CHARACTER OF MR ELLIS'S OCTAVO EDITION OF THE LAWS OF THE CUSTOMS, PUBLISHED IN 1823. "We have just seen a publication by Mr. Ellis, of the London Custom House, on the Laws, Duties, Drawbacks, and Bounties of the Customs and Excise for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the British Possessions abroad, brought up to the 10th October, 1823;' and as it is, in our estimation, a work of national utility, executed in a manner highly creditable to the practical knowledge and talent of its author, we think, by lending our aid to afford it publicity, we shall be doing a real service to the mercantile interest of the country.

"That the mass of valuable information which he has brought forward, arranged, and judiciously condensed, must have occupied very considerable time, and have been attended with infinite labour, no one who looks into the work can doubt; nor are there any, we should imagine, who will have the temerity to deny its practical utility to the merchant, the officer of revenue, the ship-owner, or the general trader." -Extract from the Public Ledger, 30th October, 1823.

CHARACTER OF MR. ELLIS'S BRITISH TARIFF.

"We hail the appearance of this publication as one of national utility, and from which all those who are connected with the mercantile interest of Great Britain cannot fail to derive considerable advantage.

"If, however, we may be supposed capable of forming a correct judgment of the success that is likely to attend Mr. Ellis's publication, we should unhesitatingly say that the patronage of the numerous and enlightened class for whose assistance it is designed, will eventually prove to him that his labour has been well applied, and his time profitably spent."-Extract from the Literary Museum, 9th Nov. 1829.

"This is a most useful annual to merchants and commercial people, and one which may give some information on affairs of national economy, revenue, &c.

"To statists, to travellers and tourists, it is invaluable, by showing what they may fetch or carry openly, and what they must either smuggle or pay duty upon. In short, besides being a serviceable guide, this book is a good running commentary on the wisdom of many of our extraordinary commercial regulations.”—From Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, Dec. 1832.

CHARACTER OF MR. ELLIS'S WATER-SIDE PRACTICE OF THE CUSTOMS.

"No mercantile man should be without this book; and certainly no person connected in any way with foreign trade. To the LANDING WAITER newly appointed; to the Importer, or his clerk or agent who is obliged to attend to the examination of goods; in short, to all who are interested in knowing whether the various tares and allowances granted

to him by the Crown have been truly adjusted; whether his wines or spirits have been correctly gauged, or his timber properly admeasured, this volume cannot fail to be an invaluable guide. Those only who know the difficulty of arranging such a mass of matter into a referable form, will be able truly to estimate the character of the performance. It would now be somewhat late to insist on Mr. Ellis's qualifications for the work he has so well accomplished; but if our favourable opinion of his labours be worth anything, he has it fully. We wish other writers would adopt the same perspicuous and straightforward plan of telling us just what we want to know."-News. (See the Prospectus of this volume in page xiii.)

CHARACTER OF MR. ELLIS'S SECOND VOLUME OF THE "LAWS AND PRACTICAL REGULATIONS OF THE CUSTOMS."

"This volume, entitled the 'COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION of the BRITISH EMPIRE,' like its predecessor on SHIPPING, to the merits of which we some time since gave our willing testimony, contains not only the law with copious annotations on all the varied subjects of which it treats, but the One hundred and one forms, required to be either written or filled up by the merchant, the captain of the ship, or their respective agents or brokers; and supposing any of them to be ignorant of, or newly embarking in, their different professions, ample details are given for the due and successful prosecution of the business appertain ing to each as connected with the customs; this is a novel feature in the work, and one which could not have been safely intrusted to any person of less experience in his profession than the author; but from his well-known research and indefectibility in what he undertakes, we expected to find the volume what it really is, a sound, practical illustration of the manner in which the business of the Customs is to be conducted.

"On that great feature in our commercial polity, 'THE WAREHOUSING SYSTEM,' here is also an elaborate treatise; in fact, wherever Great Britain has planted her standard, and the commercial resources of the colony begin to be developed, the law applicable to its trade, whether conferring privileges, or entailing prohibitions or restrictions, is clearly laid down. We recommend this volume as a cheap and invaluable work to all connected with the TRADE AND COMMERCE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE."-Morning Herald. (See the Prospectus of this volume in page xii.)

PREFACE

TO THIS EDITION.

Ir is two or three years (perhaps more) since the Editor of the BRITISH TARIFF has held any communication with his Friends and Patrons through the medium of a Preface: during that period wonderful changes have been effected in the Commercial Policy of the country: a grand move has been made on the Chess-board of Free Trade, and it is by such moves that the game will ultimately be won from the Monopolists.

The Editor candidly confesses that he is favourable to Free Trade, and he entertains a hope that a little more will be added to that which has been so liberally conceded, especially as regards one article in the Tariff, respecting which so much has been written, and still more said; and that we shall either have a moderate Fixed Duty (for which he is an advocate), or a Sliding Scale, which will, after a certain period, allow the Duty to slide off altogether.

As to the merits or demerits of a free trade in Corn, he offers no opinion, leaving it to those who have far better opportunities of judging what is best for the community at large, to adopt or reject the measure, as in their wisdom they may deem advisable.

Our Manufacturers, however, ought to be grateful to the Government for what has already been done for them. Articles used in bleaching, dyeing, tanning, and in our Silk, Cotton, and Woollen Manufactures; all Ores and Minerals, Drugs, Furniture Woods, &c. &c., besides all unenumerated unmanufactured articles, have been released from duty,-a measure which cannot fail to add

to the prosperity and well-being of the manufacturing interests of the country. A peep into the Tariff will astonish many who "sit at home at ease," and look no further than the surface of things, and know nothing (and care less) about political economy.

The Editor has published the following Work for the space of twenty-three years; it contains, in a simple and convenient form, a Summary of a very important branch of the Customs' Laws; and its design is to render the business easy to the Officers, and intelligible to the Merchant; and he can only hope that it will prove an acceptable offering to those for whom it is designed. If that should be the case, he will have the satisfaction of knowing that his time has been spent in a manner not unuseful to others, and therefore not unworthy of himself.

It is rarely that Works of this description (from their limited sale) render a sufficient pecuniary remuneration for the labour and expense of their production; nor can the Mercantile Community expect, whilst they are patronizing ephemeral publications at a small price, pirated from Works of standard repute, that individuals, possessing sufficient knowledge of the Laws and Practice of the Customs, will be found to waste their talents in fruitless endeavours to benefit the public, many of whom care nothing about the intrinsic value of the article they purchase, so long as it is cheap. Thanks, however, to our staunch supporters, who, knowing the value of that which they buy, grudge not the cost of its production. To such we are willing workmen ;-liberal masters make good

servants.

Next year the Editor will be assisted in his labours by Mr. BEEDELL, late of the Surveyor-General's Office, and now of the Examiner's Office, at this Port.

LONG ROOM,

12th November, 1845.