By the Act of March 3d, 1863, it was enacted that after the 1st of July, 1863, in all countries this side of the Cape of Good Hope, where American consuls, vice-consuls, or commercial agents were residents, all invoices of goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States should be made in triplicate and signed by the person or persons owning or shipping said goods, wares, or merchandise, if the same have actually been purchased, or by the manufacturer or owner thereof, if the same have been procured otherwise than by purchase, or by the authorized agent of such purchaser, manufacturer, or owner, and these three invoices or copies of the same invoice before the shipment of the goods must be produced to the consul, vice-consul, or commercial agent of the United States nearest the place of shipment, for the use of the United States, and there must be endorsed thereon when so produced, a declaration signed by the party shipping the goods, setting forth that the invoice was in all respects true; that it contains (if the goods, wares, or merchandise are subject to duty) a true and full statement of the time when and place where, the same were purchased and the actual cost thereof, and of all charges thereon; and that no discounts, bounties, or drawbacks are contained in said invoice, but such as have actually been allowed thereon, and that the currency in which said invoice is made out is the currency which was actually paid for the goods, etc., by the purchaser. If the goods were obtained in any other manner than by purchase, their actual market value at the time and place where they were produced or manufactured, and the quantity of the goods if subject to specific duty must be stated, and it must be declared that no different invoice of these goods has been or will be furnished to any one. The party shipping the goods must also inform the consul, vice-consul, or commercial agent at what port of the United States it is intended to make entry of the goods; and the consul or other officer must thereupon endorse upon each of these triplicates a certificate under his hand and official seal, stating that said invoice has been produced to him with the date, of its production, the name of the person by whom it was produced, and the port in the United States at which it was the declared intention of the shipper to make entry of the goods. He must then deliver one copy to the shipper to forward as the invoice to the consignee or owner of the goods; a second copy is put on file in the consul's office and a third sent by him by the first opportunity to the collector of the port for which the goods are destined. All goods from ports this side the Cape of Good Hope must be thus invoiced in triplicate or

they cannot be admitted to entry after July 1st, 1863, and all goods from ports beyond the Cape of Good Hope must be thus invoiced in triplicate or they will not be admitted to entry after January 1st, 1864 and the duties on the goods shall not be finally liquidated until the collector of the port shall have received his copy of the invoice from the consul, and compared it with the invoice presented by the owner or consignee, except when such invoice shall be delayed beyond eigh teen minutes, but the importer may, if he chooses, withdraw the goods by giving his bond for twice their value to produce them on the receipt of said invoice, if it differs from that to which he has sworn.

The dutiable value of imports is defined as being the actual cost or market value, together with all costs and charges incurred in the country whence the goods are shipped for packing, export duties, consular certificates, etc., except insurance for the voyage, and including in every case a charge for commissions at the usual rates.

Where goods are entered for immediate consumption, and there is any ground of doubt in regard to the amount of duty to be charged, in consequence of there being specific duties on weight or measure, a deposit is required exceeding by five or ten per cent the highest duty, and the excess, after the entry has passed through the several departments, or, in some cases, has been submitted to the Treasury Department at Washington, is refunded to the importer.

Goods Entered for Warehousing.-The following is the form of entry for goods for warehousing. It must be verified by oath or affirmation as in the case of an entry for merchandise for immediate payment of duties.

Custom-house
Port of

Entry of merchandise, imported on the

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It often occurs that the importer on the arrival of his goods may not wish to put them on the market immediately, either from a glut in the market, the price of exchange, or some other cause The Govern

ment provides for this by storing the goods for him, subject to storage charges, etc., and on receiving from him proper security for the pay ment of duties, allows the goods to remain in warehouse for a period not exceeding a year, the duties not to be paid until the goods are withdrawn. Merchandise is also frequently imported from one country

for exportation to another, and being sent to the warehouse can be ex

ported without the payment of full duties, the drawback on exportation being deducted from the duty.

In the case of warehouse goods, too, the exact amount of the duties is ascertained, examinations being made, and the invoice being received from the consul at the port whence the goods were shipped. The owner of the goods has the right of designating in which of the gov ernment warehouses he prefers to have his goods deposited.

