Goods, wares and merchandise imported into the United States, subject to the payment of ad valorem duties, are required by law to be appraised at their "actual market value" in the foreign port at time of export. As it is frequently difficult to establish an actual market value in a foreign port, many goods being made only and expressly for foreign markets, and not sold nor offered for sale at the place of their manufacture or shipment, serious litigations often arise between the merchant and the government. This difficulty has led to the recognition by the commercial world of the distinctions, cash value, market value, and intrinsic value, although the laws name but one-the "actual market value." In the United States the government warehouse system has been extended to other than imported goods. Thus spirituous liquors may be deposited in certain warehouses under the control of an internal revenue collector, and payment of the internal revenue taxes delayed until the liquors are withdrawn. Bonds are usually required of persons availing themselves of this priv. ilege, and the liquors so stored are said to be in bond. Unbonded Warehouses, or private storage houses, are common in all the large cities of the United States, and are mostly used for the storage of household goods. There are many, however, used exclusively for the storage of merchandise, some of which are known as cold-storage warehouses. In some States warehouses for the storage of grain, etc., are subject to State inspection and supervision. The rates for storing bulky articles are usually fixed at so much per month, according to the amount of space occupied. The warehouseman is regarded as a bailee for hire, and must take ordinary care of the property placed in his custody. (See Bailments.) Warehouse Receipts given by private warehouse companies are negotiable instruments and pass from hand to hand by indorsement, or they may be used with banks, etc., as collateral security for money borrowed. There is usually a provision in the receipt that its transfer by indorsement and delivery shall be a conclusive transfer of the property. Where this is the case the receipt is an acknowledgment of the warehouseman that the goods are actually in store, and he becomes liable for their value even if no such goods as described in the receipt have been stored with him. TRADE AND COMMERCE The Terms "trade" and "commerce," primarily, have the same meaning, only the latter is now generally restricted to the buying, selling, exchanging, etc., of commodities between different nations or States, while the former is applied indiscriminately to all commercial intercourse, whether domestic or international. Trade is divided generally into two classes, wholesale and retail. Wholesale trade deals in goods by the piece or in large quantities, supplying retail dealers and middle men generally, while retail trade deals in small quantities and supplies goods directly to consumers. The Wholesale Trade of a country is divided into four different kinds: the home trade, the import, or foreign trade of con⚫ sumption, the export trade, and the carrying trade. The Home Trade is employed in purchasing in one part of the same country and selling in another the produce of the industry of the country, and it comprehends both the inland and coasting, or that which is carried on both by land and sea. The Import Trade is employed in purchasing foreign goods for home consumption. The Export Trade is employed in connection with goods and produce sent to foreign markets. The Carrying Trade is employed in transacting the commerce of foreign countries, or in carrying the surplus produce of one to another. Commerce distributes the gifts of nature, balancing the deficiencies of one country with what is superfluous in another, creates a demand for labor, finds employment for wealth, and multiplies and cheapens the productions of every country. Exports and Imports.-A quarter of a century ago the United States ranked fourth among the commercial nations of the world. To-day it stands first in the value of its exports. In a single fiscal year—that which ended June 30, 1898—the exports of the United States increased by a figure which represents a greater increase than that of England in twenty-five years. In 1800 the total value of exports of the United States was $70,971 780, and in 1903 it had increased to $1,420,141,679, which is over $40,000,000 greater than the total value of exports of Great Britain for the same year. Foreign Carrying Trade.-During the year 1903 the shipping in the foreign carrying trade that was entered and cleared at the various ports of the United States aggregated 62,409,831 tons. Inland Carrying Trade.-In its railway commercial facilities the United States is preeminent. The total railway mileage of the world is 505,963, of which the United States possesses 180,657. This is 5,657 miles greater than the aggregate mileage of European railways. Manufactures.-These unrivaled facilities for transportation have induced a marvelous growth of manufactures in the United States for consumption in all parts of the world. In 1870 the manufactures of the United States just about equaled those of Great Britain, while to-day they are two and a half times as great as the total value of British manufactures, and equal to those of Great Britain, Germany and France put together. Customs Duties.