And by inserting after the first sentence the following clause: "As place, in which the merchandise was purchased, is to be considered the place where the contract was made, whenever this was done at the place where the exporter has his office."

66

Paragraph 681 of the consular regulations of 1896 relative to swearing to the invoice" shall be revoked.

Special agents, confidential agents, and others sent by the Treasury Department to investigate questions bearing upon customs administration shall be accredited to the German Government through the Department of State at Washington and the Foreign Office at Berlin, and such agents shall cooperate with the several chambers of commerce located in the territory apportioned to such agents. It is hereby understood that the general principle as to persona grata shall apply to these officials.

The certificates as to value issued by German chambers of commerce shall be accepted by appraisers as competent evidence and be considered by them in connection with such other evidence as may be adduced.

GEORGE B. CORTELYOU,

Secretary.

APPENDIX IV.

EXECUTIVE ORDER.

The Consular Regulations of 1896 are hereby amended as follows: The practice in regard to "personal appearance before consul," "original bills," "declaration of name of ship," shall be made uniform in the sense

1. That the personal appearance before the consular officer shall be demanded only in exceptional cases, where special reasons require a personal explanation.

2. That the original bills are only to be requested in cases where invoices presented to the consular officer for authentication include goods of various kinds that have been purchased from different. manufacturers at places more or less remote from the consulate and that these bills shall be returned after inspection by the consular officer.

3. That the declaration of the name of the ship in the invoice shall be dispensed with whenever the exporter at the time the invoice is presented for authentication is unable to name the ship.

Paragraph 678 of such regulations, as amended March 1, 1906, is further amended by striking out the words:

"Whenever the invoice is presented to be consulated in a country other than the one from which the merchandise is being directly exported to the United States."

And by inserting after the first sentence the following clause:

"As place, in which the merchandise was purchased, is to be considered the place where the contract was made, whenever this was done at the place where the exporter has his office."

So that the entire paragraph shall read as follows:

"678. Invoices of merchandise purchased for export to the United States must be produced for certification to the consul of the district

at which the merchandise was purchased, or in the district in which it was manufactured, but as a rule consular officers shall not require the personal attendance at his office of the shipper, purchaser, manufacturer, owner, or his agent, for the purpose of making declarations to invoices, but he shall certify invoices sent to him through the mails or by messenger. As place, in which the merchandise was purchased, is to be considered the place where the contract was made, whenever this was done at the place where the exporter has his office. To conform to the statute which requires that merchandise shall be invoiced at the market value or wholesale price of such merchandise as bought and sold in usual wholesale quantities at the time of exportation to the United States, in the principal markets of the country whence imported, consuls will certify to invoices, the additional cost of transportation from the place of manufacture to the place of shipment."

Paragraph 681 of the Consular Regulations of 1896 relative to "swearing to the invoice" is hereby revoked.

Paragraph 674 of the Consular Regulations of 1896 is amended so that the statements provided for in Section 8 of the Customs Administrative Act are not to be required by consular officers except upon the request of the appraiser of the port, after entry of the goods.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

June 1, 1907.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas the German Government has entered into a Commercial Agreement with the United States in conformity with the provisions of the third section of the Tariff Act of the United States approved July 24, 1897, by which Agreement in the judgment of the President reciprocal and equivalent concessions are secured in favor of the products of the United States;

Therefore, be it known that I, THEODORE ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority conferred by said Act of Congress, do hereby suspend during the continuance in force of said Agreement the imposition and collection of the duties imposed by the first Section of said Act upon the articles hereinafter specified, being the products of the soil and industry of Germany; and do declare in place thereof the rates of duty provided in the third section of said Act to be in force and effect from and after July 1, 1907, as follows:

Argols, or crude tartar, or wine lees, crude, five per centum ad valorem.

Brandies, or other spirits manufactured or distilled from grain or other materials, one dollar and seventy-five cents per proof gallon. Champagne and all other sparkling wines, in bottles containing not more than one quart and more than one pint, six dollars per dozen; containing not more than one pint each and more than onehalf pint, three dollars per dozen; containing one-half pint each or

less, one dollar and fifty cents per dozen; in bottles or other vessels containing more than one quart each, in addition to six dollars per dozen bottles on the quantities in excess of one quart, at the rate of one dollar and ninety cents per gallon.

Still wines, and vermuth, in casks, thirty-five cents per gallon; in bottles or jugs, per case of one dozen bottles or jugs containing each not more than one quart and more than one pint, or twentyfour bottles or jugs containing each not more than one pint, one dollar and twenty-five cents per case, and any excess beyond these quantities found in such bottles or jugs shall be subject to a duty of four cents per pint or fractional part thereof, but no separate or additional duty shall be assessed upon the bottles or jugs.

Paintings in oil or water colors, pastels, pen and ink drawings, and statuary, fifteen per centum ad valorem.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this first day of June, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and thirty-first.

[SEAL.]

By the President:

ELIHU ROOT

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Secretary of State.

APPLICATION TO OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS OF THE COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY.

