4th. The names of the owners of the vessel, according to her register; the name of the master or other person in charge; the names of consignees, and description of consignments to order, set forth in the bills of lading; and the names of all passengers, distinguish ing between cabin and steerage.

5th. A just and particular account of all goods on board, with the marks and numbers thereof; an account of remaining sea-stores, if any; and a particular description of the baggage of each passenger.

It will be your duty, of course, to examine carefully the section itself for more particular information.

The one hundred and eleventh section of the same act (1st Stat., 704, Rev. Laws, 134), provides "That in cases where the forms of official documents, as prescribed by this act, shall be substantially complied with and observed, according to the true spirit, meaning, and intent thereof, no penalty or forfeiture shall be incurred by a deviation therefrom."

There appears to be but little difficulty in ascertaining what was meant by the act of July 14, 1862, as respects vessels of the United States arriving at our ports on the frontiers referred to, with dutiable goods; and although the status of such vessels going from district to district, with goods exclusively of the growth or manufacture of the United States, is not equally clear, there seems to me to be no doubt that, in regard to both classes of vessels, duplicate manifests of the whole cargo, substantially as prescribed by the twenty-third section of the act of 1799, are required to be delivered to the collector of the port of departureone of which is to be filed in his office, and the other returned to the master, with a clearance indorsed thereon; that arrivals at intermediate ports are to be reported, and goods laden or unladen there to be entered on the manifest remaining in the master's hands; and that this manifest is to be filed at the port where the unlading is completed. That, as to the form and execution of the manifest, it is sufficient, if the spirit of the law be complied with; that the one great object of the act of 1799 was to secure the payment of duties on foreign importations, and when there is no reason to suppose, from the papers or transactions of masters, that they designed to evade or thwart that object, they are not to incur penalties or forfeitures by a deviation from the prescribed forms; that the penalty upon the owners for neglecting to file manifest, obtain clearance, report arrival and lading or unlading of goods at intermediate ports, or to deliver manifest to be filed at the port of destination, as required by the first section of the said act of July 14, 1862, is a fine of one hundred dollars, imposed by the sixth section of the "act to prevent smuggling," &c, passed June 27, 1864 (13th Stat., 198), and that no penalty is imposed by either of these two sections for unlading goods without a permit.

The penalty for unlading foreign goods without a permit is prescribed by the fiftieth section of the act of 1779 (1st Stat., 665, Rev. Laws, 96), the provisions of which, as we have seen, are extended to ports on our northern frontiers by the one hundred and sixth section of the same act. There seems to be no authority for imposing a penalty upon coasting vessels on those frontiers for unlading, without a permit, goods of the growth or manufacture of the United States. Such, at least, was the law prior to the passage of the Act of June 17, 1864 (13th Stat., 134), which repeals the act of 1831, above referred to, and changes the phraseology of the proviso to the third section thereof, so as to read " Provided, that such boat, sloop, or vessel shall be, in every other respect, liable to the rules, regulations, and penalties now in force, relating to registered and licensed vessels." Does the first section of this act containing this proviso change the prior law? I think not. The general laws in regard.to licensed vessels are so different from those regulating registered vessels, that to hold the vessels on our northern fronties subject to both, would involve the question in endless difficulties and absurd conflicts. The concluding words of the proviso must, i.. my opinion, be taken in a restricted sense, and held to mean the rules, regulations, and penalties then in force relating to United States vessels navigating the waters of those frontiers otherwise than by sea, and authorized by their papers to engage in both the foreign and coasting trade; and this trade I hold to be in no way governed by the Coasting Act of 1793.

As the Secretary of the Treasury alone is vested with authority to prescribe regulations and remit penalties under these acts, customs officers should correspond directly with him upon questions relating to the same.

H. MCCULLOCH,

Secretary of the Treasury.

MISCELLANEOUS

DECISIONS AND REGULATIONS.

1. IMPORTED foreign fabrics, bleached and printed in the United States, do not thereby become manufactures of the United States, so as to be legally exempt from duty on re-importation into the United States. (Tr. Reg., 1857, p. 571.)

2. Dutiable merchandise imported into the United States, and afterwards exported, although it may have paid duty on the first importation, is liable to duty on every subsequent importation into the United States. (R. R., pt. iv., art. 149; see also Regs. 1864, art. 467.)

3. Manufactures in this country from foreign material, if exported with drawback or return duty, are dutiable if re-imported. (S. S., 1037.)

