3d. Gross amount of draft in foreign currency.

4th. The rate of exchange.

5th. Loss on sale of draft.

6th. Upon whom and on what account drawn (Form No. 92).

529.. The Department has noticed with surprise and regret that, in a few cases, the amounts charged in Consular bills for loss in exchange have been unnecessarily large, and greater than they would have been if proper care had been taken to protect the interest and credit of the Government of the United States. Whenever any such instance of inadvertence or carelessness is hereafter brought to the attention of the Department, the Consul so offending will be prohibited from drawing on the Government, and required to transmit his accounts to the proper Department in due form, and to wait until after their adjustment before the payment of the same. When such accounts have been adjusted by the accounting officers, and not until then, will he be authorized to draw on the bankers for the exact amount which is found to be due him, without any allowance for loss in exchange; or a bill on the bankers will be transmitted to him.

530.. Drafts for the following accounts are to be drawn upon the Secretary of State, viz: Rent and miscellaneous expenses; relief of seamen; clerk hire; expenses of Interpreters, guards, and other expenses at Consulates in Turkey ; rent of prisons; wages of keepers, care of offenders, and expenses incident thereto, in China, Japan, Siam, Turkey, and other non-Christian countries; expenses of the arrest and transportation of persons charged with crime; acknowledging the services of masters and crews of foreign vessels in rescuing American citizens from shipwreck; and any account specially ordered by the Department.

531.. Drafts for the following accounts should be drawn on the Secretary of the Treasury, viz: All salaries the amount of which is fixed by law; and any account specially ordered for the Treasury Department..

RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF SEAMEN.

532..The returns to be made under this head comprise: Statement of cases of relief (Form No. 94); a return of extra

When loss by exchange is excessive.

Drafts on the Secretary of State.

On Secretary of the Treasury.

Accounts relating to seamen,

Accounts for relief of seamen.

Account for extra

wages.

Ships' bills to be made in duplicate.

wages (Form No. 93); an account-current (Form No. 100); a detailed list of seamen or mariners shipped, discharged, or deceased (Form No. 124); a statement of hospital dues collected (Form No. 125); and a return of seamen who have come upon the Consulate otherwise than in the employment of vessels, or by regular discharge therefrom (Form No 126). All of these returns are to be transmitted quarterly to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, Reference is made to previous instructions herein for information as to the items to be embraced in the account for the relief of seamen, and the vouchers to sustain them. (For forms of sundry vouchers, see Forms Nos. 95, 93, 97, and 98.)

STATEMENT OF CASES OF RELIEF.

533..This return should be prepared as shown in Form No. 94, and should be a complete statement of the entire receipts and disbursements on account of seamen during the quarter for which it is rendered. Where seamen have been discharged with one month's extra wages only, or without extra wages, the grounds on which they have been so discharged should be noted on the statement in the column headed "remarks." So, also, where seamen have come upon a Consulate casually, or otherwise than in the employment of vessels or by regular discharge therefrom, the manner in which they came upon the Consulate should be stated, with the names of the vessels on which they were last employed and the ports to which they belong; and particulars (as full as possible) should be given showing how and why such seamen left the employment of their vessels.

RETURN OF EXTRA WAGES.

534..This should be a complete return for the quarter of that portion of the extra wages collected, which, under the law, belongs to the United States, and should be made out as shown in Form No. 99.

535.. Hereafter it will be required that all Consular bills against shipmasters shall be made in duplicate, and that they shall show each item of charge, including all moneys received for wages and extra wages, and corresponding in these respects to the entries in the "Ship's Daily Journal" (Form

No. 135). The originals of such accounts are to be delivered to the master of the vessel, and the duplicates, after being countersigned by the master, are to be sent by the Consular Officer as vouchers to the proper quarterly account to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury. In case the signature of the master cannot from any cause be obtained, the reasons therefor should be reported to the Auditor at the time of sending the account.

ACCOUNT-CURRENT AND OTHER RETURNS.

