Samples of Wines and Spirits removed under bond are to be retained as drawn for a period of two months, and all other samples of Spirits for one month, from the time of their being brought into the proof room; and at the expiration of the respective periods the samples are to be started into store casks, and disposed of at the next Customs' sale. Wines are to be offered for sale in convenient lots for home consumption, at the duty payable thereon with reference to their strength. The Spirits are not to be reduced by water to the strength of proof, but they are to be offered for home consumption at a price not less than the duty per proof gallon, and in lots of the legal quantity, viz., If Foreign Spirits, in lots of 20 gallons; any remaining surplus quantity being added to the last lot drawn from the several casks. All samples of Wine and Spirits are to be disposed of once a year at least, and if the quantity of Spirits does not amount to the legal quantity, the Spirits may be offered for sale for home consumption only in less quantities than may be legally imported. Purchasers of the Wines and Spirits are to provide packages for their respective lots; and in the case of Spirits, a certificate, signed by the Queen's warehouse-keeper, and endorsed with the particulars required by the 25th section of the Act 11 and 12 Vic., cap. 122, is to be given in order to sanction the transit of the Spirits, as directed in G. O., 109 and 115, 1848, and as further required by the 23 and 24 Vic., cap. 114, sec. 184. If the Wines and Spirits will not realise the amount of duty, they are to be put up for sale at buyers' prices for exportation, care being taken, however, that Spirits in illegal quantities are not so offered, and in the event of no bidding being obtained, the circumstance is to be reported to the Board, with a view to the samples being destroyed, or removed to another port, under the regulations of G. O., 123, 1845. The duties on the samples sold are to be brought to account finally by entry as Duties" on goods ex warehouse, and the balance as "" Moneys not Duties," under the head of "proceeds of samples."-G. O., 28, 1868. Samples of Wine imported as such, and not exceeding 2 gills each, are admitted duty free.-G. O., 57, 1869. WAREHOUSING. When casks of Wines and Spirits are entered to be warehoused, the dimensions of the casks, taken by the Gauger, need not be recorded in the Landing Books, the content and ullage being only shew therein, and the strength of spirits as at pre The Inspectors and Surveyors in checking the gauges will do so by the dimensions chalked on the casks, putting their initials to the recorded content and ullage. When Wines or Spirits are treated under prime or sight entries, the whole particulars must be recorded in the Landing Books as at present. In cases of removals of Wines and Spirits to Excise warehouses, the whole of the dimensions must be shown as at present in the despatch, the dimensions being taken and recorded at the time of re-examination for removal. -G. O., 85, 1871. Casks received coastwise are to be re-dipped and gauged all round, it being understood that, notwithstanding any slight discrepancy in taking the dimensions of a cask at the port of receipt, which may alter the content not more than a gallon, the cask is to be considered to have been correctly gauged.-G., O., No. 51, 1845. The collector at the port of destination is without fail, at the expiration of the period specified in the despatch, to apprize the collector at the port of removal of the goods not having been re-warehoused, should such be the case.-G. O., No. 16, 1868, and G. O., 45, 1870. The officers are in all cases, when they report the nonarrival of bonded goods, and the necessary entry is subsequently passed, at once to apprize the collector at the port of removal of the fact.-G. O., No. 69, 1870. Merchants to be allowed the option of making the entry on the despatch, or of passing separate entries.-G. O., No. 68, 1869. The practice of returning despatches, for correction, to the port from whence they are issued-in cases where slight discrepancies in the description of goods, &c., or merely clerical errors are found on examination -is improper, and when a discrepancy does not affect the quantity of the goods chargeable with duty, the account as given by the despatch be accepted; but in cases where the discrepancy may affect the amount of duty involved, or would lead to a supposition that the goods had been tampered with in transit, an account of the goods must be rendered to the Controller of Accounts, as found on examination, who is to notify the discrepancy to the collector at the port of * The full particulars of the re-examination of casks received under bond, shewing an excessive loss in transit, should be given in the Red Book. They are necessary for reference, under G. O., 35, 1877, in the case of spirits from Customs warehouses, and under G. O., 85, 1865, for spirits received from Excise warehouses. D removal; and, if necessary, that the circumstance be reported to the Board for their direction.--G. O., No. 95, 1872. The collectors, in all cases where applications are made for approval of premises for bonding spirits, are to transmit, for the information of the Board, a plan or sketch of the buildings, pointing out the entrance proposed to be made. They are also in their report to advert to the following circumstances:- 1st.—Whether the premises are in an open thoroughfare, or situated in a private yard, or in a back, unfrequented street, where there may not be much public traffic. 2nd.--Whether duty-paid wines or spirits are kept in any other portion of the same premises, and, if so, whether all internal communications between the two portions of the vault or warehouse are cut off. Whether the separate entrances to the same are in the same street, and, if not, to report the distances between such entrances. 3rd. Whether any entrance or delivery door of the vault or warehouse submitted for approval is in close proximity to any opening leading to premises where duty-paid wines or spirits are kept, and, if so, stating accurately the distance from one to the other, and whether such free or duty-paid premises are in the occupation of the same dealer or merchant, or of any other person having an interest in both sets of premises. 