Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

without any respect to the value of the coins of the United States, or foreign coins, which now are, or shall be by law, made current within the United States, in such foreign place or country.

It should be observed that all woollen, woollen mixed, and all other such goods the duty on which is estimated partly on weight and measure, must have net weight added.

Of these three invoices, one is retained by the Consul, another sent by him direct to the the Collector of Customs at the port of destination, and the third returned to the merchant, after authentication by certificate under Consular seal, who forwards it with his goods to the shipper, with instructions to insure and ship as per invoice. All disbursements, except insurance, such as Consul's fee, cost of wrappers, cases, &c. should be added at the foot of the invoice. Freights are usually charged forward, the consignee receives his certified invoice, liquidates his entry by paying the duties in gold, and receives the goods. Further information on American Consular Regulations relating to the authentication of invoices is given in detail at page 379.

When in 1874 the International Exhibition to be held at Philadelphia came under the consideration of the American authorities, the following regulations, based upon an Act of Congress dated June 18, 1874, were issued by the Secretary of the Treasury, to govern the importation of goods for that Exhibition :

Treasury Department, Washington, D. C.,
November 1, 1875.

An Act of Congress, approved June 18, 1874, entitled "An Act to admit free of duty "articles intended for the International Exhibition of eighteen hundred and seventy-six," provides as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all articles which shall be imported for the sole purpose of exhibition at the International Exhibition to be held in the city of Philadelphia in the year 1876, shall be admitted without the payment of duty or of customs' fees, or charges, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe: Provided, That all such articles as shall be sold in the United States or withdrawn for consumption therein at any time after such importation shall be subject to the duties, if any, imposed on like articles by the revenue laws in force at the date of importation: And provided further, That in case any articles imported under the provisions of this Act shall be withdrawn for consumption or shall be sold without payment of duty as required by law, all the penalties prescribed by the revenue laws shall be applied and enforced against such articles and against the person who may be guilty of such withdrawal or sale.

In pursuance of the provisions of this Act, the following regulations are prescribed: No duty, fees, or charges for customs' service will be exacted on any such importations, except in case of entry, as provided by Article 14 of these regulations.

The ports of Portland, Me., Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and San Francisco, on the seaboard, and St. Albans, Rouse's Point, Suspension Bridge, Buffalo, Detroit, Port Huron, and Chicago, as ports on the northern frontier, will constitute the only ports of entry at which such importations may be made.

Goods destined for such Exhibition imported through the above-named frontier ports may be forwarded in the same manner as now allowed by law and regulations for other importations.

Invoices showing the marks, numbers, character, quantity, and foreign market value of articles intended for such Exhibition shall be authenticated by the hand and official seal of the Commissioner for the International Exhibition appointed by the Government

of the country from which such articles are imported, and shall be made in triplicate and forwarded-one copy to the Collector of Customs for the port at which is intended such articles shall enter the United States, one copy to the Collector of Customs for the port of Philadelphia, and one copy to the consignee or agent of the shipper. In case it shall be impracticable to obtain the authentication of the Commissioner under official seal, verification by a consular officer of the United States may be accepted instead.

All packages containing such articles must be conspicuously addressed to the "Director-General of the International Exhibition of 1876, at Philadelphia."

Upon the arrival at any of the above-named ports, except New Orleans and San Francisco, of packages so marked and containing articles intended for such Exhibition, duplicate entry thereof, in form to be prescribed, may be made by the consignee or agent thereof, for immediate transportation to Philadelphia, by a duly authorised bonded route, but transportation bond will not be required.

The entry having being compared with the invoice received from the Commissioner, found correct, and numbered and registered in a book provided for that purpose, the Collector will issue a special permit for the transfer of such packages from the importing vessel to the cars for transportation, care being taken to fully identify the packages by the marks and numbers as described in the bill of lading, entry, and invoice, and will transmit the entry to the Surveyor, with proper directions for shipment.

Such transfer must be made by bonded cart or truck, and the packages must be accompanied by a customs' officer, detailed for that purpose, from the time they are removed from the importing vessel until they are placed upon the cars for transportation, and such officer will be required to superintend the lading, and secure the cars by customs' lock and seal.

Triplicate manifests for each car so laden, showing the marks, numbers, &c.of such packages as described in the entry, will be prepared and signed by the proper agent of the railroad company, by whom such articles are to be transported. Each of said manifests will be certified as correct by the shipping inspector, who will deliver one manifest to the conductor or agent of the railroad company, and return the other two with the entry, also certified by him, to the Collector.

The entry having been duly registered and certified, as herein-before required, the Collector will transmit the same by mail, with the invoice, bill of lading, and manifest, to the Collector of Customs at Philadelphia, the duplicate manifest to be retained on the files of the custom house at the port of entry.

At ports where there is a naval office the entries for transportation will be made in triplicate,-one copy for the files of that office, one for the Collector's office, and one for transmittal, as above required, to Philadelphia.