-The taxes levied on imported goods are usually called customs duties. Custom-Houses.-The place appointed by the government at ports of entry where vessels and merchandise are entered and duties upon imported goods are collected, and where vessels obtain their clearance and other papers, is called a customhouse; the collectors, appraisers, surveyors, naval officers, and their deputies, examiners, clerks at the head of divisions, inspectors, gaugers and weighers, but not subordinate clerks, are called custom-house officers, and are sworn to faithful service; the persons who act for merchants in the business of entering and clearing goods and vessels, and in the transaction of general business, are known officially as custom-house brokers. A Custom-house Entry is a statement made in writing to the collector of the district, by the owners or consignees of the merchandise on board any ship or vessel, which they desire to land. Bonded Goods.-Foreign goods are said to be bonded, when the payment of the duties is secured by a bond, or when warehoused in a government store or warehouse, and under the control of the collector of the port until entered for consumption and the duties are paid. (See Warehousing.) When goods are shipped from a foreign port and destined for an interior point or other place in the United States that is not a port of entry, they first go to a port of entry and then are forwarded in bond to the point of destination. This trans-shipment is effected through means of a custom-house broker at the port of entry, to whom the invoice, bill of lading, and other shipping papers are sent. WITH THE PRINCIPLES, RULES AND LAW GOVERN- CONTRACTS A Contract is an agreement between competent persons, on sufficient consideration, to do, or abstain from doing, some certain act or acts within some certain time, expressed or implied. To Constitute a Valid Contract-one that can be enforced by law-five things are necessary: competent parties, sufficient consideration, mutual assent, lawful subject matter, and time of performance. Parties Who May and Who May Not Make Contracts.—Until the contrary is shown, all persons entering into a contract are presumed to be competent to bind themselves by their agreement. Hence those who would resist the performance of a contract on the ground of legal incapacity must set up and prove the particular incapacity upon which they rely to avoid the contract. Minors, insane persons, idiots, and persons deprived of their reason by intoxicants, are incapable of entering into contracts. Married women, under the common law, are not competent parties to a contract. But by the statutes of most of the States a married woman is now empowered to enter into contracts regarding her own separate property, enter into business on her own behalf, or join in a business partnership with her husband. Bound for Necessaries Furnished.-Though minors, insane persons, idiots, etc., are not, generally speaking, competent to enter into contracts, they are bound for necessaries furnished them. A husband is bound for necessaries furnished his wife, even if against his orders, if he fails to furnish them for her. Corporations can enter into contracts, provided they keep within the limits prescribed by their charters. Anything attempted beyond those limits would be ultra vires, beyond their power, and void. Parol contracts made by a corporation's authorized agents within the scope of its chartered powers are express promises of the corporation. Like an individual, a corporation may be bound by implied contracts deduced by inference from corporate acts. See Corporations. Consideration.-A contract without consideration is void at the option of the party against whom it is sought to be enforced. There is one exception to this rule. It does not apply to innocent indorsees and bona fide holders of negotiable papers. A promise is a good consideration for a promise. It is not always necessary that the consideration be expressed in the contract; it is sometimes implied. Thus, when a contract is deliberately made, without fraud and with a full knowledge of the circumstances, any damage, suspension, or forbearance of a right, will be sufficient consideration. It is not necessary that the consideration should exist at the time of the promise, if it arise afterwards, in consequence of the promise. Mistake.-A contract made under a clear mistake of fact is not binding; for instance, if A. sells to B. a horse, which both A. and B. suppose to be in A.'s stable, and at the time of the contract the horse is dead, the sale is void. But a mistake of law is binding, for every one is presumed to know what the law is. Mutual Assent.-No contract is valid in law unless the parties agree to the same thing in the same sense. Where a person orders a certain quantity of goods, for instance, at a certain credit, and the merchant sends a less quantity at a shorter credit, and the goods are lost, the merchant cannot recover the price of them; for there was no agreement on the terms, and hence no contract. Subject Matter.-The thing to be done or omitted is called the subject matter of the contract. If this is illegal in its character, immoral, or contrary to public policy, the law will not enforce the contract. Among Contracts Contrary to Public Policy is that of a man binding himself not to exercise his trade or business; but if, for a valuable consideration, he engages not to exercise his trade in |