AUSTRALASIA.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

It is claimed that what Americans call the "tariff law" in New South Wales is the most concise and comprehensive tariff law extant, and that Sydney is by far the freest of all the great commercial ports on the globe.

On January 1, 1896, all ad valorem duties were abolished and the dutiable list was limited to stimulants and narcotics and twenty-five other articles. On the 30th of June of the same year, the duties on sixteen of the twenty-five ceased; while on the other nine, the duties were to be abolished by a sliding scale before 1900.

The following is the full text of the "permanent tariff" schedule of 1896, in operation from its passage until the recent change of 1898, as fully noted under proper head:

Spirits:

On all kinds of spirits and spirituous compounds Per proof gallon imported and not otherwise enumerated.

NOTE.-The indicates the present duty, as retained by paragraph 3 of law of 1898.

REVISED TARIFF LAW OF 1898.

Owing to an insufficient revenue to meet a necessarily increased expenditure, there was a revision of the tariff by the last Parliament, the act going into operation from its passage, November 3, 1898. The total schedule of the new duties is as follows:

Pence.

Tea ..per pound.. 1=$0.02 Fruits (dried, candied, or prunes, exclusive of dates), in lieu of the duty of 1 pence per pound, now chargeable.....

..per pound.. 2= .04

The following three paragraphs cover the entire changes, other than the new schedule last above quoted:

(1) The import duties of customs mentioned in the schedule to this act shall be levied and collected upon all goods therein mentioned on their importation and upon all such goods in bond: Provided, That all goods imported for the supply of Her Majesty's service shall be exempt from such import duties.

(2) All contracts made on or before the 3d day of November, 1898, for the sale or delivery otherwise than in bond of any goods the duty on which is newly imposed or is increased by this act, shall be subject to an increase in the contract price of

such goods corresponding in rate and amount with the duty so imposed or with such increase of duty, as the case may be.

(3) The duties of customs imposed by the customs-duties act of 1895 on sugar, raw and refined, and glucose, solid, upon molasses and treacle, glucose, liquid and sirup, upon biscuits, confectionery (including cakes, comfits, licorice, and sweetmeats), jams and jellies, preserves and canned fruits, boiled, peeled, drained, or dried, shall cease to be diminishing duties and shall be collected, levied, and paid as part of the permanent customs tariff at the rates in force at the commencement of this act.

It will be observed in the third paragraph that the duties in the 1896 act proposed to be removed by the sliding scale are retained at the rate in force at the date of the latter act-November 3, 1898. GEO. W. BELL, Consul.

SYDNEY, January 3, 1899.

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS.

A.

Disputes between importers and officers of customs.

20. If any dispute shall arise as to the proper rate of duty payable in respect of any goods, the importer thereof shall deposit in the hands of the collector the amount of duty demanded by him, and the same shall be deemed to be the duty authorized by law, unless an action shall be brought in the supreme court by the importer against the collector within thirty days following to try the question whether any and what amount of duty is payable upon such goods. And on payment of the said deposit, and passing the required entry, the said goods shall be forthwith delivered to the importer: Provided, always, That the importer shall have the option of submitting a written statement of the matter in dispute to the board of commissioners hereinafter provided for their decision in lieu of bringing the said action. And the said commissioners shall thereupon have authority to inquire into and determine the matter in the manner hereinafter provided.

21. In case no such action shall be brought, or submission made within the time herein before limited for that purpose, such deposit shall be applied to the use of Her Majesty as if the same had been originally paid as the legal and undisputed duty on such goods. But in case such action shall be so brought, or the matter in dispute be submitted to the commissioners for decision as last provided, and it shall thereupon be finally determined that the duty so demanded and deposited was either excessive or that none was payable, then the difference in amount, or the whole sum deposited (as the case may be), shall forthwith be returned to the importer with interest thereon, after the rate of £5 per cent per annum during the period of deposit, and such payment shall be accepted by him in satisfaction of all damages and expenses, except costs of suit. And the party succeeding in an action shall be entitled to have his cost taxed as between party and party, and the same shall be recoverable as in an ordinary action in such court: Provided, That if the verdict shall be given against the collector, the costs so taxed shall be paid out of the consolidated revenue. 22. If any dispute shall arise between any masters or owners of ships, importers or exporters of goods, or their agents and any officer of customs with reference to the seizure or detention of any ship or goods, or to any breach of or noncompliance with the laws or regulations relating to the customs, it shall be lawful for the commissioners to hear and determine such dispute and to adjudge the penalties herein provided in that behalf. And the governor may wholly remit or mitigate any penalty or forfeiture so adjudged.

