allowances been reduced from £462,000 in 1848, to £452,000 in 1850?—It appears so in this account.

(394) Is not the item of day-pay to weighers, watchmen, &c., £143,082 in 1848, reduced to £138,697 in 1850?—Yes.

(395) There appear to have been considerable changes under the head of the coast-guard, comparing the years 1848 and 1850. Harbour vessels have fallen from £6,290 to £4,670. Cruizers have fallen from 94,664 to £63,794. The preventive water-guard has risen from £359,701 to £362,192, and the land-guard has fallen from £15,446 to £1,993. Will you have the goodness to explain the change which has been made since 1848 in the coast-guard ?-The commission to which I made reference recommended, and the comptroller-general of the coast-guard of that day entirely assented to the recommendation, that a great reduction should be made in the cruizers, and also in the mounted land-force connected with the coast-guard; but at the same time that he made that concession, he stated that it would be essentially necessary to strengthen the main guard, which is the preventive land-guard, and some increase was made in that part of the establishment. Previously it was considered that we had a triple guard: we had a guard at sea which was carried on by cruizers; we had a guard along the coast, of which the coast-guard were the agents; and then we had the inland-guard, which was entrusted to the riding officers, so called. We abolished the one, and materially diminished the other; and it was thought necessary to strengthen as far as possible the main-guard, what is called the coastguard, the watch-guard along the coast; and that will account for the increase under that head since the year 1848, of about £2,400.

(399. Chairman.) Going back to a previous year, are not you aware that in the year 1845, the duties were taken off more than half the articles imported into this country ?-I am aware that a very extensive reduction was made in the number of articles subject to customs duties.

(400) I find that in the year 1844, being the year before that reduction in the number of dutiable articles took place, the expenses of the civil department for salaries and allowances, and day-pay to weighers, watchmen, tide-waiters, boatmen, &c., harbour vessels, cruizers, preventive water-guard and land

guard, amounted to £1,024,436; and that the same items in the year 1850 amounted to £1,033,794; showing a small increase in 1850, as compared with 1844, notwithstanding a reduction of more than one-half in the number of dutiable articles : can you favour the Committee with any additional explanation why that has taken place?—I can only state that it has taken place in consequence of the increased trade and commerce of the country: as I stated in a former answer, if the number of ships that enter the ports of the United Kingdom increase, the labours of the Customs will increase whether they bring you dutiable goods or free goods; but I find that the comparison, in fact, exhibits a small decrease; the expenses for 1850 being £1,023,794, against the sum of £1,024,436 for 1844.

(493. Mr. Cornewall Lewis.) On referring to the Finance Accounts for the year ending 5th of January, 1849, it appears that the gross receipts of the Customs for that year is £22,785,000. The first deduction which is made from that gross receipt appears under the head of "Repayments, Allowances, Discounts, Drawbacks, and Bounties in the nature of Drawbacks, and Allowances for Paper, and Parchment and Stamps;" amounting to £191,965; will you have the kindness to explain how that money is disbursed ?-That amount is paid to parties who having paid duty upon their goods, afterwards wish to export them, and are entitled to receive the duties which they have paid, by way of drawback.

(494) Does it not also include cases in which there has been overpayment of duty by mistake?—It includes cases of overpayment, as money which has been once brought to account can only be paid back again to the party by order of the Board of Customs.

(495) Are not all those payments made directly by officers of the Customs, without any payment out of the Exchequer ?They are.

(496) Are not those payments, under the present practice, made expeditiously, and in a manner convenient to the merchant?—Yes.

It is for the Board to reconcile this statement with the cases noticed in Part I., wherein it appears that the re-payment of an over-entry of a penny requires to be attested by the signatures of six officers and three Commissioners, and that the usual cer

tificate of over-entry is seldom given except under a delay of three months.

