The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-08 00:00:00

THE ANGLO-FRENCH TREATY.

The Director-General of the French Clstoms has
addressed to the functionaries of his department the
following circular on the best mode of carryng out
the Treaty of Commerce with England :
" PARIS, Oct. 2b,
" In execution of the Treaty of Commerce cot.
ended between France and Great Britain on the
23d Jan., 1860, a complimentary convention has
just been signed by the plenipotentiaries of the two
high contracting parties, and has been ratified

within the delays fixed.
" To that convention is annexed the new tariff,
which is applicable to an important part of the
merchandise of British origin and manufacture.
This tariff comprises :-
1. Metals; 2. Works in
metal, pure or mixed ; 3. Machines and mechanical
instruments, and detached pieces of machines ; 4.
A certain number of articles not connected with
metallurgy, such as refined sugar, prepared skins

turnery-ware, works in wood, car-
of all kinds,

riages, vessels at sea, &c. In this tariff are com-
prised the duties on cast iron, iron, and steel, which
formed the subject of a protocol signed on the 29th
September last, to be carried into execution on the
Ist October.

" I transmit to the service, with the, present cir-
cular, a copy of the imperial decree promulgating
the complementary convention and of the tariff

annexed thereto.
" My instructions will naturally be divided into
two parts ; the first, relative to the convention ; the
second to the tariff:—

" I. CONVENTION.
" The treaty of the 231 January, 1860, was ne
cessarily confined to laying down the general rules
which were for the future to be applied to the com-
mercial relations between France and Great Bri-
tain. The object of the convention of the 12th
October is to add to that treaty certain practical
stipulations destined to facilitate and assure the exe-
cution of it. My circulars of the 9th June, 29th
Sept., and 2d Oct., contained various explana-
tions of the treaty of the 23d Jan.; I refer you to
those instructions, which will be completed on
certain points by the present circular.
" Art. 1 of the complementary convention sti-
pulates that the duties fixed by the new treaty
shall be applicable only to merchandise imported
direct from the United Kingdom under the French
or British flag.
" The differential duties established in favour of
French vessels were reserved by Art. 3 of the
treaty of the 23d Jan. That stipulation is con-
firmed by the new convention, the precise text of
which excludes from the benefit of the treaty in-
direct imports even by French or British vessels,
and according to which the importation must be
effected direct under one or other of those two
flags. The vessels of other States which may im-
port articles of British origin direct from a port of
the United Kingdom will then remain subject to
the ordinary dues on navigation, and their cargoes
also will be subjected to the surtaxes, according to
the flag of the vessel, as explained by my circular
of the 2d of this month. But it will be remarked
that a decree of the 28th of this month, of which I
annex a copy, determines in a precise manner the
surtaxes to be imposed in the aforesaid cases on
vessels of third Powers.
" My said circular of the 2d Oct. sets forth that
ertificates of the origin of merchandise must be
delivered or vised by the consuls or consular agents
of France in the place from which it may be sent
or at the port of embarkation. Art. 2of the con-
vention contains on this point special stipulations
which must henceforth serve as a rule to the ser-
vice. The certificates of origin may be special for
a single part of the merchandise, or collective for
several parts. They must consist either in an
official declaration made before a British magi-
strate of the place from which the merchandise is
sent, or in a certificate delivered by the
chief of the customs at the port of embarkation, or
in one given by the consuls or consular agents of
France at the place of expedition or of embarka-
tion. In the first two cases the signatures of the
British authorities must be certified to be exact by
the consuls or consular agents of France.
(‘ The certificates of origin !constitute for the
present a necessary guarantee of the treaty of com-
merce, in the interest both of France and Great
Britain. It is important, in fact, that merchandise
coming from other countries shall not imprope:te
profit by the advantages of the treaty; but the
administration is disposed to prevent all useless
exigencies in the accomplishment of the formalities
required by the convention. It may be necessary
to examine hereafter, when experience of facts
shall be acquired, if it will not be right for the sake
`of commerce to display a certain degree of tolera-
tion as regards justification of origin. Provision-
ally, the service will not have to exact the accom-
plishment of that formality for objects brought
from England by travellers, ,vhen it shall be seen
that those objects are not destined for commerce,
but are for the personal use of the importers, and
in proportion to their position and the importance
of their baggage.

" According to Art. 3 of the complementary con-
vention, importers of machines and mechanical
instruments, whether entire or in detached pieces,
of British origin or manufacture, are to be releved
from the necessity of producing to the French
customs any model or design of the object imported.
The obligation heretofore imposed of producing
models or designs has been considered a formality
which may occasion difficulties and delays, and
embarrass importation, which it is for the interest
of manufactures to favour.

" The new classifications adopted andthenotable
reduction in the duties have rendered possible this
simplification which had been several times soli-
cited.

" Henceforth, for arrivals from Great Rritain, it
will no longer be necessary to have recourse to the
consulting committee of arts and manufactures, and
to the special formalities set forth in the note 648
of the general tariff. The new regime established
for machines and detached pieces of machines of
British origin confides to the customs department
the task of proceeding to definite liquidations. If,
contrary to all probability, imported machines
should be made the subject of false declarations,
the service, after having, if necessary, obtained the
opinion of competent experts, may effect a seizure
of such machines in conformity with the law of
the 22d August, 1791, Art. 21.
"1 think it right to mention that for entire
machines, as well as for detached pieces, the duties I
are always to be established on the net weight, as is
exceptionally y regulated by the law of the 9th
June, 1857.
"Arts. 4 5,6, 7, and 8 of the complementary
convention con...
lin new and important stipulations
on merchandise
axTed ad valorem.
g, Art. 4 restreaty of Commerce of 23d Jan.,
1860, had
the right of
toltuto the customs administration
valorem dut on
it the merchandise liable to ad
y,
ti
declared by him, vitt the importer the price
This was an applicationot of 5 per cent.
sealeetriight of pre-ptinn,
which had hitherto been
agened by the French
false declarations
legislation as a guarantee
of value. This guarantee had not been considered by a certain number of en considered
and apprehensions had arisen, even nnfacturers,
in the
tive Body, as to the efficacy of the •
rlght of
eruption. The supprettsion of prohibitions renderingPre-
inevitable the application of ad valorem duties
certain goods, greatly varying in.lvalue, the plenT
potentiaries of the two countries have agreed to in-
stitute a system of valuation calculated to reassure
• the manufacturing interest. The two Governments
attach the same importance to the sincerity of the
declarations and the good faith which ought to
preside over the relations of international com-
merce.
•

_______
" The right of valuation. has therefore been esta-
blished in the complementary convention as a two-
fold guarantee on the one hand, against the abuse
of the right of pre-emption to the injury of the
importer, and on the other against the danger of
under-valuations, to the detriment of the public
Treasury.

" According to Art. 4, above cited, the importer
of merchandise of British origin and manufacture,
subject to an ad valorem duty, is bound to join in
the declaration announcing the value of the said