The prohibition of certain goods.

31. If any goods specified in the following list of prohibitions shall be imported or be found on board any ship except for the purpose of transshipment or exportation, the same shall be forfeited, and may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the colonial treasurer may direct:

"LIST OF GOODS ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED TO BE IMPORTED.

"Counterfeit coin or false money purporting to be sterling coin of the realm, and not being of the established standard in weight or fineness.

"Indecent or obscene books, paintings, drawings, cards, engravings, photographs, prints, or other indecent or obscene productions, or articles.

"Spirits (not being perfumed or medicinal spirits), in ships under 40 tons register, and (unless bottled) in casks or other vessels containing less than 12 gallons of liquid measurement, and not duly reported as being part of the cargo or stores of the importing ship.

Snuff or tobacco, in ships under 40 tons register, and in packages, each containing less than 25 pounds net weight, or containing any other goods.

"Cigars or cigarettes, in ships under 40 tons register, or in outer packages, containing less than 30 pounds net weight or less than 5,000 in number, each, or containing any other goods.

"Opium (except when made up in the form of chemists' drugs) in ships under 40 tons register and in packages each containing less than thirty pounds net weight or containing any other goods.

"Infected cattle, sheep, or other animals, and hides, skins, horns, hoofs, or any other part of cattle or other animals which the governor may by proclamation prohibit in order to prevent the spreading of any contagious disease." Provided, always, that the above restrictions on tonnage shall not extend to the importation of any such goods by the river Murray by ships or boats of any less size, if due notice of such goods being thus imported shall be given by the importer to the collector.

32. The importation of arms, ammunition, gunpowder, and other explosives may be prohibited by proclamation or order of the governor whenever deemed expedient.

The arrival and unlading of ships from abroad.

33. If upon the first levying or repealing of any duty, or the first permitting or prohibiting of any importation, or at any other period, or for any of the purposes of this or any act relating to the customs, it shall become necessary to determine the precise time of the importation of any goods, or the arrival of any ship, such time shall be deemed to be that at which the ship importing such goods shall have received a pilot on board for the purpose of entering, or have actually entered the port, or on the river Murray, shall have taken her departure from her last port of call in Victoria, or have crossed the one hundred and forty-first meridian of East longitude, being the dividing or boundary line between South Australia and this colony.

34. If any ship coming into any port or place within the colony shall not come as quickly up to the proper place of mooring or unlading as the regulations and the nature of the port or wind will admit, or shall not bring to at the stations duly appointed for the boarding of ships by the officers of customs, or ifafter arrival at such place such ship shall remove, except directly to some other proper place of mooring or unlading, without the sanction of the proper officer of the customs, or if the master of any ship on board of which any officer is stationed shall refuse to provide such officer with sleeping accommodation or sufficient room under the deck for his bed or hammock, the master of such ship shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £20.

35. The proper officer of the customs may board any ship arriving at any port in the colony and stay on board until all the goods shall be duly discharged, and shall have free access to every part of the ship, with authority to fasten down hatchways and to secure any storeroom, cabin, or place, and to mark any goods before landing, and to lock up, seal, mark, or otherwise secure any goods on board such ship. And if any storeroom, cabin, or place, or any trunk, box, chest, or package of any kind be locked or otherwise fastened, and the same shall not be opened on demand, such officer, if he be above the rank of a tide waiter, may cause the same to be forcibly opened, and if any dutiable goods be found concealed therein, or on board any ship, they shall be forfeited.

36. If such proper officer shall place any lock, mark, or seal upon any hatchway, goods, or ship's stores, or any package on board, and such lock, mark, or seal be opened, altered, or broken by anyone without authority, or if any goods or ship's stores be secretly conveyed away, or if the hatchways after having been fastened down, or any storeroom, cabin, or place, after having been secured by the officer, be opened, the master of such ship for every such offense in respect to goods shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £100 nor less than £10, and for every such offense in respect to ship's stores shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £50.

