(9816.)

Tonnage-tax-Vessels from Guadeloupe.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

Bureau of Navigation,

Washington, D. C., January 22, 1890.

SIR Referring to your letter dated the 15th instant, this office has to state that vessels entered in the ports of the United States from any of the ports of the island of Guadeloupe are exempt under the proclamation of April 16, 1888, from tonnage-tax, unless they are also entered from some foreign port not in said island.

The proclamation requires that there shall be excluded from the suspension above mentioned the vessels of any foreign country in whose ports the fees or dues of any kind or nature imposed on vessels of the United States, or the imports or export duties on their cargoes, are in excess of the fees, dues, or duties imposed on the vessels of such foreign country, or their cargoes, "or of the fees, dues, or duties imposed on the vessels of the country in which are the ports mentioned in the proclamation, or the cargoes of such vessels."

As regards your statement that the matter has been "overlooked in your office," you are informed that there seems to have been no copy of the proclamation furnished either to the Treasury Department or to the Bureau of Navigation until volume 25 of the United States Statutes at Large, in which it is embodied, was supplied.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 22, 1890.

SIR: The Department duly received your letter of October 7 last, further relating to the appeals (2966 w) of Messrs. John and James Dob. son, per Vicenzo Galatola, May 2, 1889, and (3916 w) of Mr. H. Schmidt, per Adriatic, June 1, 1889, from your decision assessing duty, at the rate of 10 cents per pound, on certain unwashed Adrianople wool, imported by the said vessels, respectively, which the appellants claim to be wool of class three, and to be dutiable at the rate of 2 cents per pound, under

the provision in Schedule K, T. I., 359, being valued at less than 12 cents per pound.

The appellants claim that wool of this character-that is, wool from Adrianople-has been imported by themselves and others for many years, and, until the present instance, passed at the ports of New York and Philadelphia as third-class wool; that it was reported in the year 1872 by Mr. George William Bond, who had been charged by the Department with the preparation of the standard wool samples, as classthree wool; that it is of the same general quality and character as at that time, and is expressly covered by the provision in paragraph 355, T. I., for "native Smyrna, and including all such wools of like character as have been heretofore imported into the United States from Turkey * * *""

It is learned from authoritative sources that the original sheep of Roumelia and adjoining provinces were of the Zackel and fat or broadtail races; but long before 1867 these had been crossed upon to a very considerable extent by merinos or other races of sheep clearly of the first class. There remain there, however, sheep which yield only wool of the third class. In 1870 Mr. George William Bond obtained samples of Adrianople or Roumelia wool of class one, also one sample of class three; the former, however, were lost by shipwreck, and the latter was destroyed by fire at Boston, consequently the cabinet of standard samples prepared for the Department by Mr. Bond in 1872 did not include a sample of such wool, and the sample (No. 33) of class one in the present cabinet of standard samples, which were reported upon by the commission appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury in 1884, is the only sample of Adrianople wool that has ever been adopted by the Department as a standard.

Reports of recent dates from the collectors at Boston and Philadelphia indicate that previous to the adoption of the present cabinet of standard samples, in October, 1884, it was the practice at those ports to classify Adrianople wools as of class three, but that since that date such wools have been uniformly classified for duty as of class one.

From your report, dated the 20th instant, it appears that during the time that Mr. John A. Bausch served as assistant appraiser at your port (from 1867 to January, 1883) Adrianople wool was returned for duty as of class one; that between the latter date and March, 1889, certain importations of such wools were passed as of class three, but since the latter date all importations of Adrianople wool proper have been classified as wools of class one.

The special reports of the appraiser at your port are to the effect that the importations in question comprised four different grades of

qualities of wool, mostly from sheep raised in Turkey, near Adrianople, and having been taken from the skin in the grease is termed "Kassop bachi," or butchers' wool; that grades one and two being from sheep of merino breed, and corresponding in character to sample No. 33 in the cabinet of standard samples, were returned for duty as wool of class one, but as the other grades "showed marked indications of being carpet wool," they were returned for duty as of class three.

The fact that Adrianople wools are admitted at the ports of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia as of class three, during different periods, as above mentioned, does not establish their right to such admission then nor since. On the contrary, it would appear that a portion thereof at least was so admitted in direct contravention of the provision in the tariff acts of 1867 and 1883, respectively, for "wools of merino blood, immediate or remote."

