No. 853.
Mr. Romero to Mr. Bayard.
[Translation.]
Legation of Mexico,
Washington, February 10,
1888. (Received February 10.)
Mr. Secretary: I have observed, both in the
correspondence of the representatives of the United States in Mexico,
which has been published by their Government, and in statements made by
prominent persons in this country, expressions and opinions respecting
the free zone which exists in the portion of Mexico bordering on the
United States which I consider wholly unfounded; it has consequently
seemed proper to me, from a due regard to the good understanding and
harmony between our two countries, to offer some explanations, whereby I
trust that the erroneous impressions that now prevail on this subject
will be rectified.
I think I do not hazard much in saying that in both official circles in
the United States and outside of those circles it is believed that the
free zone was established in Mexico as an act of antagonism, if not of
hostility, to the United States, and mainly, if not solely, for the
purpose of encouraging smuggling, to the prejudice of the fiscal
interest of this country. It will not be difficult to show how unfounded
these opinions are.
When, in pursuance of the treaty of February 2, 1848, the Rio Grande from
El Paso del Norte to the point where it flows into the sea was accepted
as the boundary line between Mexico and the United States, and when
American settlements began to be made on the left bank of that river,
two peoples were brought into contact with each other whose economical
and commercial conditions offered a striking contrast. In the United
States no taxes were levied upon internal trade, and it was not
otherwise restricted. The import duties on foreign goods were at that
time relatively low, and the country was just entering upon an
unexampled career of progress, while in Mexico, which had inherited the
Spanish system of taxation, taxes were levied which largely increased
the cost of domestic goods; the collection of these taxes rendered
internal custom-houses necessary, and the restrictions placed upon trade
were numberless; import duties on foreign goods were so high as to be
prohibitory; in addition to this, the importation of various kinds of
goods was prohibited, among them some of prime necessity, such as
provisions.
The result of this state of things was that while in Brownsville, and
other towns on the left bank of the Rio Grande, domestic articles of
daily use, such as provisions, clothing, etc., were sold at a
comparatively low price, in the Mexican towns on the right bank they
cost twice and even four times as much, and that foreign goods also were
much cheaper on the one than on the other side of the river.
[Page 1267]
This difference of circumstances necessarily brought about one of these
two results: It either caused the inhabitants of the Mexican towns to
emigrate to those of the United States in order to enjoy the advantages
which were to be had in that country, or it induced them to purchase the
goods which they needed in the United States and then to smuggle them
over to the Mexican side.
In 1849, that is to say in the year following that in which the new
boundary line was adopted, the situation on the Mexican frontier became
so disquieting, that the Federal Congress was obliged to pass a law, on
the 14th of April, which may be considered as the first step toward the
establishment of the free zone. This law authorized, for a term of three
years, the importation through the frontier custom-houses of the State
of Tamaulipas of such provisions as were for the use of the people of
the frontier, which goods, up to that time, had been prohibited by the
existing tariff or had been subject to very heavy duties.
This law did not meet the exigencies of the situation; and in 1858 the
free zone was established by the governor of Tamaulipas as an absolute
necessity of the State.
On the 5th of February, 1857, the constitution was adopted which is now
in force in Mexico, and which went into operation on the 16th of
September following. On the 1st of September, Don Ignacio Comonfort, the
constitutional President was inaugurated, and unfortunately a
pronunciamiento was issued by him on the 17th of the same month against
the constitution; he also dissolved the Federal Congress which was then
in session. For this reason several Mexican States, especially such as
were at a distance from the center, reassumed their sovereignty, and
their legislatures granted extraordinary powers to the governors, in
order to enable those officers to protect their institutions.
In virtue of these powers the governor of the State of Tamaulipas issued,
on the 17th of March, 1858, a decree which was designed to afford a
remedy for the hardships that were then suffered by the frontier
population of that State. This decree established what has since that
time been known as the free zone, in which foreign goods intended for
the use of the frontier towns of the State and of the ranches in their
jurisdiction, or for trade between those towns, were to be exempt from
all Federal duties, but not from municipal or State taxes; an unlimited
right of bonding being, moreover, granted to those towns. Thus it was
that foreign goods imported there could remain stored indefinitely
without paying any duties to the Federal treasury. The said goods paid
no import duties except when they were removed from those towns to be
shipped to the interior of Mexico.
Nothing could furnish a better explanation of the true object of the
decree issued by the governor of Tamaulipas, if there were room for any
well-founded doubt with regard to it, than the grounds on which he based
his action, which were as follows:
Whereas the towns on our northern frontier are in a state of
actual decadence owing to the want of laws to protect their
trade; and whereas, being situated in close proximity to a
commercial nation which enjoys free trade, they need similar
advantage, in order to avoid losing their population, which is
constantly emigrating to the neighboring country: Now,
therefore, desiring to arrest this serious evil by means of
franchises which have so long been demanded by the frontier
trade __________.
* * * * * * *
The decree of the governor of Tamaulipas of March 17, 1858, was submitted
to the legislature of the State and also to the Federal Congress for
their approval, and it was approved by the latter body July 30,
1861.
This brief statement will, I think, be sufficient to show that the
establishment of the free zone was a stop taken in fulfillment of the
duty of [Page 1268] self-preservation,
so to speak, and that it was by no means a measure adopted in a spirit
of unfriendliness, much less of hostility, toward the United States, as
has been believed in this country.
The second impression which prevails here with regard to the free zone is
equally unfounded.
The events connected with the foreign intervention did not permit the
effects of the free zone to be felt in Mexico until the Republic
returned to its normal condition, as it did when peace was restored.
In the report made by the Secretary of the Treasury to the Congress of
the United States September 16, 1869, that officer stated that one of
the causes of the then depleted condition of the Mexican treasury was
the large contraband trade that was carried on through the free zone
enjoyed by the frontier towns of Tamaulipas. The Secretary remarked at
the same time that the custom-houses of those towns were scarcely able
to meet their expenses, which showed that that region had not prospered,
notwithstanding the franchises granted to it by the free zone, and that
the said zone was not the proper remedy for the evil which it was
intended to cure.
It is true that the privilege granted by the free zone to the inhabitants
of the northern portion of Tamaulipas to import foreign goods without
paying import duties, to store them in their own houses, and to keep
them in bond for an unlimited time was, and has been, a powerful
incentive to smuggling, with a view to repressing which recourse has
been had in Mexico to a costly and complicated system of inspection.
Protection to smuggling was not, however, the object had in view by the
creators of the free zone, nor has it been possible for smuggling to be
carried on to the prejudice of the United States to the same extent to
which this has been done to the prejudice of Mexico.
