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the finer pelts of the smaller animals, such as the deer and goat, used in the manufacture of buckskin, morocco, &c.

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Assuming this distinction to be correct, I am of the opinion that the article in question is to be regarded as a skin," within the meaning of the law, and liable, under the tariff act of the 2d March, 1861, to a duty of five per centum ad valorem.

I am, very respectfully,

S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury.

HIRAM BARNEY, Esq., Collector, &c., New-York.

SADDLERY.

Treasury Department, December 16, 1861. Sir, I have carefully considered the several reports and papers submitted to me with the appeal of Messrs. GRAUPNER & LORING, from your assessment of duty on certain "polished curb chains," at the rate of 30 per cent., under the provision in section 22 of the tariff act of the 2d March, 1861, for "coach and harness furniture of all kinds, saddlery, coach and harness hardware, silver-plated, brass, brass-plated or covered, common tinned, burnished or japanned, not otherwise provided for."

The importers, it appears, claim to enter the merchandise at a duty of 25 per cent., under the provision made in the 4th clause of the 7th section of that tariff, for "chains under No. 9, wire gauge."

The article in question, it appears, is a short chain, finished and ready for attachment to a bridle-bit, and is fit for no other use. It has been usual, in the construction of tariffs, where provision has been made for "saddlery" by name, to regard articles of this description as embraced within the meaning of that term, and I perceive no just reason for departing from that usage in this case. The provision referred to by the importers in regard to" chains," must be held to have no reference to an article fitted exclusively for a particular purpose, and belonging, in commercial language and usage, to a classification for which a specific provision is made in the law.

Your decision is affirmed.

I am, very respectfully,

S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury. J. Z. GOODRICH, Esq., Collector, &c., Boston, Mass.

THE MEXICAN CONVENTION BETWEEN ENGLAND, FRANCE AND SPAIN.

The following is the full text of the Mexican convention between England, France and Spain, of which brief summaries have already been given. After the usual preliminaries, the convention reads as follows:

ARTICLE 1. Her Majesty, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, her Majesty, the Queen of Spain, and his Majesty, the Emperor of the French, engage to make, immediately after the signature of the present convention, the necessary arrangements for despatching to the coast of Mexico combined naval and military forces, the strength of which shall be determined by a further interchange of com

munications between their governments, but of which the total shall be sufficient to seize and occupy the several fortresses and military positions on the Mexican coast.

The commanders of the allied forces shall be, moreover, authorized to execute the other operations which may be considered, on the spot, most suitable to effect the object specified in the preamble of the present convention, and specifically to insure the security of foreign resi

dents.

All the measures contemplated in this article shall be taken in the name and on account of the high contracting parties, without reference to the particular nationality of the forces employed to execute them.

ART. 2. The high contracting parties engage not to seek for themselves, in the employment of the coercive measures contemplated by the present convention, any acquisition of territory, nor any special advantage, and not to exercise, in the internal affairs of Mexico, any influence of a nature to prejudice the right of the Mexican nation to choose and to constitute freely the form of its government.

ART. 3. A commission, composed of three commissioners, one to be named by each of the contracting powers, shall be established, with full authority to determine all questions that may arise as to the application or distribution of the sums of money which may be recovered from Mexico, having regard to the respective rights of the three contracting parties.

ART. 4. The high contracting parties desiring, moreover, that the measures which they intend to adopt should not bear an exclusive character, and being aware that the government of the United States, on its part, has, like them, claims to enforce upon the Mexican republic, agree, that immediately after the signature of the present convention, a copy thereof shall be communicated to the government of the United States; that that government shall be invited to accede to it; and that, in anticipation of that accession, their respective ministers at Washington shall be at once furnished with full powers for the purpose of concluding and signing, collectively or separately, with the plenipotentiary designated by the President of the United States, a convention identical, save the suppression of the present article, with that which they sign this day. But, as by delaying to put into execution Articles 1 and 2 of the present convention, the high contracting parties would incur a risk of failing in the object which they desire to attain, they have agreed not to defer, with the view of obtaining the accession of the government of the United States, the commencement of the above-mentioned operation beyond the time at which their combined forces can be assembled in the neighborhood of Vera Cruz.

ART. 5. The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged at London, within fifteen days.

In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed it, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done at London, in triplicate, the 31st day of the month of October,

in the year of our Lord 1861.

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CONFISCATED PROPERTY.

General Regulations Relative to Securing and Disposing of the Property found or brought within the Territory now or hereafter occupied by the United States Forces in the Disloyal States.

Treasury Department, November 30th, 1861.

In order to the security and proper disposition of the productions of the soil, and of all other property found within the limits of States, or parts of States, declared to be in insurrection against the United States, and now occupied, or hereafter to be occupied by the troops and authorities of the Union, the following regulations are established:

There shall be appointed, by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of the President, agents to reside at such ports or places as are or may be occupied by the forces of the United States, whose duties shall be to secure and prepare for market the cotton and such other ducts and property as may be found or brought within the lines of the army or under the control of the Federal authorities.

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To enable such agents to fulfill the duties devolved upon them, the military and naval authorities, under proper instructions, will render such military protection and aid as may be required to carry out the intention of this department.

Persons held to service for life under State laws, who may be found within such limits, may be employed by the agent, who will prepare lists embracing the names, sex and condition of such persons, and, as near as may be, their respective ages, together with the name of any person claiming their services; which lists shall be in triplicate, one for the military commandant, one for the files of the agent, and one to be immediately forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury.

