sons of those engaged in the postal service, may be transmitted as samples in the mails to foreign countries when inclosed in the form prescribed for such matter in domestic mails.

21. All articles prohibited from domestic mails under sections 225 and 226, pages 79 and 80 of this book, are also excluded from circulation in the mails to or from foreign countries.

22. Packets of patterns or samples of merchandise, for dispatch in the mails to foreign countries, are restricted to bona-fide trade samples or specimens having no salable or commercial value in excess of that actually necessary for their use as samples or specimens. Goods sent for sale, in execution of an order, or as gifts, however small the quantity may be, are not admissible.

23. Prices-current and trade circulars (unsealed) may be sent to Guatemala at newspaper rate of postage, but to all other countries at the rate of postage for "other printed matter."

24. The domestic regulation requiring notice to be given by United States postmasters, to publishers whose publications are refused or not taken out of the post-office by the persons addressed, does not apply in the case of newspapers and periodicals of foreign origin refused or not taken out of the post-office by their addressees.

25. The public should bear in mind that all matter received in the mails from foreign countries which is subject to customs duties, such as watches, jewelry, lace, silk, etc., is liable to seizure by the officers of the customs.

26. The Post-Office Department assumes no responsibility for the delay, injury, or loss of either registered or ordinary correspondence for or from foreign countries, but it will, at the instance of senders or addressees, use the means at its command for the purpose of ascertaining the causes of such delay, injury, or loss, and preventing the recurrence thereof.

27. Where no special regulation is made relative to the transmission of correspondence, the domestic regulations will govern.

Sec. 1133. Treatment of Dutiable Articles. When letters, sealed packages, or packages the wrappers of which cannot be removed without destroying them, are received in the United States from a foreign country, and the postmaster of the exchange post-office at which they are received has reason to believe they contain articles liable to customs duties, he shall immediately notify the customs officer of the district in which his post-office is located, or the customs officer designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the purpose of examining the mails arriving froin foreign countries, of the receipt of such letters or packages, and their several addresses; and if any letter or package of this character be addressed to a person residing within the delivery of his post-office, the postmaster shall also, at the time of its arrival, notify the addressee or addressees thereof that such letter or package has been received and is believed to contain articles liable to customs duties, and that he or they must appear at the postoffice at a time in said notice to be designated, not exceeding twenty days from the date of said notice, and receive and open said letter or package in the presence of an officer of the customs.

Letters and sealed packages, or packages the wrappers of which cannot be removed without destroying them, which are supposed to contain articles liable to customs duties, and which are addressed to persons residing outside of the delivery of the United States exchange post-office where they were first received from abroad, shall be forwarded, without longer detention than twenty-four hours, to their respective destinations, marked Supposed liable to customs duties, and upon their receipt at the post-offices of destination the postmasters thereof shall notify the nearest customs officer and the parties addressed, in the manner and to the same effect as hereinbefore provided in the case of similar letters or packages addressed for delivery at the United States exchange post-office where they were first received.

Provided, however, that nothing hereinabove contained shall authorize or allow customs officers to seize or take possession of any letter or sealed package while the

same is in the custody of a postmaster, nor until after its delivery to the addressee; and provided further, that no letter or sealed package shall be detained at the post-office of delivery a longer period than may be necessary for the appearance of a customs officer and the addressee, in pursuance of the notices herein before provided to be given. Unsealed packages received in the mails from foreign countries, which are found on examination by customs officers to contain articles liable to customs duties, shall be delivered by the postmaster at the exchange post-office of receipt to the proper officer of the customs for the collection of the duties chargeable thereon, with notice of such delivery to the person addressed.

Unsealed packages of samples of merchandise, including grains and seeds, in excess of eight ounces in weight, forwarded to the United States in the mails from Canada contrary to the provisions of the postal arrangement between the two countries, which are declared by customs officers to be dutiable, shall be immediately returned from the United States exchange post-office of receipt to the Canadian exchange post-office from which they were dispatched.

Postmasters are expected to extend to customs officers, specially designated for that duty by the Secretary of the Treasury, such facilities as may be necessary to enable them to examine mail matter arriving in the mails from foreign countries, in order to protect the customs revenue.

