The Portland daily press., 1875-04-29
What has been Gained2

action Of the Treasury Department in refer
ence to the sealing system.
For the ten years from 1864 to 1874, that
that system was in force, the cars containing
transit, as we'll as other merchandise, were
closed and sealed at Island Pond, and man.
ifest of the contents of each car was present
ed to the Consul at Coaticook, and sworn to
before him, one copy was sent to the Collect
or at Portland, one kept by the Consul, and
one given to the conductor and brought to
Portland. The car on its arrival at Island
Pond was examined by an officer of customs
and if found closed and the consular seal was
intact, it was allowed to proceed without de-
lay to Portland, the terminus of the road at
which all cars are unladen. The Deputy at
Island Pond would there report daily to
the Collector of Portland what cars, by num-
bers, had passed the former port under seal
for the latter. On arrival of the car at Port
land with merchandise for Liverpool or other
foreign ports, the seal would be examined by
an officer and report of 'intact" (or other
report as the fact might require) was made to
tice OF the fact to the Island Pond Office.
There the car would be unIaden, and the
contents would be carefully compared with
the manifest. If the seals were intact, and
the merchandise answered to the manifest,
the latter would be entered tor expectation to
the foreign country; the entry would give the
articles in detail with all the numbers and
marks on them. The goods having been un-
laden from the cars would be laden on ship
board under the supervision of an Inspector
of Customs, who would make return under
the sanction of his oath of Office that
the goods had been laden on board of the
vessel-naming it-under his supervision.
This system was established by Secretary
Chase to "prevent smuggling" and was con-
tinued through the term of all his successors
until last autumn, and during all that time,
we are authorized to say as fact which has
not been and cannot be gainsald, not q
single article has eoer been illegally removed
from car on the route between Island Pond
and Portland. Whatever has left Canada
has reached Portland in the same condition
that 1t left, and has been laden on board ship
and been exported beyond sea. Now this was
what was accomplished under the sealing law.
Let us now turn to what exists under the
new order.
A car containing foreign goods in transit
from Canada arrives at Coaticook, the last
town in Canada, but it is net stopped there,
for consular examination and sealing, for that
has all been done away with. 1t proceeds un-
sealed and open to Island Pond, "a miles, OF
which 16 are in American territory, on any
part of which the car may be stopped and
goods distracted or changed. For 16 miles
there is no entry and no government protec-
ton of any kind. On arrival of the car at
Island Pond the contents are entered under
what is called combined entry for trans
portation and exportation," but the car is
not lin fact unladen. As it is impossible in
all, or in most cases, to know with any GER
tainty what is in the bags or boxes, or what
shipping marks have been placed on them Tor
to put on them such marks) the entry is neces-
essarly made by hearsay or guess. An officer
of the customs returns under his official oath
that the car has been there laden under his
superintendence, when, as matter of fact,
it was laden in Canada and he has no real
knowledge of the contents such as is implied
by the law when it requires an actual lading
under the eye Of an officer. And not only
do the new regulations involve and require
the making of false official certificate, but
permit fee to be charged and collected for
doing this thing which in fact has not been
done. But in order to have even this entry
(and it is misleading and worse than nonel
made, detention of the car for some twenty
four hours in the passage to its destination is
involved, and this necessitates loss to the
railroad.company of about $4.00 per cwt. and
$1.9O is collected for an entry where only
$1.30 is collected at Portland; and charge
of 10 cents sometimes it has been reported
to be 25 cents) is collected for certain blanks
there used, carrying the gross expense OF an
entry including the many manifests required
for all the cars by which the contents of the
entry are transported to Portland, to proba-
bly, not less than $500, thus imposing tax
just twice as great as would be paid if the
sealing system were in operation.
But this is not all when one of these cars
arrives at Portland, and the Island Pond en-
try which has been sent forward is examined
and the manifest has been examined, and
the goods are unladen before placing them on
shipboard, it becomes necessary to compare
the goods with the entry and manifest; and
This is what happens, and from the neces-
sity of the case always will happen, where en-
tries are made at way station and without
an examination and actual lading, viz: that
goods are manifested for instance, as marked
A. B. c., but the goods arriving and unladen
are marked x. Y. q. Goods are manifested
peas, but there are no peas in the car while
there are bags of wheat. Cases similar to these
arise every day in the week. In such cases
what can the collector at Portland do? Can he
send to Island Pond a certificate that pack
ages marked A. B. G. have arrived and been
laden for expectation, when they have not9
Can he send the false official report that lOO
bags of peas have arrived and been laden etc.
when they have not? OF course not. Can
he order them to be here entered for exporta-
ton as if they had here arrived in sealed
cars? What invoice has he upon which such
entry can be made? But suppose he does
treat these goods as in his custody for. expor-
tation and takes upon himself the response
bility of doing that for which there is no reg
ulation; how is the landing certificate
given in the foreign part of these goods x. Y.
q. to be used to cancel the bond given at Is
land Pond for landing certain other goods a:
A. B. c. I? Now it is simply and practically i'm
possible to carry out the new Treasury regu
lations and comply with one single law of the
United States bearing on this question. 1t is
impossible TO obtain any certain and reliable
knowledge that the very goods imported have
been exported, and it is therefore Impossible
to guard against fraudulent practices whicn
will surely creep in now that the protection
of the sealing system is withdrawn, as they
had crept In before Secretary Chase had the
law passed to ''preventsmuggling ana for 9TH
er purposes"
GENERAL LESLIE CooMBs is discouraged.
r. A. a., 10 ;xJ