4. Articles cannot be withdrawn from warehouse for repair, with privilege to export in bond, free of duty. (S. S., 1347.)

5. Domestic alcohol in bond cannot be transferred to manufacturing bonded warehouse, to use in manufacture of medicinal preparations for export, without prepayment of internal revenue tax. (S. S., 1839.)

6. Old sheathing metal taken from the bottom of a foreign vessel at Demerara, and imported on it to the United States, held to be dutiable, although of domestic manufacture and placed on the bottom of the vessel here. (S. S., 1783.)

7. Samples of Goods. The class of articles under this title, considered by the Department as admissible free of duty, must be only such as small strips or pieces of silk, cotton, or other fabric; small quantities of raw material, and, generally, articles of any description having little or no intrinsic value as merchandise; in regard to which the proper officers of the customs, in their examinations, are to exercise a reasonable discretion; it being understood that articles of a certain value, although imported under the designation of samples, such as pieces of carpeting, which from their size and form are suitable for and sold as rugs, or bedsides, etc., cannot be exempted from the payment of duty. On their arrival, they must be sent to the appraiser's office for examination. (Tr. Reg., p. 582.)

Certain so-called samples, consisting of pieces of worsted reps, suitable for small shawls, cravats, and other purposes, and having, therefore, an actual commercial value, were held to be subject to duty. (S. S., 1385.)

b. Samples Accompanying Invoices.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, July 29, 1876.

The following circular letter, issued by the Department of State, is published for the information and guidance of customs officers:

"DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, July 10, 1876.

"To the Consular Officers of the United States in Great Britain,

France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, and Germany.

"GENTLEMEN: The Secretary of the Treasury, in a letter to this Department, has represented that the samples of merchandise to be imported into the United States from the countries above mentioned, which are usually deposited in the consulate, would be of greater service, in preventing frauds on the revenue, if the whole or a portion of them were forwarded to the collector of the port to which the merchandise is destined, at the same time with the triplicate invoice. It is stated that it does not appear to be expedient to require samples of all merchandise specified in the invoices, to be forwarded in this manner; but that it will be sufficient to transmit, with the triplicate invoice, when practicable, the samples (or a portion of the samples in each case) that are usually deposited at the consulates, under existing regulations, or which may properly be called for by the consul in his discretion, where reason therefor exists, and where the same can conveniently be sent. It is further stated that it is not expected that samples of considerable bulk or weight, or of a fragile nature, should ordinarily be forwarded; and that in cases of doubt whether a sample should be attached to the invoice, the decision may be left to the discretion of the consular officer.

"The course above set forth being recommended for adoption by the Secretary of the Treasury, you are instructed to comply therewith so far as may be possible in respect of invoices and samples at your several consulates, and do what may be in your power to assist the revenue officers of the Government in the direction referred to, by requesting samples in cases where they may be useful, and forwarding the same. I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

(Signed)

"JOHN L. CADWALADER,
"Assistant Secretary."

The samples forwarded by consular officers under the instructions contained in the circular, should, so far as practicable, be finally placed with the proper invoices filed in the collector's office. (S. S., 2909.)

Models or samples capable of being used for other purposes, such as castings for carriage hardware fit for use in the manufacture of carriages, although intended for use as models for patterns, are dutiable. (S. S., 2156.)

So are pattern cards, of merchantable value, evidenced by separate charges made thereon in the invoice. (S. S., 2383.)

The Preservation of Samples of Dutiable Merchandise.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, August 19, 18

On and after the first of September proximo, appraisers of merchandise in the several customs districts will be required to retain samples of all silks, woollens, linens, dress and other piece goods; also of all other articles examined and appraised by them, paying ad valorem duties, samples of which, in the judgment of the appraisers, may be conveniently taken and retained without serious detriment to the interests of the importer.

Samples of piece goods should be of a size sufficient to show the width and texture of the article. All samples taken and retained in pursuance hereof should be labelled and carefully filed in the appraiser's office subject to inspection and examination by officers to be assigned to that duty by the Department.

Blank forms of labels to be used for this purpose will be furnished by the Department. (S. S. 2930.)

c. Sample Cards.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, November 11, 1876.

The following circular, issued by the State Department, is published for the information of officers of the customs and others:

"DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, D. C., October 16, 1876. "To the Consular Officers of the United States in Great Britain,

France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, and Germany.