Report of ship and entry of cargo from abroad.

37. The master of every ship, whether laden or in ballast, shall, within twentyfour hours after arrival from abroad at any port in the colony, and before breaking bulk, except in the case of steamers hereinafter provided for, and except when bulk may be broken under the provisions of the "gunpowder and explosive consolidation act of 1876," or of any acts subjecting ships to quarantine, make due report of such

ship in the appointed form of the several particulars indicated or required thereby; and if the cargo shall have been laden at more than one place, shall state the names of those places where the same were laden respectively. And if the master shall neglect to make such report as above required, or if any of the particulars therein contained be false, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £100.

38. Steamships employed in the Intercolonial and South Sea Island trades may be permitted to report subject to the provisions and penalties of the preceding clause, either by the master or by the owner, or by an agent.

39. Goods not duly reported may be detained by any officer of customs until explanation be made to the satisfaction of the collector, and such goods may in the meantime be taken at the expense of the master to any warehouse. And in case it shall appear to the collector that such omission was made with intent to defraud the revenue, the master of the ship in which they shall have been imported shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £100, and if such omission shall appear to the collector to have been made with the knowledge or connivance of the owner of the goods, such goods shall be forfeited without affecting the master's liability to the before-mentioned penalty.

40. The master of every such ship arriving from abroad, or, in the case of steamships employed in the Intercolonial or South Sea Island trade, the owner or agent thereof, shall at the time of making such report deliver to the collector on demand the following papers, viz: The clearance from the last port of departure, the shipping bills or cockets and store lists, the certificate of registry, the list of passengers on board, and the manifest of the cargo of such ship, with as many copies thereof as may be required, and also the bill of lading or a copy thereof for every part of the cargo on board. And shall answer all such questions relating to the ship, cargo, crew, and voyage as shall be put to him by the collector; and in case of refusal to answer any such questions truly, or to produce any such documents as herein mentioned, or in case any such shall be false, or if after the arrival of the ship within 4 leagues of the coast any part of the cargo be unshipped (unless authorized by any law in force as herein before provided), the master, or owner, or agent aforesaid in every such case shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £100.

41. The commanding officer of any ship of war having on board any goods laden abroad for delivery in New South Wales shall, on arrival at any port in the colony and before any part of such goods be taken out of such ship, sign and deliver to the collector a report stating to the best of his knowledge the contents and quantity of every package of such goods and the marks and numbers thereon and the names of the respective shippers and consignees of the same.

42. Whenever a ship shall be wrecked or cast ashore upon any part of the coast of New South Wales, the master thereof, if landed in the colony, shall, upon being so required by the collector, make a report of such ship and cargo so far as it may be practicable, and in case of default in making such report he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding £20.

43. The governor may make rules and regulations or may relax, alter, or suspend the operation of any of the provisions of this act for the report, entry, and clearance of ships and goods on the river Murray to meet the circumstances of the trade on that river, and may by proclamation, to be published in the Gazette, exempt any ports or places on the said river or on any boundary line or border of the colony from the operation of this act or any specified part thereof.

Transshipment of goods.

44. Goods imported by any ship and intended for exportation may be passed to the exporting ship by a transshipment entry in the form appointed, and such goods may be thereupon taken by licensed boat or dray to such ship without examination, provided a bond, as hereinafter provided in the case of the exportation of warehoused goods, be executed.

45. Goods imported by any ship and intended for any other port in the colony may be transshipped to a coasting vessel without examination, provided there be a customs officer authorized to collect duties at such port and provided a bond be executed as in the case hereinafter provided with regard to warehoused goods sent coastwise.

Time for entry and landing of goods after arrival of ship.

46. Except as hereinafter provided for, no goods except live animals, fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, coin, and bullion (all of which may be landed before report or entry) shall be unshipped or landed from any ship without the authority of the collector on Sundays or the holidays defined by section 7 of this act, or on Saturdays after the hour of noon, or on any day beyond the appointed hours. Nor shall any goods be unshipped or landed unless in the presence or with the authority of