Sec. 1134. Dutiable Printed Matter in Foreign Mails.-Printed matter, other than books, received in the mails from foreign countries under the provisions of postal treaties or conventions, shall be free of customs duty, and books which are admitted to the international mails exchanged under the provisions of the Universal Postal Union Convention may, when subject to customs duty, be delivered to addressees in the United States under such regulations for the collection of duties as may be agreed upon by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General. (Act of March 3, 1879, § 17, 20 Stat., p. 360.)

Sec. 1135. Discretional Remission of Duties on Single Books.-From infor mation received by the Postmaster-General from the Secretary of the Treasury, it appears that no books are absolutely exempt from customs duties, except those printed and manufactured more than twenty years; but collectors of customs may, in their discretion, remit duties on importations of single copies of books of less dutiable value than one dollar, when such books are intended for the personal use of the addressees.

Sec. 1136. Consuls may Pay Foreign Postage on Letters for the United States. The Postmaster-General or the Secretary of State is hereby authorized to empower the consuls of the United States to pay the foreign postage on such letters destined for the United States as may be detained at the ports of foreign countries for the non-payment of postage, which postage shall be by the consul marked as paid by him, and the amount thereof shall be collected in the United States as other postage, on the delivery of the letters, and repaid to said consul, or credited on his account at the State Department. (R. S., § 4014.)

Sec. 1137. Retaliatory Postage on Certain Foreign Matter-The Postmaster-General, under the direction of the President of the United States, is hereby authorized and empowered to charge upon, and collect from, all letters and other mailable matter carried to or from any port of the United States, in any foreign packet-ship or other vessel, the same rate or rates of charge for American postage which the government to which such foreign packet or other vessel belongs imposes upon letters and

other mailable matter conveyed to or from such foreign country in American packets or other vessels as the postage of such government, and at any time to revoke the same; and all custom-house officers and other United States agents designated or appointed for that purpose shall enforce or carry into effect the foregoing provision, and aid or assist in the collection of such postage, and to that end it shall be lawful for such officers and agents, on suspicion of fraud, to open and examine, in the presence of two or more respectable persons, being citizens of the United States, any package or packages supposed to contain mailable matter found on board such packets or other vessels or elsewhere, and to prevent, if necessary, such packets or other vessels from entering, breaking bulk, or making clearance until such letters or other mailable matter are duly delivered into the United States Post-Office. (R. S., § 4015.)

Sec. 1138. Letters Brought by Foreign Vessels to be Deposited in PostOffice. All letters or other mailable matter conveyed to or from any part of the United States by any foreign vessel, except such sealed letters, relating to such vessel, or any part of the cargo thereof, as may be directed to the owners or consignees of the vessel, shall be subject to postage-charge, whether addressed to any person in the United States or elsewhere, provided they are conveyed by the packet or other ship of a foreign country imposing postage on letters or mailable matter conveyed to or from such country by any vessel of the United States; and such letters or other mailable matter carried in foreign vessels, except such sealed letters, relating to the vessel, or any part of the cargo thereof, as may be directed to the owners or consignees, shall be delivered into the United States post-office by the master of such vessel whoa striving, and be taken from a United States post-office when departing, and the postage paid thereon, justly chargeable [by this Title], and for refusing or failing to do so, or for conveying such letters or any letters intended to be conveyed in any vessel of such foreign country over or across the United States, or any portion thereof, the party offending shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars for each offense. (R. S., § 4016.)

TITLE VIII.

AUDITING POSTAL ACCOUNTS.

CHAPTER ONE.

THE AUDITOR OF THE TREASURY FOR THE POST-OFFICE

Sec. 1139. Auditor, how appointed.-There shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an [Sixth]* Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department. (R. S., § 276.)

