The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-28 00:00:00

CUSTOMS' DUTIES.

The following minutes on the payment of Cus-
toms' duties by bankers' checks have been issued
by the Treasury :
" TREASURY MINUTE, DATED AUG. 4.

" My Lords have before them representations of cer-
tain traders of the city of London, again urging upon
their attention the great advantage which would be de-
rived by the mercantile community if any system could
be adopted by which the checks of merchants upon their
bankers could, with safety to the revenue, be received
at the Custom-house in payment of duties; and thus that
the great danger at present incurred by individuals in
procuring large sums in notes and coin from their
bankers, amounting in the whole, in London alone, to
about 13,000,0001. a-year, and transmitting them to the
Customs might be obviated.
" This question has, from its great importance, occu-
pied the attention of this board at various times since
since 1853 ; but hitherto no method has been suggested
by which all the objects in view could be accomplished.
In the first place, it is obvious that any plan that could
with propriety be adopted should be such as would secure
the following objects :
" 1. It must give perfect security to the revenue,
now
or
at least a security as great as that plan whichldis n
followed—e. g. the receipt of bank notes and go
"2. It must be of a character which will not impose
greater labour or delay upon the operations of the mer-
chant ; and, if possible, lessen both.
" 3. It must be such as does not depend upon the re-
Pectability of particular firms who may adopt it, but
must be applicable alike to every one who may wish to
avail himself of its provisions.
" To obtain these objects many plans have been sug-
gested from time to time.
" It has been proposed that Bank of England notes,
of a special form, and to be used only for the payment
of Customs duties, should be made by the Bank, and
furnished to merchants by their bankers!; so that if lost,
they could be applied to no other purpose. The Bank
of England were quite prepared to adopt this plan, but
the other bankers objected to it, inasmuch as it would
imposed upon them the necessity of retaining in
their possession a larger amount of notes in reserve
than would otherwise be needful, as it would always be
uncertain to what extent such Customs' notes would be
required, and which they would have to keep in addi-
tion to their ordinary amount of notes.
"Again, it has been proposed that checks upon pri-
Tate bankers should be received, provided such checks
were marked beforehand by such bankers in such a
way as to secure their payment. To this plan there
were two obvious objections : first, it would throw upon
the Customs the invidious duty of determining what
banker's security would be received ; and, secondly, it
would expose the revenue to risk from forgery, not only
of the check itself, but also of the banker's undertaking
to pay.
" Again, it has been proposed that merchants should
furnish is current security, either by personal bonds or
by the deposit of public stock, to an amount equal to
that for which they would require their checks to be
taken. But while this plan might be sufficient to guaran-
tee the checks given by such merchants, it would still
expose the revenue to the risk of forged checks being
presented and taken for duties which the merchants
might fairly refuse to honour.
" The only plan which has hitherto been devised by
which it has been found practicable to meet the wishes of
merchants in any degree was that adopted by the minute
of this board of the 13th of March, 1836. By that minute
a plan was sanctioned by which certificates should be
given by the Bank of England for money paid in on ac-
count of duties, and which certificates were to be
transmitted to the Customs by official messengers
periodically throughout the day. But this plan, though
continued to this time, has proved very insufficient for
the purpose. In the first place, it has not removed the
necessity of traders receiving the money in notes and
coin from their bankers in order to send them to the
Bank of England, involving in some cases as much risk
as sendine, them to the Custom-house at once ; and, in
the second 6 place, it involves considerably more time
and labour ; so that it has not been very generally re-
sorted to by merchants,
"My lords, however, are of opinion that a plan may
be adopted by which this important object may be at-
tained, and which will combine advantages to all parties
concerned, and be unattended with any of the objections
adverted to.
" 1. My lords propose to abolish the present system
of payments into the Bank of England, and the trans-
mission of certificates during the day from the Bank to
the Custom-house.
"2. My lords propose that checks shall be received
in payment of duties upon any of the banking firms
whose names are affixed to this minute, who have been
selected only with reference to their proximity to the
Bank of England and the Custom-house, and who by
letter shall signify to the Commissioners of Customs
their willingness to comply with the regulations laid
down ; that all such checks shall, before being received,
be crossed with the words Bank of England for Cus-
toms' duties and, after being received, be again legi-
bly stamped on the face of the check, Received for
Customs' duties the day of 1854.'
" 3. That the checks so received (hall Be sent out by
a clerk every hour from 9 o'clock in the morning till 3
o'clock in the afternoon, both inclusive, who shall carry
the checks to the different banks where they are payable,
and at each shall receive an indorsement from such
banker, which shall be an authority to the Bank of
England to pass the amount to the debit of such bankers
with the Bank of England. The clerk shall then pro-
ceed to the Bank of England, when he shall deliver all
the checks in accordance with a list which shall have
been furnished to him before he left the Custom-house,
and which list shall be signed by the proper officers of
the Bank, as a certificate that all the checks are duly
received by the Bank as cash to the credit of the Re-
ceiver General. In the event of any check not being so
indorsed by the bank upon which it is drawn, or not
being received by the Bank of England as cash, it shall
he returned to the Custom-house, first being erased from
the list in the bank certificate, and deducted from the
amount for which the certificate is given.
"In the meantime, while the collection is going on,
which it is supposed may occupy about an hour, the ne-
cessary entries of goods will be proceeding, but the final
authority to deliver shall not issue until the return of
the clerk with the certificate that the checks received for
the duties have been passed to the credit of the Receiver-
General at the Bank of England, which in most cases
will be quite as soon as the necessary entries for the
clearance of the goods are completed.
"By this plan, my lords are of opinion that the in-
terest and convenience of all parties will be insured.
The trader will be relieved from all risk in the trans-
mission of notes and coin ; the Customs' department
will be relieved of much labour in receiving, examining,
and marking large amounts in bank notes, in weighing
gold, and of any risk which may attach to the receipt of
forged notes or bad coin ; private bankers will be re-
lieved of the necessity of keeping so large an amount of
notes on hand to meet the demands of their customers ;
and, finally, as those payments iu London alone amount
to an average of about 13,000,0001. a-year, a consider-
able economy in the use of bank notes and coin will be
effected by this plan, by which the payment of Customs'
duties will be reduced to a system of transfer of credits
in the hooks of private bankers and those of the Bank of
England.
" Lastly, my lords are of opinion that the plan should
be attended rather w:th economy in the establishment
of the Customs than with any increased expenditure.
In the first place, the existing plan of hourly transmis-
sions from the Bank to the Custom-house will be
abolished ; and, in the second place, my lords would
suggest to the consideration of the commissioners, whether
the use of checks in the payment of duties, in substitu-
tion of the present cumbrous system of receiving only
notes and coin, will not enable them to dispense with
some of the clerks now engaged In the receipt of duties,
and employ them in the collection of the checks as herein
described.
"Transmit a copy of this minute to the Commission-
ers of Customs for any observations they may wish to
make thereon.
" Aug. 4. JAMES WILSON.
" LIST OF RINEEItS REFERRED TO IN THE FOREGOLNG