"GENTLEMEN: The Secretary of the Treasury, in a letter of the 7th instant, refers to the subject of samples of merchandise to be imported into the United States from the countries above mentioned, which are usually deposited in the consulate, and to which your attention was called by a circular of the 10th of July last, marked 'Separate,' and has stated that these samples have commenced to arrive at the various custom-houses of the United States, and that some are so attached to the triplicate invoices as to seriously impair their condition, while others are forwarded separately upon sample cards and so indorsed as to establish their identity with the invoices which accompany them. This latter system of samples, it is stated, is regarded as most suitable for the purposes of the customs officers, and the Secretary of the Treasury has requested that instructions upon the subject may be addressed to you.

"You are, therefore, directed to forward, in future, all samples in the manner suggested, where it is possible to do so, and, to aid you in doing so, I inclose herewith a form of card, to which the samples are to be attached in any proper way, and by which you will be governed when practicable.

"The samples should not, as a rule, exceed the size of the card, which measures seven and a quarter inches long and four inches wide, and where the sample exceeds in size the dimensions of the card, the latter should be attached to the sample, with a tag or otherwise.

"I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

"JOHN L. CADWALADER, Assistant Secretary."

66

Any material departure, by consular officers, from the practice directed in this circular, or that alluded to in Department's Circular No. 94, current series, may be reported by officers of the customs, to the end that the matter may be brought to the attention of the Secretary of State, if thought proper by the Department.

Collectors of Customs and others. (S. S., 3015.)

LOT M. MORRILL,
Secretary.

8. Horse stolen in Canada and brought to the United States, and sold to a party, who, not knowing the horse was stolen, paid duty thereon; reclaimed by owner and taken back to Canada. Held not to be an “importation" within the meaning of the law, and duty refunded. (S. S., 515.)

9. Sea stores. a. An excess of sea stores in vessels arriving from foreign ports, and all articles purchased abroad for sale on board a vessel as saloon stores or supplies, are dutiable and must be duly entered on arrival." (Regs., 1874, art. 481.)

Sea stores saved from wreck are exempt from duty. (S. S., 566.)

b. Sea stores, foreign. Collectors are the judges of proper complement, estimated according to length of voyage and number of crew. Excess dutiable. (S. S., 1120.)

c. If transferred from one vessel to another, are dutiable. (S. S., 1156.) For rules as to sea stores, fuel, etc., bought in Canada by American coasting vessels, see S. S., 1193.

10. Ballast, when dutiable. (See S. S., 1424 and 1542.) Iron kentledge, used for ballast, landed from wreck, dutiable. (S. S., 1440.)

11. a. Damage to goods in bond by freezing not a "casualty" under paragraph 1946, pt. I. (S. S., 1089.)

b. Excessive damage or rust to iron, etc., by wreck or other extraordinary cause, may be allowed for under the general law. (S. S., 1138.)

c. Fruit so damaged on voyage as to be worthless, to be treated as if not imported. (S. S., 1137.)

d. Damage reported on goods in store, which have once been examined without observation or report of such damage, will not be allowed except in extreme cases. (S. S., 1890.)

e. Damage to outer coverings of importations. No allowance for. (S. S., 2270.)

f. No damage allowed on salt, for dirt or other foreign matter not received on voyage of importation. (S. S., 2955.)

12. Vessels and materials for. a. The materials of a condemned foreign vessel, broken up and dismantled in the United States, whether used in the United States or exported, are not an importation within the meaning of the law, and therefore not dutiable. (S. S., 563.)

». Certain machinery of a vessel, winter-bound in the United States, exported for repairs, held to be dutiable on its return. (S. S., 567.)

c. Foreign vessels losing rudder or stern-post, or breaking shaft, and arriving at a United States port in distress, cannot import others to replace these articles here free of duty. (Sept. 26, 1867, and May 7, 1870, N. Y.)

d. For regulations as to withdrawal of shipbuilding materials under paragraphs 1813-14, see Treas. Regs., 1874, arts. 747 to 755.

e. The words "iron and steel" in 1813 qualify or limit all the articles enumerated in the provision, to wit, "rods, bars, spikes, nails, and bolts." Yellow metal bolts are therefore not included.

(S. S., 1532.) But yellow sheathing metal is. (S. S., 1238.)

f. Yellow sheathing metal used under 1813, worn out, and removed from vessel in the United States, is not dutiable. (S. S., 1533.)

g. The term "ship timber" in 1659 includes only such timber as is evidently used for the frame or keel of a vessel, or its masts or spars, and not boards and planks used in finishing it. (S. S., 1343.) Oak timber, commercially known as ship timber, is included, although it was intended in part for other uses. (S. S., 1707.) Not so as to oak plank which can be put to other uses. (S. S., 1719.)

h. Repairs (including the materials for) made in a foreign port to a United States registered vessel engaged in the foreign and coasting trade by sea, not dutiable. (S. S., 1753.)

