RULE.* Multiply each payment by the time, at which it is due; then divide the sum of the products by the sum of the payments, the quotient will be the true time required. and 2. A owes B $300, of which $50 is to be paid in 2 months, $100 in 5 months, and the remainder in 8 months. What is the equated time for the whole sum ? Ans. 6 months. 3. There is owing to a merchant $1000; $200 of it is to be paid in 3 months, $300 in 5 months, and the remainder in 10 months. What is the equated time for the payment of the whole sum? Ans. 7 months, 3 days. 4. A owes B $150, $50 to be paid in 4 months, and $100 in 8 months. Bowes A $250 to be paid in 10 months. It is agreed between them, that A shall make present payment of his whole debt, and that B shall pay his so much sooner as to balance the favor. I demand the time at which B must pay the $250? Ans. 6 months. 5. A merchant has $144 due him, to be paid in 7 months, but the debtor agrees to pay ready money, and in 4 months. What time should be allowed him to pay the remainder ? Ans. 2 years, 10 months. 6. There is due to a merchant $800, of which is to be paid in 2 months, in 3 months, and the remainder in six months; but the debtor agrees to pay down. How long may the debtor retain the other half so that neither party may sustain loss? Ans. 83 months. 7. I have purchased goods of A. B. at sundry times and on various terms of credit, as by the statement annexed. When is the medium time of payment? Jan. 1, a bill amounting to $375.50 on 4 months' credit. 66 20, do. do. Feb. 4, do. do. March 11, do. do. April 7, do. do. 168.75 on 5 months' credit. 386.25 on 4 months' credit. 144.60 on 5 months' credit. 386.90 on 3 months' credit. *This is the rule usually adopted by merchants, but it is not perfectly correct; for if I owe a man $200, and $100 of which I was to pay down, and the other $100 in two years, the equated time for the payment of both sums would be one vear. It is evident that for deferring the payment of the first $100 for 1 year, I ought to pay the amount of $100 for that time, which is $106; but for the other $100, which I pay a year before it is due, I ought to pay the present worth of $100, which is $94.3333, whereas, by Equation of Payments, I only pay $200. Strict justice would therefore demand, that interest should be required on all sums from the time they become due, until the time of payment; and the present worth of all sums, paid before they are due. The better rule would be to find the present worth on each of the sums due, and then find in what time the sum of these present worths would amount to the payments. 1675 The medium time of payment will therefore be 42192 days, that is, 43 days from May 1, which will be June 12. 8. I have sold to C. D. several parcels of goods, at sundry times, and on various terms of credit, as by the statement annexed. January 1, a bill amounting to $600 on 4 months' credit. Feb. 7, do. do. 370 on 5 months' credit. 560 on 4 months' credit. 420 on 6 months' credit. When is the equated time for the payment of all the bills? Ans. July 11. SECTION XLII. CUSTOM HOUSE BUSINESS. IN every port of the United States, where merchandise is either exported or imported, there is an establishment called a Custom House. Connected with this, are certain officers appointed by government, called custom house officers, whose business is to collect the duties on various kinds of merchandise, &c. imported into the United States. The following article on allowances, &c. was very politely furnished the author by the officers of the Boston Custom House, and may therefore be relied on as perfectly correct. Allowances. Draft is an allowance made by the officers of the United States Government in the collection of duties on merchandise, liable to a specific duty, and ascertained by weight, and is also given by the usage of merchants in buying and selling. It is a deduction from the actual gross weight of the article paying duty by the pound or sold by weight. For example, a box of sugar actually weighs 500 pounds. The draft upon this weight is 4 pounds. 500 gross. 4 draft. 496 difference. Upon this difference is made a further allowance of fifteen per cent. as tare, or as the actual weight of the box before the sugar was put into it. This tare is allowed by the government in the collection of the duty, and by the merchant in buying and selling. Take, then, the box of sugar, say 500 lbs. gross. 4 draft. 496 difference. 74 tare 422 net weight, upon which a duty is paid to the government, or price is paid to the merchant in his sale. This tare of 74 pounds or 15 per cent., is usually more than the actual tare, but is assumed as the probable or actual tare, by reason of the impossibility of starting every box to ascertain the actual weight of the sugar, and the actual weight of the box which contains it. This tare is sufficiently correct for the collector of the duty, and the merchant who deals in the article. It is intended to be a liberal allowance, and varies but little from the actual tare. Drafts allowed at the Custom House in the collection of duties, and by the merchants in their purchases and sales are as follow Allowance for draft. Draft is another name for Tret, which is an allowance in weight for waste. EXPLANATION. Many articles of merchandise are weighed separately; for example,-boxes and casks of sugar, chests of tea and indigo. Upon each box or cask, or chest, an allowance should be made for draft, according to its weight, as by the above rule. Bags of sugar and coffee, or bars of iron and endles of steel might be weighed together; say, 10 bags of P coffee at one draft might weigh 1121 pounds; from this gross weight must be deducted 7 pounds as draft; 35 bars of Russia iron might be weighed at one draft-weight 2250 pounds, upon which would be an allowance of 9 pounds draft, and by law and usage there can be no greater allowance than 9 pounds for draft. A greater or less number of bags of coffee or bars of iron, or any other article of merchandise is weighed, and the deduction is according to the weight of each draft. An old rule, and probably a better one among merchants, was the allowance of per cent. on the gross weight of all merchandise weighed, as draft. Allowance for leakage. Two per cent. is allowed on the gauge of ale, beer, porter, brandy, gin, molasses, oil, wine and rum, and other liquors in casks; besides the real wants of the cask; for example,-a cask of molasses may gauge 140 gallons, gross gauge,-from this first deduct 5 gallons, the actual wants, or the quantity necessary to fill the cask-we have, 140 gross. 5 out. 185 difference. 3--2 per cent. for leakage. 132 gallons net. Tare is an allowance made for the actual or supposed weight of the cask, box, case or bag, which contains the article of merchandise. The usage of merchants is in conformity with the law and usage of the officers of the customs in their allowance for tare, directed by law, or found to be correct by their examination and experience. The following table gives the legal tare; and when the law determines no tare, the actual tare is stated as usually allowed, and by experience found to be correct. Tares according to law and actual weight. |