The persons so listed will be organized for systematic labor in securing and preparing for market the cotton, rice and other products found within the territory brought under Federal control. Pay rolls will be prepared, and a strict account of the labor daily performed by each person entered thereon, for which a proper compensation shall be allowed and paid to the laborers. The amount of such compensation will be fixed, in proportion to the service rendered by the agent, and approved by the military commandant and by the Secretary of the Treasury.

An inventory of all horses, mules and other stock, vehicles of transportation and other property, will be carefully made, and a copy transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, signed by such agent.

A record of all products taken possession of will be made, and those of each plantation kept distinct. When prepared for shipment, the packages from the several plantations will be plainly marked and numbered, so as to be easily distinguished.

An account of all provisions, of whatsoever character, found on each plantation, will be taken, and such provisions will be used, so far as may be necessary, for the sustenance of the laborers thereon. Any deficiencies of subsistence will be supplied by the United States commissary, upon the requisition of the agent, to whom they will be charged, and for which he will account.

The cotton and other articles, when prepared for market, shall be shipped to New-York, and, so far as practicable, by the returning government transports; and all shipments shall be consigned to the designated

agent at New-York, unless otherwise specially directed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

A carefully detailed account will be kept by the agent of all supplies furnished by the government, and of all expenditures made.

Each agent will transmit a weekly report of his proceedings to the Secretary of the Treasury, and render his accounts in duplicate monthly for settlement.

All requisitions, bills of lading and invoices, will be countersigned by the military commander, or by such officer as he may designate for the purpose.

Each agent will so transact his business and keep his accounts, that as little injury as possible may accrue to private citizens who now maintain, or may within reasonable time resume, the character of loyal citizens of the United States.

S. P. CHASE,

Secretary of the Treasury.

TREATY WITH TURKEY.

A treaty of commerce has been concluded between Turkey, and England and France, which will have great effect in promoting the agriculture and commerce of Turkey, and her trade with the two western powers. The new treaty, which will come into effect on the 1st of March, 1862, at once reduces the duty on all exports to eight per cent., which is to be further reduced one per cent. every year, till it finally ceases. To make up what loss this may occasion to the revenue, the duty on imports, which was formerly five per cent., is to be raised to eight. There are vast tracts of land, in many instances near the coast, which will now probably be brought into cultivation. Under the old Turkish system, the government reserved to itself the monopoly of the purchase of corn, which it sought to obtain, at an arbitrarily low price, for the consumption of Constantinople and the great cities. Land-owners, consequently, only sowed sufficient for their own wants, and any surplus they had went to the government, at its own price. Under the treaty concluded by Lord PONSONBY with the Porte, this monopoly was abolished; but the Turks, still anxious to keep their grain at home, insisted on an export duty of twelve per cent., which only had the effect of impeding the industry of some of the finest grain-producing land in the world.-Morning Post.

THE AMERICAN QUESTION.

At the Chamber of Commerce of Edinburgh, on December 13th, a motion was made by the members to memorialize the government to do the utmost in their power to act on the resolution proposed by the British government to the Paris conference of 1856, to have recourse to arbitration before appealing to arms. Several members having opposed the motion, on the ground that it might perhaps be construed into an expression of want of confidence in government, the mover, though disclaiming that idea, consented to withdraw the motion.

GLASGOW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

The directors of this body, at their meeting in December, agreed to draw the attention of the Chambers of Commerce in the kingdom to the importance and desirableness of recommending the discontinuance of envelopes in business communications in their respective districts. They also agreed to memorialize government to use its influence with the government of the United States to allow of some arrangements being made for the transmission of letters from this country to the Southern States, the post-office authorities of America having intimated that all letters to the Southern States would be returned to the writers through the deadletter office.

BREACHES OF CONTRACT IN INDIA.

In reply to a memorial on this subject, the Manchester Chamber of Commerce have received the following communication from the India House:

India Office, London, S. W., 18th Oct., 1861. Sir, I am directed by the Secretary of State for India in Council to acknowledge the receipt of a memorial from the directors of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, forwarded by you to Sir CHARLES WOOD, with respect to the difficulty of enforcing the observance of legal contracts made with the agricultural population of India, with reference, more especially, to the cultivation of indigo; and to inform you, in reply, that although Her Majesty's government are not prepared to approve any act which shall treat breaches of contracts for the delivery of agricultural produce as criminal offences, the best attention of the government of India is devoted to the establishment of efficient civil tribunals, in which due and prompt remedy shall be afforded in all cases of contract willfully and unjustifiably broken.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

COSMO J. Melvill.

MALCOLM ROSS, Esq., Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

COMMERCE OF FRANCE.

A commission has been established at the Ministry of Commerce, Paris, composed of eminent lawyers, members of the Council of State, and retired consuls, for the purpose of preparing a revision of the criminal code. Several of the articles of that code are no longer applicable, in consequence of the great changes which have taken place in the mode of transacting business in France. It is said that the law of 1856 on joint-stock companies is to be the subject of a very minute examination. It is not expected, however, that the proposed changes can be accomplished without bringing the subject before the Corps Legislatif. The French Minister of Commerce has required information from the authorities in several of the commercial towns of France, with respect to the various usages existing as to the sale of merchandise, the mode of payment, and the amount of discount allowed.

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