Inasmuch as the duties levied by the Mexican tariff are much higher than
those of the United States, it is evident that the most lucrative
contraband trade is that which is carried on to the detriment of the
Mexican treasury. That trade is, at the same time, carried on with less
difficulty, because the Mexican frontier is very sparsely populated, in
consequence of which the difficulty of guarding it is greatly increased,
while the frontier of the United States is more thickly settled and
better defended against smuggling.
It does not seem to me conceivable that, in order to encourage smuggling,
to the detriment of the United States Treasury, which might be counted
as one, smuggling could be encouraged to the detriment of the Mexican
treasury, which might be counted as ten (i. e.,
in order to injure the United States the Mexicans would not be willing
to injure themselves ten times as much); and if the smuggling which is
carried on through the free zone were a sufficient reason for the
abolition of the latter, the interest of Mexico in this matter would
long since have settled this question.
There is another consideration to which I think proper to call your
attention before concluding this note, and which, in my judgment, may be
regarded as an advantage to the United States accruing from the free
zone. As I have already stated, the Mexican system of legislation
concerning customs and excise duties has generally been restrictive and
even prohibitory, both by reason of the high import duties established
in my country and of the existence of interior custom-houses; also on
account of State and municipal taxes, which necessitate vigilance and
restrictions that can not do otherwise than hamper business
transactions. I have frequently seen complaints on this account in
official documents of this Government, and I confess that some of them
have [Page 1269] appeared to me to be
not without foundation, although we are the party that suffers most from
those restrictions. If the free zone in Mexico has inconveniences for
this country much less serious than those which it has for Mexico, it
has, in my judgment, one advantage which has hitherto remained
unnoticed. That advantage is that goods from the United States may be
imported into Mexican territory duty free and be warehoused in the
region of the zone for an unlimited time. No greater privileges to the
commerce of a nation can be asked for. If these privileges, which are
confined to a limited zone, were extended to the whole country, I do not
think that the United States would consider the free admission of their
productions into Mexico as being prejudicial to their interests.
As I have already remarked, the opinion of Mexican statesmen with regard
to the free zone has been divided, some having thought that it should be
abolished, because it grants to one section of the country privileges
which are not authorized by the constitution, and others having
maintained that, under the circumstances, it was an imperative
necessity, and that its abolition would be equivalent to the destruction
of the frontier. The latter opinion finally prevailed in the councils of
the Mexican Government, and in accordance therewith the free zone was
extended to the States of Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, and the territory
of Lower California, for a distance of 20 kilometers from the boundary
line; and thus, so far from any encouragement being afforded to those
who favored the abolition of the free zone, the opposite system
triumphed completely.
The free zone was subjected to regulations, or rather it was confirmed
and amplified, by another decree of the governor of Tamaulipas, bearing
date of October 29, 1860, and the Federal Government did not subject it
to regulations until June 17, 1878. Chapter XII of the tariff of January
24, 1885, subjected the free zone to regulations in a restrictive way.
Such, however, was the pressure exerted by the frontier towns and by
their representatives in the Congress of the Union that, by a decree
dated June 19, 1885, the limitations established in that chapter were
suspended and more liberal regulations were again adopted in the tariff
of March 1, 1887, which is still in force.
I think it proper for me to state in this connection than when I was
obliged to study this question thoroughly, owing to the fact of my
filling the office of the secretary of the treasury of the United States
of Mexico, I formed an opinion which was decidedly adverse to the free
zone, which opinions I expressed in official documents, and recommended
its abolition to Congress; so that, instead of having been an advocate
of the zone, I have probably been its most earnest opponent. The reasons
which led me to this conclusion were of a constitutional character, and
although I was aware that the situation of the frontier towns of Mexico
required the adoption of suitable remedies, I always exerted myself to
have measures adopted of such a nature that they could be extended to
the whole country, they thereby being divested of their odiousness as
privileges.
There can be no doubt as to the right of the Government of Mexico to
establish rules relative to domestic and foreign trade in the country,
and the misunderstanding which has prevailed here with regard to the
object and tendencies of the free zone, and the manner in which that
misunderstanding has been expressed by certain Federal and State
officers, has really served as an argument to the advocates of the free
zone who attribute to their opponents a design in advocating its
abolition [Page 1270] to sacrifice the
interests of Mexico to satisfy the demands of the United States.
It may not be out of place for me to quote here certain views that were
expressed by the secretary of the treasury of Mexico in the report
Submitted by him to the Congress of the Union under date of September
16, 1870. They are as follows:
The friendly representations made by the United States Government to that
of the Republic in relation to the injury accruing to the United States
from the free zone are also worthy of being taken into consideration by
the Congress, not that it may seek to please the neighboring nation in a
spirit of servility at the expense of the rights and interests of the
Republic, which it is under obligations to care for and uphold above
everything else (which spirit would be unworthy of our national
reprerentatives), but as a neighborly act, and in order to have a right
to be heard and treated with consideration in case that in process of
time some difficulty arise on our northern frontier of such a nature as
to possess, as regards Mexico, the character which the free zone
possesses as regards our neighboring nation; in order, moreover, that
Mexico may acquire a new title to be heard and considered in a cordial
and friendly as well as just and equitable manner when she may have
occasion to offer remonstrances with a view to the protection of her
interests.
A nation’s dignity is not so well upheld by refusing to consider the
moderate and amicable remonstrances of a neighboring nation as it is by
hearing and considering such remonstrances and then acting according to
the requirements of justice.
As a supplement to this note I have the honor to inclose a pamphlet
containing the following documents:
- (1)
- Text of the decree of the governor of Tamaulipas, dated March
17, 1858, establishing the free zone.
- (2)
- A law passed by the Federal Congress of Mexico, dated July 30,
1861, confirming the above decree.
- (3)
- Regulations concerning the free zone, promulgated by the
governor of Tamaulipas, October 29, 1860.
- (4)
- The first regulations concerning the aforesaid zone,
promulgated by the Federal Government June 17, 1878.
Fuller details on this subject will be found in the speeches delivered by
the secretary of the treasury in the Mexican Congress on the 28th and
29th of October, and on the 4th and 5th of November, 1870, which are
contained in the verbal reports of the secretary of the treasury to the
Congress of the Union during the first period of the second year of its
sessions,” printed in the City of Mexico in 1870, a copy of which I sent
to you as an inclosure to my note of January 4, 1886.
Be pleased to accept, etc.,
[Inclosure
1.—Translation.]
Decree establishing the Zona Libre.
government of the state of
tamaulipas.
The citizen Ramon Guerra, governor ad interim
of the State of Tamaulipas, considering that the towns on the
northern frontier are really in a state of decay for the lack of
laws to protect their commerce; that, situated in the immediate
vicinity of a mercantile nation which enjoys free commerce, they
need equal advantages, in order not to lose their population, which
is constantly emigrating to the neighboring country; desiring to put
an end to so serious an evil by means of privileges which have so
long been demanded by the commerce of the frontier; favorably
considering the petition of the inhabitants of Matamoros, and using
the extraordinary faculties with which I am invested by the decree
of December 28, the last of the honorable legislature of the State,
with the advice and consent of the council, I have seen fit to
decree as follows:
[Page 1271]
Article 1.