4th. The collectors are to report for the consideration of the Board, all cases in which any of the circumstances above described have arisen in regard to premises already approved, since the time of such approval. B. M., 8th April, 1873, to Warehousing Ports. The removal of the Crown's locks from warehouses and bonded premises to be at once reported to the Board.-G. O., No. 105, 1874. If any warehouse-keeper shall neglect to stow the goods so as to afford easy access to every package, or if he fail, on the request of any officer of Customs, to produce any goods deposited in the warehouse, he is liable to a penalty of £5 in respect of each package, besides the duty thereon.-C. C. Act, sec. 81 and 82. TINCTURES, OR MEDICINAL SPIRITS. Regulations for Warehoring in Customs Warehouses under 38 t., c. 23, s. 10. The article must be specially described in the Warehousing Entry as "British Tinctures or Medicinal Spirits "-and the actual number of gallons at proof of the Spirits, from which the Tinctures or Medicinal Spirits contained in each cask were composed, must be stated in each entry. The person who desires to warehouse such Tinctures must be licensed as a rectifier or compounder. The Tinctures must be made with Spirits on which the full duties of Customs or Excise have been paid, and shall not con tain any Methylated Spirits or preparation therefrom, or any wine, sweets, or other fermented liquor. The casks must be sent to warehouse full-the content of each being not less than nine gallons-and the apparent strength of the Tincture, by the hydrometer, not higher than 11 per cent. over-proof. On both ends of each cask-in addition to the name of the trader and the true content in gallons-there must be legibly painted in letters one inch in height, the name of the Tincture contained therein; and if such Tincture be dangerous to life when tasted, the word "Poison." A card bearing the lastmentioned word must also be securely fixed over every orifice of the cask. Drawback will be allowed, as in the case of "Liqueurs," upon the spirit actually present in any Tincture, subject to a deduction of five degrees from the strength. After gauging the cask on receipt thereof, the proper officer is to take a sample of not less than half-a-pint from each cask, and, having labelled the bottle, with the particulars indicated in a form of label, similar to the Form (F) annexed to General Order, No. 102, 1869, and sealed the same with the official seal, he is to forward it carefully packed and addressed to the Principal of the Laboratory, Inland Revenue Office, Somerset House, London, W.C., noting in his official book the fact, and the date of forwarding the samples. A letter acknowledging the receipt, similar to the Form D, also annexed to General Order, No. 102, 1869, is to be forthwith forwarded to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, Somerset House, London, in which it will be necessary to insert the ullage quantity of the Tincture or Medicinal Spirits in each cask, and the quantity of proof spirit stated in the warehousing entry to have been used in the manufacture thereof; and a certificate of receipt, similar to Form E with General Order, No. 102, 1869, is to be given to the rectifier or compounder, or other person who may require the same. The Excise Certificate is to be certified and forwarded to the Collector of Inland Revenue in the same manner as Excise Certificates for British Liqueurs and other compounded spirits. The officers are to observe that Tinctures or Medicinal Spirits warehoused with the Customs cannot be removed to any other warehouse, or delivered from the warehouse in which they are deposited, otherwise than directly for exportation, or for Ship's Stores, on board the vessel in which they are to be exported or used as stores. The officer who receives any Tincture for warehousing must be careful to see that the above regulations are strictly complied with. The nature of the Tincture must be distinctly stated in the Forms D and E, and also the word "Poison" when such caution is necessary. Similar particulars must be written on the label F of every sample which may be taken, and the sample must be securely sealed."-G. O., No. 84, 1875. LOSSES IN TRANSIT. The Board have had occasion to review the practice of the Department in dealing with cases of deficiencies occurring on Spirits in casks during removal under Customs Bonds, and, being of opinion that the same should be amended, they direct that the following regulations be hereafter observed: 1st. As to small deficiencies of ordinary character The General Order No. 93, 1860, authorising an allowance on Foreign Spirits in casks of five-tenths of a gallon per cask of any size, for losses in transit satisfactorily accounted for, is hereby cancelled. For the future, on the arrival under Customs Bond of Spirits, whether Foreign or British, in casks, the officers may disregard any deficiency attributable to natural causes, and affording no suspicion of abstraction or tampering, provided such deficiency does not, in any cask containing less than 50 gallons at proof, exceed five-tenths of a gallon at proof, or in any other cask one per cent. upon the proof quantity. The officers are, however, not to assume that this scale of allowances is to be applied as a matter of course to all cases. They should give their attention to all the circumstances known to affect the result, such as the strength of the spirit, the size and condition of the casks, and the like, noting particularly that for casks which have been but a short time in transit the full allowance of one per cent. is usually in excess of the natural and legitimate deficiency. In all cases of doubt the allowance is to be withheld, and the case reported for the Board's directions. 2nd. As to excessive deficiences— When deficiencies in excess of the foregoing scale of allowances On the deficiency being thus verified, the collector at the port |