Clearance of Vessels to Foreign Ports.

"ARTICLE 183. Before a clearance can be granted by the collector to a vessel bound to a foreign port or place, the owners, shippers or consignors of the cargo on board of such vessel shall deliver to the collector manifests of the parts thereof shipped by them respectively, and verify the same by their oath or affirmation.

"Such manifests must specify the kinds and quantities of the articles shipped by them respectively, the value of the total quantity of each kind of articles, and the destination thereof.

The oath or affirmation must state that the manifest contains a full, just and true account of all articles laden on board of such vessel by the owners, shippers or consignors respectively, and of the foreign place or country in which the same is truly intended to be landed, and that the values of such articles are truly stated according to their actual cost, or the values which they truly bear at the port and time of exportation."

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Free Entry of Articles returned.

ARTICLE 373. Articles of the growth, production, or manufacture of the United States, duly exported to a foreign country and brought back in the same condition as when exported, and upon which no drawback or bounty has been allowed, are entitled to entry free of duty.

ARTICLE 374. If brought back to the port of original exportation, the fact of regular clearance for its foreign destination must be shown to the satisfaction of the collector and naval officer by the records of the customs, and by the oath or affirmation of the person or persons having knowledge of the facts, which oath or affirmation will be in the following form:

I,

FORM 92.

Oath of Growth or Production.

do solemnly, sincerely, and truly swear [or affirm], that the several articles of merchandise mentioned in the entry hereto annexed are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, truly and bona fide of the growth, production [or manufacture] of the United States, and that they were truly exported and imported as therein expressed, and that no drawback, bounty, or allowance has been paid or admitted thereon, or in any part thereof.

PORT OF

Sworn to this day of

18-.

Collector.

"ARTICLE 375. But when the reimportation is made into a port other than that of original exportation from the United States, the law requires, in addition to the foregoing oath, the production of a certificate, showing the exportation thereof, from the collector and naval officer, if any, of the port where the exportation was made.

"ARTICLE 376. If the foregoing certificate cannot at once be procured, and the proof otherwise required to be made, free entry will be permitted on bond being given . . . . with sureties to the satisfaction of the collector of the district of reimportation, in a sum equal to what the duties on the merchandise would be if it were not of the production, growth, or manufacture of the United States.

"ARTICLE 377. To guard against fraud on the revenue and insure identity, the collector shall require, in addition to proof of clearance, the producton of a statement, certified by the proper officer of the customs, at the foreign port from which the reimportation was made, of the fact that such merchandise was imported into that country from the United States in the condition in which it is returned: the certificate of such foreign customs officer being authenticated by the consul of the United States.

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In cases where there is no such officer at the foreign port of exportation, a certificate of the foreign recipient of the goods, or of his representative, having knowledge of the facts, duly authenticated by the consul of the United States, may be admitted in lieu thereof; but if it be impracticable to produce either of the certificates referred to in this article at the time of making entry, entry may be admitted on bond being given for the production thereof.

"ARTICLE 378. In default of observance of the foregoing requirements, merchandise purporting to be privileged, as aforesaid, will be considered and treated as foreign, and, if dutiable, subjected to payment of duties."

Collectors of customs are requested to direct, so far as practicable, the attention of parties concerned to the regulations above set forth.

COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS AND OTHERS. (S. S., 2990.)

CHAS. F. CONANT,
Acting Secretary.

96. Unsealed packages of music by foreign mail may be seized by a customs officer at the United States exchange office of receipt, or elsewhere, under the following regulation of the Post-office Department:

"The provisions of amended Regulations No. 82, issued by the Post-office Department on the 9th of July, 1875, require that sealed letters or packages which are suspected to contain dutiable articles must not be unreasonably delayed at the exchange office of receipt, but forwarded to the office of destination, stamped with the words 'suspected liable to customs duty; but with respect to unsealed packages which are positively known to inclose dutiable articles, the regulation provides that when an unsealed package is found on examination to contain an article or arti

cles liable to customs duty, it should be delivered to the proper officer of the customs, and the postmaster should inform the person to whom it is addressed of its arrival in the mails, and its delivery to the customs officers.'" (S. S., 3001.)