Foreign goods designed for the consumption of the city of Matamoras
and of the other towns on the hank of the Rio Bravo—Reynosa,
Camargo, Mier, Guerrero, Monterey, and Laredo—and for the trade
which these towns carry on among themselves, shall be free from all
duties, with the exception of municipal duties and such taxes as
maybe imposed, to the end that the burdens of the State may be
borne; in like manner, goods deposited in Government warehouses, or
in warehouses belonging to private individuals in the said towns,
shall be free of duties so long as they are not conveyed inland to
other towns of the State or of the Republic. The terms on which this
trade is to be conducted are laid down in the following
articles:
Article 2.
Mexican or foreign merchants, settled on the left bank of the Bravo,
who may desire to avail themselves of this privilege, may transport
their goods and fix their trading establishments, without paying any
duties, in any of the towns aforesaid, being subject in making such
transportation to the provisions made in the laws of the maritime
and frontier custom-houses for the importations of foreign goods
into the Republic, with the object of avoiding the clandestine
introduction of goods to the detriment of the national treasury.
Article 3.
Any load conveyed to the right side of the Bravo must be carried
through the fords of the river designated in the regulations of the
custom-houses of said towns, and goods about to be shipped, already
shipped, or which have been discharged at other places than those
designated shall be subject to confiscation, together with the
vessel, boat, launch, carts, or wagons upon which such goods were
conveyed, and the carriers shall be required to pay a fine of from
twenty-five to one hundred dollars; and the owners of the load shall
be obliged, besides forfeiting their goods, to close the trading
establishments which they may have in the Republic, their names
being published in the newspapers, together with a statement of the
fact and an order directing the closure of their business.
Article 4.
Goods leaving the towns where the custom-houses are designed for free
consumption must go with permits or passes, as is usual in the
internal trade of the Republic; in these documents various stations
shall not be indicated, but only one in which the goods are to be
consumed, and a fictitious name of the carrier shall not be
inserted, but his real Christian name and surname, as likewise the
name of the sender and that of the consignee. Any failure in this
respect will give rise to a grave responsibility on the part of the
official issuing such documents. Acknowledgments of the receipt of
the goods, and of the delivery of the same to the consignees, will
in all cases be required with little delay, in order that goods
consumed outside of the privileged towns, in violation of the
permit, may pay the lawful duties. Goods for the use of ranchos in
the jurisdiction shall be required to pay no duties when their value
does not exceed thirty dollars, and when they have the proper
permits, without which requisite they shall be confiscated.
Article 5.
The circulation of goods for free consumption, as well as for
conveyance into the interior of the Republic, shall be subject to
the examination of the custom-house officers at the place whence
they are sent. The carriers of such goods must present themselves
with the same, and with their documents, at the sentry-boxes
situated on their route, to the official on duty, that they may
receive his visa, without which requisite they shall be liable to
confiscation, although the documents covering the load may have been
issued in due form of law. It shall also be the duty of the carrier
to present the load and documents at the custom-house of the place
of destination, under the same penalty of confiscation.
Article 6.
The administrator (collector) of the custom-house issuing the permits
or passes must give notice, by the next ordinary mail, to the
administrator of the custom-house at the place of destination, that
said documents have been issued, stating the date and the numbers
thereof, the name of the carrier and of the consignees, and the time
fixed for their presentation. The administrator of the custom-house
at the place of destination shall compare the load with the
documents covering it, examining it carefully in accordance with the
custom-house regulations, and sending word as to the [Page 1272] result to the administrator of the
custom-house at the point whence the goods were sent.
Article 7.
Foreign goods leaving the privileged towns to he conveyed into the
interior of the Republic shall, at the time of so doing, become
subject to the duties laid upon them by the tariff, and they shall
never be conveyed into the interior without having paid, at the
custom-house of their place of departure, all duties which are
required to be paid in the port, and without the observance of all
the requirements and provisions of the laws in force, in order not
to be molested or detained on their way.
Article 8.
As the privilege granted by this decree ought not to cause any
detriment to the national revenue, it is the duty of the inhabitants
of the frontier to prevent, by all the means in their power, this
privilege from being converted into a shameful smuggling traffic; it
is, therefore, the duty of every inhabitant of the frontier
voluntarily to become a sentinel, constantly on the watch to prevent
smuggling; otherwise, the government will be under the painful
necessity of withdrawing this privilege, by revoking the present
decree.
Article 9.
This decree shall be subject to the revision and approval of the
Congress of the State at its next meeting in ordinary session and to
that of the general Congress when constitutional order shall be
restored, although it shall go into force as soon as published in
the privileged towns.
Therefore I order it to be printed, published, circulated, and duly
enforced.
Done at Ciudad
Victoria, March 17, 1858.
Ramon Guerra.
José Maria Olivera,
Chief Official.
[Inclosure
2.—Translation.]
Decree of the Federal Government approved the
decree of the Government of Tamaulipas establishing the Zona
Libre.
Benito Juarez, President
of the United States of Mexico, to the inhabitants thereof:
Be it known that the sovereign Congress has deemed proper to decree
the following:
Article 1. We do approve of the act passed
by the State of Tamaulipas on the 17th day of March, 1858, by which
the towns of Matamoros, Reynosa, Camargo, Mier, Guerrero, and
Monterey-Laredo, situated on the right bank of the Rio Grande, were
made free ports of entry for all foreign goods shipped to these
towns and destined for the consumption of and traffic between said
towns, under the rules and regulations laid down in said decree.
Given in the halls of the Congress of the Union of Mexico on this
30th day of July, 1861.
José Linares,
Deputy President
E. Robler,
Gil L. Ganoa,
Deputy
Secretaries.
In witness whereof I have ordered the foregoing to be printed,
published, and circulated for the proper compliance with the
same.
Given at the National Palace of Mexico on the 30th day of July,
1861.
Benito Juarez.
Citizen Higenio Nuñez,
Secretary of State, Treasury, and Public
Credit.
Take notice of the foregoing and enforce the compliance
therewith.
Liberty and reform. Mexico, July 30, 1861.
Nuñez.
The Political Chief
of the District of Northern Tamaulipas.
The above is a certified copy.
H. Matamoros,
September 2,
1861.
N. Cordova,
Secretary.
[Page 1273]
[Inclosure 3
—Translation.]
Decree of the Governor of
Tamaulipas.
[Maritime and frontier custom-house of Matamoros,
government of the State of Tamaulipas.]
