Rule.-I. Represent the sum required by x, affixing the proper unit of currency, place it equal to the given sum, and arrange the given rates of exchange so that in any two consecutive equations the same unit of currency shall stand on opposite sides.

II. If commission is charged for DRAWING, place 1 minus the rate on the LEFT if the COST OF EXCHANGE is required, and on the RIGHT if PROCEEDS are required; but if com mission is charged for REMITTING, place 1 plus the rate on the RIGHT if cost is required and on the LEFT if PROCEEDS are required.

III. Divide the product of the numbers on the right by the product of the numbers on the left, cancelling equal factors; the result will be the required sum.

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE.

3. If exchange between New York and Amsterdam is 40g per florin, and between Amsterdam and St. Petersburg is 15 florins to 8 roubles, what must be paid in St. Petersburg for a bill on New York for $1200? Ans. 1600 roubles.

4. When exchange between Boston and London is £9= $46, between London and Paris is £2=54 francs, and between Paris and Stockholm is 7 francs-5 crowns; how much must be paid in Boston for a bill on Stockholm, for 2400 crowns? required the difference between it and the direct exchange at 1 crown=27¢. Ans. $11.95.

5. A merchant in Baltimore having purchased goods in Berlin to the value of 5000 marks, remits through London, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, at the following rates: £1-$4.85: £1-25.15 francs; 1 guilder 2.5 francs; 1 guilder=1.875 reichsmarks; what will the remittance cost him in Balti more, allowing 4% brokerage in London? Ans. $1288.83.

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMPLES.

To be omitted unless otherwise directed.

6. A man in San Francisco wishes to pay a debt of $5200 in Philadelphia; the direct exchange is 2% in favor of Philadelphia, but the exchange on Baltimore is 14% in favor of Baltimore, and between Bal

timore and Philadelphia 4% in favor of Philadelphia; required the difference between the direct and circular exchange. Ans. $13.58.

7. A gentleman spending the winter in Berlin, wishing to obtain some funds from his agent in Cincinnati, directs his agent in London to draw on Cincinnati through New York, for $1000, and remit to him through London and Amsterdam, the rates being as follows: % in favor of Cincinnati; £1=$4.855; £1=11.75 guilders; 1.12 guilders=2 marks, and the London agent charges 4% brokerage both for drawing and remitting; what does he receive and which is best, the circular exchange, or the direct exchange at 1 mark=249 in Cincinnati ?

Ans. 4332.45 marks; circular, by 165.79 marks.

DUTIES OR CUSTOMS.

536. Duties, or Customs, are taxes levied by government upon imported goods; they are of two kinds, ad valorem and specific.

537. An Ad Valorem duty is a certain percentage assessed on the cost of the goods in the country from which they were imported.

538. A Specific Duty is a certain sum assessed on goods without regard to their cost.

539. A Tariff is a schedule showing the rate of duty fixed by law on all kinds of imported merchandise.

540. Tare is an allowance for the weight of the box, cask, or covering containing the goods.

For some articles certain rates of tare are fixed by law : in other cases the real tare only, ascertained under regulations prescribed by the Secre tary of the Treasury, is allowed. If the tare is specified in the original invoice, the collector may, if he chooses, with the consent of the consignee, accept it as the correct tare.

541. Breakage is an allowance for the loss of liquors imported in bottles.

The allowance for breakage is 5% on ale, beer, porter, liquors, and sparkling wine in bottles; no allowance is now made on still wines. 542. Gross Weight or Value is the weight or value of the goods before any deductions have been made.

543. Net Weight or Value is the weight or value of the goods after all allowances have been deducted.

By the Į resei t tariff, most duties of the United States are ad valorem, but some duties are specific, and some articles are charged both a specific and an ad valorem duty. The duty is reckoned on the actual cost at the place of purchase or manufacture, increased by all charges for transportation previous to final shipment.

Seaport towns, where customs are collected, are called ports of entry. The offices in which they are collected are called custom-houses; and the officer who superintends the collection of duties and other business of the custom-house is called collector of the port.

A vessel is entered at a port by lodging at the custom-house a manifest or statement of its cargo, and also a list of passengers, if it have any, these papers verified by the oath of the master. The clearance from its port of departure and papers proving its nationality must also be deposited, before it is permitted to discharge its cargo.

A vessel is cleared from a port by lodging at the custom-house a manifest of its outward cargo, verified by oath, and agreeing with the shippers' manifests of parts of cargo. All government charges must be paid also, and everything connected with the discharging of the inward cargo settled, after which a general clearance" is issued, and the vessel is at liberty to leave the port, having received its papers of nationality again. The illegal introduction of goods into a country otherwise than through the regular ports of entry is called smuggling.

