the statement of Wong Tai the 20,600  pesos were  taken from the  city  of  Hongkong to  the steamer Taming in gunny bags and in the  daytime, neither the captain, the officers, or the crew of said steamer became aware of it, and that the said bags of money which formed a large bulk  were kept concealed  in the bunk of the defendant,  Ling  Su Fan, without being  discovered by the officers and crew of the steamer.  The matter may  be explained, on the contrary, as being more worthy of credit, that the money was introduced in several  small packets of 50 pesos each, such as were found on board the Taming during the steamer's sojourn in Manila Bay after its arrival  from Hongkong.

"Seventh. That the testimony given in  Hongkong by both the manager and the clerks  of the insurance company that, according to Wong Tai, issued  the policy of insurance on the money; the testimony  of  other Chinamen who  have testified in favor of Wong Tai in the said colony  of Hongkong ; the presentation of documents relating to the said insurance; and the alleged acquisition by Wong Tai  in Hongkong  of the 20,600 Philippine silver pesos took  place on the  26th and  27th of March of this year - that is to say, one year and a few months after the  facts had  occurred, and after  Wong Tai had alleged that he was the owner of the money - and that he had shipped here to Manila from Hongkong in charge  of Ling Su  Fan, in order to exchange it for Spanish and Mexican silver coins.   It is quite reasonable, in view of the period of time that has elapsed,  to doubt the veracity of said statements and the truth and authenticity of such documents, above all if it is taken into account that they are not official, and  can not be accorded more consideration than  as mere  private documents.

"It can not therefore be considered proven that the said 20,600 pesos Philippine currency belonged  to Wong Tai of Hongkong, nor that he had shipped them to these Islands by the  defendant  Ling Su  Fan in order  to purchase or exchange them for Spanish  or Mexican silver  coins, and that, not having attained his object, the defendant was carrying them back to Hongkong when they were seized in his bunk on the steamship  Taming.  On  the contrary, as  the defendant,  Ling  Su Fan, was the holder of said money,  it being in his possession  at the time the seizure was made, and as the explanations  he endeavored to make to induce the belief that the money was not his are not satisfactory nor have in any manner been  proven he  must be considered to be the owner thereof, not Wong Tai, whose intervention is for this reason contrary to law, and in any manner in which it may be shown,  as it  has  been, that an attempt  was made to export said  coins, or, rather,  that they were being exported from these Islands for  Hongkong on the steamer Taming on the afternoon of  December 12, 1906, in violation  of the provisions  of  section  1 of Act No.  1411, the confiscation of the  same  was properly decreed by the Collector  of Customs and the  same should be affirmed.

"It was finally alleged by counsel for the defendant that the said  Act No. 1411 is null and void as being contrary to the provisions of paragraph 1,  section 5, of  the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, and to the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

"In order to refute said allegation it is sufficient to cite the Supreme Court  of these  Islands, when dealing with the same  question in  the decision rendered on  February 10 of the present year, in the aforesaid criminal case No. 2927 against Ling Su Fan for violation of the said Act.

"In said decision,  after stating that paragraph 1  of the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, is almost exactly the same in its phraseology as  a portion of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, it is further said:

" 'Paragraph 1 of section 5 of the  said Act of Congress is as follows:

" ' "That no law shall be  enacted in  said Islands  which shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any person therein the equal protection of the laws."

" 'It will be noted that this amendment does not prohibit the  enactment of laws  by the legislative department  of the Philippine Government depriving persons of life, liberty, or property.  It simply provides that laws shall not be enacted which  shall deprive persons of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.   The question, then, is presented, is the Act under which the defendant is prosecuted here, and under which it is sought to deprive him of the  money which it is  alleged he attempted to illegally export, in accordance with due process of law?

" 'The Congress  of the United States, on the 2d day of March,  1903, passed an Act entitled  "An Act to establish a standard of value and to provide for a coinage system in the  Philippine  Islands."