The privilege granted to the frontier towns for the free introduction
of goods was general as to all of them, and there is no necessity,
therefore, for conveying from one point in the zone to another point
therein any goods save those which can not be introduced, or are not
customarily introduced, for the limited local consumption of such
towns. But nevertheless, as you point out in your communication of
the 19th instant, even this privilege may be abused in the way you
suggest, and therefore the Government warns you not to issue transit
permits or passes in such cases, except for such quantity or number
of articles or merchandise as you may deem sufficient for the
consumption of the town to which the same are bound, leaving this to
the judgment of your administration, which is hereby competently
authorized to make the qualification in question.
And to the end that this provisional regulation, whereof information
has been communicated to the supreme Government, shall be carried
out, I send like instruction, under even date, to the custom-houses
along the border, in order that they may observe it until further
orders may become proper for the protection alike of commercial
liberty within the limits of the zone and avoiding the resultant
abuses.
I say this to you for your information and the further ends, assuring
yon of my especial esteem.
God and liberty.
Tampico, January 29, 1859.
Juan J. de la
Garza.
[Flourish.]
Dario Balandrano, Secretary,
To the administrator of the maritime and
frontier custom-house of Matamoros.
[Inclosure
4.—Translation.]
Circular to custom-houses.
Maritime and Frontier Custom-House of
Matamoros,
Government of the State of
Tamaulipas.
Answering the inquiry which the custom-house of Matamoros addressed
to this Government on the 11th instant, I have thought proper to
make the following explanation, for the better understanding and
application of the decree dated August 17th last past and the 15th
of the present month:
(1) The decrees cited ought to be applied as complements of each
other, with the object of re-establishing the order and credit in
the custom-houses of the frontier and equalizing the commerce of the
latter with the other ports of the Republic.
(2) There may be imported and kept in the towns embraced within the
Free Zone all goods and merchandise of whatever class and nature,
without paying any other duties than municipal, which shall be
collected in accordance with the present tariff up to the 31st of
December next and from that day forward in accordance with the
general ordinance of 1856. Of the goods introduced into the Free
Zone there can only be interned up to the 31st of December next the
goods permitted by the tariff which expires, and from that day
forward those may be interned which the ordinance of 1856 permits,
which then begins. The values in either case shall be those which
the cited tariffs designate.
(3) The goods which are interned after the 31st of December and
thereafter shall pay at the time and in cash the duties of interning
which the ordinance of 1856 establishes, and at once there shall
begin to run the times which it indicates for the others which are
properly called duties of importation and public improvements, which
shall be paid on the day they fall due, in cash and not in
paper.
(4) The goods imported and which may not have been introduced before
the 31st of December next ought not to be considered as excepted
from the foregoing provision, but ought to be treated at the time of
interning in entire conformity to the tariff to which they belong
according to the date in which it is made.
For the better understanding of this explanation, it is to be borne
in mind that the interning for the commerce of the Free Zone is that
of the importation for the other ports of the Republic; and so that
for these ports the goods which have not been imported [Page 1274] can not be considered as
in existence; neither can those goods which have not been interned
be so considered for the Free Zone.
The Government is right when it proposed to re-establish credit in
the custom-houses of the frontier and to equalize the commerce of
the latter with the other ports of the Republic. In changing the
tariff it has fixed a sufficient time within which the commerce can
arrange its transactions and provide for the day when the ordinance
of 1856 shall have full force and effect. If it does not take
advantage nor wish to take advantage of the time, the fault is not
with the Government, which is protected from all claim for damages
and injuries by virtue of this indicated time.
(5) The total product of the duties of importation properly so called
and those of interning are destined, first, to the payment of the
custom-house employés; second, to the garrison; third, to the
illustrious city council of Matamoros for what it has advanced to
the latter; fourth, to the fiscal agents of the Government of the
State in the district of the North for what they have loaned to the
same also; fifth, to the various orders in favor of individuals for
credits against the General Government, according to the order of
the date in which they have been issued, and without taking into
account those which have not been presented at the custom-house for
its examination before the publication of the cited decrees.
(6) The monthly product of the duties cited in the foregoing
explanation for no reason are to be distributed pro rata among the
various claimants mentioned, but only to the custom-house employés
and the garrison, as each one of these credits will be recognized
when that which precedes it is satisfied in each month.
(7) The orders of payment in favor of individuals shall be paid in
the order and turn which has been stated in the fifth explanation,
and in the terms which they express according to the existing
tariff, up to the 31st of December next—that is to say, there will
be applied to their redemption the product of all the duties which,
according to them, are devoted to their payment. But from the 1st of
January forward all the orders pending shall be considered as a
consolidated debt, which shall continue to be redeemed with the
excess of the products of importation properly so called, and those
of interning, according to the general ordinance of 1856, in the
order and turn which pertains to it by the decrees and foregoing
explanation which are to be observed, even when the importer is at
the same time the holder of the order.
The injuries which the holders of the orders may perhaps pretend to
feel on account of these dispositions are not to be regarded,
because if their credits are rigidly examined, the $600,000 to which
they amount to-day would in the final examination be reduced to less
than a hundred thousand, but putting this aside and giving attention
only to the real value or estimate which the paper had before these
dispositions, which was from 14 to 10 per cent., it results that the
total amount of their credit would be scarcely $70,000. To-day, on
the contrary, in virtue of the decrees issued and these
explanations, the paper has acquired its real value with the passage
of time, according to the order in which it reaches its turn, and
therefore there ought to be reason to expect to be placed in
equality of circumstances.
The Government, which in dictating these measures has sought to
conciliate all interests, thinks that the public and the commerce,
the garrison and the custom-house employés of the frontier, will
comprehend all the justice and equity which they contain besides
their convenience.
To the people in general it has preserved all the advantages which
have been attained and which will increase from day to day with the
establishment of the Free Zone.
The commerce, in virtue of the differential decree, will be able to
compete with all markets or places of commerce, with that of the
other ports of the Republic, and it would be unjust and immoral to
claim greater advantages. Each State or locality can allege
exceptional circumstances, and at present, when the frontier is at
peace, contemplating from afar the war which consumed the towns of
the interior of the Republic, the frontier ought not to complain of
its lot. Every privilege is odious, and the frontier has already one
of much importance, as that of the Free Zone and the differential
duty, of which it is a rare example in the mercantile world.
The garrison of the regular army will have its pay met and will be
capable of discharging worthily its mission.
The custom-house employés, being well attended to in their salaries,
will find the accounts more simple and facilitated, and their
functions more in harmony with the other employés in the
Republic.
On the other hand, the holders of paper ought to consider themselves
favored be cause the value of the paper is increased in proportion
as their turn draws near, and they may at once be assured that the
value will not decline.