Upon the arrival of the cars containing such articles at the Exhibition buildings at Philadelphia, the conductor or agent of the railroad company will report such arrival by the representation of the manifest to the customs' officer designated to receive such manifests, who shall compare the same with the copy received by mail, and superintend the opening of the cars, taking care to identify the packages by marks and numbers as described in the manifests. In case of the non-receipt of the manifests, the unlading of the cars shall not, for that reason, be delayed, but the invoice will be used to identify the packages.

Immediate notice of such arrival of the goods shall be given by the Collector of Customs at Philadelphia to the Collector from the port of which such articles were shipped, and such notice will be numbered to correspond with the entry and the date of its receipt recorded in the register of entries prescribed, to be kept at ports where entries for transportation are made. The packages will be retained in the custody of the customs' officers at the Exhibition building, unopened, until special entry for warehouse, in form to be prescribed, is made by the owner, consignee, or agent authorised to make entry, but no warehousing bond will be required.

Upon the completion of the special warehouse entry, the packages will be opened and due examination and appraisement of the contents, with proper allowance for damage sustained on the voyage of importation, if any, will be made by the Appraiser at the Exhibition buildings, which shall, for that purpose, be regarded as a public store. The Appraiser will be furnished with the invoice of the articles to be appraised, and will endorse his report of appraisement and his allowance for damage, if any, upon such invoice in like manner as if such articles were regularly entered for consumption or warehouse. No allowance for damage, however, exceeding 50 per cent. will be made without the approval of the Department. The entry will then be liquidated, the full amount of duties ascertained, and the whole transaction entered upon a record to be provided for that purpose.

The articles may then be placed in the position provided for their exhibition, but will remain under the custody and control of the customs' officers, and will not be removed from the place assigned without a permit from the Collector of Customs or the officer who may be designated to grant such permit. In no case will such articles be removed from the Exhibition building, or released from the custody of the customs' officers, unless the same shall have been regularly entered at the custom house in Philadelphia for consumption, warehouse, or export.

In case of exportation of such articles, existing regulations requiring exports to be made in original packages will be waived.

Entry of articles designed for such Exhibition arriving at the ports of San Francisco or New Orleans must be made in the manner now prescribed by law and regulations on the importation of dutiable merchandise, either for warehouse and immediate transportation in bond, or for immediate transportation without appraisement. Upon the arrival of such articles at Philadelphia they will be received into the custody of the customs' officers, (whose certificate to that effect, in the form to be prescribed, shall be sufficient to cancel the transportation bond,) and thereupon special entry for warehouse without bond may be made as provided by these regulations.

When such articles arrive at Philadelphia by vessel direct from a foreign country, the entry for transportation will not be required, but a special entry for warehouse, in the manner herein-before provided, may be made, whereupon a special permit will be issued for the transfer of the articles from the importing vessels to the cars for transportation from the vessel direct to the Exhibition buildings; and the same proceedings as to identification of the articles, their transfer from the vessel to the cars, the preparation of manifests, and the careful and continuous supervision by a customs' officer over the whole transaction, will be required as at other ports.

Upon the arrival of such cars at the Exhibition building, after special warehouse entry of the packages is made, they will be opened and the contents of the packages examined and appraised as herein-before provided.

The special forms of entries, permits, manifests, and records to be used under these regulations will be prepared and furnished by the Treasury Department.

Collectors of Customs will report to the Secretary of the Treasury any case relating to an importation for such Exhibition in which they may regard these regulations as insufficient to secure the interests of the revenue, and special instructions will be given for their guidance in such case.

The regulations heretofore issued under the date of October 3, 1874, and May 18, 1875, are hereby superseded and annulled. Provided, however, that no rights or interests heretofore acquired thereunder shall be effected to the injury of the parties concerned.

B. H. BRISTOW,

Secretary.

It may further be interesting to record here the regulations referring to transportation of goods to the Exhibition and the terminal charges respecting them, which were finally approved and issued in November 1875 :

The general reception of articles at the Exhibition buildings will COMMENCE JANUARY 5th, 1876, and CLOSE on APRIL 19th, 1876. Machinery and other heavy articles will be admitted as soon as the special foundations for them are prepared, and it is desirable that they should be in place prior to the reception of other exhibits.

In boxing goods for the Exhibition, screws should be used instead of nails.

Each package must be marked, "TO THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL EXHI"BITION OF 1876, AT PHILADELPHIA," and should be marked on TWO ADJOINING SIDES, giving the following information:

Name of the exhibitor.

Siding at which to be unloaded.

Specific location allotted to the exhibitor.

Weight of the package.

Total number of packages sent by the exhibitor.

Serial number of the particular package.

Within each package should be a list of articles and a copy of the outside directions. Each package should contain only articles intended for a single department.