13. Importations for Foreign Embassies.-The exemption from duty accorded by comity to all artizles intended for the personal or family use of foreign ambassadors, ministers, or charges d'affaires to the United States, is not extended to the importations of secretaries of legation, attachés, or consuls. (July 11, 1866, H. F. S.)

14. Definition.-Per centum additions to or reductions of rates of duty are estimated upon the amount of duty; per centum additions to duties upon imports "ad valorem" are estimated upon the appraised value of the goods. (Oct. 18, 1861, Norfolk.)

15. Force of Departmental Decisions.-When the Secretary of the Treasury has deliberately adopted a certain construction of any particular act of Congress, which construction must necessarily govern the entire administration of his Department so far as it relates to the subject-matter of such act, such construction ought, until set aside by superior power, to have the same binding force as the original act. The Department is in duty bound to adhere to it until thus set aside, and the only authority which it is incumbent upon the Secretary of the Treasury to recognize as such superior power is a decision of the court of last resort, or the repeal, amendment, or legislative construction of the act itself. (S. S., 653.)

Where a decision of the Department is made, either lowering the rate of duty previously exacted, or advancing the same, such decision will be held applicable to all subsequent withdrawals from warehouse, for consumption, of the same kind of goods, notwithstanding that protests and appeals may not have been made against the original liquidations of the entries of the goods. (S. S., 1524.)

16. Articles in Bulk.-Questions having arisen relative to the meaning of the term "articles in bulk," as used in the 29th section of the Act of July 14, 1870, and in section 2990 of the Revised Statutes (see ante, Part I., 1952), relating to the entry of dutiable merchandise for immediate transportation to an interior port without appraisement, the following general rules were prescribed September 25, 1876, for the information and guidance of officers of the customs:

I. The commercial signification of the term "in bulk," viz., that it has reference to such articles as are usually packed or stowed in the importing vessel in a loose state as contradistinguished from "package-goods," or those inclosed in boxes, barrels, bundles, and the like, is, in view of the intent of the act referred to, deemed by the Department as necessarily qualified by the condition annexed to the privilege by the terms of the Act itself, viz., that such an examination of the merchandise may be made as will satisfy the customs officers that the same corresponds with the manifest and invoice.

II. While, therefore, the Department holds generally that only such merchandise as is either inclosed in boxes, barrels, or other outside coverings or wrappers, duly marked and numbered, or put up in separate and distinct bundles or packages, also duly marked and numbered, in such manner as to admit of satisfactory identification, is entitled to the privileges of the Act, it nevertheless reserves the right to designate, from time to time, such particular articles commonly shipped in bulk as may, under suitable conditions, be deemed fairly within the scope and intent of the Act.

III. In accordance with the views above expressed, the Department hereby designates railroad and bar-iron, when the number of rails or bars is duly specified in the consular invoice, and found on examination to be correct, as entitled to the privilege of immediate transportation as aforesaid: Provided, however, That there shall not be any noticeable disparity in the size and weight of the respective rails or bars. (S. S., 2980.)

17. Countable Goods.-The provisions of law imposing duty on certain descriptions of goods, according to the count of threads, apply to all cases where such count can be ascertained with sufficient accuracy for the purpose of classification by means of the magnifying glass commonly used for such purpose.

The fact that goods are not termed in trade "countable goods," will not exclude them from classification for duty according to the count of the threads, provided they come within the rule above stated. (S. S., 1478.)

18. Cotton Linings with Flax Selvage, how classified.-Cotton linings, manufactured with a few threads of flax in the selvage, which, however, did not change the commercial character of the goods, were held to be dutiable as countable cottons. (S. S., 1787.)

19. Steam Dredge dutiable on Importation.-A floating steam dredge, self-propelling, to be used in various harbors, would be required upon importation to pay duty, after which it could be transported from one harbor to another for the purpose mentioned. (S. S., 1380.)

20. Additional and Discriminating Duties.-Goods remaining in warehouse over a year without payment of duty, are subject to the additional duty of ten per cent., although the withdrawal entry was initiated within the year. (S. S., 1534.)