The whole commerce of the nation receives a great impulse because it
is equalized, established upon a basis of sure calculation, and from
to-day it shall not be the sport of every mercantile operation, in
spite of the eventualities which the present revolution may occasion
[Page 1275] You will give due
publicity to this note, accepting the consideration of my esteem.
God and liberty.
Tampico, October 29, 1860.
Juan J. de la Garza.
Emilio Velasco,
Chief Clerk.
The Collector of the custom-house in
Matamoros.
These are copies.
Mexico, June 17,
1878.
Jesus Fuentes y Muniz,
First Chief Clerk.
[Inclosure
4—Translation.]
Decree establishing the Zona Libre.
The Department of Finance and
Public Credit, First Section.
Circular No. 93.
The towns of the State of Tamaulipas situate on the frontier with the
United States enjoying the privilege of importing free of duty
foreign goods destined to their consumption, according to the law of
the 30th of July, 1861, by which the decree of the government of
that State of March 17, 1858, was approved, which created the Free
Zone in the said State; and it being tire duty of the executive
whilst it legally exists to adopt regulations for it in compliance
with the duty imposed upon him by paragraph 1 of article 85 of the
Constitution, for the purpose of avoiding the abuses which maybe
committed under cover of the concession and the injuries which in
consequence of these abuses the other frontier towns, honest
commerce, and the Federal Treasury are feeling, the President of the
Republic has thought proper to approve the following regulation of
the Free Zone:
Chapter I.—Importation in the Free Zone.
Article 1. Foreign importations through the
port of Matamoros shall continue to be subject to the provisions of
the tariff of the 1st of January, 1872, and the regulations of the
custom-houses of the same date.
Art. 2. The first is, importations which
are made in sail and steam vessels, through the other established
custom-houses of the Free Zone, shall likewise be subject to the
same provisions of the tariff and regulations.
Art. 3. In the importation of foreign goods
through the frontier custom-houses of Matamoros, Camargo, Mier y
Monterey Laredo, the following rules shall be observed:
- I.
- The shippers to the custom-houses of the Free Zone of
foreign goods destined to them shall be under the obligation
to present to the Mexican consul or consular agent resident
in the foreign town whence the merchandise proceeds three
copies of the permit of importation to which paragraph IV of
this article refers, in order that they may be certified in
the following terms: “The preceding permit presented in (so
many) useful leaves contain (so many) packages.” The date,
signature of consul or consular agent, and seal of the
consulate. In the absence of consuls or consular agents this
certification may be made by a consul of some friendly
nation, or two established merchants.
- II.
- The interested parties shall leave the duplicate of the
petition with the consul or consular agent, they shall
retain the triplicate, and the principal shall serve to
protect the goods in their passage across the Rio
Bravo.
- III.
- For the purpose of avoiding for the shippers the
obligation to present a manifest and consular invoice for
each importation which is made, in compliance with articles
24 and 30 of the tariff of the 1st of January, 1872, they
will be permitted at the end of each month to embrace their
partial permits in a single manifest and consular invoice,
preparing these documents in the terms provided in said
articles 24 and 30 of the tariff, under the penalties which
the same establish and according to the forms Nos. 1 and 2
of the tariff, stating the numbers of the partial
permits.
- IV.
- The shippers or commission merchants shall present to the
Mexican consuls or consular agents, and in the absence of
these to the consul of a friendly nation, and in his
absence, to two established merchants, the three copies of
the manifest and invoice for their examination, compared
with the partial permits and their certification in the
terms provided by, article 38, of the tariff, collecting the
respective receipts. This certification shall pay the
consular duties fixed in said tariff. A copy of each [Page 1276] permit shall be
sent to the department of finance, together with the third
copy of the manifests and invoices in accordance with
article 40 of the tariff.
- V.
- Before the goods are passed the merchants or commission
merchants shall enjoy the right which is granted to captains
and consignees by the laws of December 31, 1874, and May 24,
1878, to correct and add to the partial permits already
required, and to which paragraph II of this article refers,
provided that this is done within twenty-four hours after
the permit has been issued, and subject to the penalties
fixed by said laws.
- VI.
- For the importation of foreign goods, each one of the
aforesaid custom-houses shall not permit more than one
passage in any of the fords of the Rio Bravo existing in
front of the respective custom-house gate.
- VII.
- The importation shall be applied for according to the
provisions of paragraph I of this article, by means of
partial petitions, which the importers shall present in
triplicate to the collector, one only of them being stamped
with revenue-stamps of the value of 25 cents on each leaf of
paper of common size, and on which shall be stated the
number and marks of the packages, their weight and contents,
and the other conditions required by article 24 of the
tariff.
- VIII.
- The collector shall place on the stamped petition the note
of “Importation permitted, after comparison of the three
copies by the auditing office, and the examination and
dispatch of the inspector designated.” The auditing office
shall affix its approval, if satisfied; and if not, it shall
give notice to the collector, in order that he may revoke
his permit of importation and order the interested parties
to withdraw the petitions.
- IX.
- The auditing office shall keep a book, properly
authorized, in which it shall register each one of the
permits, numbering them consecutively and making a note of
their date, name of the interested party, number of
packages, general class of merchandise, and total
weight.
- X.
- The load and the permit shall be presented at the proper
custom-house gate, in order that the guard in charge of it
may make the comparison of the mark, counter-marks, and
number of the packages, noting the permit, after copying it
and placing on it the following note: “Complied with and
note taken on pages (so many) of the respective book.” Date,
signature, and seal of the guard of the custom-house gate.
The guard shall at once send the permit with the load to the
storehouses of the custom-house for its dispatch and
examinatien, notifying officially the collector of the
discrepancies which may appear, and giving him the
observations which seem proper. The load shall go in charge
of another guard or assistant of the custom-house gate, who
shall take the permit and the observations of the guard in
charge of the gate.
- XI.
- The partial permits of which paragraph VII speaks shall
expire within three days from their date in cases where the
merchandise for which they were granted has not passed the
Rio Bravo. The permit having expired without being complied
with in whole or in part requires a new document with the
same requisites as the first for the passage of the goods
not imported in time.
Art. 4. The foreign goods having arrived
whose, permit has been obtained in conformity with the preceding
article at the custom-house where it is to be imported, its
examination shall take place in entire conformity with the provision
of the tariff of custom-houses and other existing provisions.
Chapter II.—Payment of duties on the importation of merchandise in the Free
Zone.
Art. 5. The examination and dispatch of
merchandise both for frontier and maritime importations having been
concluded, the liquidation in full of the duties shall be made by
the auditing office according to the existing tariff, and the
importers shall be required to pay in cash the municipal and package
duties, the first being 1.37 per cent, upon the value of the
importation and the second one-half cent, per pound, which are found
tabulated in the rates of said tariff.
