The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-01-17

Our ImpOrtinG Trade.

since, you called attention to the fact tina
the heavy importing business of the coun
try is getting almost entirely into the hands
of foreign resident merchants. That this il
the case, is certainly, nay, lamentably true
but that it is mainly to be attributed to the
system of ad Ualoruna duties or the extrav-
agance of American importers, although
| generally so charged, is not, | think, car
ried to any great extent Having had con-
siderable experience in the business, and
| ample opportunities to notice the difficulties
with which the American importer is oblig-
ed to contend, little information upon this
important subject may not be amiss.
Under the present system of collecting
the revenue, two or three packages out of
every ten imported, if it be large invoice,
and more in proportion, if it is a small one,
are examined by sworn appraisers at the
public stores, and it IS upon their estimate
of the value Of goods that they are permit
ted to pass on the payment of duties. If
standard of the market, it is the duty of the
appraisers to raise their dutiable value,
which is frequently, nay, almost daily done.
The importer is then obliged to pay the in
creased duty, under protest, if he see fit, and
may sue the government for the difference
Most all suits, however, which are brought
bn
to the classes to which the goods belong, are
decided in favor of the original appraisement
and therefore in all cases where the differ
ence is over per cent, the mere oath Of the
importer or consignee viii pass for nothing,
and :he frauds committed upon the rev
enne III this respect are very trifing. -
Now, it is a well known fact th at in GER
tain descriptions of goods, especially liq-
uors and cigars, invoices are frequently pre-
sented at the Custom House in which goods
are valued far above their actual cost IN
order to enable the importer to sell them
under bond at more than their actual value,
and it is in this point of view that the ad
Oat0rnm system is especially obnoxious
But the American Importer has been
driven out of the business, in three different
and distinct ways-one having special ref
erence TO British manufactures s-another to
those of the continent, and the third to all
descriptions of goods In Manchester Bir-
mingham, Glasgow, and all large, manufac-
turing cities in Great Britain there are
merchants, such as A. S. Henry Cos
Crofts & Stell Richardson, Sons & Owden,
&C. who make advances to the manufae-
turers, and transact the principal East In
dian and American trade.
They have agents. in fact, all over the
habitable globe who take orders for goods
at manufacturers, prices, charging for the ex
pense of papering, tillotage, packing, ship
ping, &c, in addition to regular commits
sion of q per cent.
These houses control the manufacturers
to such an extent, that an American mer-
chant going to England to purchase goods,
finds it to his interest to buy from these
commission houses-as their stock is more
varied, and it is difficult to find goods finish
ed and tilloted in manufacturers, hands.
The agents of these houses, in this coun-
| try, anxious to extend their trade, first com
menced taking orders from jobbers, in our
seaport cities, and thus destroyed the bust
ness of those who had previously confined
their attention to the importation of British
dry goods, for every jobber who could OBJ
tain discount from bank, thus became
an importer without the expense or trouble
Of crossing the ocean. Nay, these agent
went still further; they secured the whole
country, and took orders from jobbers ant
retailers of Cincinnati, Louisville, st. Loui
and all inland cities. They sold to clotl
houses, and then sold to their customers
the clothiers, thus destroying all the origina
calculations of our merchants, and flood
ing the whole country with goods TO
American gold, it being rule OF the i'm
porting business to require remittances o
the receipt Of invoice.
The regular importers who had long Ell
loved an almost entire monopoly of Tia
trade, found themselves in possession
large stocks of goods, on which they wei
: obliged to realize, and consequent
forced them off at auction to custom
, | ers who had previously possessed but
limited credit, and purchased to some e2
! tent from lobbers as well as Importers
These customers seized the opportunity
extend their credit--ceased dealing with ii
iobbers, bought more heavily, and in tui
!: did rash business in order to meet the
payments. The consequence has been thi:
the iobbers lost their best customers, viii
the American importer of British Dry Coco
le finding his business entirely unreliab
losing his credit in the Banks at home, al
unable to make prompt remittances, b
q been driven out of the business, while t
te American jobber, who became importer
u ~ his turn, has been obliged to seek a secol