21. Carrying-trade on Northern Frontiers.-Although the Regulations of 1874 (Art. 247) provide for the shipment of merchandise in cars, to be transported across Canadian territory, they do not authorize the reimportation, free of duty, of domestic merchandise, carried from an American port in Canadian steamers to be transshipped by steamers or cars through Canada to another American port. (S. S., 1858.)

22. Internal Transportation.-Free goods, part of an importation intended for an interior port, may be forwarded to destination under the internal transportation laws, paragraphs 1952 to 1955. (S. S., 1831.)

23. Immigrants' Effects.-The Attorney-General of the United States having given an opinion that the limitation of $500 as to household effects, specified in section 22 of the Act of July 14th, 1870, ceased to be of any force at the period when the provision in the 5th section of the Act of June 6th, 1872, for household effects took effect, the Department concurred therein, and thereupon decided that household effects of persons arriving in the United States from foreign countries, which were in use abroad for not less than one year, and which are not intended for any other person or persons, nor for sale, were exempt from duty, without limitation as to value. (S. S., 1814.)

Personal effects of immigrants must be imported within six months before or after the owner's arrival. (S. S., 1296. See also "Carriages," etc., post, No. 194.)

24. Measurement of Lumber.-"Board measure" being synonymous with "inch measure," all sawed lumber subject to duty by the 1000 feet "board measure," whether over or under one inch thick, should be reduced to inch measure for the assessment of duty thereon. (S. S., 1770.)

25. Invoices of Earthenware which merely give the aggregate value of the several crates without specifying the items contained therein, not being such as are required by law, will, when presented, be treated as null and void, and entry of the earthenware refused until proper invoices are obtained and produced by the importers (the merchandise in the meantime being treated as unclaimed), or it may be admitted upon giving bonds to produce proper invoices. (S. S., 1292.)

26. Salt for Curing Fish.-Seal skins being held to be the product of fisheries, salt may be withdrawn for curing the same, under the limitations prescribed in 1980. (S. S., 1276.)

But not so as to salt to be used in curing or preserving "pogie chum or other fish for the manufacture of manures or fertilizers therefrom, the Department holding the provision to be limited to sait used in the curing of fish for consumption as food. (S. S., 1815.)

27. Certified invoices, used to make entry at ports of first arrival, cannot again be used, except for reference, at interior ports of destination, to make entry for consumption. Such invoice is part of the record, and cannot be withdrawn or separated therefrom. (S. S., 1892.)

28. Machinery, chiefly of iron and wood, though having small portions of steel, does not necessarily take the classification of a manufacture of steel; but retains that of a manufacture of iron or wood according to the leading material. Separable values or parts of steel should however pay duty as manufactures of steel. (S. S., 1893.)

29. Entry by Appraisement is forbidden under 871, 872, except as to personal effects accompanying the passenger, and as to importations of merchandise valued at $100, or less. (S. S., 1904.) 30. Colcothar and Venetian Red are separate and distinct articles of commerce; colcothar being a dry oxide of iron produced by chemical action (but not chemically pure), containing small quantities of lime, sulphuric acid, and sulphate of lime as impurities, while Venetian red is a native or prepared oxide of iron, ground with twenty-five to forty per centum of whiting to make it fit for use as a paint. Colcothar is much heavier and darker in color than Venetian red, and of nearly triple its value in England. (S. S., 1912.)

31. Whale oil not wholly the product of American fisheries is dutiable. (S. S., 2887.)

32. Fish the Product of the Inland Lakes.-The Department has recently had under consideration the question as to what description of fish are the products of the inland lakes lying between the United States and Canada, and of the rivers flowing into them, as distinguished from fish which are the products of the sea-fisheries of Canada, with a view of establishing some practical guide by which collectors of customs may determine under certain circumstances, from the character of the fish themselves, without regard to other proofs, whether they are or are not entitled to free entry under the Treaty of Washington.

The following extract from a communication addressed to the Department by Professor Spencer F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, under date of the 10th instant, embodies the desired information:

"So far as relates to the fishes of the inland lakes and of the rivers running into them, likely to be imported into the United States, there is but little difficulty, these consisting of brook trout, the salmon trout, the land-locked salmon, the white-fish, the lake herring (a species of white-fish), the muscalunge or large pike, the sturgeon, and the black bass, although the brook trout, the muscalunge, the sturgeon, and the black bass are frequently found elsewhere than within the limits mentioned.

"Possibly the simplest rule to apply would be that of excluding from free entry all fish from