Art. 6. The collectors of the frontier
custom-houses of the zone may accept bonds of the importers in order
to secure the payment of the duties which are due until the auditing
office can make the proper liquidation, said importers being
permitted in such case to receive the goods after their dispatch.
Without the delivery of these bonds the deposit of the goods in the
storehouses of the custom-house will be required, or such part of
them as may be required by the collector under his responsibility
for a sum sufficient to cover the amount due.
Chapter III.—Interning of merchandise proceeding from the Free
Zone.
Art. 7. The interning of goods imported
into the Free Zone through the customhouses established for foreign
commerce by the existing laws shall be made in conformity with the
following regulations:
- I.
- The shipper shall present to the proper custom-house five
copies of the petition drafted according to form No. 5 of
the tariff, using in one of them stamps of the value [Page 1277] of 25 cents on
each sheet of paper of common size, if the value of the
goods exceeds $100, and 5 cents in case they do not exceed
$100.
- II.
- The presentation of the said documents shall be made to
the collector, who shall number them consecutively and
designate in them the inspector who is to make the
examination and dispatch of the merchandise, taking account
in a special book of the number which the document bears,
name of the shipper, number of packages, amount of duties,
point of destination, and the inspector designated for the
dispatch.
- III.
- The revision of the numerical operation contained in the
petition, to which fraction I of this article refers, having
been concluded by the inspector, and the respective
proceedings placed in the proper book, the dispatch of the
goods shall be made, observing the same formalities as at
their importation, it being the duty of the shippers to
present said goods in the warehouses of the
custom-house.
- IV.
- The dispatch being concluded, the liquidation of the
duties, which shall be paid in cash by the importer, shall
be revised by the auditing office, deducting the amount of
the municipal and package duties, which were paid on
importation according to article 5 of this regulation. The
note being placed by the auditing office of “duties paid
according to the existing tariff,” and the document numbered
consecutively by the employé, who takes note of it, in the
book destined for that purpose, authorized by the department
of finance, and in which shall be placed the signature of
the importer, the auditor, and treasurer, or the employé who
acts for them, the said collector shall place the note of
“The interning permitted,” and shall sign, attaching his
rubric to the number of the document.
- V.
- The requirements of the foregoing paragraphs being
complied with, the document shall be presented to the
commandant of guard, who shall place upon it the note of
“Passed to its destination,” sending it at once with the
guard who is designated to accompany the load as far as the
custom-house gate of departure, in which the guard in charge
of it, after comparing the load with the document, shall
take note in the proper book of the number of the document,
name of the shipper, number of packages, their marks and
countermarks, general class of the merchandise, value of the
duties, name of the conductor and consignee, and point of
destination, after which he shall place on said document
“Complied with,” date, seal, and leaf of book, signing for
attestation.
- VI.
- The packages which may be in excess or which may show some
discrepancy, after the comparison has been concluded shall
be officially sent by the guard to the custom-house for the
proceedings which are respectively established by the tariff
and the law of the zone of March 17, 1858, in cases of
contraband and fraud.
- VII.
- If the examination made by the guard of the custom-house
gate shall prove the agreement of the load with the
document, he shall deliver to the conductor the document or
documents which protect the load, which in no case shall
leave without them, under the penalties of the law of March
17, 1858.
- VIII.
- If the load does not depart on the date of the document,
the latter shall be returned to the custom-house by the
guard which accompanied it, in order that the collector and
auditor may place on it the following note, signed and
sealed: Annulled because not used within its date.”
- IX.
- In order to issue a new document because the first was not
used, five copies of the petition for interning will be
required, which must pass all the proceedings, if they are
found in perfect conformity with the one annulled, and shall
be dispatched without issuing the new permit of entry which
was required of the first; reference shall be made to the
latter and the following notations shall be placed upon it,
sealed and signed by the collector and auditor: “This second
document issued because the first was not used within its
date.” Both one of the copies of this second document as
well as the one annulled shall be added to the vouchers of
the respective permit of entry.
- X.
- Each custom-house shall keep a book authorized by the
department of finance in order to take note of the second
documents which are issued, stating in one leaf the number
of the first document, its date, number of the item of entry
stated in the daybook, value of the duties, names of the
shipper, conductor, and consignee; number of packages,
summary of the merchandise and points of destination; and in
the other leaf the same facts concerning the second
document. This book shall accompany the accounts, leaving in
the archives of the custom-house a certified copy of
it.
Art. 8. The custom-houses shall fix in the
documents of interning a term within which the goods must reach
their final destination, computing it according to the state of the
roads, and having regard to the class of transportation which is
employed, but which shall not be less than 5 leagues nor greater
than 10 leagues per day.
Art. 9. When the point of destination is
beyond the line of the counterguard, there shall be fixed in the
document a point of transit where there is a section of said
counter-guard, in order that the load may be examined, according to
the provisions of articles 68 and 69 of the tariff and regulation of
that corps.
Art. 10. Of the five copies of the document
of interning which the shippers are to present, according to article
7, the one stamped, as already ordered, shall serve to protect the
load which is interned; another shall serve as a voucher of entry of
the [Page 1278] chief account;
another shall verify the copy of the same which remains in the
archives; another the custom-houses shall send to the chief of the
respective section of the proper guard where the load is to pass,
and the last to the department of finance for its revision in the
department of liquidation; it being necessary to make this remission
necessarily by the mail immediately after the date of the documents
issued, respecting those corresponding to the counterguard, and
every fifteen days those to the department of liquidation.
Art. 11. When any part of the goods
protected by the custom-house document are consumed in any point of
the transit, the due annotation of this shall be made by the
corresponding section of the counterguard, and if there is none in
the place, by the Federal office established in it, according to the
provision of article 74 of the regulation of custom-houses.
Chapter IV.—Commerce in foreign goods between points situated in the
zone.
Art. 12. The traffic in foreign goods and
the circulation free of duties in the towns embraced in the Free
Zone shall be subject to the following provisions:
- I.
- For the circulation of goods the shippers must present to
the custom-houses five copies of the petition of
circulation, in the same terms as prescribed for interning,
in article 7 of this regulation, passing through the same
proceedings except the payment of duties and modifying the
notes by the collector and auditor, which shall be “free of
duty according to the law of the 30th of July, 1861, for
consumption in the zone,” signed by the auditor, and
“permits circulation,” with the signature of the collector
and seal of the custom-house, marking in the document the
route which the load must follow without being permitted to
leave the zone.
- II.
- The persons in whose favor the permits of circulation
within the Free Zone are issued shall be obliged to present
a document issued by the collector of the custom-house or
the chief of the section of the point of consumption, which
shall state that the goods have reached the place of their
destination.
- III.