Sec. 1140. Duties of Auditor generally Stated.-To this office, which is not a bureau of the Post-Office Department, but an office of the Treasury Department, established for the adjustment and preservation of the accounts of the former are assigned the duties of examining the returns of postmasters and of notifying them of errors found therein; of adjusting their accounts; of designating the postoffices from which contractors shall make collections, and of furnishing them the blank orders and receipts necessary for that purpose; and, upon receipt of such collection-orders, together with the acknowledgments of collections and of certificates from the Division of Inspection, Office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, of the performance of service, of adjusting the quarterly compensation of contractors for carrying the mail, and of transmitting to them the drafts issued in payment of the balances found due; of adjusting the accounts for advertising, mail-bags, mail locks and keys, stamps, Special Agents, and all other demands properly arising under the laws, contracts, regulations, or orders of the Department; of closing the accounts of the Department quarterly, and of reporting the amounts paid by postmasters pursuant to appropriations made by law; and of registering, charging, and countersigning all warrants upon the Treasury for receipts and payments when warranted by law, as well as all drafts issued in payment or collection of debts. To the Auditor is also assigned the duty of adjusting and settling the moneyorder accounts of postmasters, and attending to all correspondence relating thereto. It is the duty of the Auditor to report to the Postmaster-General all delinquencies on the part of postmasters in paying over the moneys in their hands, all failures of postmasters to render their quarterly returns according to law, and all failures of appointees to qualify. To the Auditor is also assigned the duty of collecting from Title, formerly Sixth Auditor, changed by act of March 3, 1875. (18 Statutes at Large, page 397.

late postmasters balances due the United States upon their general postal and moneyorder accounts; and in cases of failure to collect such balances by drafts in favor of postmasters or other authorized agents of the Department, to prepare and transmit to the Department of Justice certified copies of all accounts and papers necessary for the institution of legal proceedings against such late postmasters and their sureties. Το the Auditor should be transmitted all quarterly and general accounts; all vouchers and letters relating thereto; all receipts of postmasters for money and stamps turned over to them by their predecessors or other postmasters; all acknowledgments of drafts issued in payment of balances; all receipts of mail contractors for, and their acknowledgments of, the collections from postmasters; all letters admitting or contesting balances due on the general accounts of postmasters and mail contractors; all receipts for drafts issued in collecting such balances; all letters returning such drafts, or reporting the non-payment thereof; and all letters in relation to the settlement of the money-order accounts of postmasters.

Sec. 1141. Divisions of Auditor's Office.-There are in the office of the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department eight divisions, throngh which the work of the office is distributed. Their names and duties are as follows: COLLECTING DIVISION.-To this division is assigned the collection of balances due from all postmasters, late postmasters, and contractors; also the payment of all balances due to late and present postmasters, and the adjustment and final settlement of postal acounts.

STATING DIVISION.-The general postal accounts of postmasters and those of late postmasters, until fully stated, are in charge of this division.

EXAMINING DIVISION.-Receives and audits the quarterly accounts-current of all post-offices in the United States. It is divided into four subdivisions, viz, the opening-room, the stamp-rooms, the examining corps proper and the error-rooms.

MONEY-ORDER DIVISION.-Accounts of money-orders paid and received are examined, and paid money-orders are assorted, checked, and filed, remittances of moneyorder funds are registered and checked and errors corrected by this division.

FOREIGN MAIL DIVISION.-Has charge of the postal accounts with foreign governments, and the accounts with steamship companies for ocean transportation of the mails.

REGISTERING DIVISION.-Receives from the examining division the quarterly accounts-current of all the post-offices in the United States, re-examines and registers them, and exhibits in the register ending June 30 of each year the total amount of receipts and expenditures for the fiscal year.

PAY DIVISION.-The adjustment and payment of all accounts for the transportation of the mails, whether carried by ocean-steamers, railroads, steamboats, or any mailcarrier; the accounts of the railway postal service, railway postal clerks, route-agents, and local agents, mail-depredations, Special Agents, free-delivery system, postagestamps, postal cards, envelopes, stamps, maps, wrapping-paper, twine, mail-bags, mail locks and keys, advertising, fees in suits on postal matters, and miscellaneous accounts, are assigned to this division.

BOOKKEEPING DIVISION.-The duty of keeping the ledger-accounts of the Department, embracing postmasters, late postmasters, contractors, late contractors, and accounts of a general, special, and miscellaneous character, is performed by this division.

Sec. 1142. The Duties of the Auditor as Prescribed by Statute.-The [Sixth] Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department shall receive ⚫ all accounts arising in the Post-Office Department, or relative thereto, with the vouchers necessary to a correct adjustment thereof, and shall audit and settle the same and certify the balances thereon to the Postmaster-General. He shall keep and preserve all accounts and vouchers after settlement. He shall close the account of the Department quar