Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-02-09
CUSTOMS COLLECTOR AT LEWES.
Collector Cooper Favors Making the
Town a Port of Entry.
with an Official There the Government Reg
ulations requiring Boats to Enter Within
Forty-eight Hours Could he Enforced.

with an Official Therethe Government Reg
ulations Requiring Boats TO Enter Within
Forty-eirhr Hours Could tie Enforced.
Collector of the Port WILLIAM: II.
Cooper is pleased TO know that there is
a determined effort to have Lewes
made port Of entry, and, as the Leg
islature is about to take tho matter up,
hopes it, may succeed in convincing
the Federal authorities that such q step
should have been taken long ago.
According to Collector Cooper, the
government loses great deal of money
which should be collected at Lewes,
and Wilmington, as the scat of the
customs district of Delaware, loses the
benefit of making the collections.
The Federal regulations require the
masters of all boats entering port to
report such entry at the customs Office
within u hours thereafter and enter
within AZ hours, but under the present
system al. Lewes no provision is made
for carrying out this regulation and
many boats enter and clear without the
fornality of taking out papers and the
government derives no revenue.
Until about IL years ago it was
obligatory upon the masters Of boats
entering the harbor at Lewes to report
to the collector in this city within "a
hours and formally enter within 4S
hours, provided they were in the harbor
long enough, but shipping men in
Philadelphia, claiming that this was q
hardship, in that SO much time was
required in travelling between Lewcs
and this city, succeeded in having the
custom abolished, and now boats are
free to enter and depart without going
through the usual formality.
There would have been no necessity
for changing the custom, as outlined
above, il there had been deputy at
Lewes with authority to receive and
issue papers and receive the money.
Efforts fave been made on several
occasions to have the government make
provision for deputy at Lewes, but SC
far without success.
If, the government heeds the request
now about to be made, it is likely
Lewes will be made sub-station Of
the Wilmington Office and deputy
will be placed in charge who will be
under the direction of Collector Cooper.
1t lis now obligatory upon the Office
in this city to maintain an inspector
and five boatmen, whose duty it is tc
inspect all boats entering and exercise
supervision over wrecked boats and the
Tightening of cargocs, but the Office
here does not collect any revenue fol
this service, Notwithstanding the fact
that the men must be paid and the ex
pense is counted in the expenses of the
office in this city. The inspector, Ell
| X. Sharp, is kept busy, as are also tht
boatmen under him, and it is necessar,
| to maintain such a force there, and il
is argued that provision should b,
| made for receiving money which boat:
entering should pay, as an offset to TIT
money paid these men.
In the calendar year 1896, 235 boat:
were inspected, and of that number IL!
remained over 4S hours, the limit fol
formally entering, and some REMAINED
over o week, awaiting orders. If i
should be necessary in looking after tn,
cargo of wrecked boat TO emplo.
additional men the matter of engaging
\ them and seeing that they were pait
would fall upon the collector of tn,
port of Wilmington, under the presen
regulations.
Ii boat bound for Philadelphia
should be wrecked near Lewes or il
| the jurisdiction Of the collector of thu
district and the cargo lightered ant
taken to Philadelphia it would not b
entered here, Notwithstanding the sup
ervision the collector has over tn
Tightening, but would be entered il
Philadelphia. Collector Cooper think
where cargo is lightered in this dis
trict it should be entered here and sen
to its destination as freight.
| As matters now stand, boats ente
the harbor at Lewes for orders am
remain until ordered away by thei
masters and pay nothing to the govern
inent for the privilege. If they go to
port in the United States they ente
at their destination, but if they pre-
coed direct to u foreign port the gov
ernment receives no revenue at all.
| Collector Cooper believes the onl
sure and proper way to enforce tn
government regulations relative t
boats remaining more than As hour
within the district of Delaware woul
be to have collector at Lewes, and
is hardly likely that the, district {
Delaware would be divided, to have
deputy from the Wilmi 'gton office q
that place. He heartily endorses tn
resolution introduced in the Legisls
ture by Senator Maull.