" 'Section 6 of said Act is  as follows:

" ' "Sec. 6. That the coinage authorized by this Act shall be subject to the conditions and limitations of the provisions of the Act of July 1, 1902, entitled "An Act temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and  for other purposes," except  as  herein otherwise provided;  and the Government of the  Philippine Islands may adopt  such  measures  as it may deem proper, not  inconsistent with said  Act of July 1, 1902, to maintain the value of the silver Philippine peso at the rate of one gold peso, and in order to maintain such parity  between said silver Philippine pesos and the gold pesos herein provided for."

"'In pursuance to the authority granted  in said section 6, to wit, "the  Government of the Philippine Islands may adopt such measures as it may deem proper,  *  *  *  to maintain the value of the silver Philippine peso  *   *  *" the Civil Commission enacted Act No. 1411, dated November 17, 1905, which Act was entitled "An Act for the purpose of maintaining the  parity of the Philippine currency in accordance with the provisions of sections one and six of the Act of Congress approved March 2, 1903, by prohibiting the exportation from the Philippine Islands of Philippine silver coins, and for other purposes."

" 'It will be noted  that the  Civil Commission  expressly relied upon the Act of Congress of March 2, 1903, for its authority in enacting said Act No. 1411.

" 'Under the question above suggested it becomes important to determine what Congress intended by the phrase "due process of law."  *   *   *

*    *    *     *    *    *    *

"'"Due process of law" is process or proceedings according to the law of the land.  "Due process of law" is not that the law shall be according to the wishes of all the inhabitants  of the  state, but simply -

" '1. That there shall be a law  prescribed in harmony with the general powers of the  legislative department of the Government;

" '2. That this law shall be reasonable in its operation;

" '3. That it shall be enforced according to the  regular methods of procedure prescribed; and

" '4. That it shall be applicable alike to  all the  citizens of the state and to all of a class.

" 'When a person is deprived of his  life or liberty or property, therefore, under a law prescribed by the proper lawmaking body of the state  and such law  is within the power of said department to make, and is reasonable, and is then enforced according to  the regular methods of procedure  prescribed,  and is applicable alike  to all citizens or to  all the citizens  of a particular class within the state, such person is not deprived of his property  or of his life or of his liberty without due process of law.

" 'When life, liberty, and property are in question there must be in every  instance judicial proceedings,  and that requirement implies a  written accusation  and hearing before an impartial  tribunal with proper  jurisdiction,  an opportunity to defend, and a  conviction  and a judgment before punishment can be  inflicted,  depriving one of his life, liberty, or property.  (Story on the Constitution, 5th ed., sees. 1943-1946; Principles of  Constitutional  Law, Cooley, 434.)'

" 'Such have been the views of able jurists and statesmen; and the deduction  is  that  life,  liberty, and  property are placed under the protection of  known and  established principles which can not be dispensed with either generally or specially,  either by courts or executive officers, or by legislators themselves. Different principles are  applicable in different cases, and require different forms  and proceedings; in some they  must be judicial; in others the government may interfere directly and ex parte;  but "due process of law" in each particular case means such an exertion of the  powers of government as the settled maxims of law permit  and sanction, and under  such safeguards for the protection  of individual rights as those maxims prescribe for  the class  of cases to which  the one being dealt with belongs.   (Principles of Constitutional Law, Cooley, 224.)'

"As Act No. 1411 was enacted by the Philippine  Commission by the express  authority of the Congress of the United States of America,  by virtue of the Act of said Congress approved March 2,1903, and as said Act provides that upon due  process of law  such Philippine silver coins as may be exported or attempted  to be exported after the passage of said law shall be subject to  confiscation, it  is clear and evident that said Act No. 1411 is not unconstitutional nor does it contravene the provisions of paragraph 1 of section 5 of the Act of Congress of July 2, 1902, and of  the fifth and fourteenth amendments  to the  Constitution of the United States of America, and the seizure and confiscation of property therein ordered, if carried out upon due process of law, as in the case at bar, can not be illegal and null.