544. All merchandise imported from foreign ports or places must be consigned in the manifest, invoice, or bill of lading, to some person or firm at the port of importation, by whom it must be duly entered-either for immediate consumption or for warehouse.

Merchandise not intended for immediate consumption may be deposited in U. S. Bonded Warehouses, and remain there not longer than three years, the owner being at liberty to withdraw it at any time upon payment of the duties and charges for storage.

In custom-house business the long ton, cwt., and qr. are used. Foreign money is reduced by the table given in Art. 530, unless the invoice is accompanied by a consular certificate stating that a different rate of exchange is ruling at the time the invoice is made out.

545. The Quantities considered are: 1. The Cost of the goods, or the Quantity; 2. The Duiy; 3. The Rate; 4. The Allowances.

NOTE. Duties may be treated under three cases, as other applications of Percentage; but as the second and third cases are merely theoretical, they are not given here.

CASE I.

546. Given, the base and rate, to find the duty.

1. What is the specific duty on 75 drums of figs, each weighing 57 lb., tare 21 lb. to the cwt. at $11 a cwt.?

SOLUTION. We find the number of cwt. to be 38; multiplying 21 lb., the tare on 1 cwt., by 382, we have the whole tare equal to 72 cwt., which, subtracted from 38112 cwt., leaves the net weight, 311 cwt. On 1 *92 cwt. the duty is $11, and on 31 cwt. (the fraction being less than

is not reckoned) it is 31 times $11, or $341.

Rule I.-For ad valorem duties, multiply the entire cost of the goods by the rate of duty.

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Rule II. For specific duties, deduct first the allowances, and compute the duty on the remainder.

NOTE. In reckoning duties, whole dollars, pounds, gallons, etc., are used as the base, fractions less than being rejected and more than

being reckoned as 1. Duties are payable in gold.

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE.

2. I received from Havre an invoice of 50 dozen bottles of champagne, costing $12.50 per dozen; what is the duty at $6 a dozen, breakage 5% ?

Ans. $285.

3. H. B. Claflin & Co. received an invoice of Brussels laces costing 2800 francs in Brussels, charges 101.56 francs; what was the duty at 30% ad valorem? Ans. $168.

4. What is the duty at 20% ad valorem on 350 boxes of Naples oranges, invoiced at 20 lire per box, charges 475 lire, commission 24% ? Ans. $295.80.

5. What is the duty in currency on 25 hhd. of sugar, each weighing 5 cwt. 1 qr. 3lb., tare 21 lb. per hhd., duty $14 per cwt., and 35 hhd. of molasses, 120 gallons each, duty 59 a gallon, specific duties? Ans. $368.75.

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMPLES.

To be omitted unless otherwise directed.

6. Sharpless Brothers imported from London 10 cases of woollen goods, net weight 1350 lb., value £756 15 s., commission 23%; what did the goods cost in store, duty 50% per lb. and 35% ad valorem?

Ans. $5771.04.

7. Chas. Ford & Son, linen merchants, Belfast, shipped to John Ford & Co., April 2, 1876, 40 pcs. Ducks marked W. R., No. 14, containing 2063 yd.@7fd.; commission 21%; ship charges 5 s.; what will be the duty at 35%? Ans. $107.45

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMPLES.

To be omitted unless otherwise directed.

8. Invoice of 75 Drums Caustic Soda, shipped per S. S. Gerinania for New York, by the undersigned on acc't and risk of Messrs. Smith & Bro.

What was the cost of this invoice, including duty, when delivered to Messrs. Smith & Bro.?

Ans. $1994.25 gold.

9. Invoice of Mdse., purchased, paid for in London, and shipped by David Taylor & Sons, per steamer Ohio to Philadelphia, for % and risk of Messrs. Snow, Gilbert & Co.

NOTE. The 8th and 9th problems are taken from actual custom-house transactions, and indicate the exact forms used. In problem 8, the letters at the left are the trade mark on the drums; indicates numbers of the drums from 1 up to 75; gross weight is 421 cwt. 3 qr. 3 lb., tare, 14 cwt. 3 qr. 23 lb.; net weight is 406 cwt. 3 qr. 8 lb. or 45564 lb., at 13s, 3d. per cwt.; from which a discount of 2 per cent. must be subtracted, giving the amount paid, and adding a commission of 21⁄2 per cent, we have the cost up to shipment, which must be reduced to United States currency, reckoning $4.8665 £1. The duty being specific is, however, reckoned only on the weight. In the 9th sxample, having deducted discount and added price of case and the commission, and reduced the amount of the invoice to United States money, 45 per cent. of the nearest exact number of dollars will be the duty.

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