97. Coral, beads and bead necklaces of, are dutiable as beads under 396. (S. S., 3003.)

98. The sample labels, supplied by the Department for the filing of samples of important merchandise, may have noted thereon the number of the pertinent invoice, the invoice designation or description of the merchandise, and any other particulars which the appraisers may deem of use. (S. S., 2991.)

99. Goat-skin Rugs.-Goat-skins cut in such forms that when attached they would constitute a rug, and the pieces forming each separate rug rolled by themselves, held to be dutiable as "rugs," at 45 per cent. ad valorem. (S. S., 2825, 3063.)

100. Books printed on American paper in foreign countries, Jutiable same as if the paper were of foreign mf. (S. S., 3065.)

101. Cording and Sealing.-Art. 640 of Regulations of 1874 revived; and Circular 118 of September 15, 1876, revoked. (S. S., 3092.)

102. Packing of Cigars.-5000 cigars contained in 55 boxes, merely tied together by strong twine, and in such manner that any one box in the "package" could be taken out without cutting or untying the cord, were held not to constitute a package" within the meaning of Sec. 2804, Rev. Stat. (par. 1838), and not entitled to entry. (S. S., 3141.)

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103. Tin cans, manufactured in the United States, of foreign material, exported with drawback, filled with domestic salmon, and returned in same condition, are dutiable, not under 2051, but under 1067, at 35 per cent. ad valorem; the contents being free under 1482, and not as fish co nomine. (S. S., 3221.)

104. Australian Wool.-" Although used for combing purposes, and known as cross-breed combing wool, yet, not being of full English blood, as required under the provisions of Class 2, and containing a large portion of Merino, say perhaps one-half, it brings its classification in under the last clause of Class No. 1, which reads, and also including all wools not hereinafter described or designated in classes two and three.'" (S. S., 3304.)

105. Correction of Errors.-Protest and appeal are in no case required in advance of liquidation, and errors may be corrected at any time prior thereto, without protest and appeal, and excessive duties refunded. (S. S., 3308.)

106. Machinery, Iron and Steel.-Where the several parts are readily separable for classification, they are to be separately valued for duty as mfs. respectively of iron or steel. (S. S., 3319.)

107. Saddles, Old and in Use.-Not free as either "household" or "personal effects," under 1514 or 1793. (S. S., 3321.)

108. Additional Duty.-"In estimating undervaluation, only those different items should be included in the calculation which relate to articles of the same general character, description, and material, and the uses and purposes of which are substantially the same." In an invoice of cotton edgings and linen edgings the former were advanced over 10 per cent., but the advance was not equal to 10 per cent. upon both. Held, that as the materials are different, the additional duty attaches. (S. S., 3346.)

But penal duty does not attach in cases where, after entry and appraisement, an undervaluation of over 10 per cent. is discovered, excepting on actual re-examination and re-appraisement. (S. S., 3299.)

109. Separate Classification.-Portions of chandeliers of brass and glass, separately packed and invoiced, held to be entitled to separate classification. (S. S., 3347.)

110. The following, although not a "Treasury decision," is inserted for convenient reference: In the case of Morius vs. Arthur, (5th Otto, p. 147,) Mr. Justice Hunt said: "We find in examining the statutes imposing duties on foreign importations, that generally the highest duty is imposed on the most expensive articles of the same class, and that articles of luxury are taxed higher than those of necessity. In regard to the particular article of japanned leather, strictly an article of luxury, used by the rich only, we find that Congress has usually imposed upon it a higher duty than it has imposed on ordinary leather, an article of strict necessity for the purposes of clothing, and of almost equal necessity in the mechanic arts."

111. A Silver Statue, on marble block, and not the work of a sculptor or artist, dutiable as a manufacture of silver under 1065. (S. S., 1876.)

The unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. WHEN, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind req uires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident-that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature-a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable,

and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislature.

He has effected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states;

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;

For imposing taxes on us without our consent;

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences;

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies;

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our government;

For suspending our own legislature, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries, to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by re