The medium time of payment will therefore be 42 days, that is, 43 days from May 1, which will be June 12. 8. I have sold to C. D. several parcels of goods, at sundry times, and on various terms of credit, as by the statement annexed. January 1, a bill amounting to $600 on 4 months' credit. Feb. 7, do. do. do. April 20, do. do. 370 on 5 months' credit. 560 on 4 months' credit. 420 on 6 months' credit. When is the equated time for the payment of all the bills? Ans. July 11. SECTION XLII. CUSTOM HOUSE BUSINESS. In every port of the United States, where merchandise is either exported or imported, there is an establishment called a Custom House. Connected with this, are certain officers appointed by government, called custom house officers, whose business is to collect the duties on various kinds of merchandise, &c. imported into the United States. The following article on allowances, &c. was very politely furnished the author by the officers of the Boston Custom House, and may therefore be relied on as perfectly correct. Allowances. Draft is an allowance made by the officers of the United States Government in the collection of duties on merchandise, liable to a specific duty, and ascertained by weight, and is also given by the usage of merchants in buying and selling. It is a deduction from the actual gross weight of the article paying duty by the pound or sold by weight. For example, a box of sugar actually weighs 500 pounds. The draft upon this weight is 4 pounds. 500 gross. 4 draft. 496 difference. Upon this difference is made a further allowance of fifteen per cent. as tare, or as the actual weight of the box before the sugar was put into it. This tare is allowed by the government in the collection of the duty, and by the merchant in buying and selling. Take, then, the box of sugar, say 500 lbs. gross. 4 draft. 496 difference. 74 tare 422 net weight, upon which a duty is paid to the government, or price is paid to the merchant in his sale. This tare of 74 pounds or 15 per cent., is usually more than the actual tare, but is assumed as the probable or actual tare, by reason of the impossibility of starting every box to ascertain the actual weight of the sugar, and the actual weight of the box which contains it. This tare is sufficiently correct for the collector of the duty, and the merchant who deals in the article. It is intended to be a liberal allowance, and varies but little from the actual tare. Drafts allowed at the Custom House in the collection of duties, and by the merchants in their purchases and sales are as follow Allowance for draft. Draft is another name for Tret, which is an allowance in weight for waste. EXPLANATION. Many articles of merchandise are weighed separately; for example,-boxes and casks of sugar, chests of tea and indigo. Upon each box or cask, or chest, an allowance should be made for draft, according to its weight, as by the above rule. Bags of sugar and coffee, or bars of iron and bundles of steel might be weighed together; say, 10 bags of coffee at one draft might weigh 1121 pounds; from this gross weight must be deducted 7 pounds as draft; 35 bars of Russia iron might be weighed at one draft-weight 2250 pounds, upon which would be an allowance of 9 pounds draft, and by law and usage there can be no greater allowance than 9 pounds for draft. Å greater or less number of bags of coffee or bars of iron, or any other article of merchandise is weighed, and the deduction is according to the weight of each draft. An old rule, and probably a better one among merchants, was the allowance of per cent. on the gross weight of all merchandise weighed, as draft. Allowance for leakage. Two per cent. is allowed on the gauge of ale, beer, porter, brandy, gin, molasses, oil, wine and rum, and other liquors in casks; besides the real wants of the cask; for example,-a cask of molasses may gauge 140 gallons, gross gauge,-from this first deduct 5 gallons, the actual wants, or the quantity necessary to fill the cask-we have, 140 gross. 5 out. 135 difference. 3-2 per cent. for leakage. 132 gallons net. Tare is an allowance made for the actual or supposed weight of the cask, box, case or bag, which contains the article of merchandise. The usage of merchants is in conformity with the law and usage of the officers of the customs in their allowance for tare, directed by law, or found to be correct by their examination and experience. The following table gives the legal tare; and when the law determines no tare, the actual tare is stated as usually allowed, and by experience found to be correct. Tares according to law and actual weight. Chocolate, boxes 10 do. do. 10 do. do. Coffee, bags, W. India do. East India, grass bags 2 lbs. per bag do. bales 2 do. do. actual. 3 per cent. legal. do. casks 12 do. do. Lines, bales 2 do. actual. Looking-glasses, French 30 per cent. actual. Sugar, Java, in willow baskets 60 lbs. per basket actual. Sugar, bags or mats 5 per cent. legal. do. casks do. boxes 12 do. do. Soap, boxes 10 do. do. Soap, Marseilles, in boxes 12 per cent. actual. MEMORANDUM.— -Actual tare of soap more than legal tare. Invoice tare usually claimed at Custom House. |