The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-07-14
Customs INSPECTIONS.


The customs officers being on board.
they-there were three of them-prompt
" established themselves behind q table
at the head of the main staircase into the
saloon. Here they produced a bundle of
blanks and the. revenue agony began.
The passengers marched up one by one
70 the table and were furnished with
number written on a piece of cardboard
and a blank. The blank is called
..baroage entry and consists of two
parts One is devoted to the non-duti-
able articles, the other to those on which
duty is to be paid by the passenger, and
both halves, if filled up, have TO be sworn
IN. Upon the back of this entry blank
Is a synopsis of the Treasury regulations
nv This synopsis it appears that the
senior member of a family may be al
lowed to include all the baggage of the.
marty in one entry, to be made by him,
but q reference to the Treasury regula-
tions. Art los, reveals the fact that the
entry so made Will not relieve the mem
hers of the party from the penalties for
attempts to defrat1d If, then, ''the senior
member of a family be little hasty in
his concentrations rs to what is dutiable
in the trunk of his daughter maid, for,
example, he may find himself in an ex-
ceedinoly awkward prcdcament. The
lanouare employed in the statutes as
auotede.is such sthat a person unlearned
IN the law becomes lost in a maze of
punctuation marks. Wearing apparel
In actual use and other personal effects,
professional books, Implements, instru
. nents and tools of trade are declared to
-, free from impost by Sec. 2,505. Sec.
which follows it. defines the things
ere exempt. This section to be
tied must be read, but to be I'M
unjust be studied with the aid of
tutor. As no passenger even
SIS it. appeal is made to the in
n board, who proceeds to trans
TAIN the foreign language in which
rhed into English.
FIG given up See. ,, 100 in despair,
Unfortunate passenger runs foul of
" ,, 1902, hi which dire penalties are
threatened against the person who. shall
infringe the law. Forfeiture of the ar
ticles and penalty OF treble their value
would be calculated % give any one pause.
The sections are followed by two articles,
] Nos. 500 and 400, which, strange to say,
are quite easily understood. The first
declares that jewelry not for sale, is
/ free; and the second, that by professional
( books, implements, and tools of trade is
t meant such books or tools as a lawyer,
{
occupation. An extract from an official
! circular dated February %, 1875, urges
tourists To separate the articles which
i have been Worn from those which are
new, and this is good advice, even if it
! is given by the Treasury. sasrss
But while. the passengers have been
describing their personal effects in
honeyed tones before the awful Council
+ of Three behind the table, Governor
Island and the Battery have been passed
and the SueYia. is nearing her dock.
/ Arriving there, she was tied up with as
/ little fuss-as though she had been fish
/ ing-pupt instead of a great ocean steam
/ er, and the gaug-plank having been
hosted up the passengers went ashore,
+ Inspector Mehrer, who was in charge,
said tha9}there being aR Inspector, a
+ Collector and an Appraiser present. on
the wharf a custom]louse, in the ewes
/ of the law, was in existence there. This
having thenheen organized, the passen-s
gers proceeded to get then. luggage
! passed. The dock neu brought the
/ trunks and their owners collected them
htpileS. 'gThetrunls unlocked. the olli4
GERS of the custom-house proceeded to
examine them. Lifting uppies, Of cloth
ing aud asking questions in many IAN
| gpagess feelir9s the texture of various
I garments between the finger and the
thumb in order TO. ascertain their fine
ness, removing trays and driving into
shoe wells, opening boxes and baskets
ktlie work went rapidly on. Suddenly
kthere was a call for Captain .Nehrer to
kgmine some curtains which were de
bed as dutiable. He gravely lifted |
hem and then pronouncing the words
sscotton lace in a mystic aside, wrote
on the baggage entry their value at
fourteen dollars and their duty as being
thirty-tive per cent. As this was less
than five dollars the curtains were passed
free, it being a customsof the custom
house to admit articles if the. duty does
-Iist-Feach that sum, Another call, and
Captain Mehrer began 10 look at a lot of
linen, evidently spun and woven by
some old grandmother in the Father
land, . and sent out with many hopes that
it would prove useful in the new home. |
The owner was q settler coming to this |
country, and by the Treasury regulations /
the revenue officers always make things |
very easy for the emigrants ssER
The examination of the luggage did |
not take long. There were. few. articles
on which duty was collectable, the |
owners were honest and declared them, /
and there were no disputes. The stock |
or good hUr1Or which every one acquired II
when they saw the land was not taxed |
by the custom house officials. The |
luggage of the emigrants was not exam
ined on the dock. but was taken with the i
ownersao on board of the Castle Garden |
barge. Here it is looked over BY the /
officers appointed torthat work. but it is 1
rarely if ever taxed. The cuStom-house |
is very apt to allow emigrants to bring
almost anything, providing it is clearly |
their own property and for personal use. /
This fact has sometimes been taken adj
vantage or by ismuggiers and attempts |
have been made to bring in articles for I
sale this way. 1t has rarely succeeded, /
however, for although the officers are
willing TO pass almost any kind of prop /
erty belonging to emigrants, their search |
through. the great chests is none the less
thorough. - - 1900 fsf su
To tourists who are about 10 come to-
this country, either on visit or on their
return from trip, a few hints may not
be out of the way--H they-will make
sfull and exact lists or everything they |
ei se in duplicate, separating the things
f>iere sespond with the trunks in which I
x packed, noting the price of /
20 they have purchased in Eu-
Nhe date of the purchases. they |
q the work of passing the /
ise greatly facilitated. They
10 be able to easily identify /
hks They should remember,
eem the sappfaiseInent unjust,
.ev may pay the duties under pro-
15r appeal to the Appraiser from his
.I1anntv. While it is well to facilitate the
work of the officers as much as possible.
a.. t,.ax-eler should not permit himself to