File No. 5727/62.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé of Austria-Hungary.

No. 262.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, June 28, 1907.

SIR: With reference to your note No. 1206, of the 19th instant," I have the honor to say that the administrative provisions set forth in the commercial agreement between the United States and Germany are intended to be applicable in principle to all countries. The provisions which relate to the accrediting of special agents, their cooperation with chambers of commerce, and the acceptance of certificates of chambers of commerce as to value as competent evidence in terms relate specifically to Germany. The Government of the United States does not, however, wish to make them the basis of discrimination against any other country, and is quite ready to make them applicable to Austria-Hungary so far as the conditions in that country permit if the Imperial and Royal Government so desires.

Accept, etc.,

ALVEY A. Adee.

@ Not printed.

File No. 5727/113-114.

The Chargé of Austria-Hungary to the Secretary of State.

No. 1632.]

[Translation.]

AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMBASSY, Bar Harbor, August 15, 1907. YOUR EXCELLENCY: In the last sentence of your esteemed note No. 262 of June 28 last, Your Excellency had the kindness to inform me that the Federal Government was willing to declare applicable to Austria-Hungary certain nonadministrative provisions of the American-German commercial agreement which are enumerated in the note, provided conditions in this country permitted it, and if the AustroHungarian Government should express a desire to that effect.

In conformity with this declaration Your Excellency had already intimated on June 20 last that, in view of the desire of the AustroHungarian Government to have the certificates of value of the Austrian and Hungarian chambers of commerce recognized, it would be well to send a copy of the laws relating to chambers of commerce to the Federal Government, in order that their official character might be examined into, this having already been done by the French Embassy here.

I reported accordingly to Vienna, and now have the honor to place at Your Excellency's disposal a copy of the Austrian law of June 29, 1868 (Imperial Law Bulletin No. 85), in which the official character of the Austrian chambers of commerce and industry is shown in an unequivocal manner. In paragraph 2 of this law there are mentioned among the duties of the chambers of commerce and industry several which are of a purely official character. According to paragraph 3 of the law these bodies are under the Austrian minister of commerce and have to carry out his orders.

In compliance with instructions received from the Austro-Hungarian Government, I have the honor to request Your Excellency to kindly notify me whether the Federal Government is now willing to recognize the Austrian chambers of commerce and industry on the same basis as those of the German Empire as far as the issuance of certificates of value of merchandise is concerned.

While reserving the right to make known to you the desires of the Austro-Hungarian Government with regard to the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry as soon as I receive the appropriate instructions, I avail myself, etc.,

File No. 5727/117.

L. AMBRÓZY.

The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé of Austria-Hungary.

No. 274.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 3, 1907.

SIR: Referring to your note of the 15th ultimo and telegram of the 30th ultimo," receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, relative to certificates of value of merchandise issued by Austrian chambers of commerce and industry, I have the honor to inform you that the de

a Not printed.

partment is just in receipt of a letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, dated the 30th ultimo, stating that the customs officers of the United States will be instructed in the next issue of "Treasury Decisions" that the provisions of point "F" of the diplomatic note annexed to the commercial agreement between the United States and Germany have been extended to Austrian chambers of commerce and industry.

The department will take pleasure in sending you a copy of the "Treasury Decisions" in question as soon as it shall be received. Accept, etc.,

File No. 5727/129.

ALVEY A. Adee.

The Chargé of Austria-Hungary to the Secretary of State.

No. 1787.]

[Translation.]

AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMBASSY, Bar Harbor, September 7, 1907. YOUR EXCELLENCY: I my note No. 1632 of the 15th ultimo I had the honor to state to Your Excellency that I reserved the right to present any wishes which the Imperial and Royal Government might have regarding the assimilation of the Hungarian chambers of commerce to those of the German Empire in respect to the recognition of certificates as to values of goods as soon as I received instructions from Vienna on the subject.

These instructions have just reached me and are prefaced by the remark that the Royal Hungarian Government would be gratified to have the declarations of value issued by the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry taken into consideration by the customhouses of the United States in determining values.

According to Article VI of the Hungarian law of 1868 the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry are corporations with an official character, and therefore answer the conditions explained to me by Your Excellency orally on June 20 last.

Paragraph 2 of the law mentioned contains the provision that the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry are under the jurisdiction of the minister of agriculture, industry, and commerce, receive and execute his orders directly, and present their suggestions to him.

Paragraph 3 letter F, relates to the right or duty of the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry to issue certificates regarding local commercial customs and samples of goods submitted. This right or duty has an unquestionable bearing on the case under consideration.

Paragraph 14 states that the president and both vice-presidents of the chambers of commerce and industry shall be confirmed by the aforementioned minister.

As there is no work extant in English on the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry, the royal Hungarian ministry of commerce has transmitted the inclosed Hungarian work by Dr. Ignácz Sugár, secretary of the chamber of commerce and industry at Miskolezi, on the last pages of which (pp. 124-129) the text of the article. cited is copied. I also take the liberty of inclosing a German translation of the above-mentioned passages made in this embassy.