MINUTE.
"Bank of Noland ; Barclay and Co., Lombard-
street ; Barnett, Hoare and Co., Lombard-street ; Bos-
aCo., nquet and Co., Lombard-street ; Brown, Janson and
A.bclanrch-lane ; Commercial Bank, Lothbury ;
Cunliffes, Brookes and Co., Lombard-street ; Currie
and Co., Cornhill ; Dimsdafe and Co., Cornhill ; Ful-
lers and Co., Moorgate-street ; Glyn, Mills, and Co.,
Lombard st.reeL
Hankienburi, Taylor, and Co., Lom-
bard-street , s
Fenchurch-street ; Heywood
and Co., Lombard-street ; Jones, Lloyd, and Co , Loth-
bury ; London and ;County Bank, Lombard-street ;
tEa reefnk
LLuobtbliobeukr,s, ;
jua
nsLondonion
London and Westmprini,s,toerB.
Joint Stock Bank,
house-street ; Martin, Stone and Co., Lombard-street ;
Masterman's, Nicholas-lane'; Prescott, Grote, and Co ,
Threadneedle-street ; Price, Marryatt, and Co , King
and Co., Clernentm's:ula3nperatitt,oaynadl
William-street ; Robarts, Curtis, and Co.
Lo
; Rogers, Olding,
British Bank, Tokenhouse-yard ; Sapte,
Co., Lombard-street ; SpoonneryAttawn°d°o%,,aLnodmbCarod.,.
Gracechurch-street ; Stevenso
Salt,
street ; Union Bank, Princes's-street Williams,ta Deacon
and Co., Birchin-lane ; Willis, Percival, and Co,,
Lora.
Lombard-street. bard-street ; Smith, Payne, and Co.,
ss "
"TREASURY MINIITF, DATBD
hen Commissioners 15.
``Having received a report from the
of Customs upon the minute of this board of the 4th of
August, in relation to the payment of dutiesoar cash
tthshe
Custom-house by checks upon bankers, in place
as at present, my lords resume the consideration of the
subject.
"1. As it is the opinion of the Commissioners
.of
Customs that, in adopting ;the plan proposed in the
minute of the 4th of August, the existing practice
by which merchants are enabled to make payments,
on account of duties, into the Bank of England,
the certificates of which receipts are sent in
locked boxes every hour from the Bank to the
Custom-house, should not be discontinued, my lord, are
pleased to continue that arrangement until the Ist of
January next, in order that no inconvenience may be
experienced in the change. But as it is obvious that no
s 4 .possible convenience can arise to
.- t any one by the con-
hana of
.oe
,: such a practice atter the one proposed is fully
",
/441,071,2,estalnkshed, my lords see no object to be gained by con-
1/a;-4e&- tinning it longer, and especially as my lords regard it as
iniprt4a4lti.the transaction of business to establish one
l%qV. uniform system which shall combine the greatest secu-
;.‘c rity, simplicity, and economy of time to all connected
therewith:
sal My lords are pleased to direct that in other re-
.l-4-spects the system of receiving checks in payment of
s.;..i.Customs duties, under the regulations generally as laid
down in the minute of the 4th of August, shall take
effect from and after the 10th of October next. But as
it may prove convenient to all the parties concerned that