The Custom House is one of the most prominent and interesting places in
New York. It is one of the largest in the country, and is provided with
every facility for the prompt despatch of the vast business transacted in
it. Five-sixths of all the duties on imports collected in the United
States are received here.
The Custom House building was formerly the Merchants' Exchange. It is
one of the handsomest structures in the city, and its purchase cost the
General Government one million of dollars in gold. The building is
constructed of solid granite, with a fine portico and colonnade in front.
If is fire-proof throughout. It occupies the entire block bounded by
Wall street, Exchange Place, William street, and Hanover street. Its
dimensions are a depth of two hundred feet, a frontage of one hundred and
forty-four feet, and a rear breadth of one hundred and seventy-one feet.
The top of the central dome is one hundred and twenty-four feet from the
ground. The main entrance is on Wall street, but there are entrances on
every side. The Rotunda occupies the space beneath the central dome, and
is one of the finest interiors in the country.
Within the Rotunda are arranged rows of desks, running parallel with the
walls. These are occupied by four "deputy collectors," three "chief
clerks," five "entry clerks," two "bond clerks," the "foreign clearance
clerk" and his assistant, and by those whose duties bring them most
commonly in contact with the merchants, shippers, commanders of vessels,
etc., in the ordinary routine of the business of the port. The Collector
and the higher officials have handsome offices in other parts of the
building.
[Picture: THE CUSTOM HOUSE.]
There are about 1100 clerks attached to the Custom House, whose total
wages amount to about $3,000,000 per annum. The legal salary of the
Collector is $6000 per annum, but his fees and perquisites make up an
actual income of five or six times that amount. The Collectorship of
this port is the best paying office within the gift of the Government.
Colonel Thorpe thus sums up the duties of the various officers of the
port:
"The Collector shall receive all reports, manifests, and documents to be
made or exhibited on the entry of any ship or vessel; shall record, on
books to be kept for that purpose, all manifests; shall receive the
entries of all ships or vessels, and of the goods, wares, and merchandise
imported in them; shall estimate the amount of the duties payable
thereupon, indorsing said amount on the respective entries; shall receive
all moneys paid for duties, and take all bonds for securing the payment
thereof; shall, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury,
employ proper personages--weighers, gaugers, measurers, and
inspectors--at the port within his district.
"The Naval Officer shall receive _copies_ of all manifests and entries;
shall estimate the duties on all goods, wares, and merchandise subject to
duty (and no duties shall be received without such estimate), and shall
keep a separate record thereof; and shall _countersign_ all permits,
clearances, certificates, debentures, and other documents granted by the
Collector. He shall also examine the Collector's abstract of duties, his
accounts, receipts, bonds, and expenditures, and, if found correct, shall
certify the same.
"The Surveyor shall superintend and direct all inspectors, weighers,
measurers, and gaugers; shall visit and inspect the ships and vessels;
shall return in writing every morning to the Collector the name and
nationality of all vessels which shall have arrived from foreign ports;
shall examine all goods, wares, and merchandise imported, to see that
they agree with the inspector's return; and shall see that all goods
intended for exportation correspond with the entries, and permits granted
therefor; and the said Surveyor shall, in all cases, be subject to the
Collector.
"The Appraisers' department is simply for the purpose of deciding the
market values and dutiable character of all goods imported, so that the
imposts can be laid with correctness. Other than this, it has no
connection with the Custom House."
There is located at the Battery, an old white building, surmounted by a
light tower. This is the Barge office, and is the headquarters of the
Inspectors attached to the Surveyor's office, who are under the orders of
Mr. John L. Van Buskirk, now nearly 89 years of age, and who has been
"Assistant to the surveyor" for many years. The arrivals of all ships
are reported from the telegraph station at Sandy Hook, and as soon as it
is announced at the barge office that a steamer or ship "from foreign
ports" is off soundings, two Inspectors are placed on a revenue cutter,
and sent down to take charge of the arriving vessel. From the moment
they set foot on the vessel's deck, they are in supreme control of the
cargo and passengers. One would think from the manner in which many of
them conduct themselves toward passengers, that an American citizen
coming home from abroad has no rights but such as the Inspector chooses
to accord him. Certainly the joy which an American feels in returning to
his own home is very effectually dampened by the contrast which he is
compelled to draw between the courtesy and fairness of the customs
officials of European lands, and the insolence and brutality of those
into whose clutches he falls upon entering the port of New York. The
Inspectors examine the baggage of the cabin passengers, collect the
imposts on dutiable articles, and send them ashore. They then send the
steerage passengers to Castle Garden where they are examined. After
this, the ship is allowed to go alongside of her pier, where her cargo is
discharged under their inspection, and carted to the Bonded Warehouses of
the United States, for appraisement and collection of duties.
Passing goods through the Custom House is a troublesome and intricate
undertaking, and most merchants employ a Broker to perform that duty for
them. A novice might spend hours in wandering about the labyrinths of
the huge building, trying to find the proper officials. The broker knows
every nook and corner in the establishment, and where to find the proper
men, and moreover manages to secure the good will of the officials so
that he is never kept waiting, but is given every facility for the
despatch of his business. The fee for "passing an entry" is five
dollars. Sometimes a broker will pass fifty different entries in a
single day, thus earning $250. Some brokers make handsome fortunes in
their business. When there is a dispute between the government and the
importer as to the value of the goods or the amount of the duty, the
broker's work is tedious and slow. The large importing houses have their
regular brokers at stated salaries.