Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 29.djvu/635

 FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 358. 1897. 605 merchandise as tea which is interior in purity, quality, and fitness for consumption to the standards provided in section three of this Act, and the importation of all such merchandise is hereby prohibited. Sec. 2. That immediately after the passage of this Act, and on or Board cfoxiwrts. before February fifteenth of each year thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall appoint a board, to consist of seven members, each of whom shall be an expert in teas, and who shall prepare and submit to him standard samples of tea; that the persons so appointed shall be at all times subject to removal by the said Secretary, and shall serve for the term of one year; that vacancies in the said board occurring by Films "¤¤¤¤¤i¤¤- removal, death, resignation, or any other cause shall be forthwith filled by the Secretary of the Treasury by appointment, such appointee to hold for the unexpired term; that said board shall appoint a presiding officer, who shall be the medium of all communications to or from such _ board; that each member of said board shall receive as compensation °°""°“““*‘°“· the sum of fifty dollars per annum, which, together with all necessary expenses while engaged upon the duty herein provided, shall be paid out of the appropriation for “expenses of collecting the revenue from customs." _ _ Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the recommenda— m§i:lif;:Yi1i»§)i>t)#$fy tion of the said board, shall fix and establish uniform standards of purity, quality, and fitness for consumption of all kinds of teas imported _ into the United States, and shall procure and deposit in the custom- cu{,’,j,I;{ff,j,‘lf;'_:°Pl*” houses of the ports of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and such ` other ports as he may determine, duplicate samples of such standards; that said Secretary shall procure a sufficient number of other duplicate samples of such standards to supply the importers and dealers in tea at all ports desiring the same at cost. All teas, or merchandise described as tea, of inferior purity, quality, and fitness for consumption to such standards shall be deemed within the prohibition of the first section hereof. _ Sec. 4. That on making entry at the custom—house of all teas, or t,,£‘?“d °f ‘“‘P°""'°’ merchandise described as tea, imported into the United States, the importer or consignee shall give a bond to the collector of the port that such merchandise shall not be removed from the warehouse until released by the collector, after it shall have been duly examined with _ reference to its purity, quality, and fitness for consumption; that for E‘“‘“""“°"· the purpose of such examination samples of each line in every invoice of tea shall be submitted by the importer or consignee to the examiner, together with the sworn statement of such importer or consignee that such samples represent the true quality of each and every part of the invoice and accord with the specifications therein contained; or in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, such samples shall be obtained by the examiner and compared by him with the standards I _ established by this Act; and in cases where said tea, or merchandise p»ri°§p1Y:»}i;f°¤Y»° Jil described as tea, is entered at ports where there is no qualified exam- ¤¤*¤¤*· ` incr as provided in section seven, the consignee or importer shall in the manner aforesaid furnish under oath a sample of each line of tea to the collector or other revenue officer to whom is committed the c0llec— tion of duties, and said officer shall also draw or cause to be drawn samples of each line in every invoice and shall forward the same to a _ duly qualified examiner as provided in section seven: Provided, however, €§§',}$‘}g,,,s of ,,,,,,d_ That the bond above required shall also be conditioned for the payment of all custom-house charges which may attach to such merchandise prior to its being released or destroyed (as the case may be) under the provisions of this Act. _ _ Sec. 5. That if, after an examination as provided in section four, the _,fP,§’;’;‘§eQ*;f "°*“'°"’ tea is found by the examiner to be equal in purity, quality, and iitness for consumption to the standards hereinbefore provided, and no reex— amination shall be demanded by the collector as provided in section six, a permit shall at once be granted to the importer or consignee declaring the tea free irom the control of the customs authorities; but _R¤¤e¤r§¤p or meif on examination such tea, or merchandise described as tea, is found, ""' ‘"”‘1“"°“‘