- The custom-houses mentioned shall require, in each case, a
bond for the return document, within a brief term fixed to
the satisfaction of the collector, in order that the goods
which may pass beyond the bounds of the zone destined to the
commerce of the same, and which may be consumed beyond them,
in violation of the permit, shall pay the duties provided by
the tariff.
- IV.
- The foregoing bond shall be made effective by the
custom-house where it is given, if in the time fixed in the
document the return document which is to be issued by the
custom-house of consumption is not received, certifying that
the goods for consumption there have all arrived at their
destination.
- V.
- The documents of circulation shall in no case be given for
more than one point and without stoppages, and in them their
destination shall be stated.
- VI.
- The custom-houses which issue documents for circulation
and free consumption shall send by the mail immediately
after the departure of the goods the quadruplicate of the
document to the commandant of the counter-guard, in order
that the latter may give orders to watch the loads so that
they may not depart from the route which is stated in the
document, which shall always be within the limits of the
zone. Another copy of the document shall be sent to the
department of finance every fifteen days.
- VII.
- The custom-houses whence the goods depart for free
circulation shall be careful, by the first mail, to give
official notice to the custom-house of the point of
consumption and to the section of the counter guard nearest
to it, specifying in the notice the number of the document,
the date, number of packages, estimated value of the duties,
shippers, conductors, consignees, point of destination, and
place fixed for their arrival, in order that they may
exercise proper vigilance.
- VIII.
- The custom-houses and custom-house section of the point of
consumption within the zone, after the examination and
dispatch of the goods, observing the same requisites as at
their importation, shall give notice of the result to the
custom-house of origin, and the section of the counter-guard
shall be careful to reply to said customhouse within the
time fixed in the document in regard to the occurrences
respecting the load and the result of their
vigilance.
- IX.
- For the commerce of circulation between established
custom-houses in the Free Zone which is carried on by the
river, there shall be observed the requisites established in
chapter 12 of the regulation of January 1, 1872, for the
coast-wise trade.
Chapter V.—Consumption, in the places of the Free Zone where there are no
customhouses nor custom-house sections.
Art. 13. The dispatch of documents for the
consumption of foreign goods in the ranches situated in the Free
Zone, shall be subject to the following provisions:
- I.
- In order that the inhabitants of the ranches may take from
the towns of the Free Zone where there are custom-houses or
custom-house sections the goods for their [Page 1279] consumption up to the value
of $30, they shall present themselves in the proper
custom-house or custom-house section, soliciting the
respective permit.
- II.
- In each one of the custom-houses and custom-house sections
embraced in the Free Zone, the collectors or chiefs of
sections shall establish a desk in charge of an employé who
shall prepare the petitions of consumption for the
inhabitants who may have the right of free consumption and
can not prepare them for themselves, making them in
duplicate and without compensation, requiring a stamp of 5
cents, which shall be affixed to one of the copies.
- III.
- The collector or chief of the custom-house section shall
designate an employé who shall make a note of the permits,
in a book devoted to that purpose, authorized by the said
collector, in which shall be stated the date, consecutive
number which belongs to it, name of the interested party,
value of the goods, and name of the ranch or destination.
This employé shall cancel the stamps which are placed on
said permit.
Art. 14. The custom-houses shall ask at
once, and in the future every six months, of the Gity Council, a
certified copy of the enrollment of the inhabitants of the ranches,
in order that the employés who prepare the permits may be careful
not to give them to other persons, nor to grant them successive
times to the same person in a fixed period, in order to avoid the
abuse which may be made of this privilege.
Art. 15. According to the provisions of the
law, the goods shall incur the penalty of forfeiture, which, without
the corresponding pass, are in default of the necessary requisites,
may come to the custom-house gates or go beyond the towns of the
Zone. Those goods will incur a similar penalty, which, although they
have the respective pass, pass beyond the point of their
destination.
Art. 16. The collectors and chiefs of
custom-house sections shall grant to the owners of ranches situated
in the Free Zone general permits for the free use of their carriages
within the said zone, which permits shall be stamped with the
revenue-stamp of the value of 25 cents, which the interested party
must cancel in his respective petition, and which shall be delivered
under a bond to the satisfaction of the collectors, on condition of
paying the import duties in case the said carriages pass beyond the
Zone.
Art. 17. Similar permissions shall be
granted to the owners of cars and carriages who live in the towns of
the Zone, in order to go to and return from the ranches, a bond
being required for the payment of the proper import duties if the
car or carriage shall pass beyond the Zone.
Chapter VI.—Exportation.
Art. 18. Frontier exportation of all
products, goods, and national manufactures, excepting Mexican
antiquities, gold and silver in bullion and coin, and precious woods
for construction, are free of duty in conformity with the tariff and
subsequent laws, and shall be made by means of special permits, the
petitions for which shall be presented in triplicate by the
interested parties, placing on one of them stamps of the value of 35
cents for each leaf of paper of common size. These permits shall be
numbered in consecutive order, and a note of them shall be taken in
a book authorized for the purpose, stating the date, name of
shipper, that of the consignee, number of packages, kind of goods,
their value, and point of destination.
Art. 19. The exportation of gold and silver
in bullion and coins which circulate in the towns of the Free Zone
and respecting which proof of the payment of duty has not been made
in the points of extraction shall be permitted by paying the
corresponding duties after the liquidation, which is made by the
auditing office at the foot of the petition, with the “V. B.” of the
collector and the note of “Paid” of the Treasury employé or cashier,
citing the page and the item of the entry of the corresponding
day-book.
Art. 20. When the exportation of gold and
silver in bullion and coin is applied for whose duties have been
paid in the point of extraction or in the custom-house, the proper
liquidation shall be made on the petition, making the deduction
which corresponds in the account of their origin, which the
custom-houses shall keep in accordance with the provision of article
3 of the regulation of December 24, 1871. The auditing office shall
fix the note of “duties paid on such a date and in such an office,”
marking the number of the respective permit, and the collector shall
find the note of “exportation permitted after examination of the
inspector and commandant of the guard,” who, having found all
correct, shall place, the first, the “Approved,” and the second,
“Passed to its destination,” both signing for attestation. The
official of the guard shall escort the treasures to the custom-house
gate, where the official of that point shall take note in his book,
placing “Approved,” and seal and signature.
Art. 21. For the exportation of precious
woods for construction permits are granted with similar requisites,
after the payment of the corresponding duties.
Art. 22. The exportation of foreign goods
which have been imported through the [Page 1280] Zone will not be permitted according to
article 95 of the regulation of custom-houses without the previous
payment of the duties of exportation of the tariff and the
observance of the provisions of this regulation referring to
interning.
Art. 23. Maritime exportation abroad and
coastwise, made through Matamoros, shall be subject to all the
provisions of the tariff and the regulation of the customhouses and
other relative provisions.
