Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1910-06-10
A Statement by Mr.. Stuart

penling in some newspapers concern
ing Hon Henry G Stuart's experience
with the New York Customs officials
with reference TO the baggage of his
wife and daughter Mr. Stuart has Is.
sued the following carefully prepared
statement which sets out clearly all
the facts in the case:
My wife and daughter and gov
erness went abroad In March 1905,
and owing TO long Illness of my
wife after reaching Paris, they have
been there ever since
Before starting home from Paris
the other day, ! first applied at the
Office of the American Express Com
panY for Information as TO the Gus
toms regulations, and ! was fur
ntshed by them with a pamphlet Is
sued by the treasury department at
Washington, under date OF August
ID, 1909, and promulgated by the
American consulate general ut Paris,
headed Notice to Passengers which
was told contained the latest Off
cial regulation on the subject.
Among other things which appeared
upon this paper were the following ::
" Passengers should observe that
there are two forms of declarations.
for residents and the other for nom
residents These forms will be dis
tributed TO passengers during the ear
ly part OF the voyage by officers Of
the ship.
" The division of passengers into
non residents and residents in no
wise affects citizenship. .Non.resl-
dents are:
GAP Persons who have been
abroad continuously for two years
or more who elect TO declare as non
residents.
Residents are all persons who
have been residents OF the United
States and who have been abroad
less Than two years.
after reading this paper, | call
ed, with 1t In my hand at the Office
OF the American consul general, and,
stating what | understood from the
paper as to my wife's status as n
resident, asked rs To how
was to properly establish the fact of
her residence abroad for over two
years. No intImation was given as
TO any change in the customs regula-
lions as | understood them; but OH
the contrary, / was, later on, fur
nished with a letter from the consul
alte-general certifying, among other
things, TO my wlfe's residence
abroad for over two years, and this
letter was attached TO the customs
declaration describing her as mon
resident, and delivered along with
that declaration TO the customs
officials.
lon the ship, in accordance with
the terms of the treasury deTart-
ment's Notice to Passengers, TO i
which l have just referred, / was
duly furnished by officers OF the ship
with forms and regulations for GUS
toms declarations, the regulations !
being an exact duplicate of the No
Il
already been furnished in Paris.
According to these regulations my
wife and daughter, who had been
residing in Paris for more than two
yeas, not only had the right to de-
clare as 'non-residents, but plainly
could not be brought within the |
definition OF residents, as expressly |
set forth in the regulations.
81 accordingly made out a decIa-
ration of all of my own baggage,
but my wife and daughter, being
'non-residents, 1, therefore, OF
course, did not declare their baggage,
as there was no customs due upon I
the baggage of residents.
ION arrival in New YORK was
Informed by some OF the customs |
officials there that tie ruling as set I
forth in the customs literature, with /
which l had been furnished, had re-
Gently been changed, and that, I'M
der this new ruling, my wife and
daughter would not come under the
head of non-Tesidents, and, therefore,
should pay duty ON their baggage.
L asked for a copy of this new rul-
ing, but was unable to obtain 1t,
and have never yet been able to see
any written or printed statement OF
the alleged new ruling. L did not
undertake to dispute it, however,
but told the officials that IL nv
wife's baggage was dutiabie, was
ready and willing to pay the duty
on 1t, and asked them to appraise it,
explaining to them that, having
been informed by the official litera-
ture with which had been furnish
ed that it was not dutiable |, was
not nor was my wife, prepared OH
the moment TO produce receipts for
each and every article, or to make a