The Circuit Courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction in cases relative to Patents or Copyrights. These subjects have been already treated in a previous volume.14

The Circuit Courts are also the general trial courts of the United States, having jurisdiction (with some slight exceptions) over all actions in tort or contract, whether arising under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States, or coming within the jurisdiction of the Federal courts on account of the diverse citizenship of the parties.

An important class of cases within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Courts are those arising under the important internal revenue and postal laws.

The question as to what constitutes a revenue of the United States was discussed by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of United States vs. Hill,15 as follows:

"The part of Sec. 699 of the Revised Statutes, which is relied on as giving us jurisdiction, notwithstanding the small amount involved, is the second subdivision, which provides for a writ of error without regard to the sum or value in dispute, upon 'any final judgment of a Circuit Court * * * in any civil action brought by the United States for the enforcement of any revenue law thereof.' The original statute, of which there is a re-enactment, was passed May 31, 1844, Chap. 31, 5 Stat, at L., 658, and is as follows:

" 'That final judgments of any Circuit Court of the United States, in any civil action brought by the United States for the enforcement of the revenue laws of the United States, or for the collection of duties due, or alleged to be due, on merchandise imported therein, may be re-examined, and reversed or affirmed, in the Supreme Court of the United States, upon writs of error, as in other cases, without regard to the sum or value in controversy in such action, at the instance of either party.'

14 Patents, Vol. V, Sub. 15; Copyrights, Vol. V, Sub. 16.

15 123 U. S., 681.

"Section 823 of the Revised Statutes provides that 'The following and no other compensation shall be taxed and allowed to * * * clerks of the circuit * * * courts.' The following' here referred to is found in Sec. 828, which prescribes the fees of a clerk. Thus far the legislation has reference only to the compensation to be paid a clerk for his services. But Sec. 839 provides that the clerk shall be allowed to retain of the fees and emoluments of his office, for his personal compensation, a sum not exceeding $3,500 a year. Section 833 makes it his duty to report, semiannually, to the Attorney-General, all the fees and emoluments of his office, and all necessary expenditures, with vouchers for their payment. Section 844 then requires him to pay into the treasury any surplus of such fees and emoluments which his return shows to exist over and above the compensation authorized by law to be retained by him.

"The precise question for decision is whether this section, which provides for the payment by the clerk into the treasury of the surplus moneys received by him as the fees and emoluments of his office, is a 'revenue law,' within the meaning of that clause of Sec. 699 which is relied on; and we have no hesitation in saying that it is not. As the provision relates to the jurisdiction of this court for the review of the judgments of the Circuit Courts, it is proper to refer to the statutes giving jurisdiction to those courts to see if there is anything there to show what the term 'revenue law,' as here used, means. Looking, then, to Sec. 629 of the Revised Statutes, we find that by the fourth sab-division the Circuit Courts have been granted original jurisdiction 'of all suits at law or in equity arising under any act providing for revenue from import* or tonnage,' and 'of all causes arising under any law providing internal revenue.' And again, by the twelfth subdivision. D softs brought by any person to recover damages for any injury to his person or property on account of any act done by him under any law of the United Stales for the protection or collection of any revenues thereof.' This dearly implies thai the term 'revenue law,' when used in connection with the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States, means a law imposing duties on imports or tonnage, or a law providing in terms for revenue; that is to say, a law which is directly traceable to the power granted to Congress by Sec. S, Art. l, of the Constitution, to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.' This view is strengthened by the third subdivision of Sec. 699, which gives this court jurisdiction, without reference to the value in dispute, of 'any final judgment of a Circuit Court * * * in any civil action against an officer of the revenue, for any act done by him in the performance of his official duty.' Certainly it will not be claimed that the clerk of a District Court of the United States is an 'officer of the revenue;' but there is nothing to indicate that the term 'revenue* has any different signification in this subdivision of the section from that which it has in the other. The clerk of a court of the United States collects his taxable 'compensation' not as the revenue of the United States, but as the fees and emoluments of his office, with an obligation on his part to account to the United States for all he gets over a certain sum which is fixed by law. This obligation does not grow out of any 'revenue law,' properly so called, but out of a statute governing an officer of a court of the United States."