Art. 24. The passage by the American
frontier of foreign or national goods whose value exceeds $10 shall
take place with the formalities prescribed for exportation.
Chapter VII.—Travelers and their baggage.
Art. 25. The travelers who proceeding from
abroad come into the towns of the Free Zone shall be permitted to
import free of duties the goods and baggage mentioned in Chapter
XVIII of the tariff of January 1, 1872, with the modification of the
circulars of January 1, 1874, and December 18, 1876.
Art. 26. Travelers who may have arrived
either by sea or by the fords of the Rio Bravo, in the towns of the
Free Zone proceeding from abroad, when they go into the interior of
the country, may intern free of duties their baggage and goods which
they have brought with them in virtue of the privilege which the
tariff and circulars cited grant them, obtaining from the
custom-house or custom-house section the proper permit, which shall
be granted to them in the term fixed in Chapter III of this
regulation. On their petitions they shall place a stamp of 25 cents
for each leaf of paper of common size.
Art. 27. The passage of baggage and persons
which go from Mexican territory to the United States shall be free
in accordance with Chapter XVII of the tariff.
Art. 28. Inhabitants or transient persons
or the towns of the American frontier, who come only temporarily to
the Mexican towns, shall not be permitted to bring with them goods
which exceed the value of $10, without the formalities prescribed
for importation.
Art. 29. The passage of a horse or carriage
is permitted without any requisite or payment of duties, when the
person who brings them only comes with the object of returning with
the horse or the carriage on the same day or the following.
Art. 30. The inhabitants of the Free Zone
who pass to the territory of the United States on a gelding or in a
carriage, when they pass temporarily, shall not be required to
comply with the requisites of exportation, nor shall any duties be
collected from them for the said horses or carriages on their return
to the Zone.
Art. 31. The collectors will permit, upon
bond being given to their satisfaction, for the payment of duties of
importation in petitions stamped to the value of 25 cents, that
carriages and trains of cars may pass for a given time, in order to
return to the left bank of the Bravo, or vice
versa, making effective the bond from the expiration of the
time, but without it being understood that they can be interned
beyond the Zone. In case of abuse the bond shall be forfeited.
Chapter VIII.—Contraband and its penalties.
Art. 32. The cases of contraband in
importation and exportation are as follows:
- I.
- When they pass or seek to pass the river by other fords
than those which are designated by the custom-houses.
- II.
- When they pass or seek to pass the river by the designated
fords without the proper permits, without the intervention
of the employés of the custom-house gate and of the
custom-house, or by night, or in unusual hours when the
passage should be closed.
Art. 33. The contraband to which the
preceding article refers shall be punished with the confiscation of
the merchandise and of the vessels of all kinds, cars, carriages,
and animals on which they are carried, provided they are found in
the Mexican jurisdiction of the Rio Bravo, whether they be in the
act of embarking, embarked, or disembarked.
Art. 34. Foreign goods destined for
interning and free circulation shall incur the penalty of
forfeiture, with the cars, carriages, and animals on which they are
carried—
- I.
- If they reach the custom-house gate without the proper
documents.
- II.
- If on departing from the town when the custom-house gates
are outside of it, they change the route which directly
corresponds to the departure according to the point to which
the goods are destined.
- III.
- If they are iound beyond the custom-house gate without the
required documents or seek to pass through it with documents
of a date anterior to the date of departure.
- IV.
- If the said iocuments are wanting in all or any of the
requisites prescribed in this regulation.
- V.
- If outside of the custom-house gates the conductors change
the route pointed out in the document.
- VI.
- If the goods are not presented at the section of the
countergaard designated in the documents.
Art. 35. If from comparison which is made
of the documents of importation, interning, and circulation of
goods, it appears that there are packages in excess, the goods in
this condition shall incur the penalty of forfeiture. A similar
penalty is incurred for goods which bear duties of exportation and
which are found in the same circumstances.
Art. 36. The substitution in quality or
quantity discovered in the examination and dispatch of foreign
goods, whether in their importation, interning, circulation, or
exportation, shall be punished with a fine of double the full duties
according to the provision of paragraph II of article 87 of the
tariff, and not simply the municipal and package duty.
Art. 37. According to article 2 of the
decree of March 17, 1868, the goods which are in the act of being
embarked, or which have already been disembarked for other points
than those which are designated, shall incur the penalty of
forfeiture, imposing upon the conductors fines of from twenty to one
hundred dollars and compelling the owners of the cargo, besides the
loss of their goods and publication of their names in the
newspapers, with an account of the fact, to close the establishments
of commerce which they may have in the Republic.
Art. 38. The cases of fraud which occur in
the importation, circulation, and exportation of goods shall be
punished by analogy with the penalties indicated in article 90 of
the existing tariff.
Chapter IX.—General provisions.
Art. 39. The original permit of importation
to which fraction III of article 3 of this regulation refers must be
accompanied by the principal copies of the registry of frontier
importation, which must be sent to the Treasury with the monthly
account as proof of the items of entry of the package and municipal
duties.
Art. 40. Of the two other copies of the
registry, which should be made in conformity to articles 49 and 50
of the regulation of the custom houses of January 1, 1872, as also
of the maritime importations, one shall be sent to the department of
finance for its revision in the department of liquidation, and the
other shall remain to prove the account in the archives of the
custom-house.
Art. 41. Of the petitions for frontier
exportation, three copies shall be made each month; one of which
shall be sent as proof of the account to the Treasury, another to
the department of finance for its revision, and a third copy shall
remain to prove the account in the archives of the custom-house.
Art. 42. The collectors shall not make the
distribution to the persons entitled to participate in the
confiscated goods or the products of the fine without the
approbation of the department of finance of the project of
distribution which shall be sent to it in each case, bearing in mind
that the duties which the goods seized within the zone have to pay
are only the municipal and package dues, it being necessary to
deduct from the amount of the fine the 25 per cent, of the Federal
tax, and the 2 per cent, hospital tax. When the goods are seized
beyond the zone they shall pay all the respective duties, except in
the case where the persons who seize them are the custom-house
guards, or of the section, and they return the goods to the towns of
the zone without being interned; in that case only paying the
municipal and package tax, the Federal tax, and the 2 per cent,
hospital tax.
Art. 43. The traffic of goods shall be
permitted by the designated fords of the Rio Bravo and the
custom-house gates from sunrise till 6 o’clock in the evening.
Art. 44. The military chiefs shall be under
the obligation to furnish daily the guards which the collectors may
request for the service of the custom-house gates, and the escorts
of cavalry for the rounds or expeditions of the guards.
Art. 45. The custom-houses of the Free Zone
shall regulate their proceedings in all that is not expressly
determined by this regulation to the tariff and regulations of the
maritime and frontier custom-houses of January 1, 1872, and later
existing provisions.
Romero.
Mexico, June 17,
1878.