536..The account-current should be made up as shown by Form No. 100. It should show, on the debit side, the amount disbursed for the relief of each seaman and on what account, the balance of extra wages and arrears of wages refunded to each seaman, and the loss by exchange sustained in negotiating any draft drawn on this account; and, on the credit side it should show the full amount of extra wages and arrears of wages received on account of each seaman, and the amount of hospital dues collected. For any balance that may be due from the United States on this account at the end of a quarter, the Consular Officer will draw on the Secretary of State, unless he has sufficient funds to pay the same from surplus fees in his hands. The other returns, viz, detailed list of seamen or mariners shipped, discharged, or deceased; statement of hospital dues collected; and return of seamen who have come upon the Consulate otherwise than in the employment of vessels or by regular discharge therefrom, are to be rendered as shown in Forms Nos. 124, 125, and 125.

SUMMARY OF CONSULAR BUSINESS.

Account-current.

sular business.

537.. Consular Officers at seaports will also make to the Summary of ConDepartment of State and to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury a quarterly report in Form No. 103, containing a summary of the business of their offices. This report embraces the movement of vessels and seamen, the tonnage arriving and departing, the amount of fees and wages received, and the disbursements on account of seamen.

Record of official fees.

RECORD OF OFFICIAL FEES.

538.. Consular Officers will make the following quarterly return of fees, both to the Department of State and to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, viz: The return of all official fees received during the quarter for services of whatsoever kind. A separate return must also be made for each Consular Agency. If no fees have been received, that fact must be stated on the return. If the Consular Officer resides at a seaport, the return should be as shown in Form No. 101. If he resides at an inland place, it should be as shown in Form No. 102. The forms Nos. 103 and 104 in the Consular Regulations of 1874 being discontinued, Consular Officers will be required to state clearly in their returns the exact nature of each fee, both on account of services to vessels and otherwise.

Aggregate of fees.

Salary account.

Transit salary.

AGGREGATE OF FEES

539.. Consular Officers will also, on the 30th of June in each year, make a return to the Department of State, in the form given in Form No. 105, of the aggregate of official fees received at the Consulate and the Consular Agencies connected with it, during the fiscal year ending on that day.

SALARY ACCOUNT.

540 The first salary account will be stated for the time, not exceeding thirty days, during which the Consular Officer is receiving his instructions (Form No. 106). The time begins with the date of commission. The draft therefor is drawn before departure. A certificate (Form No. 107) of the number of days occupied in receiving instructions accompanies the account. No allowance of salary, however, on account of time occupied in receiving instructions is made when the appointee is out of the United States at the time of appointment. All drafts for salary should be drawn on the Secretary of the Treasury. The account therefor should be sent to the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, who is the Officer charged with the first adjustment of such accounts. 541..It is required also that a separate account should be stated for the time occupied in the transit from the residence

of the Consular Officer to his post of duty (Form No. 108). The transit must be made in the shortest time in which it can conveniently be made by the ordinary routes of travel. The account should be accompanied by a certificate as shown in Form No. 109. If the Consular Officer, after arrival at his post, is obliged to wait for his exequatur, or is delayed in taking charge of the office, the account for time so occupied may accompany the transit account. Consular Officers who are compensated by the fees received for official services have no allowance of pay during transit or while receiving instructions. No allowance can be made for transit for a longer time than that fixed in the schedule given in paragraph 46. 542..After the Consul arrives at his post, and enters upon Salary after arrival his duties, the regular accounts should be rendered quarterly. In no case after the first quarter should an account be rendered for a fractional quarter until the final account, which will be made to the day when the right to receive compensation ceases. The first account should be accompanied by a certificate showing the day upon which he entered on the duties of the office (Form No. 110), and that and all subsequent accounts should be accompanied by the certificate of non-absence (Form No. 113).

543..The final account will also be accompanied by a certificate (see Form No. 111) showing the time occupied in making the transit from the post of duty to the residence of the Consul. As Consular Officers have sometimes supposed that they could make a draft for the amount of salary allowed for the time of transit to the United States while they were yet abroad, it should be understood that such a draft is unauthorized, and that the allowance of salary in such a case is never granted until after the transit has been made; and also that the allowance will not be granted unless the transit takes place within a reasonable time after delivering up the office or being otherwise relieved from its duties.

VICE-CONSULAR ACCOUNTS.

544.. When the absence of a Consular Officer from his post, by leave or otherwise, exceeds sixty days together with the time allowed for transit from his post, the account

at post.

Transit home.

Vice-Consular ac

counts.