Thus it will be seen that goods not liable to any duty have been stopped six, twelve, twenty-two, even 130 days, not for any irregularity of entry, not for breach of any form or regulation, not for search or the protection of the revenue, but simply because, for statistical purposes, the importers or exporters had estimated their value either below or above what it seemed good to the Custom House authorities to reckon their value for entry in the Board of Trade Returns! It is scarcely possible to characterize such intolerable obstructions in terms stronger than are implied by the simple statement of the fact. Will it be endured, that the commerce of this country is to be thus discouraged merely to supply materials for dillettanti economists?

CHAPTER IV.

DUTIES AD VALOREM.

IT has been already explained (Part I., cap. II., p. 35) that "all articles imported from abroad, not otherwise enumerated in the British Tariff, are subject to a duty of 10 per cent., and all articles to which specific duties are not thereby attached, or are not declared to be entitled to free entry, are subjected to various per centages of duty upon their value, ranging from 5 to 75, or from one-twentieth to three-fourths of their price. When the importer enters goods liable to this description of duty at an estimate below the value supposed by the landing-waiter or other officer to be the true one, the goods are stopped. The importer may then petition for leave to amend his entry, which, when no fraud is suspected, he is allowed to do on paying a fine, called "a satisfaction," to the detaining officer. If he does not choose, or is not allowed to do so, the Crown may detain the goods for seven days for enquiry. If at the end of that time the Crown does not give them up to the importer at his original valuation, the Board are bound to take them, and pay to the importer the amount of his valuation and 10 per cent. additional, to cover his supposed average of profit.

From the Chairman of the Board is elicited the following account of this practice of the Customs:

(128) When goods are seized for under-value, what is the usual practice?—The usual practice is for the owner of the goods, or his agent, to apply to the Board, either to allow him to amend his entry by bringing it up to the value the officer has put upon it, or if he has reason to believe that the officer is valuing the goods too high, he applies to the Board to let him have the goods at his own valuation, as the case may be. If the officer makes out a case so strong that the Board are satisfied, they dispose of the case. If the party applies to amend his entry, and thereby acknowledges that the duty which he put upon the goods in the first instance was below their real value, we allow the entry to be amended, but we impose a fine, a fine upon the merchant, which in that case would be a "satisfaction" to the amount of

the duty which the Crown would have lost altogether if the goods had been passed at the merchant's valuation.

(131) That satisfaction would go to the seizing officer?—Yes. (135. Mr. Alderman Humphery.) Supposing an officer has seized goods as being entered at under-value, and the case comes before you, and you find that they were not under-valued but fairly valued, is any recompense given to the merchant in that instance?—No, there is none.

(136. Chairman.) If the officer seizes the goods, and subsequently you order the restoration of them to the merchant at the value set upon them by the merchant, the officer is neither a loser nor a gainer ?-No, he is not.

(145) When goods are definitely seized for being entered at under-value, are they not disposed of by public auction at the Custom-house?—They are.

(146) Prior to their being disposed of, is it not the custom to break open the packages and divide them into small lots ?-The articles are sold in small lots.

(148) Do you think that the result of such auctions affords any proof of the under-valuation of goods by the merchant who only looked to the wholesale prices, while the Custom-house is thus getting the retail prices?-We have given the merchant not only his own valuation, but 10 per cent. in addition to his valuation, and therefore he ought not to complain at his goods being taken at the value which he has put upon them, with the addition of 10 per cent. But I quite admit that a sale at the Customhouse is not a good criterion one way or the other of the value of those goods; no doubt in some instances we may gain a slight advantage by selling them at the retail price, but in others we are under a great disadvantage in consequence of their being no sufficient market; the goods are frequently returned unsold and put up at a subsequent sale at a reduced amount.

(149) When you mention 10 per cent., do you not suppose that the difference between the wholesale and the retail prices upon the average of articles is more than 10 per cent. ?—Yes, I should suppose it was; perhaps I should say, that although the articles are sold in small lots, yet they are not sold in such very small lots as to meet the wants of ordinary purchasers; for instance, watches are sold in twos, whereas people in buying a watch in general wish to buy one; and Swiss curtains, instead of

being sold in sets fit for a gentleman's room, are sold in twenties or thirties; therefore, although the goods are generally sold in retail, yet they are not all rendered applicable to general purchasers who wish to buy things of that nature; carpets are sold singly, and in that case, no doubt, we get the retail price.

(150) You alluded to watches. Have not repeated complaints been made to the Board of Customs by the Watchmakers' Company, as to the effect of this retail sale of watches at the Custom-house ?-We have had complaints made by watchmakers.

(151) By the Watchmakers' Company?—I will not be quite sure whether it was by the Company.

(152) Do not you think that such a custom of retail sales by a public department, paying no rates and taxes, is most injurious to shopkeepers; and have not frequent complaints been made to you of it ?-With regard to watches and clocks, and a few other articles, I think it does operate injuriously, but not to any very great extent; and unless we had the means of selling articles in small lots, I believe it would be quite impossible to carry out the system of ad valorem duties.

(162. Mr. Cornewall Lewis.) What class of persons usually attend the Custom-house sales?—I never was present at one; I apprehend they are Jews and brokers.

(163) Do you suppose that they are persons who buy for their own use, or persons that buy to sell again?-They are principally persons that buy to sell again.

(164) Then in point of fact it does not operate as a retail sale, but those goods are bought by persons who intend to deal in them?-Certainly; I have frequently requested gentlemen and ladies to come to the Queen's warehouse, and have exhibited to them the watches in the Queen's warehouse, and the carpets and articles of china that we have to sell, and they express a readiness to purchase at the Custom-house sales; but it happens that they very seldom make purchases, for they cannot have the quantities they desire; and practically it appears to me that very little is sold in the way of common retail business.

But of all the branches of this subject, the point in which there is the greatest contrariety of opinion and practice, would appear to be the very important point, "on what principle the value is to be determined."