(528) The next deduction which is made from the net receipt of the Customs before it reaches the Exchequer, appears in the balance-sheet under the head of "Payments other than charges of collection, which in the year 1848 amounted to £333,650.” Do those other payments consist for the most part of charges fixed upon the Customs revenue by Act of Parliament ?—They are composed of the expenses of quarantine; the expenses of the warehousing department; the expenses of officers connected with the Acts of navigation, and for keeping accounts of the trade and navigation of the empire; expenses incurred by the Customs in the execution of the Merchant Seamen's Act; payments on account of the difference of Trinity light and pilotage dues between British and Foreign vessels; compensation allowances to naval officers in the plantations; compensation to naval officers employed on the coast guard, for loss of half-pay; sums paid towards the support of the judicial establishments in Scotland; payments in support of the civil government of the Isle of Man; and some other small payments.

(529) Are the majority of those payments made for purposes quite unconnected with the revenue of the Customs?—I should say they were all, with the exception of the expenses of the warehousing department.

(538. Mr. Fagan.) Are the different outports classified?— They are. There are six classes of out-ports, beside the supernumerary class.

(539) How do you regulate those classes; is it according to their imports and exports ?—It has reference principally to the number of officers in the establishment, because we have learned to consider the amount of money collected as a very fallacious test. There are some ports in which a considerable revenue is collected with a very small number of officers. At other ports, on the other hand, such as Southampton, there is very little revenue collected in proportion to the business, which is very considerable, in consequence of the number of packets which arrive and sail, and on account of which a large establishment is required; therefore Southampton has become a second-class port, although if it were estimated by the amount of revenue collected, it would be much lower.

(540) Does not that observation apply also to Folkestone ?It does.

(541) Has not the increase in the imports and exports of Folkestone been very considerable of late years?—It has; we have had a special application to increase Folkestone in classification. We have resisted it upon the ground of economy, but I think we shall not be able to resist it much longer, for the collector and comptroller have a vast amount of business to do, and their emoluments are not proportionate.

(542) In what class is it now?-The fifth class.

(543) In what class should you propose to put it ?—It would go to the fourth class in the first instance. We have kept it back, not wishing to increase the expense of the establishment, because the alteration of a port from one class to another immediately adds £50 or £100 a year to the salaries of the collector and comptroller, with a corresponding increase to those of other officers also. There is always an uncertainty about a place like Folkestone; it has risen very rapidly, but the packets may be diverted from it, and in the course of a year or two it may fall back again. The importation of silk and other goods may possibly be transferred to London.

(544) Has the classification reference only to the number of the establishment ?—The general amount of business transacted is the main consideration, the amount of revenue collected being of course one ingredient, because the establishment of the long room must vary in proportion to the amount of duty collected.

Y

CHAPTER VIIL

OFFICERS OF CUSTOMS.

§1. THEIR QUALIFICATIONS, DUTIES, AND EMOLUMENTS.

Sir Thomas Fremantle supplies the following information :(179) You have a warrant from the Treasury regulating the hours of attendance of the whole department, from the Commissioners downwards, have you not?-The hours of attendance for the Commissioners are from ten o'clock till four.

(180) By what regulation is that?-The 11th section of the Customs Management Act gives the Treasury the power of appointing the hours.

(183. Mr. Alderman Humphery.) Have you not a section of officers attending before the hour of ten and after four?-Outdoor officers attend from eight to four o'clock, and clerks in the warehousing department also; and very frequently we permit officers to attend before and after legal hours, upon the parties for whose accommodation the attendance is given paying the extra expense of the officers.

In addition to what has been already observed on the subject of the neglect of the Board to obey the 11th section of the Customs Management Act, the statement of the Chairman of the London Docks relative to the attendance of the lockers is important.

(2565. Mr. Alderman Humphery.) You do not think that the lockers in the docks at the present moment take no care and no trouble as to the delivery of goods when the duty is paid, as they used to do when you were a water-side clerk ?— A locker is bound to take care of the keys, and to carry the keys from place to place.

(2566) But you cannot get the goods without the locker going and unlocking the floor in which the goods are?-Certainly.