The order of entry for warehouse is as follows: The entry being offered in the form given above, and passing through the same steps as in the entry for immediate consumption, except that no permit is given and no duties paid, the owner or consignee gives his bond in the government Form 105, for a sum fully sufficient to cover the duties, with two sureties. The collector or deputy then designates the packages for examination, which are sent to the appraisers' stores, and the remainder of the invoice to the bonded warehouse selected by the im porter, and when the packages at the appraisers' store have been exam ined they are also sent, at the expense of the importer to the bonded warehouse. When the importer wishes to withdraw his goods, for consumption, he must present an entry in duplicate, which must be the same in all particulars with the original entry for warehousing. This entry having been examined and compared with the entry on record, is entered on the books, the warehouse bond number endorsed thereon, and the amount of duties payable entered upon it. It is then taken from the collector's office to the naval office for checking and verification. The duties having been paid, a permit is issued to the importer for the delivery of the goods. This being done the importer is entitled to have his bond canceled, if the whole of his invoice is withdrawn.

Goods may also be withdrawn either for reëxportation or transporta tion in bond to other ports to be rewarehoused there, or entered for consumption. The processes for these purposes are of interest to but few, and require usually for their management the intervention of a custom-house broker. Indeed, in all custom-house transactions of considerable amount, the goods will be obtained more speedily and with less trouble, by the employment of a reputable custom house broker.

PENSIONS, BOUNTIES, AND
ARREARS OF PAY.

It is the object of this work to enable the soldier, as well as men in all walks of life, to perform for themselves those acts, and to prepare those forms for obtaining pay, pensions, etc., for which the legal fraternity are in the habit of charging such ex orbitant fees. Therefore we give in the following pages, th necessary instructions and forms to enable any man or woman of ordinary intelligence and common sense to procure their own pensions, bounties, or back-pay, without a lawyer's or claim agent's intervention.

I. PENSIONS.

Pensions are of three kinds: Invalid Pensions, grants of money to persons who become disabled in the service, either by wounds or other injuries received, or by sickness contracted in the line of duty, whereby the sufferer is rendered incapable, in whole or part, of procuring for himself and those dependent upon him a livelihood; Gratuitous Pensions, granted usually at the close of a war or term of service, as a reward for eminent services rendered, or as evidence of a nation's gratitude to its defenders and preservers. In this class of pensions belongs the half-pay, granted to the widows and orphans of those who die of wounds or sickness incurred in the service; and Land Donations, which are sometimes promised at or before the time of enlistment, as an indacement to enter the service, and in other cases are granted as gratuities after the close of a war, to surviving officers, soldiers, seamen, &c., and to the widows and orphans of such as have died. These distinctions should be kept in view by all who have occasion to make applications for pen. sions, under any of the acts for granting them.

Who are entitled to an Invalid Pension.

All commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the army

(including regulars, and cadets at West Point, volunteers, ran gers, militia and navy, including the navy proper, sea fencibles, flotilla service, marine corps, and revenue cutters when co-opera ting with the navy), musicians, privates, marines, seamen, ordinary seamen, and all others, in whatsoever capacity they may have served, who were regularly enlisted or drafted, or who volunteered; and who, while in the line of duty, were disabled by wounds or sickness, from subsequently procuring a livelihood. A soldier on furlough, if disabled by disease, not his own fault, is entitled to a pension; but an officer disabled while on furlough, is not A soldier disabled while under arrest, in confinement for offence against military law, or when absent without leave, is not entitled to a pension; nor can the family of a soldier, whose death is caused by intemperance while in the service, claim a pension.

As no invalid pensions are now likely to be granted for the first time to persons who served in the Revolutionary War, we shall not give any forms for procuring such pensions, but confine ourselves solely to the classes named above. The act of Congress of July 14, 1862, making general provision for the payment of pensions, to invalids of the present war for the Union, and also to the widows, orphans, mothers, and minor sisters of such as have died, or may die or be killed in the line of duty, is so important, that we deem it best to give it in full:

An Act to Grant Pensions.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician or private of the army, including regulars, volunteers, or militia, or any officer, warrant or petty officer, musician, seaman, ordinary seaman, flotilla-man, marine, clerk, landsman, pilot or other person in the navy or marine corps, has been, since the fourth day of March eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter be disabled by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States and in the line of duty, he shall, upon making due proof of the fact, according to such forms and regulations as are or may be provided by or in pursuance of law, be placed upon the list of invalid pensioners of the United States. and be entitled to receive, for the highest rate of disability, such pension as is hereinafter provided in such cases, and for an in. ferior disability an amount proportionate to the highest disability,