The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-03-31


The Custom House I'm RsvOlutiOn-In-
cOn8ru1ties OF the MOrrtu Tariff.
The clerks in the Custom House have been
in fever of excitement for the past month.
the posts of Collector, Naval Officer aud Sur
veyor has been depicted on the corntenances
of all the employfs
The new tariff has also received full share
Of their attention, and maledictions loud and
deep have been cast on it by those who have
failed in their endeavors to understand its COM
plications. The clerks find many difficulties in
the way of carrying it out, mot knowing in
some cases whether to act as the bill evidently
means or to stick to its literal construction.
They find in it, for instance, the following pro.
vision
On all wool manufactured, and all hair Of the alpaca
goat and other like animals unmanuf .ctured the value
whereof at the last port place from whence exported
per pound five per centum ad valorem shall be levied
exceeding eighteen cents per pound and not exceeding
lected and paid duty of three cents per pound
Now, the evident meaning Of this is, that
all wool unmanufactured, DO, &C., the value
whereof at the last port or place from whence
exported to the United States shall be
eighteen cents or less per pound, shall pay five
per cent ad valorem. But no such thing is
said. 1t is only specified that wool below eigh-
teen cents per pound in value shall pay GER
tain rate, and wool above eighteen cents per
pound shall pay another rate. Wool valued at
exactly eighteen cents per pound is not men,
toned. Now, shall the government exact five
per cent ad valorem, three cents per pound, or
admit the goods free This question, and many
similar ones, will have to be submitted to the
Secretary of the Treasury, and will give rise to
much discussion and litigation in the courts.
But the upshot will be that the importer will
have the benefit Of the doubt.
Again, hardware is usually imported in casks
or packages containing different articles, which,
under the tariff Of 1857, have been admitted
under the uniform rate of twenty four per cent.
An importer orders so many dozen or gross of
q certain article from the manufacturer in Eu-
rope These articles vary greatly in value.
They are never paid for by the pound, and no
account has been kept of the number of pounds
shipped. They are packed in casks promis-
cuously, articles of considerable value being
associated with those of very small value. But
under the new arrangement each article will
have to be taken from the cask, examined, in
spected, classified, the duty levied, and then put
back again by the appraiser. ALI this trouble
will be repeated by the importer when the
goods arrive at his store 1t may happen in
some cases that the goods will come under the
provision of section 80, which reads as fol-
lows -
That when merchandise OF the same material or de.
scription, but OF different values, nvoced at an
average price and otherwise provided for the duty
shall be assessed upon the whole invoice at the rate the
highest valued goods in such invoice are subject to under
this act
This would be manifestly unjust to the inn
porter. Another difficulty has been discovered
in carrying out the provisions of this act.
Section SO reads as follows =
And be further enacted, That all goods wares and
merchandise actually on shipboard and bound TO the
United States within fifteen days Of the passage Of this
act, and all goods, wares and merchandise deposit in
warehouse or public store the first day OF April
eighteen hundred sixty one shall be subject to nav
such duties provided by law before and the time
the passage OF this act and all goods in at the
time this act takes effect which the duties lessen
cd by ITS provisions, may DO withdrawn payment OF
the duties herein provided.
1t is well known that sugar and molases
have to pay reduced duty-a reduction made
in order to give parting slap at the South.
Under the tariff of 1867 the duty levied
on these articles was twenty-four per
cent ad valorem. Under the tariff of
1861 it is three-fourths OF one cent per
pound and two cents per gallon respectively.
Sugar and molasses have been entered on the
warehouse books of the Custom House by the
hogshead, tierce or barrel, not by the pound
True, an account Of the total number of pounds
or of gallons in the invoice has been put on
the books after "liquidation;" but this is on the
debit side, meant merely to govern in shipment,
ia bond to foreign ports or to another port of the
United States. When withdrawn for this pur-
pose an account o. the number of pounds has
been made on the credit side of the books; but
in case of withdrawal for consumption no such
account has been made, consequently the
clerks find on the debit side the total number
Of pounds warehouses;; on the credit partial
account Of the pounds Withdrawn resulting
from the different kinds of withdrawals viz.