NOTE. To facilitate the delivery of packages so marked, there have been constructed within the Exhibition grounds several lines of railway. At convenient points on these lines are located sidings and platforms for the delivery of articles to be exhibited in the immediate vicinity. Each siding is designated by a number, and the address label or tag on each article or package must give the number of the siding at which it is to be delivered. The address label should also state the location in the building in which the article is to be exhibited in accordance with the system for designating localities, as follows:

"Each column within the building will be lettered and numbered; the letters designating the lines of column lengthwise, from east to west, and the number the lines crosswise, from north to south. Each exhibitor will have his location defined with reference to the nearest column, and the official directory of the building will give the positions according to this system."

The exceptional arrangements made by the United States Centennial Commission with transportation companies do not in any way affect the regular rules of such companies in regard to the classification of goods, or the conditions of receiving or transporting the same, except in requiring the pre-payment of freight. The rates for transporting goods for the Exhibition will be obtained from the agents of the TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES AT THE PLACE OF SHIPMENT and not at Philadelphia.

THROUGH BILLS OF LADING should be OBTAINED, so that goods will, WITHOUT any ATTENTION by the SHIPPER, BE SENT DIRECT TO THE EXHIBITION. They must show the precise route by which the articles or packages are to be transported, specifying in detail every road over which the freight is shipped, from the point of starting to Philadelphia, sO THAT IT MAY BE RETURNED BY THE SAME ROUTE AS RECEIVED. The line of steamers by which exhibits are sent must be named. A DUPLICATE COPY OF THE BILL OF LADING must be mailed by the shipper TO THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION, UNITED STATES CENTENNIAL COMMISSION, PHILADELPHIA; and LETTERS OF ADVICE SHOULD ALSO BE FORWARDED, GIVING INFORMATION OF THE SHIPMENTS MADE, AND FULL PARTICULARS IN REGARD TO ARTICLES OF BULKY DIMENSIONS OR EXCESSIVE WEIGHT.

The transportation, receiving, unpacking, arranging, re-packing, and re-shipping of the goods exhibited, also the storage and repair of empty cases, will be at the expense of the exhibitor.

For the purpose of making a complete record of all exhibits admitted to the Exhibition, and to secure efficiency, order, and despatch in their reception and installation, all packages on arrival at the Exhibition inclosure will be received by the Chief of the Bureau of Transportation. They will then be unloaded and placed on the space allotted to the exhibitor, and at the close of the Exhibition they will, when re-packed, be removed from the buildings. For this service, which the United States Centennial Commission will undertake especially for the accommodation of exhibitors, a terminal charge will be made which will be as follows:

On each separate article or package weighing 500 lbs., or less
On each separate article or package weighing over 500 lbs.

[ocr errors]

$1.00.

20 cents per 100 lbs.

Articles weighing over 10,000 pounds, fragile articles, plate glass, &c., and works of art, may be subject to an additional charge after arrival at the Exhibition, to cover the extra cost of handling, if any. THERE WILL BE NO TERMINAL CHARGE ON EXHIBITS OF LIVE

STOCK.

NOTE.-Ample provision will be made for the HANDLING and STOWAGE of EMPTY CASES, for those who may DESIRE to AVAIL themselves of such accommodation.

The charge for removing, storing, and returning empty cases and packing material for exhibitors who request it, will be as follows:

For empty cases of dimensions, 27 cubic feet, or less

[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]

50 cents.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

For box-boards, strippings, etc.-only received when securely fastened in packages-
For packages weighing 50 lbs., or less

[ocr errors][ocr errors]

between 50 and 75 lbs.
over 75 lbs., per pound

50 cents. 75 cents.

1 cent.

Goods must be free from all charges incident to their transportation when received at the Exhibition enclosure, and the terminal charge must be pre-paid.

NOTE. This regulation does not refer to foreign commissions, and the terminal charges may be paid by British exhibitors after the goods are placed in the Exhibition buildings.

The customs' regulations, issued by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, permit, after transportation entry has been made, the immediate transportation to Philadelphia, of goods imported from foreign countries. They will be transported by bonded line from the port of arrival to Philadelphia, and delivered to the Collector at that city, where warehouse entry is required in all cases. The customs' regulations for these goods must be strictly complied with.

IF NO AUTHORISED PERSON IS AT HAND TO OPEN AND ARRANGE THE GOODS IN THE EXHIBITION BUILDING, THEY WILL BE REMOVED AND STORED AT THE COST AND RISK OF WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN.

The Exhibition will CLOSE the 10th of NOVEMBER 1876. The REMOVAL of GOODS will NOT be PERMITTED PRIOR TO THAT DATE, and must be COMPLETED BEFORE the 31st of DECEMBER 1876. Goods then remaining will be removed by the Director-General and sold for expenses, or otherwise disposed of under the direction of the United States Centennial Commission.

Circular No. 107 is hereby cancelled.

The Centennial Commission reserves the right to explain or amend these regulations, whenever it may be deemed necessary for the interests of the Exhibition.

D. TORREY,

Chief of Bureau of Transportation.

Philadelphia, November 16, 1875.

A. T. GOSHORN,
Director-General.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »