importer may make in his entry, shall be accepted at the custom-house as the basis for preliminary estimates of duty. Wherever consular certification of manifests has heretofore been required the certification of invoices shall be accepted in lieu of the same. The consul's fee for legalization and certification shall be fixed at the uniform rate of $2.50 for each invoice, but no fee shall be required for duplicates of an original invoice, nor for any invoice the value of which does not exceed $100; provided that such invoice shall not have been subdivided for the purpose of reducing its total value.

If, by the reason of delay in the mails or other satisfactory cause, a certified invoice can not be produced, entry shall be allowed on a statement in the form of an invoice, and when the amount exceeds $100 the execution of a bond shall be required for the subsequent production of an invoice duly certified.

In case any of the packages covered by an invoice shall, by reason of short shipment, fail to arrive, entry may subsequently be made of the missing packages by means of a properly verified extract or copy of the original invoice. (Par. 11.)

3. That all imported merchandise shall be entered at the port of arrival on a prescribed form, which shall be a declaration or petition signed by the importer and giving the ship's name, port of departure and date of arrival, the particulars of the packages, including the weight or quantity and the supposed dutiable or free class of contents; also their values expressed in the currency of the invoice and reduced to the currency of the country of importation. The entry must agree in all essentials with the invoice and the bill of lading. That in all proceedings relating to the importation and entry of merchandise the declaration of the importer over his signature shall be received in lieu of his oath, and that any false declaration so signed shall subject him to such penalties as may be provided by the respective countries. (Par. 12.)

4. That every reasonable facility shall be afforded for the unobstructed transit of merchandise through one country to an adjacent country, especially where transporta

tion can be directly affected by railway or water routes and where bonds can be furnished for the delivery of such merchandise, intact, within the jurisdiction of the adjoining country. That in no case shall the contents of such packages be made subject to duty or to examination by customs officers while in transit, or to any onerous requirements and exactions, but they shall be held amenable to such supervision only as shall be incidental to proper safeguards against their unlawful introduction into the markets of the country through which they may be transported. (Par. 13.)

5. That technical defects in the form of any document which has been duly authenticated before the consul of any one of the countries shall not, in that country, be deemed sufficient cause for the imposition of fines or penalties, and that all other manifest clerical errors may be corrected, after entry at the custom-house, without prejudice to the consignee or the owner. (Par. 9.)

6. That every facility shall be granted in the various ports of entry for the entrance and clearance of vessels and the discharge and lading of cargoes; and, on all days when other official business may be suspended, that the custom-house shall be open during some part of each day, for the prompt entrance and clearance of vessels. (Par. 14.)

7. That the scale of duties shall be so arranged as to avoid the necessity of additional fees and charges, and that every country in which they continue to be exacted shall establish and publish a list of all fees and charges which are statutory in its ports, and that such exactions shall be respectively adjusted, so far as it is practicable, to cover the actual cost of the service rendered therefor. (Par. 15.)

8. That in all cases of dispute as to the legal rate or amount of duty, the importer shall be allowed to deposit under protest the maximum duty demanded by the customs authorities and to take possession of his goods; the entry in such cases to be liquidated as promptly as practicable after the final decision is reached, and the excess of duty (if any) refunded to the importer. (Par. 16.)

9. That in the principal ports of the countries here rep

resented, a system shall be adopted as soon as practicable, whereby an importer who desires to place his importation temporarily in the custody of the Government before payment of duty shall be enabled to store it at his own expense and risk, under the supervision of the customs authorities. For this purpose, warehouses shall be provided in which such goods may remain on storage under bond during one or more years, and from which they may be withdrawn at any time by the importer, in quantities of not less than one package, or if in bulk, not less than one ton in weight, upon payment of the duty and charges upon the portion withdrawn for consumption, or, if withdrawn for export, upon payment of the expenses of storage and labor. (Par. 17.)

10. That customs examinations shall be made solely for the verification of the declarations of the invoice and entry, and be conducted with the least possible delay and expense to the importer. Where the duties are specific, the invoice valuation shall be accepted for statistical purposes without verification. (Par. 21.)

11. That actual samples of merchandise of no commercial value sent by foreign dealers, or brought by bona fide. commercial travelers, solely for inspection, and personal effects and tools of trade or occupation, brought by passengers for their own use and not for sale, shall be admitted without payment of duty, under such restrictions as may be provided. (Par. 22.)

12. That the countries here represented shall agree to circulate prompt information of the existence, within their respective borders, of contagious disease among cattle and other live-stock, and to establish proper precautions where importations of this character are threatened. (Par. 20.)

13. Merchandise which has been recovered from a wrecked or stranded vessel may be entered without invoice at the custom-house by either the salvors or the importers for appraisement by the proper authorities, and duties shall be paid in accordance with such appraisement. Importers shall also be accorded the privilege of abandoning to the Government, without liability for duty, any damaged mer

chandise included in any invoice, provided that the portion so abandoned shall amount in value or quantity to ten per centum of the entire invoice, and whenever recovered goods have been surrendered to an insurance company, the latter shall be recognized as the rightful owner of the same for all customs purposes. (Par. 26.)

14. That when importers have paid at the frontier the full amount of import duties assessed, they shall be exempted from all further liability for duties within the limits of the country of importation. (Par. 18, 19.)

15. That where the rate or amount of duties is dependent upon the weight, gross weight shall generally be used, and that in case net weight is required, allowances for tare shall be made according to schedules officially published. (Par. 25.)

16. Against the imposition of fines or excessive duties. importers shall be granted the right of appeal to a tribunal by which their good or bad faith, as it may appear from the evidence, will be taken into account; and the decision of said tribunal upon the facts shall be final and shall be made as promptly as practicable, and whenever the good faith of the importer is satisfactorily shown, no penalty shall be incurred. Customs officers shall have no participation in any of the customs receipts, but shall deposit them intact, including moneys derived from fines and forfeitures, into the treasuries of their respective governments. (Par. 27, 28.)

17. That the governments here represented shall unite for the establishment of an American international bureau for the collection, tabulation, and publication, in the English, Spanish, and Portuguese languages, of information as to the productions and commerce, and as to the customs laws and regulations of their respective countries; such bureau to be maintained in one of the countries for the common benefit and at the common expense, and to furnish, to all the other countries represented, such commercial statistics and other useful information as may be contributed to it by any of the American Republics. That the Committee on Customs be authorized and instructed to furnish to the Conference a plan of organization and a

scheme for the practical work of the proposed bureau. (Par. 29, 30.)

18. The acceptance of foregoing recommendations shall not require any change in the present legislation of any of the American Republics, in so far as it may contain more liberal provisions, as the purpose of the Conference is not only to propose uniform rules, but to establish more liberal provisions than are now in force.

Washington, March 10, 1890.

J. ALFONSO.

M. ROMERO.

CLIMACO CALDERÓN.

CHAS. R. FLINT.

SALVADOR DE MENDONÇA.

MANUEL ARAGÓN.

N. BOLET PERAZA.

H. G. DAVIS.

APPENDIX.

[Inward manifest.]

MANIFEST OF CARGO FROM FOREIGN PORT.

Report and manifest of the cargo laden on board of the whereof is master, and which is of burthen at in the State of and owned by register granted at day of which cargo was taken on board at

the

of

tons; built

of
and bound for

as per

Return of passengers and packages belonging to them respectively,
Vessel and cabin stores,

Master.