"For the reasons above set forth the court declares the said sum  of P20,600 Philippine currency,  which the defendant Ling Su Fan attempted to export from these Islands in violation of the provisions of Act  No.  1411 of the Philippine Commission, to be confiscated,  thus affirming the decision of the  Insular Collector of Customs rendered January 29, 1907; the Insular Treasurer is hereby directed to dispose of the said Philippine silver coins in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of said Act; the court also dismisses  the motion for intervention filed by Wong Tai and denies the  claim for the  return, of  the  20,600  pesos to the defendant Ling Su Fan as made by him in his written answer, and finally sentences  said defendant to  pay the costs.

"So ordered."

From this decision the defendant appealed and made the following assignments of error:

1.  The court below had no jurisdiction  of the subject of this contention.
   
   
2.  The conclusions of fact  were openly and manifestly contrary to the weight of the evidence.
   
   
3. Errors of  law committed by the court below to the prejudice of the appellant;
   
   
4. The judgment is contrary to law.

These four assignments of error may be considered under two heads:

(1)  That the lower court had no jurisdiction of the cause; and

(2)  That the facts proven  during the  trial were not sufficient to justify the conclusions of  the lower court.

With reference to the first assignment of error, while it may be admitted that the proceedings in the commencement of the present action in the Court of First Instance were somewhat anomalous and not in strict conformity with the provisions of Act No. 1411 of the Philippine Commission, in its relations with Acts  Nos.  355 as  amended, 864 as amended, and 1405, yet, nevertheless, we are of the opinion and so hold  that under  said Acts the Courts of First Instance are given jurisdiction for the purpose of deciding the question of  the forfeiture of  Philippine silver coins, coined by authority of the Act of Congress approved March 2, 1903, where the same are exported or where there is an attempt made to export the  same  from  the  Philippine Islands.

Even admitting that the  original complaint filed in said cause was not sufficient upon its face to give the court jurisdiction under the provisions of said Acts, yet the amended complaint certainly  set  out  all  of the facts  necessary to give the court jurisdiction of said cause.  No question of the lack of jurisdiction  of the court was raised  until after the  presentation of amended complaint.   That fact, of course, could not prevent the appellant from raising the question of the jurisdiction of the court  over the subject-matter of  the action.

Under  the  second assignment  of error, the  appellant contends that the proof was not sufficient to show that he exported  Philippine coins or  attempted to  export Philippine coins from the Philippine Islands in violation of Act No. 1411.   During the trial of the present case, by stipulation of the respective parties, all of the evidence adduced during the trial of the criminal cause against the  defendant, Ling Su Fan, was admitted in evidence as a part of the proof in the  present cause.  That proof was before  this court in an action in which Ling Su Fan was prosecuted criminally for his attempt to export the coins in question from the Philippine  Islands.  (U. S. vs. Ling Su Fan, 10 Phil. Rep., 104.)  After a due consideration of the evidence presented In that  cause, this court found  the defendant guilty of an attempt to export the coins in question.  Upon a reconsideration of that proof presented in the present cause, we find no reason for changing our findings of fact made in the criminal action.   The additional evidence adduced during the trial of the present cause is not sufficient, in our  opinion, to justify  us in the conclusion that the defendant did  not attempt to  export  the  silver coins in question from  the  Philippine Islands in violation of said Act No. 1411.  Neither is the additional evidence sufficient to justify a finding that the intervener in the present action, Wong Tai,  had  shipped the money from Hongkong to Manila  for the  purpose of purchasing "old coins" of certain Filipinos in Manila.

Upon a full  examination of all of the evidence  adduced during  the trial and of the law applicable thereto, we are of the opinion  and so  hold that the judgment of the lower court should be  and  is hereby affirmed, with  costs.   So ordered.

Arellano, C, J., Torres, Carson, and Moreland, JJ., concur.

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^[1] 10 Phil. Rep., 104.
^[1] Sec. 5, amending sec. 313 of Act No. 355.