It is satisfactorily ascertained that the wools from Turkey, which are known as Adrianople wools, come in part from sheep of improved or distinctly merino blood, and in part from the native or third-class races. Although these wools may be separately sold and baled for shipment at Adrianople, it is understood that they are largely purchased by dealers in Smyrna, for the purpose of mixing and rebaling with their native wools for shipment as such to this country.

In this view the Department is unable to decide definitely to which particular dutiable class Adrianople wools generally, or wools imported from Smyrna, belong. The question must be determined in each instance under the long-established ruling of the Department (Synopsis 361), according to race or blood.

When, as in the present cases, such wools correspond to sample No. 33 in the Department cabinet of standard samples, or show definitely the peculiar characteristics of wools of class one, they should be subjected to duty under paragraph 357, T. I., new; otherwise, and when exhibiting only, indefinite or imperfect traits of wools from merino, or the other improved breeds, they should be classified as wools of class three.

Your decision, with respect to the particular importations in question, is hereby affirmed.

This decision will also apply to appeal (7897 w) of Mr. H. Schmidt, covering an importation per Servia, April 15, 1889, so much of the appeal as applies to the entry per Bothnia, April 15, 1889, being rejected, as it appears that protest was not filed within the statutory time. WILLIAM WINDOM,

Respectfully yours,
(2966 w.)

COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, New York, N. Y.

Secretary.

(9818.)

Crude opium-Method of analyzing.

(Synopsis 9754 modified.)

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 23, 1890.

SIR: The Department is in receipt of your letter of the 8th instant, in which referring to the instructions of the 3d ultimo (Synopsis 9754) for an ascertainment by Dr. Squibbs' method of the percentage of morphia contained in imported opium, you state that, in the opinion of the appraiser at your port, the adoption of said method in all cases will cause interminable delay as well as financial loss to the importers, and that he suggests such a modification of the said instructions as to permit the use of any well-known method of analyzing crude opium, and to require the application of the Squibbs' method only in cases where the percentage of morphia, determined otherwise, will fall under the minimum percentage prescribed by law (9 per cent).

In reply, you are informed that inasmuch as Dr. Squibbs' method is deemed preferable, mainly on account of its being calculated to extract more morphia from crude opium than the other methods heretofore used at your port, no objection is perceived to the more expeditious though less accurate analysis by former methods in cases where the results reached do not fall below the legal minimum of 9 per cent. of morphia.

The instructions in question are, therefore, modified accordingly.

Drawback may be obtained on tin cans filled with domestic tobacco-Drawback can not be obtained on tin-foil covering exported tobacco.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 24, 1890.

GENTLEMEN: In reply to your letter of the 14th instant, you are informed that on the exportation under proper entries of tin cans manu factured from imported tin plates and filled with tobacco produced in the United States a drawback may be allowed equal in amount to 90 per cent. of the duty paid on the imported plates used in the manufacture of such cans. (See sections 3019 of the Revised Statutes and the act of March 10, 1880, XXI Statute, page 48.)

For information in regard to the necessary proceedings in order to secure the allowance of said drawback, you are referred to the collector of customs at the port from which the exportation is intended to be made.

No drawback can be allowed on imported tin-foil, used as outside covering for exported tobacco.

Respectfully yours,
(3906 f.)

GEORGE C. TICHENOR,

Assistant Secretary.

Messrs. A. H. MOTLEY & Co., Reidsville, N. C.

(9820.)

Fish, fresh, for immediate consumption-Fish frozen for preservation after importation not free as.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 24, 1890.

SIR: The Department duly received your letter of the 13th instant, transmitting the appeal (6336 x) of Whitney, Pousland & Co., from your assessment of duty on certain mackerel (fresh), imported by them per Carroll from Halifax, and entered for consumption on the 25th of November last.

You state that your attention having been called to the fact that subsequent to the importation the fish in question had been frozen for preservation, you made demand upon the importers for the duties thereon, which have been paid under protest and appeal.

Your assessment of daty thereon being in accordance with Department's decisions (Synopses 7729, 7746, 7837, and 8347) is hereby affirmed.

Fire-brick-Certain so-called tank-blocks dutiable as.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 24, 1890. SIR: The Department is in receipt of your letter of the 11th ultimo, transmitting the appeal (3858x) of Messrs. Wm. Larzelere & Co. from your decision assessing duty, at the rate of 20 per cent. ad valorem, on certain so-called "wrought clay," imported by them per Lord Gough, July 6, 1889, and returned by the appraiser on the invoice as "firebrick."